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 ISBS2019

PROCEEDINGS

4TH INTERNATIONAL SUSTAINABLE BUILDINGS SYMPOSIUM

(ISBS2019)

18 – 20 JULY 2019

Dallas – Texas/USA

Organized by

Ankara University/Gazi University

Texas Tech University/Texas A&M University-Commerce

in collaboration with

American Institute of Architects (AIA) Dallas – U.S. Green Building Council

(USGBC) North Texas Chapter

Editor

Arzuhan Burcu GÜLTEKİN

 ORGANIZERS

STRATEGIC PARTNER OFFICIAL AIRLINE

GOVERNMENT SUPPORTERS

SILVER SPONSORS

BRONZE SPONSOR SERVICE SPONSOR

SOCIETY SUPPORTERS
 PRIVATE SUPPORTERS

MEDIA SUPPORTERS FACILITY SUPPORTERS

IV
 COMMITTEES

Honorary committee Chair committee

Erkan İbiş Arzuhan Burcu Gültekin

(Ankara University, Turkey) (Ankara University, Turkey)
İbrahim Uslan Hüseyin Yılmaz Aruntaş
(Gazi University, Turkey) (Gazi University, Turkey)

Albert Sacco Mukaddes Darwish

(Texas Tech University, USA) (Texas Tech University, USA)

Brent Donham Burçhan Aydın

(Texas A&M University-Commerce, USA) (Texas A&M University-Commerce, USA)

Strategic Partner
Kemal Gani Bayraktar
(Turkish Society of HVAC and Sanitary Engineers, Turkey)

International Organizing Committee

Abdul-Lateef Babatunde Ali Aydda Alper Dilek

Balogun (University of Ibn Zohr, Morocco) (Rönesans Holding, Turkey)
(University Technology
Petronas, Malaysia)

Biswajeet Pradhan Bora Şahbazoğlu Cemal Baş

(University of Technology (DNA Architecture, Turkey) (Union of Municipalities of
Sydney, Australia) Turkey, Turkey)

Cemil Yaman Dicle Demircioğlu Turgay Sevindik

(ERKE Green Building
Consultancy, Turkey)
Eddie Ilseok Oh
(Texas A&M University-
Commerce, USA)
(GMWM Architecture and (Ankara Altındağ
Consultancy, Turkey) Municipality, Turkey)
Emre Ilıcalı Gökçen Yazıcı
(Altensis Managing Sustainability, (Ankara Mamak
Turkey) Municipality, Turkey)

Gökhan Ünlü Hande Abadan M. Hulki Cevizoğlu

(Turkish Society of HVAC and (Freelance Journalist, Turkey) (Journal of Popular Science,
Sanitary Engineers, Turkey) Turkey)

İlker Adıgüzel Janardan Krishna Yadav Jaehum Yeon

(U.S. Army Engineer Research (Jindal Global Business School, India) (Texas A&M University-
and Development Center, Commerce, USA)
USA)

Jonathan Kraatz Levent Alatlı Lloyd Scott

(U.S. Green Building Council
North Texas, USA)
Mahmoud Dehghan Nayeri
(Tarbiat Modares University,
Iran)
Mert Tolon
(İstanbul Gedik University,
Turkey)
(Facility Management Association, (Dublin Institute of
Turkey) Technology, Ireland)
Mary Frances Agnello Manuel Rios de Haro
(Akita International University, (University of Granada,
Japan) Spain)
Murat Yıldız Nazira Kakulia
(The School of Archeology and Social (Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi
Environmental Ethics, Turkey) State University, Georgia)

Nesile Yalçın Noordin Ahmad Norman Lehman

(Atölye Design, Turkey) (University Putra, Malaysia) (U.S. Green Building Council
of North Texas, USA)

Nurcan Bac Nunziante Squeglia Oktan Nalbantoğlu

(Texas Tech University, USA) (Pisa University, Italy) (Ontasarım Design, Turkey)
 Rahman Azari Rıfat Ünal Sayman Sabri Paşayiğit
(Illinois Institute of (REC-The Regional Environmental (Sabri Pasayigit Architects,
Technology, USA) Center for Central and Eastern Turkey)
Europe, Turkey)

Stefano Stacul Sven-Olof Ryding Şule Tüdeş

(Pisa University, Italy) (International EPD System, Sweden) (Gazi University, Turkey)

Trynos Gumbo Tsotne Zhghenti Tulio Sulbaran

(University of Johannesburg, (European Institute for (University of Texas in San
South Africa) Research and Development-EIRD, Antonio, USA)
Georgia)

Uğur Özgüven Yelin Evcen Zaida Basora

(Özgüven Architecture, (Gönye Design, Turkey) (American Institute of
Turkey) Architects & Huitt-Zollars,
USA)

Local Organizing Committee

Anıl Özdemir Abdullah Murat Eser Andaç Erdem Çakır

(Gazi University, Turkey) (Ankara University, Turkey) (İstanbul Metropolitan
Municipality, İstanbul)

Aşina Kübra Arslan Coşkun Çakmak Emir Sunguroğlu

(Ankara University, Turkey) (Gazi University, Turkey) (Ankara University, Turkey)

Gökhan Durmuş Gökhan Kaplan Hatice Önal

(Gazi University, Turkey) (Kastamonu University, Turkey) (Ülker Event Marketing
Department, Turkey)

Hayati Küçük Kenan Toklu Kürşat Yıldız

(YPU, Turkey) (Gazi University, Turkey) (Gazi University, Turkey)

Mert Atakan Metin Arslan Murat Pınarlık

(Gazi University, Turkey) (Ankara University, Turkey) (Gazi University, Turkey)

Mürsel Erdal Onat Özgür Pınar Sezin Öztürk Kardoğan

(Gazi University, Turkey) (Ankara University, Turkey) (Gazi University, Turkey)

Rüya Kılıç Demircan Salih Yazıcıoğlu Sinan Şahin

(Gazi University, Turkey) (Gazi University, Turkey) (Gazi University, Turkey)

Şefik Taş Merve Sunguroğlu Mustafa Abadan

(Ankara University, Turkey) (Hacettepe University, Turkey) (Freelance Journalist, Turkey)

Nur Demet D. Çakmak

(Ankara Chamber of Industry, Turkey)

International Scientific Committee

Prof. Dr. Adnan Sözen Prof. Dr. Ali İhsan Ünay Prof. Dr. Alpin Köknel Yener
(Gazi University, Turkey) (Gazi University, Turkey) (İstanbul Technical University,
Turkey)

Prof. Dr. Ayşin Sev Prof. Dr. Ayhan Şamandar Prof. Dr. Bahar Demirel
(Mimar Sinan Fine Art (Düzce University, Turkey) (Fırat University, Turkey)
University, Turkey)

Prof. Dr. Birol Kılkış Prof. Dr. Bjarne Olesen Prof. Dr. Claude-Alain Roulet
(Başkent University, Turkey) (Technical University of (LESO-EPFL, Switzerland)
Denmark, Denmark)

Prof. Dr. Cüneyt Kurtay Prof. Dr. Dejan Mumovic Prof. Dr. Demet Irklı Eryıldız
(Gazi University, Turkey) (University College London, (Okan University, Turkey)
England)

Prof. Dr. Derek Clements-Croome Prof. Dr. F. Nihan Özdemir Prof. Dr. Figen Beyhan
(University of Reading, England) Sönmez (Gazi University, Turkey)
(Ankara University, Turkey)

VI
 Prof. Dr. Füsun Demirel
(Gazi University, Turkey)
Prof. Dr. Gülser Çelebi
(Çankaya University, Turkey)
Prof. Dr. Harun Tanrıvermiş
(Ankara University, Turkey)
Prof. Dr. Işık Yılmaz
(Cumhuriyet University, Turkey)
Prof. Dr. İlker Bekir Topçu
(Eskişehir Osmangazi University,
Turkey)
Prof. Dr. Leyla Tokman
(Eskişehir Technical University,
Turkey)
Prof. Dr. Mehmet Tunçer
(Çankaya University, Turkey)
Prof. Dr. Mustafa Şahmaran
(Hacettepe University, Turkey)
Prof. Dr. Nihat Sinan Işık
(Gazi University, Turkey)
Prof. Dr. Ömer Faruk Bay
(Gazi University, Turkey)
Prof. Dr. Salih Yazıcıoğlu
(Gazi University, Turkey)
Prof. Dr. Tülay Tıkansak Karadayı
(Gebze Technical University,
Turkey)
Prof. Dr. Greg Keeffe
(Manchester Metropolitan
University, England)
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Alper
Büyükkaragöz
(Gazi University, Turkey)
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Bige Tuncer
(Singapore University of
Technology, Singapore)
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Gökhan Durmuş
(Gazi University, Turkey)
Assoc. Prof. Dr. İdil Ayçam
(Gazi University, Turkey)
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Karel Mulder
(Delft University of Technology,
Netherlands)
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mustafa Özer
(Gazi University, Turkey)
VII
Prof. Dr. Gökhan Arslan
(Eskişehir Technical University,
Turkey)
Prof. Dr. H. Yılmaz Aruntaş
(Gazi University, Turkey)
Prof. Dr. Hasbi Yaprak
(Kastamonu University, Turkey)
Prof. Dr. I. Özgür Yaman
(Middle East Technical
University, Turkey)
Prof. Dr. Kambiz Ramyar
(Ege University, Turkey)
Prof. Dr. Marko Serafimov
(St. C. and Methodius
University, Macedonia)
Prof. Dr. Metin Arslan
(Ankara University, Turkey)
Prof. Dr. Mürsel Erdal
(Gazi University, Turkey)
Prof. Dr. Nilay Coşgun
(Gebze Technical University,
Turkey)
Prof. Dr. Recep Birgül
(Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University,
Turkey)
Prof. Dr. Semih Eryıldız
(Doğuş University, Turkey)
Prof. Dr. Türkay Tüdeş
(Ankara University, Turkey)
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ahmet
Beycioğlu
(Düzce University, Turkey)
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ayşe Duygu
Kaçar
(Eskişehir Osmangazi
University, Turkey)
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Erol Demir
(Ankara University, Turkey)
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Gülsu
Harputlugil
(Çankaya University, Turkey)
Assoc. Prof. Dr. İlkay Koman
(Mimar Sinan Fine Arts
University, Turkey)
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Kutlu Kayıhan
(Gebze Technical University,
Turkey)
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mustafa
Özgünler
(Mimar Sinan Fine Arts
University, Turkey)
Prof. Dr. Gülay Hasdoğan
(Middle East Technical
University, Turkey)
Prof. Dr. Halil Arık
(Gazi University, Turkey)
Prof. Dr. Hülagü Kaplan
(Gazi University, Turkey)
Prof. Dr. İlhami Demir
(Kırıkkale University, Turkey)
Prof. Dr. Khalid El Harrouni
(Ecole Nationale d’Architecture,
Morocco)
Prof. Dr. Mehmet Orhan
(Gazi University, Turkey)
Prof. Dr. Mustafa Altunok
(Gazi University, Turkey)
Prof. Dr. Nesrin Çobanoğlu
(Gazi University, Turkey)
Prof. Dr. Pieter Jacobus Cornelis
Wilde
(University of Plymouth, UK)
Prof. Dr. Ruşen Yamaçlı
(Eskişehir Technical University,
Turkey)
Prof. Dr. Serkan Subaşı
(Düzce University, Turkey)
Prof. Dr. Zerrin Yılmaz
(İstanbul Technical University,
Turkey)
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Arzuhan Burcu
Gültekin
(Ankara University, Turkey)
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Baki Öztürk
(Hacettepe University, Turkey)
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Eddie Ilseok Oh
(Texas A&M University-
Commerce, USA)
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Haydn Fox
(Texas A&M University-
Commerce, USA)
Assoc. Prof. Dr. İlker Tekin
(Bayburt University, Turkey)
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mehmet Avcar
(Süleyman Demirel University,
Turkey)
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Müge Mukaddes
Darwish
(Texas Tech University, USA)
 Assoc. Prof. Dr. Osman Şimşek
(Gazi University, Turkey)
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Saadet Toker
Beeson
(The University of Texas at San
Antonio, USA)
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Semra Arslan
Selçuk
(Gazi University, Turkey)
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Yeşim
Aliefendioğlu
(Ankara University, Turkey)
Assist. Prof. Dr. Açalya Alpan
(Eskişehir Osmangazi University,
Turkey)
Assist. Prof. Dr. Ayşe Nur
Albayrak
(Gebze Technical University,
Turkey)
Assist. Prof. Dr. Çiğdem Belgin
Dikmen
(Bozok University, Turkey)
Assist. Prof. Dr. Hanifi Tokgöz
(Gazi University, Turkey)
Assist. Prof. Dr. Latif Onur Uğur
(Düzce University, Turkey)
Assist. Prof. Dr. M. İnanç Onur
(Eskişehir Technical University,
Turkey)
Assist. Prof. Dr. Nilüfer Gürer
(Akdeniz University, Turkey)
Assist. Prof. Dr. Orkun Alptekin
(Eskişehir Osmangazi University,
Turkey)
Assist. Prof. Dr. Timuçin
Harputlugil
(Çankaya University, Turkey)
Dr. Ali Emrah Gümüş
(Turkish State Meteorological
Service,Turkey)
Dr. Kemal Gani Bayraktar
(İzocam, Turkey)
Dr. Pınar Sezin Öztürk Kardoğan
(Gazi University, Turkey)
Dr. Süleyman Sırrı Maraş
(Ankara University, Turkey)
(The names are listed in alphabetical order)
VIII
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Özge Yalçıner
Ercoşkun
(Gazi University, Turkey)
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sedef Doğaner
(The University of Texas at San
Antonio, USA)
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Şule Tüdeş
(Gazi University, Turkey)
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Zeliha Selek
(Gazi University, Turkey)
Assist. Prof. Dr. Ahmet
Gökdemir
(Gazi University, Turkey)
Assist. Prof. Dr. Betül Bektaş
Ekici
(Fırat University, Turkey)
Assist. Prof. Dr. Eda Avanoğlu
Sıcacık
(Kırıkkale University, Turkey)
Assist. Prof. Dr. Hasan Begeç
(Dokuz Eylül University,
Turkey)
Assist. Prof. Dr. Levent Çolak
(Başkent University, Turkey)
Assist. Prof. Dr. Murat Çavuş
(Gaziosmanpaşa University,
Turkey)
Assist. Prof. Dr. Nunziante
Squeglia
(Pisa University, Italy)
Assist. Prof. Dr. Serkan Kıvrak
(Eskişehir Technical University,
Turkey)
Assist. Prof. Dr. Yağmur
Kopraman
(Gazi University, Turkey)
Dr. Ayşem Berrin Çakmaklı
(Middle East Technical
University, Turkey)
Dr. Murat Yıldız
(TED University, Turkey)
Dr. Serap Pelin Türkoğlu
(Giresun University, Turkey)
Dr. Stefano Stacul (Pisa
University, Italy)
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Rudi Stouffs
(TUDelft, Netherlands)
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Selman Yılmaz
(İstanbul University, Turkey)
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tolga Bozkurt
(Ankara University, Turkey)
Assist. Prof. Dr. Abdalhaleem
A. Hassaballa
(King Faisal University, KSA)
Assist. Prof. Dr. Aslıhan Şenel
(Dokuz Eylül University,
Turkey)
Assist. Prof. Dr. Burçhan Aydın
(Texas A&M University-
Commerce, USA)
Assist. Prof. Dr. Gökhan Kaplan
(Kastamonu University,
Turkey)
Assist. Prof. Dr. Kürşat Yıldız
(Gazi University, Turkey)
Assist. Prof. Dr. Mert Tolon
(İstanbul Gedik University,
Turkey)
Assist. Prof. Dr. Mustafa Dayı
(Düzce University, Turkey)
Assist. Prof. Dr. Omar
F. Althuwaynee
(Sejong University, Republic of
Korea)
Assist. Prof. Dr. Sinan Jasim
Hadi
(Independent Researcher, Iraq)
Assist. Prof. Dr. Zekeriya Çelik
(Pamukkale University, Turkey)
Dr. Jeremy Gibberd
(CSIR, South Africa)
Dr. Onur Tunaboyu
(Eskişehir Technical University,
Turkey)
Dr. Serkan Yıldız
(National Defense University,
Turkey)
Dr. Uğurtan Aybar
(AECOM, Turkey)
Contents

Preface XVII

Section 1
Sustainable Building Design 1

Chapter 1 3
A Human-Centric Qualitative Analysis of Electric and Daylighting
Interventions in Workplace Buildings
by Abimbola O. Asojo, Hoa Vo and Suyeon Bae

Chapter 2 13
Net-Zero High-Rise Buildings for Sustainable Vertical Urbanism: Lessons from
Pertamina Energy Tower
by Semra Arslan Selçuk and Hüseyin Emre Ilgın

Chapter 3 25
A Prototype of Energy Efficient Houses Meeting Both Bioclimatic Architecture
Principles and Moroccan Thermal Regulation
by Khalid El Harrouni, Najma Laaroussi, Najoua Loudyi, Rime El Harrouni,
Hajar Amir and Ricardo Castello

Chapter 4 39
Biomimicry for Sustainability: Improvement of Building Skin with
Nature-Inspired Innovations
by Güneş Mutlu Avinç and Semra Arslan Selçuk

Chapter 5 51
Smart Buildings in Relation to Human Behavior and Cultural Influences
in Egypt
by Reham M.M. Mohie El-Din

Chapter 6 67
Architecture Competitions and Sustainability Criteria: The Example of eVolo
Skyscraper Competition
by Gizem Kuçak Toprak

Chapter 7 81
Learning from the Recycling Ideas of Nature for Sustainability:
Council House (CH2)
by Merve Ertosun Yıldız, Semra Arslan Selçuk and Figen Beyhan
Chapter 8 97
An Approach to the Zero Energy Building in Sana’a
by Samah Alramagha and Demet Irklı Eryıldız

Chapter 9 113
Certification for Sustainability: An Assessment on Design and Construction
Process of Via Green Office Building
by Fatma Handan Sarıgül and Semra Arslan Selçuk

Chapter 10 125
Green Façades and Living Walls as Urban Ecosystems: Functions,
Constructions and Maintenance from the Architectural Point of View
by Ayşenur Coşkun and Semra Arslan Selçuk

Chapter 11 137
Mainstream Use of EPDs in Buildings: Lessons Learned from Europe
by Naeem Adibi, Marjan Mousavi, Ricardo Méndez Escobar, Manon Glachant
and Aliasghar Adibi

Chapter 12 147
Problems Experienced by Wheelchair Sporters in Sports Halls and Sustainable
Solution Proposals
by Eylem Çelik, Zekeriya Çelik, Hüseyin Yılmaz Aruntaş, Şefik Taş,
Kübra Altunkaynak and Arzuhan Burcu Gültekin

Section 2
Sustainable Building Materials 163

Chapter 13 165
Sustainable Metakaolin-Based Geopolymer Concrete with Waste
Plastic Aggregate
by Wasan I. Khalil, Qais J. Frayyeh and Mahmood F. Ahmed

Chapter 14 179
Investigation of the Effect of Different Temperatures on the Mechanical
Strength of Industrial Heat-Treated Wood in Terms of Sustainability
by Şemsettin Kılınçarslan, Bilgin İçel and Yasemin Şimşek

Chapter 15 191
Experimental Investigation of 12 Molar Concentration of Activators’
Salinity on the Compressive Strength of Geopolymer Concrete
by Solomon Oyebisi, Anthony Ede and Festus Olutoge

Chapter 16 203
Examination of Mortars Exposed to High Temperatures Containing
Different Types of Aggregates
by Kenan Toklu, Osman Şimşek and Can Demirel

Chapter 17 211
Experimental Compression Tests on the Stability of Structural Steel
Tubular Props
by Ibrahim Al-Jumaili, Samer Barakat and Zaid A. Al-Sadoon

X
Chapter 18 221
Effects of Alkali Activator and High Curing Temperature on
Thermal Properties of Expanded Perlite-Based Thermal
Insulation Panels
by Gökhan Durmuş, Damla Nur Çelik and Ümit Ağbulut

Chapter 19 233
Predicting the 12 Molar Concentration of Activators’ pH and the
Compressive Strength of Geopolymer Concrete
by Solomon Oyebisi, Anthony Ede and Festus Olutoge

Chapter 20 245
Effect of Mechanical Properties of Cementitious Composites Having
Optimized Particle Size Distribution of F-Class Fly Ash
by İlhami Demir and Ahmet Filazi

Chapter 21 257
Structural Performance of Faced Calcutta Bamboo (Dendrocalamus strictus)
for Use in Joined Structural Assemblies
by Jonas Hauptman, Katie MacDonald, Kyle Schumann, Daniel Hindman
and Tom Hammett

Chapter 22 265
Investigation of the Engineering Properties of Micronized Zeolite
Replaced Mortars
by Semih Ceylan and Salih Yazıcıoğlu

Chapter 23 273
Effects of Treated Bamboo Fiber and Linseed Oil on the Physical
and Mechanical Properties of Unfired Clay Brick
by Aubin Fossouo and Alan Hoback

Chapter 24 285
Improving Microwave Heating Characteristic of Asphalt Binder by
Using Fly Ash
by Mert Atakan and Kürşat Yıldız

Chapter 25 295
A Comparative Study between Concrete Masonry Units (CMUs) and
Insulated Concrete Forms (ICFs)
by Nehal Atlam and Mukaddes Darwish

Chapter 26 303
Sustainability of Concrete Roads by Using Reclaimed Asphalt
Pavements
by Tayfun Uygunoğlu, İlker Bekir Topçu and Aytaç Ünverdi

Chapter 27 311
Drying Shrinkage and Permeability of Geopolymer Lightweight Aggregate
Concrete
by Ibtesam F. Nasser, Wasan I. Khalil and Waleed A. Abbas

XI
Chapter 28 323
Microstructure Properties of Sulfate-Effected Blast Furnace Slag Reinforced
Restoration Mortars
by Rüya Kılıç Demircan and Gökhan Kaplan

Section 3
Sustainable Urban Design 335

Chapter 29 337
Involuntary Relocation Process of Local People Due to Private Land
Development Projects: A Study of Eastern Fringe Area of Dhaka City
by S.M. Shah Mahmood and Md. Moynul Ahsan

Chapter 30 349
Sustainable Cultural and Natural Heritage-Oriented Spatial Strategic
Planning Process in a Development and Governance Model Proposal:
Example of Core Cappadocia Site
by Özlem Köşker, Arzuhan Burcu Gültekin, Gizem Hayrullahoğlu and Enis Yeter

Chapter 31 369
Rural Vernacular Architecture and Ancient Settlements: The Case of
Aphendrika in the Karpas Peninsula of Cyprus
by Marko Kiessel, Ahmet M. Saymanlier and Yasemin Mesda

Chapter 32 385
Eco-villages as a Sustainable Settlement Type: A Model Proposal for Turkey
by Murat Kuruoğlu, Selin Başcan Yüce, Kahraman Eskidemir, Gözde İrem Cebir,
Funda Yirmibeşoğlu and Nurkan Baykara

Chapter 33 405
Solar Cities as a Model in the Utilization of Renewable Energy Sources:
The Case of Manisa
by Ece Özmen, Tugberk Özmen and Funda Yirmibeşoğlu

Chapter 34 417
Resettlement of Slum Dwellers and Its Impact on Their Livelihood:
A Study of the Mandertola Housing in Gopalganj Municipality, Bangladesh
by Md. Sohel Sardar and Md. Moynul Ahsan

Chapter 35 429
Investigation of the Bayrampaşa Old Penitentiary Area-Urban
Transformation Project in Terms of Sustainability
by Mert Tolon, Andaç Erdem Çakır and Hasan Hüseyin Okur

Chapter 36 439
Importance of Planning and Process Management Methodology in
Sustainable Construction Projects
by Hayati Küçük and Hayati Yıldırım

Chapter 37 449
Building Infrastructure Through Programming and English Education
in Rural Japan
by Mary Frances Agnello, Naoko Araki and Florent Domenach

XII
Chapter 38 459
Miner’s Cities and Rehabilitation of Industrial Areas: Comparing Ruhr
and Zonguldak Region
by Nazlı Arslan and Funda Kerestecioğlu

Chapter 39 475
Location Selection for Penitentiary Institutions by VIKOR Method:
A Case Study
by Mürsel Erdal, Coşkun Çakmak and Ahmet Eren Kaşak

Chapter 40 489
Sustainable Urbanism: Plurality of Spaces
by M. Tawfique Rahman and Fauzia Rahman Mouri

Chapter 41 499
The Investigation of the Sustainability of the Existing Steel Pedestrian
Overpasses According to the New Steel Structure Regulation:
The Sample of Ankara City
by Gökhan Durmuş and Akın Ünal

Chapter 42 513
A Non-Conventional Spatial Intervention: Bamboo in a Modern
Architecture Campus
by Paula Cano Vergara and Caori Takeuchi

Chapter 43 525
Effects of Local Dynamics on City Branding: The Case of Gaziantep
Province
by Ali Acet

Chapter 44 537
Relation Between the Planning Decisions and Sustainability: Mersin Case
by Kadriye Burcu Yavuz Kumlu and Şule Tüdeş

Chapter 45 547
Adaptation Options for Tropical Rural Communities: A Case Study of
Kanshio, Benue State, Nigeria
by Becky M. Ohiaeri

Chapter 46 561
Entropy Value of Sustainable Property Design Criteria: To Start a Study
on Turkish REICs
by Ayşen Sanbur and Arzuhan Burcu Gültekin

Chapter 47 579
Urban Agriculture in the Context of Sustainable Landscape:
Case of Historic Yedikule Vegetable Gardens Agriculture Park Landscape
Project
by Oktan Nalbantoğlu

Chapter 48 591
Affordance-Based Placemaking and Incremental Neighborhood Renewal
by Tyler de la Plaine and Mukaddes Darwish

XIII
Chapter 49 601
Evaluation of Variables That Affect Urban Park User Preferences:
Ankara-Turkey Sample
by Arzuhan Burcu Gültekin and Aslı Dokucu

Section 4
Sustainability in Engineering Sciences 619

Chapter 50 621
Perceptual Structure and Pattern Modeling of Aftershock-Induced Landslides
by Omar F. Althuwaynee, Badal Pokharel, Ali Aydda and Sinan Jasim Hadi

Chapter 51 637
Comparing the Accuracy of Energy Prediction Models Based on Hourly
and Daily Mean Outdoor Temperature
by Merve Kuru and Gülben Çalış

Chapter 52 647
The Impact of Heat Transfer Fluids on the Sustainable Solutions for
Solar Power Tower
by Gülden Adıyaman, Levent Çolak and İlhami Horuz

Chapter 53 661
A Comparative Evaluation of Solar, Wind, and Biomass Energy in Terms of
Technical and Economic Aspects: Turkey Case
by Arzuhan Burcu Gültekin and Abdullah Murat Eser

Chapter 54 673
Analysis of Impact of Window Design Detail on Energy Demand Profile
of Typical Hotel
by John O. Onyango and Nea Maloo

Chapter 55 685
Estimation of Soil Erosion in the Drainage Basin of Cakmak Dam
by Murat Pınarlık and Zeliha Selek

Chapter 56 697
Evaluation of Tensile Strength of Different Mortar and Adhesive Specimens
Used in Masonry Wall Construction
by Yağmur Kopraman, Coşkun Çakmak and Anıl Özdemir

Chapter 57 709
The Effect of Pile-Head Boundary Conditions in Liquefiable Soil
by Pınar Sezin Öztürk Kardoğan and Nihat Sinan Işık

Chapter 58 719
Prediction of Monthly Streamflow Using Extreme Gradient Boosting
and Extreme Learning Machine
by Sinan Jasim Hadi, Arkan J. Hadi, Kamaran S. Ismail,
Mohammad Ali Ghorbani and Mustafa Tombul

Chapter 59 729
Effect of the Mold Size on the Compaction Parameters of the Soils
by Mustafa Özer and Ahmet Erdağ

XIV
Chapter 60 737
Evaluation of Energy Potential and Investment Costs of Solar Power Plants:
Case of Ankapark Parking Lot
by Ahmet Nazım Akkaya, Harun Varlı and Seyfettin Kurt

Section 5
Environmental Policies and Practices 747

Chapter 61 749
Data-Driven Food-Oriented Urban Development: A Framework Approach
for Greater Miami Utilizing Food Resilience Urban Infrastructural Tools
(FRUIT)
by James Brazil and Shruti Khandelwal

Chapter 62 763
Utilization of Construction and Demolition Wastes from Urban
Transformation in Terms of Sustainability
by Hüseyin Yılmaz Aruntaş, Melih Şahinöz and Mustafa Dayi

Chapter 63 779
Investigation of Energy-Efficient Facade Systems in the Context of Fire Safety
by Evser Civelek and Figen Beyhan

Chapter 64 793
Impact of Capital Flight on Economic Growth of Nigeria (1980–2014)
by Fatima Muhammad Lawal and Arzuhan Burcu Gültekin

Chapter 65 807
Sustainable Development after Disasters: The Case of Erbaa County
by Aşina Kübra Aslan, Ertuğrul Karagöl, Arzuhan Burcu Gültekin, Şefik Taş,
Emir Sunguroğlu, Zekeriya Çelik and Eren Adıgüzel

Chapter 66 821
Evaluation of Fire Safety Problems in Energy-Efficient Buildings
by Sevinç Çetin and Figen Beyhan

Chapter 67 835
Fire Performance of Sustainable Materials Made from Renewable Sources
by Sameer Hamoush, Ahmed Cherif Megri, Rasul Pasha
and Sajjad Sayyar Roudsari

Chapter 68 843
Comparison of Design Criteria of BREEAM and LEED Certification
in the Context of Healthcare Buildings
by Sevil Jahed and Cüneyt Kurtay

Chapter 69 855
Sustainable Buildings from the Perspective Environmental Bioethics
by Nesrin Çobanoğlu

Chapter 70 863
Sustainable Urban Design and Urban Empires
by Hulki Cevizoğlu

XV
 Preface

To introduce and discuss future-oriented previsions, and to provide new

expansions and horizons on sustainable buildings, International Sustainable
Buildings Symposium (ISBS 2010) was first organized in May 2010 in Ankara,
Turkey, as an output of a European Union Leonardo da Vinci Lifelong Learning
Mobility Project (www.isbs.gazi.edu.tr). With the idea of making the symposium a
regular organization, ISBS 2015 was organized in May 2015 in Ankara, Turkey
(www.isbs2015.gazi.edu.tr) and ISBS 2017 in March 2017 in Dubai, United Arab
Emirates (www.isbs2017.gazi.edu.tr).

The 4th International Sustainable Buildings Symposium (ISBS 2019) (www.

isbs2019.gazi.edu.tr) was held on July 18–20, 2019 in the City of Dallas, Texas, USA,
in cooperation with Texas Tech University, Texas A&M University-Commerce,
Ankara University, and Gazi University and in collaboration with the American
Institute of Architects Dallas Chapter (AIA Dallas), and the US Green Building
Council North Texas Chapter (USGBC North Texas). The North Texas Sustainable
Showcase (NTSS 2019), co-organized regularly by AIA Dallas and USGBC North
Texas every year, hosted the ISBS 2019 special this year.

The participation of over 150 attendees from 20 different countries (Turkey, USA,
UK, France, Japan, Morocco, United Arab Emirates, Sweden, Republic of Korea,
Colombia, Nepal, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, Trinidad and Tobago, Cameroon, North
Cyprus, Bangladesh, and Pakistan) was implemented in ISBS 2019 and NTSS 2019.
The participant spectrum included, but was not limited to: academicians, presenters
from profit and non-profit organizations, local and state authorities, consultants,
and news agencies. In this context, the symposium brought together researchers,
academic institutions, organizations, companies, municipalities, government bod-
ies, non-governmental organizations, and other official and private institutional
authorities operating in environmental technology and building sectors from the
USA, Turkey, and the rest of the world. In addition, an exciting discussion and
collaboration platform and forum in the fields of “sustainable building design,”
“sustainable building materials,” “sustainable urban design,” “sustainability in
engineering sciences,” and “environmental policies and practices,” which are cross-
cutting and multidisciplinary issues that concern all humanity, were created.

The symposium was held in parallel sessions for two full days. During the sym-
posium, 111 presentations, including 68 face-to-face presentations, 40 video
presentations, and 3 conference calls, were made with national and international
participants. In one of the parallel sessions, a live broadcast connection was
established with Turkey Tele1 TV. In another parallel session, the CEO of Global
GreenTag Americas Daniel A. Huard held a workshop on a sustainability rating
system “Well Building Standards.” In addition, North Texas Sustainability Showcase
(NTSS 2019) was held by AIA Dallas and the USGBC North Texas Chapter with
keynote speakers and a mobile vehicle for the use of sustainable building materials.

First time this year, the “ISBS 2019 Sustainability Award-Best Sustainable Practices
Competition” was organized as part of the symposium program and is planned to
be a tradition for all future ISBS symposiums. The jury consisted of sustainability
experts from Texas Tech University, Texas A&M University-Commerce, American
Institute of Architects-AIA Dallas Chapter, US Green Building Council-USGBC
North Texas Chapter, Ankara University, and Gazi University. The first prize in 15
categories and three Special Jury Awards were presented.

We hope that the ISBS 2019 event was worthwhile for the scientific world, and we
extend our warm thanks to the contributing authors, keynote speakers, sponsors,
supporters, the international and local organizing committees, the international
scientific committee, and symposium secretariat for their participation and
contributions.

Symposium Chair Committee

Arzuhan Burcu Gültekin

Ankara University, Turkey

Yılmaz Aruntaş
Gazi University, Turkey

Mukaddes Darwish
Texas Tech University, USA

Burçhan Aydın
Texas A&M University-Commerce, USA

XVIII
 Section 1

Sustainable Building
Design

1
Chapter 1

A Human-Centric Qualitative
Analysis of Electric and
Daylighting Interventions in
Workplace Buildings
Abimbola O. Asojo, Hoa Vo and Suyeon Bae

Abstract

Current literature highlights the importance of human-centric lighting (HCL)

design interventions in the built environment that move beyond energy-centric
approaches and focus on occupant satisfaction, health, and well-being. A Midwest
University interdisciplinary team conducts an evidence-based analysis of occu-
pants’ satisfaction, health, and well-being in state-funded buildings using the
Sustainable post-occupancy evaluation survey (SPOES) and provides suggestions
for improvements. SPOES is an online-administered questionnaire with a seven-
point satisfaction-Likert-scale (very dissatisfied to very satisfied) and open-ended
questions regarding occupants’ satisfaction with indoor environmental quality
(IEQ ) factors including daylighting and electric lighting. The authors present a
thematic qualitative analysis of the impact of daylighting and electric lighting
on occupants (N = 2690) in 13 workplace buildings surveyed from 2009 to 2017.
Three themes were derived from the data. First, insufficient access to daylighting and
view, respondents reported the lack of daylight and outdoor views due to isolated
office-spaces and lack of windows. Second, inadequate control of electric lighting,
respondents reported automatic lighting systems failed to meet task-specific needs
while demanding excessive adjustments. Third, poor integration between daylighting
and electric lighting, respondents preferred warmer color temperature lighting to
cooler fluorescent lighting and reported amount of contrasts between daylighting
and electric lighting caused eyestrains and migraines.

Keywords: human-centric, daylighting, electric lighting, well-being, workplace

1. Introduction

Human-centric lighting (HCL) is an approach to lighting that considers

occupants’ needs for visuality, biology, and emotion in design [1]. In techni-
cal terms, HCL involves daylighting and dimmable electric lighting with large
warm-to-cool color-changing-range (i.e., tunable LED). Especially, researchers at
Harvard School of Medicine formed the Human Centric Lighting Committee as
a way to acknowledge the significance of HCL to human well-being [2]. Current
literature also highlights the importance of HCL design interventions in the
built environment that move beyond energy-centric approaches and focus on

3
ISBS 2019 - 4th International Sustainable Buildings Symposium

occupants’ satisfaction, health, and well-being [3]. General concerns for the lack
of HCL design interventions include disturbed circadian rhythm, affected mood,
reduced visual acuity, and declined productivity. While changes in dopamine,
serotonin, and cortisol lead to these negative impacts, the indoor lighting patterns
that influence human metabolism should be held accountable [4]. A University
of Minnesota interdisciplinary team, hence, conducts an evidence-based analysis
of occupants’ satisfaction/visuality, health/biology, and well-being/emotion in
state-funded buildings using the Sustainable post-occupancy evaluation survey
(SPOES) and provides suggestions for improvements in the built environment.
The team focuses on the workplace where HCL-related concerns found in the
literature review are most prominent. Overall, the findings resonate well with
the literature on human-centric lighting design, which reinforces the importance
of daylighting accessibility, personal-adjustability of lighting conditions, and
integration of daylighting and electric lighting [5–8]. This chapter discusses the
data-driven themes and explores potential HCL remedies to improve satisfaction
and efficiency in the workplace.

2. Background—sustainable post-occupancy evaluation survey

Historically, humans spent 90% of their time outdoors with high daylighting-
exposure. More recently, humans now spend 90% of time indoor with major
electric-lighting-exposure. This change has disrupted humans (building occupants)
from the ever-changing intensity and correlated color temperature (CCT) of
sunlight (Figure 1). The human body is responsive to sky-reflected-daylight at
10,000 K and above which evoke dopamine, serotonin, and cortisol while control-
ing melatonin. In short, human stays awake, attentive, and productive instead of
relaxing and sleeping. A general rule is to aim for higher correlated color tempature
(CCT) while designing electric lighting. Nevertheless, indoor lighting deviates
from the variances in CCT of daylighting. HCL design interventions, thus, are
task-driven, environment- and time-dependent not just specifying illuminance and
CCT. A checklist for designing HCL interventions includes task-related demands,
spatial conditions, architectural restrictions, occupants’ professional, physiologi-
cal, and psychological needs. Once implemented, instructions for operating HCL
interventions should be available for the occupants to access [1, 4, 9].
Electric lighting uniformity in common practice also discourages photosensi-
tive retinal ganglion cells (ipRGC), thus reduces alertness and productivity. In the
workplaces, which value these abilities, this fact is a major concern. As architects
and interior designers reinvent the workplace, they are acknowledging “we’ve for-
gotten that we’re designing for people” and directed attention to human-centric and
data-driven applications of electric lighting [10]. Designers and architects should
expand their focus beyond energy-centric concerns to a broader perspective of
occupants’ life quality, satisfaction, and psycho-physiological well-being. Therefore,
they need to take into consideration the “ingredients of human-driven design” such
as individual preferences for daylighting in terms of physiology, diurnal circle,
seasons, and other demographic elements (i.e., culture, social contexts, etc.) [11].

Figure 1.
Human circadian rhythm in terms of light intensity and CCT. Authors created based on [1].

4
A Human-Centric Qualitative Analysis of Electric and Daylighting Interventions in Workplace…
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.87836

A 2011 workplace survey of Union Investment—German financial cooperation,

showed lighting as the top priority to occupants. Acoustic, technology, indoor
climate, ergonomic furniture, ventilation, and decoration came after, repsectively.
One of the prominent approaches to HCL is giving occupants in workplace control
over electric lighting. Being able to adjust the direction, intensity, and tone evokes
positive emotion, improve satisfaction and productivity. Manufacturers like Philips,
the eminent Dutch electric company, offer dimmable warm-white-light fluorescent
lamps that mimics daylight. They suggested CCT is 5000–6500 K instead of the tra-
ditional 3000–3500 K. For LED lamps, the range is 6000–8000 K to reproduce the
blue-content of daylight reflected from the sky. These manufacturers’ approaches,
however, have not gone under the peer-reviewed-process, thus need further support
for their stand over common practices [2, 12].
Cognitive test and surveys taken by occupants in 10 office buildings in 5 cities
in the United States (n = 109) revealed insights regarding occupant health and
environmental perceptions. Improvements in indoor environmental quality (IEQ )
categories associated with better health outcomes. In green-certified buildings (i.e.,
high-rated IEQ categories), occupants outperformed on cognitive function tests
(with annual earnings, job category, and level of schooling controlled) and reduced
in sick building symptoms than those in non-certified buildings. Among measur-
able IEQ factors, the benefits of lighting stood out. Daylighting and electrical light
quality in green-certified buildings helped occupants have better sleep and cogni-
tive function scores [13]. Data collection instruments such as Sustainable post-
occupancy evaluation survey (SPOES), hence, become important. IEQ study with
participants in Spain, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Finland, France, Hungary, and The
Netherlands (n = 6116) found that lighting was highly associated with occupants’
comfort. The implication was a mindful consideration of occupant and building
characteristics to create a healthier and more comfortable workplace. Occupants’
perception of indoor lighting conditions affected their comfort, and consequently
their health, well-being, and productivity. Thus, they provided the best informa-
tion for occupant needs and comfort requirements. Findings indicated natural light
was the foremost factor contributing to light quality followed by artificial light
and glare. Especially, level of daylight in the workplace helped improve occupants’
comfort and mood while appropriate amount of electric light determined visual
acuity. However, providing healthy and comfortable light in the workplace remains
a challenge [14].
Developed by a University of Minnesota interdisciplinary team, SPOES assesses
occupants’ satisfaction in buildings, recognizes effective interventions, and guides
improvements with data-driven evidence. SPOES is an Internet-based question-
naire administered via Qualtrics. From 2009 to 2017, SPOES has collected data
from occupants (N = 4205) in 43 buildings including workplaces (i.e., offices),
classrooms, and residence halls. All complied to the B3 benchmark program which
promotes sustainable design and energy efficiency in State-funded buildings in
Minnesota. This chapter only discusses the SPOES results in 13 workplace-buildings
(N = 2690). For instance, Clinics and Surgery Center (CSC) of University of
Minnesota Physicians (UMP) (Figure 2), is a five-story, 332,240 gross square
feet building of clinics, outpatient surgery, and cancer treatment areas. The staff
included medical, human resource, facility, maintenance, and support personnel.
Data collection centered in the primary workspaces of private and shared touch-
down spaces, collaboration spaces, nursing stations, sessioning areas, reception
areas, concierge area, control areas, etc. Another example was North Hennepin
Community College, Bio-Sciences and Health Careers Center (NHCC-BHCC)
(Figure 3), a two-story 64,284 square feet building that includes classrooms,
laboratories, and offices. Data collection focused on the 3940 square foot workplace

5
ISBS 2019 - 4th International Sustainable Buildings Symposium

Figure 2.
University of Minnesota Physicians (UMP), Clinics and Surgery Center (CSC), Image © UMP.

Figure 3.
North Hennepin Community College, Bio-Sciences and Health Careers Center (NHCC-BHCC), Photography
2014 © Corey Gaffer, Perkins + Will.

with private offices, enclosed shared offices, workstations of low/high-partition

cubicles, no-partition desks in open areas, and lab work areas. Designated tasks of
the staff were administrative and academic support to students.
SPOES identifies IEQ categories that contribute to occupant satisfaction, health
and well-being such as acoustic conditions, indoor air quality, personal adjustability,
daylighting, and electric lighting. Occupants’ responses reflected their perception
of the building’s physical environment on their work performance and health.

6
A Human-Centric Qualitative Analysis of Electric and Daylighting Interventions in Workplace…
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.87836

Lighting, among other IEQ categories, is highly predictive for occupants’ satisfac-
tion and performance. Each IEQ category consists of two levels of criteria: an overall
one and correspondent specific attributes. SPOES addresses both overall daylighting
condition and overall electric light condition. Correspondent attributes are as follow
amount and adjustability of daylighting; amount and adjustability of general and
task-based electric lighting. All categorical items in SPOES questionnaire has been
tested for validity (the extend to which data supports result-interpetations) and
reliability (consistency of findings).

3. Data collection

The authors present the thematic qualitative analysis of occupants (N = 2690)

in 13 workplace buildings and discuss the impact of daylighting and electric light-
ing on occupants’ satisfaction, health, and well-being. In the SPOES Qualtrics
questionnaire, occupants used a Likert-type scale from 1 (very dissatisfied) to 7
(very satisfied) to rate their level of satisfaction of their workplace regarding 12
IEQ categories. The IEQ categories are acoustic quality, appearance, cleaning and
maintenance, daylighting conditions, electric lighting conditions, furnishings,
indoor air quality, privacy, technology, therma conditions, vibraton and movement,
and view conditions. This chapter focuses only on daylighting and electric lighting.
Occupants also rated the influence of physical workplace environment on their
performance and health from 1 (hinders) to 7 (enhances). Furthermore, there were
open-ended questions regarding their satisfaction with daylighting and electric
lighting. Occupants, therefore, had the opportunity to raise specific concerns on the
overall quality of lighting and their correspondent attributes. The authors col-
lected occupants’ open-ended responses from Qualtrics questionnaire and created
a Nvivo-script-formatted Word document. Headings and word styles separated
questions from responses and sorted inputs of different occupants. A total of 2441
words of the typed responses went into NVivo. To explore potential categories, the
authors first run word-frequency query across the document. Words with highest
frequencies and related meanings, as shown in the word cloud (Figure 4), became
20 categories. The authors then manually assigned related quotes to each category,
analyzed similarities and differences, and grouped them into three main themes:
light accessibility, control, and integration.

Figure 4.
Word cloud for high-frequency terms in SPOES open-ended answers. Created by authors in NVivo.

4. Findings

The open-ended responses strongly associated with specific attributes such as

the amount, color, and adjustability of daylighting and electric lighting (Figure 5).
Below are three prominent themes that contained these attributes and selected
coressponding quotes.

7
ISBS 2019 - 4th International Sustainable Buildings Symposium

Figure 5.
Diagrammatic themes with quotes. Visualized by authors.

First, insufficient access to daylighting and view, respondents reported the lack of
natural lighting and outdoor views due to isolated office-spaces and the absence of
windows.

• “There are no windows in the office, which kind of sucks the soul out of you
after 5 days with fulltime hours.”

• “There is not enough natural light in any of the staff offices. The building
should have been constructed with more windows and accessibility of staff to
natural light in the private office areas.”

• “I get zero natural light from my perspective, since moving into this office
space, I’ve had my doctor recommend 2000 IU daily to boost my vitamin D,
which had been normal, but dropped to very low levels this year.”

• “The collaboration spaces have no windows or views of the outside. By the

time I start work, and end my shift, I feel like I’ve been sitting in a closet all day
since there’s no windows to look out of. I only see natural light when I go to get
patients to room them, or when I take my lunch break. It would be nice to post
pictures up at desks of family members or pets to brighten up the rooms.”

Second, inadequate control of electric lighting, respondents reported the automatic

lighting systems failed to meet their task-specific needs (e.g., glare, harsh, and
shadow) while demanding excessive adjustments (e.g., large movements, continu-
ous reoperations of sensor lights).

• “The daylight coming in through the windows is great but the electric lighting sys-
tem is very annoying. We have an automated ceiling light in our lab that has never
worked properly. Some lights never turn off. Other lights turn on when you’d
prefer them to stay off. The sensors don’t seem to work properly. On the weekends
when I am the only person here, all the lights come on and I go around manually
turning them off because the daylight is enough. I’d much prefer switches.”

• “The lighting adjusts automatically but it seems to think when it is cloudy and
raining that it is evening, and the lighting goes dimmer when in fact we need
it brighter. Some of the lab techs adjust their individual rooms to be very dim,
patients wonder how they can see to do their job.”

8
A Human-Centric Qualitative Analysis of Electric and Daylighting Interventions in Workplace…
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.87836

• “Timer only setting on our research bench lighting is very difficult to use. Light
does not stay on for long and the sensors aren't sensitive. We frequently lose
lighting mid-experiment and have to wave our hands around to activate it. It
would be great if they could either be left on, are more sensitive, or take longer
to turn off. The work area lighting (under shelf lighting) is also very annoying.
There is exactly one switch and different ideas about whether it is helpful or
not. I prefer no undershelf lighting but if I turn mine off, my neighbor can’t
use theirs. Also, for those that like their lights, the lights seem to burn out very
frequently. It would also be nice to have the option to add work lighting in some
of the alcoves where there is poor visibility.”

• “A problem we have in our office is that during the legislative session we often
work many long hours into the night and on weekends, but the main light
switch for our office is timed to go out after 5 pm. We have ‘fixed’ this problem
by bringing in an extra floor lamp, but it provides relatively little light and
we feel we are working in a cave-like atmosphere after 5 and on weekends.
The alternative is to keep going to the door to turn on the light, which lasts a
relatively short time, and wastes our time. Or we could buy more lamps. Or,
someone could fix the timer on the main light switch so it stays on like it does
during the day.”

Third, poor integration of daylighting and electric lighting, respondents preferred

warmer color temperature lighting to fluorescent lighting and reported amount of
contrasts between daylighting and electric lighting caused eyestrains and migraines.

• “I wish there were more windows, or the lighting was warmer and less
fluorescent.”

Figure 6.
Discrepancies between daylight and electric lighting. Visualized © authors.

9
ISBS 2019 - 4th International Sustainable Buildings Symposium

• “The overhead fluorescent lighting is way too harsh and I get migraines, so I
had to bring in lamps to use instead.”

• “The electric lighting in my office usually makes my eyes hurt and I end up
with headaches, so I have added lamps to my office so that I have some warm
lighting that does not hurt my eyes.”

• “The sun comes right into our office in the afternoon, and when we work on
our laptops it creates a terrible glare. There aren’t blinds in our office.”

The overall finding (Figure 6) resonates well with the literature on HCL
design interventions, which reinforces the importance of daylighting accessibility,
personal-adjustability of lighting conditions, and interactions between daylighting
and electric lighting [5–8].

5. Conclusion

Current literature and SPOES findings support the importance of human-

centric lighting design interventions in the built environment. Lighting is
considered as the primary environmental time cue for synchronizing human cir-
cadian rhythm. Hence, there is a need to move beyond energy-centric approaches
and consider daylighting and electric lighting design from the perspective of
occupants’ quality of life, satisfaction, and well-being. Accordingly, the built
environment should be designed to support the human circadian clock through
blue light exposure in the day and a reduction of blue light exposure in the
evening to enrich the overall well-being and promote healthy sleep pattern, thus
benefitting human health. The literature review also highlights the importance
of daylighting design strategies, lighting controls and post-occupancy evalu-
ations as the key drivers in designing HCL interventions for occupants’ health
and well-being in the built environment. Based on the analysis of SPOES over
an 8-year-period, a future direction is to include qualitative approaches using
participatory methods such as consultations, workshops, focus groups to explore
occupant satisfaction, and well-being, so these findings can be used to guide
policy. Another recommendation is to consider integrating physical measure-
ments to study daylighting and electric lighting in the post-occupancy evaluation
process. Additional data such about work plane illuminance; visual comfort
(avoiding discomfort glare); non-visual effects of light (circadian rhythms
impact and cognitive function); and occupant behavior can be collected to help
inform HCL quality decisions.

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by a United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)

National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) grant and the University of
Minnesota Agriculture Research and Extension (AES) program.

Conflict of interest

The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the author-
ship and/or publication of this article.

10
A Human-Centric Qualitative Analysis of Electric and Daylighting Interventions in Workplace…
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.87836

Author details

Abimbola O. Asojo1*, Hoa Vo1 and Suyeon Bae2

1 Department of Design, Housing, and Apparel, University of Minnesota,

Minnesota, USA

2 Department of Architectural Studies, University of Missouri, Columbia, USA

*Address all correspondence to: aasojo@umn.edu

© 2019 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms
of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/
by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is properly cited.

11
ISBS 2019 - 4th International Sustainable Buildings Symposium
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Chapter 2

Net-Zero High-Rise Buildings for

Sustainable Vertical Urbanism:
Lessons from Pertamina Energy
Tower
Semra Arslan Selçuk and Hüseyin Emre Ilgın

Abstract

Cities are growing exponentially. The “energy issue” consumed in cities and
particularly in the built environment is one of the most important issues of this cen-
tury. Especially, high-rise buildings as key elements of vertical urbanism are gaining
more attention by designers, investors, and conductors since they are affecting,
changing, and transforming the environment considerably. Thus, new concepts,
design approaches, and implementations for sustainability are becoming important
research areas in architecture. In this context, this chapter presents a discussion on
sustainable vertical urbanism and energy efficient high-rise buildings. To exemplify
these discussions, Pertamina Energy Tower (Jakarta, Indonesia) is chosen as a case
study designed by Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill (SOM). Results show that the
tower is a net zero energy building designed to operate the building with on-site
renewable energy providing more than 100% of the energy required. Pertamina
Energy Tower proved that there are numerous approaches to mitigate the energy
use to satisfy the comfort criteria in a building. The combination of numerous
passive design approaches could be integrated into a high-rise building based on the
site condition, building orientation, and local climatic conditions. Conclusively, this
building has the potential to change our outlook towards the “vertical urbanism”
regarding energy efficiency.

Keywords: urbanism, sustainable vertical urbanism, high-rise buildings,

net-zero high-rise buildings, Pertamina Energy Tower

1. Introduction

With nearly 70% of the populace residing in cities, the world’s population is
projected to grow from 7 billion to more than 9 billion by 2050 [1, 2]. Due to this
change and transformation, the trend to design and build more vertical cities are
becoming more suitable for changing lifestyles, economics, and urbanization [3, 4].
When one of the most significant issues of this century is thought to be the “energy
issue” consumed in the built environment, the discussion of the concept of “sustain-
able vertical urbanism” [5–8] is gaining more importance. High-rise buildings as key
to the vertical cities affect and changes/transform the environment noticeably. They
are not only complex systems or esthetic objects, but they also have an important

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ISBS 2019 - 4th International Sustainable Buildings Symposium

place in the life of a city with their impacts through their transformative powers [7, 8].
Therefore, new concepts, design approaches, and implementations like sustainability,
eco-friendly, environmentally friendly buildings, ecomimetic, biomimetic, energy
efficient structures, and façades are becoming important research areas in architec-
ture as well as in other related disciplines [9–11].
In this context, this chapter starts with a discussion on sustainable verti-
cal urbanism and net-zero high-rise buildings. To exemplify these discussions,
Pertamina Energy Tower (Jakarta, Indonesia) is chosen as a case study designed
by SOM [12, 13]. The structural system of the tower employs structural steel,
reinforced concrete, and composite to resist both gravity and lateral loads—namely,
seismic and wind loads—and to meet serviceability criteria as well [14]. The Tower’s
structural system is an outriggered frame system with composite construction
which comprises a reinforced concrete core, composite perimeter columns, 3-level
of steel outriggers, and belt trusses located every 30-story [15, 16]. This 99-story
structure with a height of 530 m, provides many lessons on the design of energy
efficient, low construction waste, having more natural light and carbon-neutral
buildings so-called “net-zero energy buildings” [17].
The results show that Pertamina Tower, a net zero energy building designed to
operate the building with on-site renewable energy providing more than 100% of
the energy required [15]. This performance has been achieved by reducing energy
demand through a combination of active and passive strategies. Especially, with
the geothermal field located beneath the building and use heat exchangers to
extract energy for electricity generation and cooling from the 150°C energy source
is seen as a distinctive implementation [15–17]. Furthermore, as a passive strategy,
the high-performance façade that allows daylight penetration while at the same
time minimizing cooling loads through optimized glazing and specially designed
external shading components have been found valuable. Similarly, high-efficiency
ventilating and LED lighting fixtures, air conditioning system, occupancy sensors
that automatically dim and/or switch off luminaires, a demand-controlled ventila-
tion system that provides the precise quantity of fresh outside air to meet occupant
needs, a regenerative system that recovers energy during the braking cycle of the
elevators, and double enthalpy wheels in the outside air-handling units that recover
otherwise wasted energy [12–17]. At the end of the research, it is concluded that
the use of recent technologies helped designers understand the holistic approaches
aimed at early design stages of the project. It is also possible to highlight that such
complex and challenging buildings should be designed in high-level cooperation
with all stakeholders where coordination can only be done in a Building Information
Modeling (BIM) environment.

2. Energy issue in built environments and towards a sustainable vertical

urbanism

Today, more than half of the world population lives in urban environments,
where more than 70% of greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions have been globally
generated. According to the UN report, the current world population of 7.3 billion
is projected to reach up to 8.5 billion and 9.7 billion by 2030 and 2050, respectively
[18] (Figure 1). Nearly 3.5 billion m2 of building floor area will be newly con-
structed and 2 billion m2 of buildings will be reconstructed as a replacement of
older building stock in urban environment globally, each year from 2013 till 2025.
By 2030, over 80 billion m2 of buildings will be newly constructed and recon-
structed in an urban environment worldwide, an area approximately equal to 60%
of the total global building stock.

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Net-Zero High-Rise Buildings for Sustainable Vertical Urbanism: Lessons from Pertamina…
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.87836

Figure 1.
Projected world population [21].

The built environment including the building and transportation industries plays
a vital role in resource utilization and environmental effects. Almost 36% of global
final energy consumption and 40% of total direct and indirect CO2 emissions result
from the buildings and buildings construction industries together. Furthermore, in
the same report, it is claimed that, “energy demand from buildings and buildings
construction continues to rise, driven by improved access to energy in developing
countries, greater ownership and use of energy-consuming devices, and rapid growth
in global buildings floor area, at nearly 3% per year” [19]. Moreover, the final energy
consumption of these industries is expected to grow between 20 and 44% from 2009
till 2035 for climate mitigation and business-as-usual scenarios, respectively [20].
Sustainability has been “the topic” across all disciplines over the last few decades.
As probably one of the most (mis)used, abused subject of the twenty-first century;
businessmen, politicians, scientists, and the people from technology sectors discuss
“sustainability” [22]. Sustainable design approach aims to improve the indoor and
outdoor of environmental quality by diminishing adverse effects on both building
and the natural environment [23]. In addition to this, it is a design philosophy that
the searches are conducted to integrate the sustainable development concept regard-
ing initiatives and values into sustainable building envelope design [24].
In order to meet the demands of growing populations with different lifestyles, cities
of today have shown a tendency to expand in all possible directions [18]. Moreover, in
many cities and downtowns in the world, it is unavoidable to expand vertically due to
the lack of land. Since more and more cities becoming taller and denser, much more
attention is required to improve the quality of indoor and outdoor spaces by diminish-
ing adverse effects built environment. As when the sustainability issue comes to the
forefront, the better treatment of the environment and the sources (particularly climatic
data, water, and energy), the better use of proper technologies, reducing the undesirable
effect on the environment, planning the recycling process (water, waste, etc.) employ-
ing suitable materials could be the first components.
Anderson et al. [20] state that energy use and sustainability issues should be
evaluated in two main scales: building and urban scale. Energy use in the built

15
ISBS 2019 - 4th International Sustainable Buildings Symposium

environment at the building scale can be summarized as follows: materials,

architectural design, operational systems, structural systems, construction, and analy-
sis methods. McLennan [23] identifies sustainable building design strategies as
day-lighting, indoor air quality, passive solar heating, natural ventilation, energy
efficiency, embodied energy, construction waste minimization, water preserva-
tion, and renewable energy [23]. Flowingly, the second scale of analysis, the urban
scale, focuses on entire systems (urban form, density, transportation, infrastruc-
ture, consumption, and analysis methods) within the built environment rather
than individual elements such as buildings [20].
There is no doubt that high-rise buildings have been generating the architec-
tural language/identity of metropolises of the twenty-first century. As a symbol of
power and prestigious, high-rise buildings accommodating thousands of people are
the center of business and economics. Since they are responsible for huge energy
consumption and an enormous amount of waste discharge into the environment,
high-rise buildings deserve more attention to fill the gap between the building and
urban scale in the sense of energy usage and sustainability.
In the late nineteenth century, high-rise buildings emerged in the United States
for using dense urban land in an effective way. As an architectural phenomenon,
high-rise buildings were the results of technological developments particularly in
structural systems, constructional materials, facades solutions, and lifting tech-
nologies. Today, these buildings are raising not only parallel with the cutting-edge
technologies but also in harmony with the socio-economic and cultural needs of
the cities. Supported by rapid economic growth, major cities in Asia and the Middle
East have been demonstrating the new generation of high-rise buildings with an
awareness of environmental issues.
Since high-rise buildings are among the most energy consumers of the built
environment, architect and all stakeholders are questing for more efficient
design solutions concerning sustainable building materials, renewable energy
sources, structural optimization, etc. As a result of these researches, clean
technologies are merged to achieve the greenest high-rises the world has seen.
For instance, nearly 80% of the structure of New York City’s Hearst Tower
(Figure 2) is made from recycled steel. Furthermore, the diamond-like shape
of the steel support beams allows less material compared with the same level of
structure. Additionally, the tower uses rainwater for half of its need by treat-
ing and redirecting resources to irrigate plants and provide for a nifty water
sculpture at the entrance of the building [25]. Similarly, the Pearl River Tower
(Guangzhou, China) (Figure 2) is a performative high-rise building with its
structural system, effective building skin, and production of green energy via
integration of wind tribunes [26]. As one of the tallest buildings in the world,
Shanghai Tower (Figure 2) with its 632 m height boasts several sustainable
strategies with renewable energy sources, landscape to aid cool the building,
and its distinctive form and structure contributing the improvement of the
wind resistance of the tower [27]. These strategies have made a reduction in the
total energy consumption by 21%, slash its carbon footprint by an estimated
37,000 metric tons yearly, and save US$58 million in material costs [28, 29].
With the increasing awareness among designers, users, investors, and so-called
the stakeholders of the construction industry, quality and quantity of examples
are increasing day by day.
Among these examples, the Pertamina Tower has a special place as the project’s
goal of generating 25% of its total energy portfolio is from renewable resources.
This rate will be a very critical achievement in a high-rise building. Therefore,
the design approaches of the tower deserve much more attention to its pioneering
properties.

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Net-Zero High-Rise Buildings for Sustainable Vertical Urbanism: Lessons from Pertamina…
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.87836

Figure 2.
Hearst Tower by Norman Foster [29]; Pearl River Tower by SOM [30]; Shanghai Tower by SOM [31].

3. Lessons from Pertamina Tower

Located in Jakarta, Indonesia, the Pertamina Campus is an innovative and

dynamic campus designed by SOM mainly composed of a pavilion with optimized
solar shading and roof photovoltaic panels (Figure 3), a central energy plant with
geothermal energy (under consideration), Pertamina Energy Tower (99 floor) with
wind tribunes (Figure 4), a public mosque with passive cooling and thermal mass, a
solar-paneled roof walkway called “Energy Ribbon” [14, 32]. This will be clad in pho-
tovoltaic panels producing energy and providing weather protection. The walkway
will connect campuses, land bridges, and gardens to provide accessible public space.
Sustainable strategies, particularly energy concerns, are the primary driving
force behind the architectural design of Pertamina Campus, where SOM’s design
approach provides integration among architectural, structural, and sustainable
design considerations to accomplish “zero energy target” owing to utilization of
on-site energy from sun, wind, and geothermal sources [14, 34]. As the primary
renewable energy source, Indonesia has 40% of the world’s potential geothermal
resources thanks to its 400+ volcanoes [35]. SOM stated that there will a geothermal

Figure 3.
Pertamina Campus [32] (leftmost); Pertamina Energy Tower with wind tribunes [32, 33].

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ISBS 2019 - 4th International Sustainable Buildings Symposium

Figure 4.
The tower form and orientation according to wind (left); vertical axis wind turbines in Pertamina Energy
Tower (right) [32].

power plant as the energy generation hub. Furthermore, another goal of the project
is “zero water discharge” in order to diminish necessary water consumption for the
fixtures and related systems and to recycle the water from alternative sources [32].
As a modern green building, the sustainable design strategies of Pertamina
Energy Tower targeting net-zero energy is mainly based on harvesting wind power
and solar control as well. The tower is formed and oriented by taking into consider-
ation of wind and sun. Acting as a giant wind farm, Pertamina Tower with vertical
axis wind turbines utilizes the prevailing wind to generate electricity rather than
mitigate or get rid of its impact as in the case of ordinary tall buildings. Thanks to
the optimized wind funnel located at gently tapering crown-shaped architectural
top, wind through the upper floors can be augmented over the turbines to produce
more energy for compensating up to 25% of tower’s energy need [36] (Figure 4).
On the other hand, in order to provide solar control in terms of heat gain, glare,
and daylight as well; static exterior fins, 657 of which were tested according to
5 parameters, and automated interior blinds are employed through the building
curved façade. Owing to the combined utilization of these elements [32]:

• Solar radiation and solar heat gain are blocked,

• Intolerable glare experienced by the users has reached a reasonable level,

• More daylight is transmitted,

• Energy need for lighting and cooling are dramatically decreased, and so

• Visual comfort and improvement of the workplace environment are guaranteed.

Thanks to the sustainable strategy combination including collected, treated

on-site, and reusing rainwater, gray water, black water, and condensate; the need
for campus potable water could be decreased by 66%, the overall sanitary discharge
by 95%, and finally the stormwater runoff from the site by 100%. Sádaba [32] states
that as a result of this design strategies, the proposed energy consumption (mWh)
of the whole campus is 30% less than the baseline energy consumption (Figure 5)
[32]. Similarly, planned on-site generation (mWh) is more than (106%) proposed.
With this ratio, this tower will be the first zero-energy high-rise building.
All these design approaches result with an innovative solution that carried
Pertamina Tower to a special place in architecture.

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Net-Zero High-Rise Buildings for Sustainable Vertical Urbanism: Lessons from Pertamina…
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.87836

Figure 5.
Simulation results of energy efficiency [32].

4. Discussions and results

Throughout history, cities have been at the heart of human development and
technological advancements. Today, cities are growing much faster—bigger, higher
and denser—than they did before. The population living in urban areas is growing
exponentially and adequate energy for the growing population need to be sup-
plied. Without adequate energy, there would be no clean water, there will be a food
shortage and no shelter. In the end, we may come up with the darkest scenarios. Yet,
there are always solutions that human being develops. Option one is to keep going
what we are doing. Option two is creating nuclear energy with hazardous pollutants
and wastes, which is extremely dangerous and never goes away thousands of years.
And the last option is to shift our outlook on energy production and consumption.
We can keep up with the exponentially growing population by only becoming more
energy efficient. We can solve the problem by reducing or eliminating our demand
from the electrical grid. The consumers of energy have been already identified as
“buildings”. Research conducted by the United Nations Environment Programme
(UNEP) indicates that about 30–40% of global energy use, a third of total resource
consumption, and 40% of solid waste generation are resulting from buildings. The
problem here is that buildings are neglected. Areas such as transportation getting
more attention on energy issues. For this purpose, recently designers, investors, and
conductors have been integrating cutting-edge building technologies with the data/
computational tools to optimize urban systems performance integrating build-
ings, urban climate, transportation, and socio-economics. For example, energy
and water-saving technologies, like helical wind turbine technology, solar panels,
sunlight-sensing LED lights, rainwater catchment systems, and even seawater-
powered air conditioning are among these technologies.
High-rise buildings are creating the architectural language/identity of cities of
the twenty-first century. They are a symbol of power and prestigious, the center
of business and economics, hosting thousands of people at the same time. Hence,
they are considered as a great consumer of energy which utilized a huge amount
of resources and materials; produce massive volumes of waste discharge into the
environment and more often called as unsustainable buildings. On the other hand,
owing to the computer-aided design, optimization tools, manufacturing, and
operating systems, the architecture of the twenty-first century has been changing,
which is not only performed as an “art” but also empowered by all kind of evalua-
tion and optimization of environmental performance.

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ISBS 2019 - 4th International Sustainable Buildings Symposium

As seen from the example discussed in this chapter, Pertamina Energy Tower
has the potential to change the outlook towards the “vertical urbanism” regarding
energy efficient design strategies. The tower is the world’s first supertall building
where reducing energy consumption completely informs the tower’s placement,
shape, systems, and materials. Owing to taking advantage of Indonesian profound
practice on geothermal energy, empowering the neighboring campus as a resource
for preserving and producing energy and shaping the tower itself to direct wind
into building-mounted wind turbines; SOM reached at this final design by going
beyond conventional sustainable building strategies. Consequently, Pertamina
Energy Tower showed that there are numerous approaches to decrease energy usage
to satisfy the building comfort criteria. The combination of numerous passive
design approaches could be integrated into a high-rise building based on the site
condition, building orientation, and local climatic conditions.

Author details

Semra Arslan Selçuk1* and Hüseyin Emre Ilgın2

1 Department of Architecture, Gazi University, Ankara, Turkey

2 Department of Architecture, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey

*Address all correspondence to: semraarslanselcuk@gmail.com

© 2019 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms
of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/
by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is properly cited.

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Net-Zero High-Rise Buildings for Sustainable Vertical Urbanism: Lessons from Pertamina…
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.87836
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Chapter 3

A Prototype of Energy Efficient

Houses Meeting Both Bioclimatic
Architecture Principles and
Moroccan Thermal Regulation
Khalid El Harrouni, Najma Laaroussi, Najoua Loudyi,
Rime El Harrouni, Hajar Amir and Ricardo Castello

Abstract

The building sector is an activity where the potential for saving energy is impor-
tant and Morocco is now placing the housing sector energy efficiency and renewable
energies among the national priorities in order to reduce the energy consumption
and improve the thermal comfort. As part of the national energy strategy, several
actions have been initiated, the code energy efficiency in the building, including
the thermal regulation of construction setting the energy performance rules for
buildings. This chapter presents the good practices for the control of the energy by
using the principles of the bioclimatic architecture, and by adopting the passive and
active energy efficiency for two house building case studies (villa in Marrakech and
modern Moroccan house in Midelt), both situated in severe climate conditions. The
approach method analysis covers three thematic subjects: (1) the architecture and
building relationship with the climate; (2) the usage and the thermal comfort;
(3) the energy management and the performance according to the Moroccan thermal
regulation. Investigation and methodological tools were based on the documenta-
tion, numerical modeling (Cypetherm Eplus by CYPE), plans, photos, and surveys
(architects and occupants). The process is then described from design to completion,
with its techniques, materials, and learned lessons.

Keywords: bioclimatic architecture, energy efficiency, thermal regulation,

pilot house buildings, CYPE

1. Introduction

Morocco is experiencing strong economic and social growth resulting in acceler-

ated energy needs. In order to combine security of supply and reduction of depen-
dence on energy, environmental preservation, reduction of energy consumption,
and thermal comfort, Morocco has developed a new energy strategy based, first of
all, on the following orientations:

• An optimized and diversified energy mix around competitive and reliable

technological choices.

25
ISBS 2019 - 4th International Sustainable Buildings Symposium

• Mobilization of national resources by the rise of renewable energies.

• Energy efficiency established as a national priority.

This strategy promotes, among other things, the development of renewable

energies and energy efficiency in urban planning, housing, and building design.
Indeed, over the last 10 years, Morocco has recorded an average growth rate of
4.2%. The construction and the public work sector have experienced particularly
exceptional progress, aiming at filling the delays and deficits recorded in the areas
of housing, equipment, and infrastructures. Work sites are open in all regions of
the country to meet the needs of a growing population and a great increase in the
urbanization rate which reached more than 60% (according to the General Census of
Population and Housing RGPH 2014), against 55% in 2004.
A figure to remember: in 2014, the national housing rate amounted to 8.9 million
housing units, 6.2 million of which are in urban areas (70%) and 2.7 million in rural
areas (30%). Even though apartments have been produced in significant quantities,
the Moroccan house accounts for 67% of the park in urban areas.
According to the summary of the results of the Housing Survey [1], the annual
rate of production of housing is in recent years around 150,000 homes per year,
on average, at the national level. About 2.1 million dwellings are to be produced
over 10 years with an average annual production of 214,000 dwellings. Finally, the
results of such an investigation show that most of the housing needs effort at the
national level is to be focused on social and economic housing in all the regions and
the cities.
On the basis of this observation, several national programs have been put
in place, notably the intensification of supply in lots and housing (more than
150,000 units produced per year); the diversification of housing products for the
middle class; the promotion of the social housing; the opening of new Urbanization
Zones (ZUN); the creation of new cities and large urban complexes; the urban
upgrading of cities aimed at requalification; and urban renewal.
However, the building sector in Morocco is particularly a large consumer of
energy, estimated at 25% of total energy, including nearly 18% in residential
and 7% in the tertiary sector. In addition, Morocco has to import almost all of
its energy needs, mainly fuel, which heavily bears the weight of the energy bill.
Faced with this situation, Morocco is now placing the housing sector and energy
efficiency and renewable energies among the national priorities; these two
sectors are expected to develop a strong synergy. The issue of sustainable build-
ings, cities, and territories is at the heart of public policy and is a major topic for
the years to come, and a challenge for architectural and urban practices, which
over the past 20 years have evolved rapidly to take into account, in particular,
the principles associated with sustainable development. These new ways of
designing and developing the space are aimed at reducing energy consumption,
limiting CO2 emissions, improving user comfort, offering more environmen-
tally-friendly ways of developing, and offering sustainable solutions to urban
problems.
As part of the national energy strategy, several actions have been initiated,
including the Law on Energy Efficiency (N° 47-09); the Law on Renewable Energies
(N° 13-09); the Law N° 58-15 modifying and completing the Law N° 13-09 relat-
ing to renewable energies; the adoption of Law 48-15 on the regularization of the
energy sector and implementation of the National Electricity Regulatory Authority
responsible for access and use of the medium and high voltage network for new

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producers. The publication of this Law in 2016 represented an important step

toward the liberalization of the electricity sector.
Other actions were related to:

• The restructuring in 2016 at the level of competences and denomination

of public institutions Moroccan Agency for Sustainable Energy (MASEN),
National Office of Electricity and Water Supply (ONEE) and Moroccan
Agency of Energy Efficiency (AMEE) by Laws 37-16, 38-16, 39-16.

• The Energy Efficiency Code in the building, including the Thermal Regulation
in the building, through the Decree Town Planning No. 2-13-874 (October
15, 2014) approving the General Construction Regulation setting the Energy
Performance Rules for buildings [2]. This decree application from 2015 pre-
scribes minimum technical specifications for thermal performance of the
building envelope (windows, roofs, floors, exterior walls, etc.) and fixes the
annual maximum thermal requirements for heating and cooling according to
the climate zoning.

This chapter presents the good practice of the control of the energy and the
climate at the scale of the city and the habitat by using the principles of the passive
architecture, solar architecture and bioclimatic architecture, and by adopting the
passive and active energy efficiency for two house building case studies: a villa in
Marrakech city and a modern Moroccan house in Midelt city, both situated in severe
climate conditions, very cold in winter and very hot in summer.
The chapter is from the work carried out related to the development of the catalog
of pilot building cases integrating renewable energies and energy efficiency, titled
“Architecture and Energy Efficiency: 10 case studies of good practices in Morocco,” as
part of the Deutsche Klima—und project—Initiative Technology, supported by GIZ
and elaborated by a team from the Ecole Nationale d’Architecture de Rabat [3]. The
work is also part of the research project “Solar Bioclimatic Architecture and Energy
Efficiency in the Building,” financed by the Moroccan Ministry of Higher Education
and Scientific Research, CNRST, within the framework of the call for projects in the
priorities for scientific research and technological development.
The approach method analysis covers three thematic subjects:

1. The architecture and building relationship with the climate.

2. The usage and the thermal comfort.

3. The energy management and the performance according to the Moroccan

thermal regulation. Investigation and methodological tools were based on
the documentation, technical information including models, plans, sections,
photos, and survey of architects, occupants and building users to describe the
process, from design to completion, technique and materials used, lessons
learned in terms of the energy needs, and the design of the indoor thermal
comfort. Numerical modeling and thermal simulations using Cypetherm
Eplus by CYPE (Software for Architecture, Engineering and Construction)
[4] have been performed under severe climate conditions, especially for the
modern Moroccan house case study identified as a general prototype house in
Morocco.

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2. Climate and building description

2.1 Climate description

In order to identify good practice of energy control through the bioclimatic

architecture principles both in terms of the city and the habitat scale, two case stud-
ies are selected: a villa in Marrakech city and a modern Moroccan house in Midelt
city, both present severe climate conditions.
Some climate data are shown in Figure 1 for the extreme climate conditions: hot
climate in Marrakech agglomeration where the highest average maximum tempera-
ture is reached during July, of about 39°C, and cold and dry climate in Midelt where
the average minimal temperature occurs during January (0°C), while the average
relative humidity ranges between 25 and 50%. During February and December
in Midelt, the average minimum air temperature approaches 2°C, and the coldest
months are January, February, and December.
According to the Thermal Regulation of Construction in Morocco, Figure 2
shows the climate zoning including six climate zones, and Table 1 gives the thermal
zone and the energy demand allowed for heating and cooling residential buildings
situated in the two cities.

2.2 Building description

The two residential buildings investigated in this chapter are: a villa type one
in Marrakech and a typical residential building in Midelt. This chapter attempts to
analyze the building envelopes as shown in Figures 3 and 4. The compositions of
the envelope building elements including walls and roof, and their thermal proper-
ties [5] are given in Tables 2–5.

Figure 1.
Marrakech and Midelt climate data.

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Figure 2.
Moroccan climate zoning [2].

Two climate sites Climate zone Energy demand allowed for heating and
cooling (kWh/m2/year)
Hot climate: case of Marrakech Z5 61
agglomeration

Cold and dry climate: case of Midelt Z4 64

agglomeration

Table 1.
Climate site characteristics [2].

Figure 3.
A villa type in Marrakech.

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ISBS 2019 - 4th International Sustainable Buildings Symposium

Figure 4.
A typical residential building in Midelt.

Materials Thickness Thermal Thermal Density

(cm) capacity conductivity (kg/m3)
(J/kg K) (W/m K)

Plaster 1.0 880 0.097 800

Concrete block 15 510 0.180 1300

Glass wool 10 840 0.039 12

Earthenware brick (12 15 900 0.319 1900
holes)

Cement mortar 1.5 890 0.320 200

Table 2.
External walls of the villa in Marrakech [5].

Materials Thickness Thermal capacity Thermal conductivity Density

(cm) (J/kg K) (W/m K) (kg/m3)
Ceramic tile 2 700 1.702 2300

Cement mortar 6 890 0.320 200

Polystyrene 6 480 0.030 35

Pre-stressed 5 920 1.755 2300
concrete

Hourdi 16 650 1.230 1300

Plaster 1 880 0.097 800

Table 3.
Roof of the villa in Marrakech [5].

Materials Thickness Thermal Thermal Density

(cm) capacity conductivity (kg/m3)
(J/kg K) (W/m K)
Plaster 2 880 0.097 800

Earthenware brick 7 900 0.319 1900

(6 holes)
Glass wool 5 1030 0.030 20

Air 4 1008 0.220 1.00

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Materials Thickness Thermal Thermal Density

(cm) capacity conductivity (kg/m3)
(J/kg K) (W/m K)
Earthenware brick 10 900 0.319 1900
(8 holes)

Cement mortar 2 890 0.320 200

Table 4.
External walls of the typical residential building in Midelt [5].

Materials Thickness Thermal capacity Thermal conductivity Density

(cm) (J/kg K) (W/m K) (kg/m3)

Ceramic tile 2 700 1.702 2300

Cement mortar 2 890 0.320 7200
Sealing 0.3 1000 0.500 1100
Concrete slope 8 1000 1.6500 2150
shape
Pre-stressed 5 920 1.755 2300
concrete
Hollow concrete 16 650 1.230 1300
block
Glass wool 5 1030 0.030 20
Air 13 1000 0.810 1
Plaster 2 1000 0.250 825

Table 5.
Roof of the typical residential building in Midelt [5].

3. Key features

3.1 The building envelope

Building envelope constitutes a protective barrier and a construction measure

to achieve energy efficiency and an indoor comfort. Thus, proper design of the
building envelope is a major factor that influences directly the energy consumption
and interior comfort as well as the components of walls and roof. These parameters
affect the heat transfer coefficient (U-value) of the building.
Regarding the Thermal Regulation on Moroccan Construction (RTCM), it is
only regulation addressing the energetic performance issues, and the maximum
heat transmittance coefficient (U-value) of walls, windows, roofs, and floors in
the climate zones is given. Table 6 shows the comparison between the calculated
U-value for the two envelope buildings and the transmittance requirements in
climate zones 4 (Midelt) and 5 (Marrakech).
The U-values of the walls, roofs, and the windows glazing are 0.45, 0.44, and
2.87 W/m2 K, respectively, for the typical residential building located in Midelt. The
U-values of the walls, roofs, and the windows glazing are 0.24, 0.38, and 2.50 W/m2 K,
respectively, for the villa situated in Marrakech.

3.2 Thermal comfort

The essential design parameters, which affects energy conservation and indoor
thermal comfort in building scale, are building envelope design, building materials,

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ISBS 2019 - 4th International Sustainable Buildings Symposium

Uwall (W/m2 K) Uroof (W/m2 K) Uwindow (W/m2 K)

Climate Zone 4 (Midelt)

Global % of glazed surface
16–25% ≤0.60 ≤0.55 ≤3.30

26–35% ≤0.60 ≤0.55 ≤2.60

Typical residential building Midelt 0.45 0.44 2.87

Climate Zone 5 (Marrakech)

Global % of glazed surface
16–25% ≤0.70 ≤0.65 ≤3.30
26–35% ≤0.60 ≤0.55 ≤2.60

Villa Marrakech 0.24 0.38 2.50

Table 6.
Comparison between the calculated U-value and the transmittance requirements.

building form and layout, and optical and thermo-physical properties of the
building envelope. Building envelope design, as it separates the outdoor and indoor
environment, is the most important parameter among the others.
Provision for dwellers comfort and suitable interior temperatures should be con-
sidered. For passive comfort of the villa in Marrakech and according to some mea-
sured temperatures [6] during winter season, while the outside temperature ranged
between 7 and 23°C, the temperature interior of the villa (doors, windows and shut-
ters closed) was very stable at 18 ± 0.5°C. The opening of the shutters during the day
allowed to gain 1 to 2°C more. During summer season, the house is completely closed
(shutters included); while the outside temperature ranged between 23 and 41°C, the
temperature was very stable at 28.3 ± 0.3°C ground floor and 29.6 ± 0.3°C upstairs.
Regarding the typical residential building located in Midelt, Figures 5 and 6
show the hourly variation of the temperature throughout the year and the compari-
son of the outdoor and indoor temperatures for both cases, with and without the
thermal insulation of the building envelope.

3.3 Bioclimatic analysis

In the literature, there are several tools noted to analyze climate conditions,
including the Szokolay Bioclimatic chart, the Olgyay Bioclimatic chart, the
Mahoney table, and the Givoni Bioclimatic chart.
The Olgyay Bioclimatic chart [7] is one of the tools widely employed by an
architect in the predesign stage of building design. Historical data related to relative
humidity and temperature are plotted in the chart at this stage. The comfort zone
is shown at the center of Olgyay’s chart which has a constant comfort in the range
from 20 to 30°C (Figure 7). Corrective measures needed for factors, such as radian
temperature, wind speed, shading, and solar radiation, can also be known for every
plotted fall over the comfort zone. Since Olgyay’s chart only considers the outdoor
conditions disregarding the indoors physiological considerations, it is only appli-
cable for hot humid climates where there is minimal fluctuation between the indoor
and the outdoor temperatures [8].
The Givoni and Szokolay Bioclimatic charts [9, 10] are mainly applied for
residential-scale construction, and they provide more alternatives with building
design to enable thermal comfort, including natural ventilation, evaporative cooling,
dehumidification, thermal mass, conventional air conditioning, or passive heating.

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Figure 5.
Indoor temperature variation of the building with the thermal insulation, Midelt.

Figure 6.
Indoor temperature variation of the building without the thermal insulation, Midelt.

Figure 7.
Olgyay bioclimatic chart.

According to the Mahoney table [11], temperature, relative humidity, and

precipitation/rainfall constitute the elements for climate analysis that determine
the design recommendations (building envelope, openings, spacing, layout, and air
movement).
All of these tools have been used in this chapter to investigate appropriate design
recommendations for the two different climates by analyzing the climatic char-
acteristics of the selected cities, Marrakech and Midelt. These three tools are well
known and are believed to be appropriate tools for the investigation of a strategy for
designing buildings that correspond to the climate. Some passive design strategies
were proposed based on the bioclimatic analysis.

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ISBS 2019 - 4th International Sustainable Buildings Symposium

According to the Midelt Givoni/Szokolay bioclimatic diagrams, it is recommended

to have high thermal inertia during the summer season. The diagram also shows that
one can obtain a comfortable indoor climate using passive heating through internal
gains during the months of October, April, and May. The active heating should be
used for the winter season and quite cold months like November and March.
For Marrakech, it is recommended to use natural ventilation with dehumidi-
fication, especially for the month of September and to have high thermal inertia
with night ventilation during the summer season although the buildings must be
designed with good ventilation possibilities and protection against solar radia-
tion. A comfortable indoor climate can be obtained using passive heating through
internal gains during fairly cold months.
Based on a diagnosis of some climatic indicators, the Mahoney table analysis
gives the performance specifications and the design recommendation for buildings
in Marrakech and Midelt in order to have a best indoor climate, as shown in Table 7.

3.4 Building orientation and openings (windows)

In order to avoid high solar penetration coming from the east in the morning
and the west in the evening, the optimal orientation recommended by the Mahoney
table is north south. Nevertheless, the surrounding environment remains a param-
eter that limits this orientation choice.
Regarding the case of Marrakech, the south facing walls of the villa present a
significant glazed area, especially in the first floor. The villa has a maximum on the
south facade, a minimum on the façade west, and a moderate number on the east
and north facades (summer ventilation). A shading device overhangs the south
facade of the second floor. This device was designed to completely shadow the
glazed French windows in the summer solstice, while these glazed areas are com-
pletely sunlit in the winter solstice [4].
Windows are essential parts of the building envelope. They have significant
effect on the thermal comfort and energy performance so that they must be chosen
with care. Windows are the main source of thermal losses to the exterior and solar
gains to the interior within building envelopes. The double-glazed windows with a
layer of air or inert gas between each pane provide more thermal resistance in cold
(Midelt) and hot (Marrakech) climates: 6/6/6 and 6/10/6 yield to U-value of 2.9 and
2.5 W/m2 K, respectively.

3.5 Walls and roofs

Stone, brick, concrete, hollow clay tile, tile, gypsum, concrete brick, and other
materials combined and set into close positioning with mortar constitute the
masonry mode of construction. By introducing insulation materials (in the form of

Design recommendations

Layout Buildings oriented north-south (long axis east-west) for Midelt

Compact courtyard planning for Marrakech

Spacing Compact layout of estates for both Midelt and Marrakech

Size of openings Medium openings, 25–40% for both Midelt and Marrakech

Walls and roof Heavy walls and roof with more than an 8-h time lag for both Midelt and Marrakech

Table 7.
Design recommendation from Mahoney table.

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a sandwich), the energy consumption is then reduced through the building enve-
lope. Wool, polyurethane, or polystyrene are the most suitable insulating materials
as shown in both studied cases as they afford the possibility to reach between 20
and 66% of energy economy.
Heavy walls and roofs will help to protect the building from heating from solar
penetration. Thus, as discussed previously, the occupancy schedule should be a
factor of concern in choosing the walls and roofs design, especially in relation to the
time lag of reradiating the heat from the building materials.
As the Mahoney table proposed a heavy wall with a high thermal mass, the
Szokolay/Givoni bioclimatic charts recommended a high thermal mass material as
the passive strategy. Furthermore, the thermal simulations confirmed the use of
heavy weight wall as a best way to be applied in Marrakech and Midelt.
One important issue related to the hot climate, in Marrakech for example, is
that the soil at great depth is near 19.5°C. This situation is profitable for isolating
the building envelope except at the footprint, so that will control the temperature
of the whole house. Interior walls of the ground floor should be massive to improve
the transfer of soil to the whole building.

3.6 Insulation impact on the energy loads

Table 8 shows the impact of the walls/roofs/windows insulation on the energy

load for both buildings in Marrakech and Midelt. It gives the comparison of cooling/
heating loads, before and after insulation using different modeling tools and finally
the total is compared to the maximum Energy demand allowed by the Thermal
Regulation of Construction in Morocco for heating and cooling (kWh/m2/year).
Regarding the example of the villa in Marrakech without insulation, the energy load
during winter is close to 40 kWh/m2 heating to maintain 20°C continuously. In summer,
to maintain 26°C, it is almost 65 kWh/m2, a total of about 105 kWh/year/m2 of living
space (results obtained using TRNSYS, Transient system simulation tool). Cooling/
heating loads of the same building with insulation of walls, roofs and, windows have
been estimated: in winter, 15 kWh/m2 of heating is enough to maintain 20°C continu-
ously. In summer, it does not need more than 23 kWh/m2 to maintain 26°C. A total of
about 38 kWh/year/m2 represents almost one-third of the consumed energy without
insulation.

City/climate zone Before insulation After insulation

Cooling/heating loads by Marrakech/Zone 5

thermal simulation building
Cooling 65.0 23.0
(kWh/m2/year)
Heating 40.0 15.0
Total 105.0 38.0

Midelt/Zone 4

Cooling 15.84 19.68

Heating 66.66 39.52

Total 82.50 59.20

Energy demand allowed by Zone 4/Midelt 64

RTCM for cooling/heating
(kWh/m2/year)
Zone 5 Marrakech 61

Table 8.
Comparison of insulation impact on the energy loads.

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ISBS 2019 - 4th International Sustainable Buildings Symposium

For the typical residential building located in Midelt under the same indoor
temperature conditions in winter (20°C) and summer (26°C), the total of cooling
and heating loads without insulation is estimated to 82.5 kWh/m2 (78.0 kWh/m2
using DesignBuilder tool) against 59.20 kWh/m2 with insulation (61.1 kWh/m2
using DesignBuilder tool). These results are obtained using Cypetherm Eplus by
CYPE (Software for Architecture, Engineering and Construction).

4. Conclusion

The chapter examined thermal performance of two pilot buildings, situated in

two extreme climate conditions in Morocco, and it showed the bioclimatic approach
in building design as well as the techniques which have been applied to formulate
various strategies in order to achieve indoor comfort conditions and to reduce the
heating and cooling energy consumption.
The most appropriate design strategies for cold and hot regions were deduced.
The following findings are drawn based on the results obtained from the biocli-
matic analysis and energy simulation using different modeling tools (TRNSYS,
DesignBuilder and Cypetherm Eplus by CYPE).
The two houses are made by bioclimatic principles, mainly the building orienta-
tion, and compacity and equipped according to the latest environmental standards
and requirements according to the Moroccan thermal regulation. There are also
some passive strategies that are proposed by the bioclimatic analysis. One of the
strategies is the roof and wall materials. The largest part of the building envelope
is the walls; hence, using appropriate wall material should largely affect the indoor
thermal conditions.
Envelope insulation, including the walls, the roofs, and the windows glazing, has
significant impact on total energy consumption and the indoor thermal comfort.
The external walls as well as the windows and roofs should be then insulated.

Author details

Khalid El Harrouni1*, Najma Laaroussi2, Najoua Loudyi1, Rime El Harrouni1,

Hajar Amir3 and Ricardo Castello3

1 National School of Architecture, Rabat, Morocco

2 Mohammed V University, Rabat, Morocco

3 CYPE Software for Architecture, Engineering and Construction, Casablanca,

Morocco

*Address all correspondence to: kelharrouni@gmail.com

© 2019 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms
of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/
by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is properly cited.

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A Prototype of Energy Efficient Houses Meeting Both Bioclimatic Architecture Principles…
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.87836

References

[1] Kingdom of Morocco. Ministry of bioclimatic concept in building design.

Housing and Urban Policy, Housing
Survey 2012, Phase IV: Synthesis of
Housing Survey Results, Interpretation
and Development of a Housing
Methodology Needs and Assessment.
Marsult Info/UPEA; 2015 (in French)
Renewable and Sustainable Energy
Reviews. 1998;2:3-24
[9] Givoni B. Climate Considerations in
Building and Urban Design. Toronto,
Canada: John Wiley & Sons; 1998

[2] Royaume du Maroc. General [10] Szokolay SV. Heating and cooling

Construction Regulation fixing the
energy performance of buildings,
Decree No. 2-13-874 of October 15,
2014, published in Official Bulletin no.
6306. 2014. pp. 4256-4269 (in French)
[3] Mansour M, El Harrouni K, Radoine
H. Architecture and Energy Efficiency:
Ten Case Studies of Good Practices in
Morocco. Rabat, GIZ Maroc: Nationale
School of Architecture; 2016 (in
French)
of buildings, chap. 20. In: Cowan HJ,
editor. Handbook of Architectural
Technology. New York: Van Nostrand
Reinhold; 1991
[11] Sealey A. Introduction to building
climatology—Chapter 10—The
Mahoney Tables.pdf. In: Introduction
to Building Climatology. London,
UK: Commonwealth Association of
Architects. p. 1979

[4] CYPETHERM EPlus. Modelling

and energy simulation of buildings
with EnergyPlus™, integrated in
the Open BIM workflow via IFC
and gbXML. Available from: http://
cypetherm-suite.en.cype.com/
[Accessed: 01 February 2019]

[5] Benhamou B, Bennouna A. Energy

performance of a passive building in
Marrakech: Parametric study. Energy
Procedia. 2013;42:624-632

[6] Khabbaz M, Benhamou B, Limam

K, Hollmuller P, Hamdi H, Bennouna
A. Experimental and numerical study
of an earth-to-air heat exchanger for
air cooling in a residential building
in hot semi-arid climate. Energy and
Buildings. 2016;125:109-121

[7] Olgyay V. Design with Climate,

Bioclimatic Approach and Architectural
Regionalism. New and expanded
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[8] Sayigh A, Marafia AH. Thermal

comfort and the development of

37
Chapter 4

Biomimicry for Sustainability:

Improvement of Building Skin
with Nature-Inspired Innovations
Güneş Mutlu Avinç and Semra Arslan Selçuk

Abstract

Energy efficiency and related concepts of it for sustainability in architecture

are the important issues of the twenty-first century architecture and “nature” has
prospective ideas in terms of sustainable design. Buildings can be designed, con-
structed, and operated in a “holistic approach” according to the principles extracted
from nature. Thus, “innovative design approaches learned from nature” is one of
the most important architectural manifestos of today. This chapter focuses on the
intersection of “biomimicry” and “building envelope” to discuss the skin/skin func-
tions of organisms in nature and biomimetic design approaches in building shells
as an energy management instrument. In order to examine how different skin/shell
functions in nature have been transferred to the building shell, the pioneering stud-
ies in the literature have been examined and a comparison has been done to figure
out functional similarities between skin of the natural organisms and the building
facades. Selected studies are conceptual or applied projects and designs that are
inspired/learned from different natural skin or surface characteristics in different
climate regions. As a result of the evaluation, biomimetic building shell designs
have been found to provide energy and resource efficiency without active energy
use that can be seen as the most vital sustainable design criteria.

Keywords: sustainability, biomimicry, bio-skin, building envelope, facade

1. Introduction

Although it is as old as human history, scientific conceptualization of the

biomimetic approach began in the twentieth century. Biomimetics having been con-
structed on natural references is leading the development of many innovative ideas
and practices in the field of architecture. Biomimicry imitates the forms, systems,
and processes found in nature to solve the most important problems our world is
facing and to produce sustainable solutions [1]. Vincent [2] defines this approach as
“abstraction of a good design in nature.”
So far it is observed that the biomimicry has potentials for sustainability and
energy issues, particularly in the design and construction field [1]. With this
approach, the deepening nature of perception provides new perspectives on
the development of sustainable approaches to the scientists who are conducting
research in the field of architecture. Thus, these developed sustainable approaches
are included in the literature as a product of interdisciplinary studies, especially

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ISBS 2019 - 4th International Sustainable Buildings Symposium

biology, architecture, and technology. Since nature has experienced what works and
what is appropriate for thousands of years [3], taking nature as a mentor can play
key roles in achieving “sustainable designs.” Demands for sustainable approaches
in the building environment are increasing day by day. One of the main reasons
behind this is that the vast majority of global environmental and social problems
in the world is largely related to waste, material, energy use, and greenhouse gas
emissions as well as the built environment [4].
The most important element affecting the sustainability in the built environ-
ment can be considered as the energy efficiency of the building and the climatic
comfort of the users is the building shell [5, 6]. Facing many problems such as
natural forces, solar effects, and humidity, the structure shell has similarities and
common points with the living skin/shell in the natural environment. Many studies
conducted in recent years claim that the return to nature and learning from its best
ideas have potential to produce innovative solutions and they analyze the live skins
to find effective answers to the problems related to building shells [7–9]. From the
results of these studies, it is understood that the adaptations that enable the living
creatures to survive in their habitats contain solutions that can be converted into
design for adaptive building shells.
Within the scope of this study investigating the sustainable building shells,
firstly, the design criteria for sustainability in architecture have been explained and
then the functional properties of different skins, especially the skin of human skin
and polar bear have been investigated. Then, the building shell/envelope designs
which were realized by learning from these natural structures have been examined.
Within the light of the data obtained, it is seen that nature-inspired ideas provide
energy efficiency in the design of sustainable facades.

2. Prominent design criteria for sustainable architecture

In every period of its existence and conditions, the concept of sustainable

architecture, by considering future generations, can be defined as designing and
implementing structures that use energy, water, material, and land effectively,
prioritizing the use of environmentally sensitive renewable energy resources and
protecting the health and comfort of people. In other words, it is the architectural
design and applications that aim to meet the space requirements of people without
endangering the existence and future of natural systems [10].
In this architectural approach, future generations are considered, and the design
of local, social, economic, cultural, and environment-friendly structures are empha-
sized. In this context, firstly, the amount of energy used in buildings should be
minimized (the amount of energy spent during construction, use, and demolition),
passive design strategies should be used, HVAC and the use of energy consuming
systems such as artificial lighting should be reduced, and the construction should be
designed in accordance with the local climatic characteristics of the region [11].
The main purpose of sustainable design is the harmless existence of nature-
human association. In this context, the basic principles for a sustainable design can
be listed as follows:

• Resource efficiency: the limits of the resources used must be taken into account.

• Energy efficiency: energy efficient designs should be implemented.

• Preventing environmental pollution: external and indoor air quality, noise, etc.
elements should be considered.

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Biomimicry for Sustainability: Improvement of Building Skin with Nature-Inspired Innovations
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.87836

• Environmental adaptivity: buildings should be adaptive to the environment.

• Integrated and systematic approaches: a common approach should be taken

with consideration of the criteria to be addressed [12].

It is necessary to think on how the shell should work for the sustainability of
the building shell. In this case, absorbing, collecting, or evaporating to regulate
humidity; dissipating, gaining, or conserving to regulate temperature; filtering or
exchanging to regulate carbon dioxide (air quality); reflecting, absorbing, redirect-
ing, or diffusing to regulate light [5]; and in addition to these acts in response with
the environmental conditions, not harming the natural environment, integrating
action with nature gained prominence.
Sustainability is the fundamental principle of nature, and the design criteria
listed above are seen in all ecosystems in nature. Animals, plants, and other organ-
isms have survived and improved themselves heretofore because of the efficiency of
source and produced waste. Therefore, imitating the forms, systems, and processes
of nature offers an opportunity to maximize the resource efficiency while mitigat-
ing the negative impacts of buildings on the environment [3]. In this context, nature
is seen as a source of innovation in the creation of sustainable architecture. At the
same time, the biological information to be used for the design solution is trans-
formed into architectural terminology.

3. Looking to the ideas of nature for sustainability and biomimetic

building skin design

3.1 Natural skin

Human skin and animal skin/shells contain many potential ideas for nature-
inspired designs. These surfaces, which act as connecting elements between indoor
and outdoor environments, fulfill many vital functions such as adaptation to
environmental conditions, protection, and permeability. As well as, it has many
features such as heat loss-gain, water balance, evaporation, temperature regulation,
and color change for communication purposes. Because of these features, it inspires
architectural shells and facades. In this context, in order to realize the designs
which can be called “biomimetic buildings shell,” firstly, the skin/shell forma-
tions in nature should be examined and the skin/shell functions and structures
related to the living beings can be converted into data that can be transferred to the
architecture.
If it is necessary to mention human skin which are natural skins, firstly, this
layer that covers the whole body consists of three layers: epidermis, dermis, and
hypodermis. Epidermis is a thin surface layer that serves as a protection. Just below
the epidermis are mechanoreceptors that provide mechanical sensations such as
touch, pressure, temperature, and pain. Receptors that detect pressure, vibration,
and temperature are close to the skin surface (Figure 1) [13].
The skin also functions to regulate the temperature balance of the body.
Functions such as transmission, transport, radiation, and evaporation are carried
out to regulate the body temperature. Evaporation throws heat from the body to
the warmer environment with the help of pores of the skin [15]. Thus, human skin
structure that has many tasks such as regulating the body temperature, evaporating
the water to provide moisture balance, to protect from outside effects can be trans-
ferred to the structure of the shell. In order to use these principles as an architectural
information, the question of how and wherein each feature takes place is important.

41
ISBS 2019 - 4th International Sustainable Buildings Symposium

Figure 1.
Human skin anatomy [14].

On the other hand the body temperatures of polar bears are kept constant at 37°C,
and in the north pole with a temperature down to −40°C by their furs, which consist of
two separate layers that are the dense substrate close to the skin and the longer, the thick
outer layer. The hairs in these layers are transparent and appear to be white because they
emit sunlight. On the other hand the black epidermic layer on the oil layer provides the
maximum absorption of solar radiation [16]. Heat loss occurs only in the eyes and mouth
of the polar bear (Figure 2) [17]. As it is seen, the polar bear’s morphological and physi-
ological structure acts as an insulation that protects it from cold weather conditions.
In summary, when the living systems are examined, important physiological
and morphological information is obtained about how to control the temperature.
In this context, this information is used in building envelopes and facades to ensure
thermal comfort, energy efficiency, and sustainability.

Figure 2.
Polar bear fur [18].

3.2 Building envelopes and bio-facades in architecture

Architectural constructions are traditionally static structures and have limited

capabilities to detect and adapt to their environmental conditions. The building shell is
generally solved by the joining of the stationary elements and is designed as an inter-
face that provides the function of protecting the indoor environment from the external
environment. Kieran and Timberlake [18] define the building shell as the surface
where the material and energy exchange takes place. Building shells are one of the most
important design parameters that determine the interior physical environment related
to visual comfort, thermal comfort, and usage time efficiency. Therefore, they directly
affect the energy use in buildings. Buildings activated by mechanical devices may cause
the building to remain insensitive to the environment. They make heating-cooling with
these devices and do not interact with the external environment. Thus, buildings do not
respond to changing climatic conditions and cannot be adapted to their environment.
Innovative building shells are designs that look for adaptivity and interaction to
actively respond to current climatic conditions to improve indoor comfort condi-
tions and building energy performance [19]. In this context, in order to develop
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Biomimicry for Sustainability: Improvement of Building Skin with Nature-Inspired Innovations
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.87836

environmentally sensitive, ecological, and sustainable building shells in recent years, the
skins/shells in nature are investigated. For example, the flexibility and sensory adapt-
ability of human epithelial tissue cells are biologically examined to develop materials and
forms to develop adaptive structure coatings. With the “eSkin” project, which defines a
transition from nanoscale to macroscale, it is aimed to reduce energy use in build-
ings, to produce responsive adaptive building materials and sensors (Figure 3) [20].
In another study, a composite material based on the perspiration of human skin is
produced by the Spain’s Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (Figure 4).
This material is hydroceramic consisting of clay, fabric, and hydrogel. The clay surface is
filled with a plurality of cavities providing sufficient space for expansion of the hydrogel
components. The results of an experiment with a small-scale prototype showed that the
system is reduced to the temperature in an interior by five degrees [21]. The cavities in
the material responses like human skin by opening and closing against humidity change.
The material used over here being sensitive to the humidity can be opened and closed in
response to air changes and act as an autonomous system sensitive to ambient condi-
tions. This system has created a sustainable adaptive architectural shell that is designed
based on biomimetic principles that do not require any sensors or electrical systems.
In another study, it was learned from the physiological adaptation of polar bear in the
adaptive sustainable architectural shell design which is sensitive to sunlight and able to
provide thermal regulation (Figure 5). The living units, which are designed as partially
embedded, are considered in the south-west direction to optimize the heat gain from the
sun. Solar heat and light are collected by the active shell, which consists of rotatable hol-
low fur-like glass tubes, and the heat and light that are stored along the tube, and slowly
released, are transmitted to the insulation layer. In addition, phosphorous cells embed-
ded in the phase-shifting material allow the light to be emitted slowly at night [22].

Figure 3.
Epithelial tissue and eSkin project [20].

Figure 4.
A prototype composite material created from the perspiration properties of human skin [21].

Figure 5.
Building skin inspired by polar bear [22].
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ISBS 2019 - 4th International Sustainable Buildings Symposium

In this study, which was designed according to the physiological and morpho-
logical characteristics of bear fur (Figure 6), thermal insulation was investigated
for building shell. A biomimetic design has been developed using recyclable materi-
als and bio-based materials based on the thermal functionality of the polar bear’s
skin and morphological properties of the polar bear’s fur. The polar bear’s features
including heat radiation reflection, heat insulation, solar radiation, and black
absorbing skin gave a direction to design [23].

Figure 6.
Prototype of the concept [23].

The Techtextil Prize-winning “Polar bear pavilion” is a sustainable example

based on the polar bear (Figure 7) [24, 25].
The Denkendorf Institute of Textile Technology and Process Engineering (ITV) has
produced a self-supporting textile membrane for energy. Researchers have produced a
system that stores the thermal energy by taking into account the function of the polar
bear’s fur and the different characteristics related to fur during the design stage [24].
As it can be seen, the use of heat and light features of the polar bear’s fur has
resulted in different ways in three different projects. In the same way, two different
projects have been seen which are based on the characteristics of human skin. The
design principles outlined in these studies are summarized in Table 1.

Figure 7.
Energy-efficient textile building with transparent thermal insulation for the solar thermal use according to the
model of the polar bear’s fur [26].

44
45

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.87836
Biomimicry for Sustainability: Improvement of Building Skin with Nature-Inspired Innovations
Visual Inspired natural Features learned from Skin features Sustainable solutions Design product
phenomenon nature
Organism Physiological features Thermal energy storage Energy efficient shell
of skin material that stores heat
• Effective use of materials
• Sunlight usage

Organism Physiological and Thermal energy storage Energy efficient facade

morphological features material that stores heat
• Effective use of materials
of skin
• Sunlight usage

Organism Physiological and Thermal energy storage Sustainable shell design

morphological features with energy efficient
• Effective use of materials
of skin materials that store heat
• Sunlight usage
46

ISBS 2019 - 4th International Sustainable Buildings Symposium

Visual Inspired natural Features learned from Skin features Sustainable solutions Design product
phenomenon nature
Organism Physiological features Thermoregulation Sustainable architecture
of skin Interaction shell with energy efficient,
responsive and adaptive
• Effective use of materials
materials and sensors
• Sunlight usage

Organism Physiological and Balance of temperature Adaptive sustainable

morphological features and humidity in the indoor
of skin environment
• Effective use of materials
• Resource efficiency
• Energy efficiency
architecture shell that
is humidity sensitive
and can expand without
requiring any autonomous
system

Table 1.
Principles and end products learned from polar bear and human skin.
Biomimicry for Sustainability: Improvement of Building Skin with Nature-Inspired Innovations
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.87836

4. Conclusions

In order to obtain a sustainable built environment, nature-adaptable and

sustainable structures are needed. In order to create this cycle, it is necessary to
apply the working principles of nature and integrate the obtained data into the
design. It has been observed in the examples analyzed within the scope of the study
that the shell design, water/humidity balance, communication and thermal regula-
tion properties, sustainable architectural shell systems, or shell materials that are
integrated with nature have been obtained by transferring the good ideas learned
from nature to the building. The obtained products can be adapted to ambient
conditions such as light, temperature, and humidity. The main objective of the
sample studies examined is to produce solutions for adaptation, performance, and
sustainability issues in architecture and to design environmentally sensitive shells.
The common denominator of all studies is that it is being carried out in interdisci-
plinary platforms continuing in the fields of biology, architecture, and engineering.
At the same time, the dynamic/physiological/morphological features of living
things are investigated on a nanoscale and transferred to a macroscale. As a result,
it is seen that innovative solutions have been introduced via the samples examined
in this study based on the principles learned from the ”organism level“ in nature by
using biomimetic approaches. Thanks to these studies, architectural design research
integrates with laboratory-based scientific research and accelerates “sustainability
in architecture” studies.

Author details

Güneş Mutlu Avinç1* and Semra Arslan Selçuk2

1 Department of Architecture, Muş Alparslan University, Muş, Turkey

2 Department of Architecture, Gazi University, Ankara, Turkey

*Address all correspondence to: gunesavinc@gmail.com

© 2019 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms
of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/
by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is properly cited.

47
ISBS 2019 - 4th International Sustainable Buildings Symposium
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Chapter 5

Smart Buildings in Relation to

Human Behavior and Cultural
Influences in Egypt
Reham M.M. Mohie El-Din

Abstract

Technology has been dominating the world for a while now, buildings included;
seeking in part human’s welfare, comfort, and security, in addition to resources
conservation. Thus, it created Smart and High-Tech architecture that integrated
with sustainability evolving the Eco-Tech buildings. In theory, all smart buildings
with their advanced technologies can accomplish a lot, however, in the application,
human behavior and cultural influences can either make the theory succeed or fail.
Hence, this chapter aims at exploring the effect of these two factors on the level of
success of smart buildings. This will be achieved throughout analyzing the Egyptian
experience and studying some of its smart buildings.

Keywords: sustainability, smart buildings, human behavior, Egypt smart buildings,

cultural influences

1. Introduction

Living in an era of widespread and ongoing extreme technological revolution,

had its effect on the building industry. This wave of smartness allowed technology to
take part in architectural design since the middle of the nineteenth century [1], cre-
ating intelligent, smart, and high-tech buildings. It expanded to include green and
sustainable buildings, when they combine technology with living needs and envi-
ronmental requirements, thus striving to meet high-performance considerations
[2]. Actually, various architects were stimulated with smart buildings only for the
sake of achieving sustainability [3]. This integration created the echo-tech architec-
ture, as will be further explained. In the future, smart buildings aim at developing
self-sustaining and totally automated buildings to meet the increasing demand for
energy together with others cultural, environmental, and human needs [2].
While normal buildings, annually, become 3–5% less efficient; smart buildings
should maintain a high-performance level, thus require smart users and smart
operators [4]. Occupants spend around 80% of their living time inside buildings [5].
Thus it is crucial to engage them with the building allowing them to control their
environment in order to be safe, comfortable, and sustaining a high-performance
operation as well. Additionally, these buildings can monitor and analyze how
occupants conduct within them [6]. They contain smart sensors, systems, and
materials within buildings, which is the latest and most advanced technology [3].
For example, they use automated systems which control the internal environment
and can communicate with occupants [7].

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ISBS 2019 - 4th International Sustainable Buildings Symposium

Therefore, this study focuses on understanding the variations between the

definition and application of smart buildings, mainly in regard to human behavior
and cultural influences. In other words, it analyzes the gap, if there is one, between
theory and practice targeting the developing countries, by using Egypt as a case
study. In addition, it will illustrate the relationship between sustainability and
smart buildings. Therefore, the research will be divided into three parts. The first
part will include a comprehensive illustration of smart buildings, followed by the
understanding of the human and cultural considerations and effects. Then, it will
end by analyzing the Egyptian society throughout various ways.

2. Research methodology

The research used two main approaches: the theoretical and the practical.
Generally, both adopted the analytical methodology to achieve their goals. During
the study period, it was clear that there is no clear comprehension of the meaning of
smart buildings among many of the research study sample. Since the full compre-
hension of the nature of these buildings is crucial to the achievement of the research
goals, to later on link them with the research two other variables; the human behav-
ior and culture influences. Thus firstly, the theoretical part focused on establishing
a comprehensive understanding of smart buildings as the base of the study. This is
followed by an elaboration to the meaning and importance of human behavior and
cultural influences in the scope of smart buildings and their success.
As for the practical part; it discusses the Egyptian experience in the above-
mentioned area. The research depends on surveying and gathering data for Egypt in
2018 to acquire updated information. Thus the researcher conducted more than 40
interviews presenting different experts, companies, and organizations with various
specialties involved in the building sector. Although the participants are not anony-
mous to the study, all identifying information will remain confidential [8]. Thus,
the research will include the overall analyzed output of these interviews. Moreover,
the used case studies aim to further illustrate the role of human behavior and
culture influence in both public and residential buildings. The researcher depended
mainly in analyzing them on the information supported by their architectural firms
and public building facility manager.

3. Smart buildings

3.1 Terminologies and definition

There are multiple terminologies and definitions addressing smart buildings

as a concept [6]. In terms, there are Intelligent, Smart, and High-Tech Buildings.
They represent an evolution to the concept throughout time, but with one funda-
mental aim, which is adopting a high level of technology. Thus the study will use
Smart Buildings’ term while presenting a comprehensive understanding of it. In
definition, smart buildings are buildings which sustain the latest technologies of
the era, in response to the users’ demands and to adapt to the internal and external
circumstances and environment [3]. They are flexible buildings that use technol-
ogy to modulate themselves through using various systems and services, hence
maintaining internal equilibrium. The building turns to be a number of computer-
controlled [1] smart environments that gather and use information about the
internal environment and its occupants to enhance their experience within that
environment [3].

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3.2 Aims

There are three main aims to smart buildings: longevity, energy efficiency in
addition to comfort, and well-being. This means smart buildings have lower energy
consumption rates [6], in addition to reduced maintenance costs [9], and focused
resources [10], while maintaining high-performance level over a long period of time
[6]. It also means that smart buildings aim at creating a more comfortable, safe,
and secure built environment for occupants, to increase their satisfaction levels [2].
Thus, the buildings will be adaptive, accounting for the users’ various perceptions
of comfort, the changes in the buildings or in their use, in addition to the changes in
the external climate conditions [6].
This will be achieved through using various technologies that are considered
the latest and most updated, such as building information modeling (BIM), smart
materials, building automated systems (BAS), and building management systems
(BMS). The building will have computer-controlled systems, services, and net-
works, which requires wired and wireless IT services, in addition to electronic sen-
sors and monitors, and voice, video, and data services. The technologies used can
be related to specific building functions such as mechanical and lighting systems.
For example, the BAS will preserve the indoor climate within a certain range of
human comfort. It communicates with occupants and thus provides lighting and air
conditioning levels based on their behaviors and needs, using occupancy schedules
[9]. Finally, some opinions view smart aims to revolve in the same horizon as the
sustainability aims. But what is the real relation between them?

3.3 Sustainability and echo-tech architecture

For a long time now, the world has been increasingly concerned about climate
change due to the increase in the carbon footprint. It is common knowledge that
buildings account for about 40% of the global carbon emissions. Commercial build-
ings alone in developed countries contribute with up to 20%, which is about half of
the total emissions. In answer to that need and many others, sustainable or green
architecture evolved [10]. Although the definition of sustainability is always chang-
ing [11], however, it could be said that sustainability is simply meeting today’s needs
without coming over or compromising the ability to satisfy future generations’
needs. These needs involve social and cultural needs in addition to environmental
needs; hence it changes from one society and region to another [1]. Some of the
fundamental aims of sustainability will be illustrated in Table 1.
Throughout fulfilling these aims, sustainable buildings actually succeeded in
achieving many goals. For example, they can reduce potable water use by about
35%, with zero water discharge in addition to an overall energy consumption sav-
ings of about 50%. The reduction in lighting consumption reached 88%, with 90%
of building needs is achieved from daylight. As for materials used, around 80% can
be either recycled or recyclable. Furthermore, 75% of users can have an outside
view [11]. So, the question came back to the nature of the relationship between
smart buildings and sustainability.
As illustrated in Table 1, the three main aims of smart buildings are part of sus-
tainability fundamental aims. So why some specialists still do not consider it as an
environmentally conscious architecture. They debate that while some of its designs
can be sustainable, others are not, and thus it is not. According to them, it works in
regard to technology and not sustainability. In other words, what makes the differ-
ence is the methodology in applying the aims. Additionally, it does not achieve some
of the core aims of sustainability. Thus, smart buildings are not necessarily sustain-
able, simultaneously; sustainable buildings are not necessarily smart. However,

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Key words to the aim Terms of use

Resources • Reduce resource consumption

• Reuse resources
• Use recyclable resources

Wastes • Waste nothing

Natural environment/site • Protect nature and prevent its degradation
• Eliminate toxics
• Design in context
• Adapt to place
Energy • Design for low energy
• Use renewable energy

Design • Optimize rather than maximize

• Create a livable and productive environment
• Accessibility

Economics • Apply life-cycle costing

• Focus on quality

Internal environment and human welfare • Maximize internal environment quality

• Maximize human comfort and safety

Water • Conserve water consumption

• Water/sewage treatment
• Use recycle water

Table 1.
The main aims of sustainability, while bolding the smart aims found in them [1].

Figure 1.
The relationship between smart buildings and sustainability.

when combining smartness with sustainability, as illustrated in Figure 1, that is

what some prefer to call Echo-Tech buildings. Hagan explains them as buildings
that pursue a different relationship with their environment throughout technology
[1]. So sustainable design supported with smart technologies, with their increasing
levels of sophistication, starts a new era for building’s performance. It achieves low-
carbon footprint and all the requirements of sustainability [7]. Due to this intangible
relation between sustainability and smartness, some people began perceiving that
minimizing the site’s carbon footprint as the fourth aim of smart buildings [2].

3.4 Types, approaches, and technology

It is now fair to say that over time, two main types of smart buildings were devel-
oped. The research will refer to them as intelligent smart buildings and sustainable
smart buildings (echo-tech buildings). The first type aims only to achieve technol-
ogy, while the second type sustains both technology and environmentally conscious
design. Both will employ a wide range of technologies in order to improve the

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buildings’ efficiency in various categories, while connecting them to users as well

as to each other. This requires smart information and communication technology
(ICT) systems, devices, and networks [11].
All buildings have four main phases: planning and design phase, construction
phase, operation and maintenance phase, and finally the demolition phase. While
sustainability succeeded in taking part in the four phases, smart buildings still have
work to do. During the planning, design, and construction phases, there are three
different approaches to conduct a smart building, and they are [2]:

• Performance-based approach: it depends on the building performance in

relation to users’ environment and needs. It also emphasizes the resources’
efficient use in relation to costs and international codes and standards.

• Services-based approach: it is related to the quality of services provided by

buildings, such as smart functions, automation, and communications.

• System-based approach: it deals with all the high-end technology adopted by

the building’s design and construction.

Developing a successful smart building requires the right integration of these

three approaches not adopting only one of them. This combination will work with
all regulations, creating an optimal efficient composition of systems, structure,
services, and management [2]. This will help to make the design and construction
phases more efficient, with fewer costs and no wastes. Furthermore, it can show its
true value and smartness during the operation and maintenance phase.
During the planning and design phase, BIM can be used, in addition to imple-
menting the smart technologies that will function during the operation phase.
They are related to various building functions, such as heating, ventilation, and air
conditioning (HVAC) [11], electrical lighting, water fixtures, and fire control. More
functions and services include vertical transport, security and access, voice and
data communications, and finally TV and image communications. As aforemen-
tioned, all of these services will use various systems: BAS, BMS, and/or building
energy management systems (BEMS), using integrated computerized and network
systems [2]. However, BIM and BEMSs are still developing, offering new innova-
tions that are impacting the building industry greatly every day [11]. Throughout
using these systems and services, information is gathered aiding in the building
operation [6]. And by using analytical software, it can aid in detecting and address-
ing various sources of energy waste and failures [10]. This information will further
aid with improving occupant’s experience and performance [6].
Smart technology is not only about systems but also includes materials. Some
smart materials are available now and some are still in the testing phase. For exam-
ple, the self-healing coatings are already in use, but only for water-based structures,
while the smart concrete that can heal its own cracks, is still in the testing phases
[5], that is beside the smart nanostructures, nanomaterial, chromic materials, etc. A
smart building should sustain an integration of all smart technologies during all the
building phases, involving all the available fields.
In 1980, the Arabic World Institute was established. At that time, the building
facade was considered smart. It was designed to respond to changing environments.
However, nowadays the facade system does not work, due to a technical failure in
the mechanical system. So, constructing a smart building, that sustains technology
which cannot be used or maintained, is not smart [3]. That is why, current smart
technologies are working on monitoring the users, and the systems to analyze
their behavior and detect the errors [12] over a period of time, from 3 to 5 years.

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It can even give an advice to the operator about what to do. An example to that is
the ecostruxure building system that includes the building advisor. It is the latest
technology Schneider electric has. They consider it a BAS that is used for BMS. It
controls the HVAC, power, security, lighting, and fire systems. It is currently
applied in the Massa Hotel in the new capital in Egypt [13].

3.5 Costs

The demands for smart technologies continue to grow [11]. While developed
countries can afford the costs of it, with sustainability or not, using the appropriate
methods required to establish and maintain them [3]. Developing countries still
might not be able to afford all the technologies due to their high costs. To some,
the actual challenge will be in the operating cost of the building [10]. Since around
75% of a building’s costs over its lifetime goes to maintenance and operation [14].
However, others believe that the real value of smart technology is during the opera-
tion phase. This is due to the actual decrease it creates in the total running costs.
In addition to the other values, it gives by sustaining the resources. Values that can
be more important, especially when over 40% of the world population is living
under water stress, with an expected increase in water demands of more than 55%.
Additionally, 40% of the world’s energy is consumed by buildings. And 30% of
this energy is wasted due to inefficient BMS [14]. A study conducted showed that
a building decreased its energy use by 28%. The first 18% savings came from using
no cost or low fixes, while the remaining 10% required capital investment and some
upgrades. Another study illustrated that ongoing monitoring can additionally save
from 10 to 25% due to the smart technologies adopted, which are currently more
available and with easier implementation methods [10]. Also, implementing smart
technology in the initial design phase will reduce the construction’s costs [9].
Another challenge facing smart buildings is maximizing the profitability that
each service will provide. However, the current increase in energy costs and water
and their rarity in some regions are making smart technologies and sustainabil-
ity more appreciable to clients, especially since its rapid evolvement allows it to
decrease in costs [11]. Finally, although around 20% of buildings’ managers and
operators use only around 80% of the BMS’ possible capabilities, [14] it is expected
that by 2040, the world’s economy will be 33% more energy efficient [15].

4. Human behavior and cultural influences

Two of the most important factors that affect the buildings’ success during
all their life stages are humans and their culture. Humans are clients, developers,
users, workers, specialists, etc. Every one of those has his effect on the building
due to his different behavior. So is the local cultural, it can have a great influence
on the building, since societies are different around the globe, although the needs
for comfort and security might be the same [9]. So buildings are influenced by the
beliefs and values of the society it sustains, and since smart buildings incorporate
the latest technology [2], this requires a special handling, to achieve the targeted
aims from the implemented systems and services. Thus understanding human’s
behavior, needs, and cultures are crucial in smart buildings to maintain his welfare,
comfort, security, and high building efficiency. For example, buildings’ designers
assume that the users will use their designs in the same way it was meant for. That is
not the usual case, so there is sometimes a decrease in the building performance [6],
related to the changed behavior. Although users’ behavior might be complex and
hard to predict, it reveals errors and drawbacks in the BMS. Thus studying smart

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buildings’ users’ behavior helps with predicting, for example, energy consumption,
thus developing successful strategies for energy-conscious behavior. Furthermore,
it helps in developing more accurate scenarios to the buildings [16]. This is why that
users’ involvement must best define them.
This can be achieved by educating everyone especially users on smart buildings
technologies efficient use and value [7]. Usability is the main challenge, especially
in developing countries, when adopting these systems. Some systems overwhelm
users with too many features in an unfamiliar user interface [10]. It is clear that
human behavior can cause poor performance; however, there is no single set of
circumstances that will be suitable for all users, due to cultural influences. Mainly
users like [6]:

• Situations that do not require much their intervention to change things to

normal.

• Opportunities to act fast and efficient for corrections and interventions in a

simple way.

Finally, smart-conscious users can have a great effect on the overall building
efficiency and all the vital systems, knowing that throughout motivation there can
be behavioral change. This can help in creating a balance between automation and
users of a building. Studies showed that conscious behavior can save around one-
third of energy consumption [16].

5. Egypt smart buildings

5.1 Aims and structure of study sample and interviews

In order to analyze Egypt in 2018, as previously mentioned, the research con-

ducted more than 40 interviews to acquire the needed information. The study
sample involved experts, academics, building operator, architects, and electrical,
mechanical and civil engineers. It also included participants from governmental
organizations, industrial section, smart systems, and equipment providing compa-
nies, in addition to architecture, interior, construction, and landscape firms’ mainly
owners and managers working as contractors, consultants, and in maintenance.
However, the research focused on architects, thus, around 40% of the study sample
presented them.
In the beginning, the interviews were structured in the aim of assessing the
best smart buildings in Egypt and the effect of human behavior and the cultural
influences on them. However, after conducting some interviews, their output led to
changing the nature of the interviews to sustain the unexpected preliminary results.
Thus, the new aim of the interviews became understanding, from the sample point
of view, if there are smart buildings in Egypt or not and the reason behind their
answers. The majority, of the study sample in general and architects especially,
illustrated that there are no smart buildings in Egypt for various reasons. Moreover,
almost all the samples that stated yes, after reintroducing the meaning of smart
buildings to them as presented by the research first part, changed their opinions.
Some agreed that from this point of view, there are no smart buildings, while the
others stated that they are very few smart buildings, but the level of their success
varied between them; it ranged from 30 to 80% at the most. Finally, the interviews
illustrated that there is a problem between the theories and their application in
Egypt. This will be thoroughly discussed in the following part.

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5.2 Theory and application

By studying the Egyptian society and analyzing the concept of smart buildings
in it, throughout the conducted interviews, it was clear that there was a gap between
the theory and application on different scales. There were many misconceptions;
the research believes it to be due to the lack of knowledge and real understanding.
Firstly, the interviews showed that firms generally either used the BIM or the BAS
and the BMS. There is no integration between all types as it should be. That meant
that there is smart implementation during either the design and construction stages
or during the operation stage [17].
Secondly, while few participants believed that many firms work successfully with
BIM, others believed that BIM is never implemented accurately in Egypt. According
to BIM specialist Sherif Salah, although many firms declare that they work with BIM
[18], they actually do not. They may think that using Revit software, or so, meant
that they achieved the goal, forgetting that there are many stages, levels, steps, and
requirements in order to state that this is a BIM Building. Even large firms with a
special department for BIM, still do not do it correctly due to sometimes the local
culture influence. He thinks that it might help when approving the Egyptian BIM
code, which is still in the drafting phase. Furthermore, a local construction company
supported that opinion throughout admitting that they don’t use BIM correctly
since they only apply around 30% of its capabilities. However, to them and with that
percentage of achievement alone they reached great levels in efficiency, time-saving,
preventing errors and clashes, minimizing wastes and simultaneously decreasing the
costs during construction. The main drawbacks that are facing BIM in the eyes of
specialists are mainly cultural. For example, when the project is governmental, the
culture of completing stages before officials’ visits is more dominating than working
with the BIM schedule. Another reason illustrated by the sample is that some firms
have a problem with leaving the control of the whole project to one person they
might find hard to replace in case he left. Finally, many declared that the NEWGIZA
project, a still an under construction project in Egypt, is one of the best projects that
succeeded in using BIM efficiently. However, there were other trials before it such as
the new Egyptian museum and Cairo festival city [17].
Thirdly, the interviews showed that there is a gap between the image of a smart
building in the mind of Egyptians and the reality to what smart actually is. This
confusion is not only in the mind of simple users but also specialists. Some consider
that to be smart or a BAS; buildings must sustain some technology coming from a
science fiction movie. Also, in the high-standard residential sector, averagely only
one client from every 30 clients require BAS for their homes, and only for luxury
and showiness. Moreover, there is no understanding to the difference between
automated and computerized and what their relationship with BMS is. So simply,
a computerized system means using computers and needing an operator to work
with it. The automated system is a system that can work automatically with differ-
ent scenarios in case of errors without needing an operator. As for the BMS, this is
the system used to manage the building as a whole and they can be computerized or
automated.
Finally, the most shocking realization of them all was that the majority of the
participants, specialists included, believed that there are no smart buildings in
Egypt. As previously mentioned, whenever there is a yes it was either retracted or
accompanied with there are very few trials and the levels of their success varied
from 30 to 50 to 80% at the maximum. Some justified their answer, for having
smart buildings, by having LEED-certified buildings, which according to them
are smart buildings. Others considered that working with solar cells for conserv-
ing energy is enough to be smart, in addition to the reasons of using some smart

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equipment or using BIM or BAS. By, analyzing all of these reasons, they were not
enough to say these buildings are fully smart. Being LEED-certified might make the
buildings smart but there is no must in it; that will be further discussed later on.
While the reasons behind the belief of the absence of smart buildings in Egypt
also vary; they were more realistic. Participants who said no, supported their
answers throughout many current drawbacks working toward the prevention of
creating real smart buildings and the spread of smart technologies. In summary, to
them, there is lack of suitable infrastructure and binding building codes, in addition
to the high costs and absence of the required efficient experience on various scales
from workers and up till the experts, in some and not all opinions. For example,
establishing solar cells just to provide the stairs lighting, lifts, and motors electricity,
for a six-floor-building, will cost around 100,000 L.E. and need a space of around
50 m2. As for home automation, a 100 m2 flat will need an overhead of about
100,000 L.E. for the smart technology implementation and devices required. It will
include cameras, alarms, gates, light, sound, water, shutters. and AC [13].
The other prevailing reason, from the study sample point of view, was the cur-
rent Egyptian culture for a variety of reasons. Firstly, the local society is not aware
of the value or importance of creating such architecture in addition to it not being
in his priorities or expectations. Actually, they believe that to create smart buildings
high costs is required as previously mentioned. Costs that in their eyes can be used
to sustain their more urgent demands, as a developing country. Moreover, to the
public, these buildings require special users with special behavior. Thus, the normal
Egyptian will find it overwhelming to use, without special training and education,
which will simultaneously lead to a high level of maintenance. The study partici-
pants expressed it to be a huge waste of much-needed money in the eyes of the local
society at the expense of their more urgent demands.

5.3 Toward a smarter Egypt

This depressing realization, that Egypt does not have smart buildings was given
the hope of change by two things. The opinion of a few participants that today the
government is going toward a smarter country with a soon to be changed in culture.
That opinion was supported after visiting ICT2018. This intelligent cities exhibition
sustained many companies in various fields, representing the latest technologies
that are available currently in Egypt. Some of them are already implemented in
various projects in Egypt; some will be implemented in Egypt’s new administrative
Capital and the other 13 cities that are being built now in Egypt. According to the
Ministry of Housing, all these cities have smart infrastructure; communication,
electricity, clean energy as in solar cells.
Some technologies presented by ICT2018 are aimed to be used in the near
future. Examples of smart technologies that were available at the exhibition are
BMS, BAS, security systems, fire systems, home automation systems, solar energy,
power systems, etc. So, not only smart technologies found were about energy and
water conservation, but also about human’s security, level of luxury, and well-being
[13]. For example, the latest invention in fire protection is using water mist as the
smartest way for firefighting. It has almost no running costs and with no damaging
effect on the equipment. It is already used in El-Sida Zinab station library. Other
technologies were related to smart meters for electricity, gas, and water, also IPTV/
OTT, Home Automation, and smart city management. As aforementioned, most
of these technologies aim to take place in Cairo new administrative Capital and
NEWGIZA project. This exhibition was a great effort from the government toward
implementing more smart technologies and spreading the needed awareness about
them in the local community [13].

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5.4 LEED-certified buildings

It is now fair to say that the best option for finding, to some extent, smart
public buildings in Egypt will be among the buildings created in the aim of
achieving the LEED certification. LEED is a certification that states that this
building succeeded in achieving its sustainability goals and the level of its success.
It is an assessment tool developed by the USGBC [16] and helps in determining
sustainable buildings. In spite of its criticism that it is a tick-the-box exercise
that detracts architects from creating a real sustainable building, in their aim to
gain points. Furthermore, it overlooks humans that are the core of sustainable
communities [9]. LEED has four types of certification: Platinum, Gold, Silver, or
Certified [19]. Due to the spreading awareness of sustainability in Egypt, in the
last five years, certified buildings expanded. Currently, according to GBIG organi-
zation, there are now 17 LEED-certified projects [20] as illustrated in Table 2.
Thus, smart buildings trials found in Egypt are mainly sustainable smart build-
ings (echo-tech) type.

Project name Date of certification Type of certification

EMEC Headquarters 23-06-2018

Bureau 175 15-05-2017

Delta Textile Shamal El Saeed 10-09-2017

Galleria 40 28-01-2016

Credit Agricole Egypt 21-03-2016

Headquarters

Outsourcing Service Building—MB4 21-03-2016

ROC Office Building 10-07-2016

Aramex Burg El-Arab 11-08-2016

MARS EGYPT SITE DEVELOPMENT 12-08-2016

Dar Al-Handasah New Premises 09-09-2015

in Cairo

New Connection 13-10-2015

Mobinil New Call Center—Pyramids 12-03-2014

Height

RAYA Offices 01-06-2014

Info Fort Warehouse Project 26-06-2013

LOREAL PYRAMIDS 12-08-2013

Aramex Mashreq Warehouse—Cairo 20-12-2012

HSBC Bank Egypt Cairo Processing 26-01-2010

Centre

Table 2.
LEED-certified projects in Egypt [21].

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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.87836

6. Case studies

As previously mentioned, multiple gaps were created in the process of applying

smart buildings in Egypt. Actually, it was discovered that due to many cultural reasons,
there are no real integrated smart buildings. Thus, the selected case studies will focus on
the buildings that implemented smart technology during the operation stage. Since this is
the most obvious phase to the users and where human influences are at their maximum.

6.1 Case study (1)

The first project, shown in Figures 2 and 3, is Credit Agricole, an office building
for a bank and an example for public buildings. A brified info card for the building
is illustrated in Table 3.

Figure 2.
To the left, an overall view to the bank and to the right, an exterior view to the main entrance [22].

Figure 3.
The reception hall interior [22].

First case study

Name Credit Agricole Egypt Headquarters
Certification type LEED for New Construction 2009 Platinum certified
Date of certification 03-21-2016
Building type & project size Office Building, with 265,386 sqft
Location Cairo Ring Road, New Cairo City, 12411
Architecture firm Engineering Consultant Group (ECG)

Table 3.
Case study (1) info card [21].

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It was selected because it is considered from the top 6% projects in this version
of the LEED-assessment system [21]. It was also selected because it is new but
with two years of operation. It was considered a smart building mainly due to the
systems and services it provides for its BMS.
According to the head of facility management and projects control of the build-
ing, architect Said Hassan, this building succeeded in achieving its goals during its
first six months of operation. To achieve that, it first required special training to the
operators on the new systems and services involved. It uses BMS, with an integra-
tion of both computerized and automated systems. It includes the HVAC, security,
fire control, lighting, and water systems. Some systems are standalone systems,
some needs the operators to follow-up and work on the errors. Other systems are
programmed to take actions in certain scenarios like in the case of a shutdown [23].
This building was given the platinum certification since it succeeded in improv-
ing the building performance rating by 48%, while 35% of its power was green. It
also used 20% recycled content materials, and another 20% regional materials, in
addition to 50% are FSC-certified wood products. As for the indoor environment,
90% of the used spaces have quality views. Finally, in water conservation, there was
a reduction in potable landscape water by 50% and indoor water use by 40% [21].
Both human behavior and culture influences have their roles in affecting the smart
technologies of the building, however, they were minor and were dealt with, within
the first 6 months in operation. That is because there was no much interaction
between the users and the implemented smart systems, only the trained operators
were subjected to it. For example, users’ curiosity led to some situations and errors
with the emergency systems. Another problem was cultural due to the need for
ablution before praying. This led to misuse of the infrared water taps, so replacing
them near the praying area was a must [23].

6.2 Case study (2)

The second project, shown in Figure 4, was selected although it is still under
construction because it represents another type of building, the smart residential
building type. A briefed info card for the building is illustrated in Table 4. The
smartness here usually comes from using the home automation systems. In this
building sector, the need to create a smart home comes firstly from the client, which
is rare. Most do not want the initial higher costs. Approximately, if a normal villa
finishing costs around 1,000,000 L.E., it will need additional of around 300,000
L.E. for adding smart technologies. So it could be said that there is around 30%
increase in the finishing costs. Thus, most clients do not go for it [18].
Owners only go for smart technology when they are really conscious about the
energy and water conservation, it will lead to and thus the decrease in the operating
costs. Or they use it seeking luxury, welfare, security, and a show to a certain living

Figure 4.
View of the entrance and stairs inside the villa [18].

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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.87836

Second case study

Building type Residential villa

Location Evergreen Compound, 6th October, Giza, Egypt

Architecture firm Platoon designs

Table 4.
Case study (2) info card [18].

standard. Both are rare in the current culture and done on individual bases, so no
valuable influences were observed in the operation stage.

7. Conclusion

Smart buildings are the trend of this era. They have two main types: sustainable
and intelligent. The perfect combination is being a smart building and also sustain-
able. It sustains many technologies and is affected greatly by human behavior and
cultural influences. Designing a smart building require planning and understanding
of its approaches and phases. Its importance comes from their ability to reconcile
human control with the automated systems, to achieve human welfare, comfort,
and security.
Egypt was the research case study. While the starting aim of the research was to
evaluate the effect of both human behavior and cultural effects on the successful
smart buildings in Egypt. It discovered that the local culture actually stopped the
development of real smart buildings from the start. The society has different needs
and expectations and thus must first gradually develop its culture and perceptions
with better education to the meaning and requirements of smart buildings, in addi-
tion, to the smart technology available in Egypt for use.
By conducting many interviews and by using some case studies, it was demon-
strated that smart buildings were created mainly to achieve the LEED, or conserve
energy, water, and create a comfortable and safe interior environment. Or it is
used as a symbol to a certain social standard, providing luxury, safety, and well-
being. Current human behavior and cultural influences on the smart buildings
during operation were illustrated many times, although they were minor and
did not lead to the buildings’ failure. The main drawbacks that are facing smart
technology in Egypt beside culture are costs, finding the qualified experience, and
infrastructure.
Finally, as one of the study sample participants stated, there are many theoreti-
cal pieces of researches on smart buildings, however with no real successful practi-
cal application to them in Egypt. Although ICT2018 exhibition and the new 13 cities
were great steps toward implementing smart technologies, but still, there is much
expected to be conducted to establish smart buildings as it needs to be in Egypt.

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Author details

Reham M.M. Mohie El-Din

Department of Architectural Engineering and Building Technology, Modern
Academy for Engineering and Technology, Cairo, Egypt

*Address all correspondence to: eng_rehammostafa@yahoo.com

© 2019 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms
of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/
by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is properly cited.

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Smart Buildings in Relation to Human Behavior and Cultural Influences in Egypt
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.87836
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Chapter 6

Architecture Competitions and

Sustainability Criteria: The
Example of eVolo Skyscraper
Competition
Gizem Kuçak Toprak

Abstract

This study stems from the idea that developed in architectural competitions, which
address sustainability principles, will influence other acquisition methods, such as bid-
ding and direct commissions, and design processes, and that they allow the emergence
and dissemination of new ideas. Since the increasing numbers of high-rise buildings
and skyscrapers around the world, their environmental, social, and economic sustain-
ability are gaining significance in our day, the study will examine projects that have
been ranked in the Skyscraper Competition, which has been hosted since 2006 by
eVolo—an architectural journal that identifies its focus as technological advancements,
sustainability, and twenty-first century innovative designs—in order to determine the
way sustainability is addressed in architectural competitions. Then, the contributions
made by projects ranked in this competition, which is hosted by an organization that
is dedicated to popularizing the principle of sustainability, to the concept of sustain-
ability will be discussed and a list of proposals to overcome the deficiencies, which are
identified by the 2017 study conducted in Turkey, will be presented.

Keywords: sustainability, sustainable architecture, architecture competition,

Skyscraper Competition, eVolo Skyscraper Competition

1. Introduction

Skyscrapers date back to the Tower of Babel and the pyramids. Today, they
are considered to be solutions to certain urbanization problems, occupying less
urban space and green areas, offering various functions such as offices, housing,
and recreation within a single building around the world and in Turkey on the
one hand, while constituting an urbanization problem on the other. In the case of
Istanbul, skyscrapers face heavy criticism, especially in recent years, for the damage
they have done to Istanbul’s silhouette (Figure 1). They can only be a solution to
problems if they are designed at the right place, at the right time, and with the right
technology, materials, and load-bearing systems.
Building the highest skyscraper has been a global race, which is more intense in
some countries than others. This race continues, especially in wealthy regions like
the Emirates such as Dubai, not only against the rest of the world, but domestically
too and they continue to break their own records (Figure 2).

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Figure 1.
Views from Istanbul’s silhouette. (a) Istanbul’s silhouette 2016 [1]. (b) Istanbul’s silhouette 2017 [2].

Figure 2.
A silhouette of the Address Hotel, Dubai [3].

Twenty of the 100 tallest completed buildings in the world by height to architec-
tural top list prepared by the Skyscraper Center are located in Dubai [4]. The first
building on the list, the Burj Khalifa building, is 828 meters tall. It has a combina-
tion of concrete and steel load-bearing systems and it is an important structure that
contains office, residence, and hotel functions as well as social activities, which
makes it a tourist destination as well. In a documentary broadcasted by National
Geographic in 2011, featuring architectural historian Prof. Andrew Dolkart, it is
mentioned that the challenges that the Burj Khalifa building had to go through date
back to the Equitable Building that was constructed in 1854. The most fundamental
problems faced in skyscraper construction are carrying people vertically, prevent-
ing the structure from sinking into the ground and making lighter buildings, mak-
ing the buildings resistant against natural elements such as sun, wind, desert sand,
earthquakes, and rain, and moving occupants to a safe area in emergency situations.
The efforts to solve these problems date back to 1854, when Ernest R. Graham used
the self-locking elevator system invented by Elisha G. Otis firm in his design for the
Equitable Building. Then the Flatiron Building, Daniel Burnham and Frederick
Dinkelberg designed which could not exist without a steel load-bearing system, and
their design eliminated the problems of heaviness, sinking into the ground, and the
loss of floor space due to the load-bearing walls, which was experienced with the
Monadnock Building, designed by Daniel Burnham and John Wellborn in 1891.
Since the walls were not bearing any load anymore, glass facades became possible
and improved the use of daylight, the view, and the sun. The greenhouse effect
created by glass façades was eliminated by the air conditioning system designed
by Willis Haviland Carrier, which in turn increased floor areas in the United
Nations HQ Building. The World Trade Center Buildings were designed by Minaru
Yamasaki and Emery Roth & Sons and were built in 1973, where the problem of
carrying materials vertically for the construction of upper floors was solved by the
kangaroo crane and prefabricated building elements. Bruce Graham designed Sears
Tower in 1970, with a new steel load-bearing system that was improved for wind
resistance by moving the skeleton, which was conventionally located inside the

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building, to the outer surface. The problem of resistance against natural disasters
such as earthquakes and other ways was overcame by a new technology that allowed
flexible and rigid materials to exist together and the Taipei 101 building designed by
C.Y. Lee and partners that was completed in 2004 did endure an earthquake, while
it was under construction. All these efforts reached their highest level with the Burj
Khalifa building [5].
The Burj Khalifa building, designed by Skidmore, Owing and Merrill and
completed between 2004 and 2010, is considered an architectural and engineering
marvel due to its newly developed elevator systems, its load-bearing system and
weight, its relationship with factors such as desert sand, the facade material, and
the relationship of this material with temperature, heat, desert sand, and the load
of the articles near the facade, the problem of sinking into desert sand, emergency
exit problems, and the work on the relationship between the ground relationships
between the building and the desert sand (Figure 3) [5].
As demonstrated by the Burj Khalifa example, challenges of the architectural
problem change when it comes to skyscrapers. Especially from the beginning of
the design process through the completion of the design, uninterrupted construc-
tion, completion of the construction, the beginning of the building’s life time and
during the processes of ensuring sustainability, a series of complex problems will be
confronted. For skyscrapers many factors, such as project and construction man-
agement, material types and amounts, operation costs of the building after con-
struction, and the energy to be consumed gain considerable importance due to the
sheer volume and height of the building Therefore, the sustainability of skyscrapers
is considered to be a separate topic for discussion.
Sustainability as a concept became widely used and a major agenda item in
the field of architecture in the 1970s and the 1980s. In the Brundtland Report,
sustainability is addressed in terms of economic, social, and environmental
sustainability [7]. When it comes to sustainable architecture, it is found that
environmental values are prioritized and concepts such as ecological design or
ecodesign are in the foreground. Ayşin Sev defines sustainable architecture as “all
activities that prioritize the use of renewable energy sources, which are sensitive to
the environment, use energy, water, materials, and the area effectively, protect the
health, and comfort of people while taking future generations into consideration,
in every period of its existence,” and lays out its principles; resource management,
life cycle design, and human-oriented design [8]. The strategies for implementing
these principles are resource management, life cycle design, and human oriented

Figure 3.
Burj Khalifa and the other side of Burj Khalifa, Dubai [6].

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design. Resource management principles are using energy efficiently, using water
efficiently, using building materials efficiently, using building sites efficiently; life
cycle design phases are preconstruction period, construction period, and post-
construction period; human-oriented design principles are protecting the natural
environment, urban design site planning, and designing for human comfort.
Jason F. Mclennan defines sustainable architecture as design philosophy [9].
Ken Yeang explains the purpose of ecodesign as harmonious integration with
the environment. Basically, ecodesign is the process of carefully and harmoni-
ously integrating human designs with the extensive patterns, flows, processes,
and physical conditions of nature. To put it simply, it is the harmonious and
perfect integration of the built environment with the natural environment, from
source to production, use to demolition, and eventually to assimilation within
ecosystems and the biosphere. Effective integration of artificial systems with
natural systems and processes is the primary and principal problem in ecological
design or ecodesign [10].
The common association of the concept of sustainable design with ecological
design and green design becomes more striking when it comes to skyscrapers. As
Ken Yeang states in his book, skyscraper is not an ecological design [11].
In this sense, it is possible to use different design criteria for the designs that will
be developed. An examination of studies conducted in this context (the number
of studies can be increased) [8, 11–15], it is observed that many design criteria are
used together and different criteria are developed for specific buildings due to the
unique conditions of each. Environmental and economic sustainability seem to
dominate in the examples [8, 11–15] that are examined.
It is also possible to use different methods to improve, popularize, and encourage
these criteria. This study focuses on competitions as one method. The main result of
the studies conducted in 2017 [16–18] is that architectural competitions is an effective
method for developing, testing, and disseminating new ideas and it is found that that
the concept of sustainability has become an important factor in architectural competi-
tions in Turkey in the 2000s. However, a study conducted in Turkey in 2017 concluded
that [17] the concept of sustainable design generally remains only in the contest
specifications. The main subject to be examined here is the way the projects awarded by
the eVolo Skyscraper Competition—which was associated with the subject of sustain-
ability and competitors were more independent since it was for conceptual projects—
approached this subject, and the intellectual and formal innovations they offered. With
this examination, the aim is to propose a solution for the conclusions reached above,
specifically for Turkey.

2. Methodology

As a project acquisition method, architectural competitions offer several advan-

tages over other methods like bidding or direct commissioning. The most notable
advantages include freedom to experiment with new ideas, creation of a platform
that includes competitors, jury members, host of the competition, and all other
participants in a discussion on evaluating various alternatives, and publication of
competition results digitally, which allows them to access different platforms. A
study conducted in Turkey in 2017 [16] revealed that various political and military
administrations that ruled the country from 1930 to 2000 have acquired a portion
of the building types that reflected their ideology through architectural competi-
tions. Architectural competitions are not only an opportunity for independent
ideas to flourish but also a tool for popularizing ideologies. With their potential
to lead the dissemination of an idea, architectural competitions seem to be able to

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spearhead the search and transfer of how the principle of sustainability can be used
in the architectural context, development of available alternatives, and expand-
ing ways of use. Another study conducted in Turkey in 2017 [17] reveals that the
concept of “sustainability” is only addressed superficially in competition specifica-
tions and in competing submissions, and that it is thoroughly discussed only in
competitions that are specifically about this concept. Yet the concept of sustain-
ability has become one of the issues that need to be addressed thoroughly with its
environmental, social, and economic aspects in the building production process and
it should be imperatively addressed at every competition and not only the ones that
include sustainable design as a subject.
In this context, eVolo Skyscraper Competition and the award-winnings projects
between 2006 and 2018 will be examined in terms of sustainable design decisions
that are effective in design. Therefore, examination tables have been developed and
various keywords describing projects have been identified.

3. Case study

eVolo defines itself as an architecture journal that focuses on technological

advancements, sustainability, and innovative designs of the twenty-first century
and has been organizing Skyscraper Competitions every year since 2006 [19].
Tables 1–13 examine the intellectual and formal innovations brought by the
awarded projects by the competition, thanks to the more liberal environment due
to the conceptual nature of the projects. Tables 1–13 examine the projects that were
ranked first, second, and third, providing project name, name of designer, and
sustainable design decisions that influenced the design. Sustainable design deci-
sions are described with keywords from project reports, as well as certain critical
definitions and descriptions from these reports when keywords are not sufficient.
Information on these projects was obtained from eVOLO’s official website [20]. As a
result of this examination, the aim is to create a conclusion to discover the intellec-
tual and formal innovations that can be offered by the projects and the hope is that
these discoveries will reflect on skyscraper design as an added value.

Awarded projects of 2018 eVOLO Skyscraper Competition

Gradation First award Second award Third award

Project name Skyshelter.zip: Foldable Shinto Shrine/ Waria Lemuy: Fire

Skyscraper for Disaster Zones Urban Rice Farming Prevention Skyscraper
Skyscraper

Participants Damian Granosik, Jakub Tony Leung/Hong Claudio C. Araya Arias/

Kulisa, Piotr Pańczyk/Poland
Sustainable Keywords: natural disasters;
design crisis-management; serve
decisions as multi-purpose hub for
any relief operation; easy
transportation; smaller
footprint; instant deployment;
scalability and repurposing;
large external surface area;
nanomaterial based on ETFE
foil; solar cell; clean energy;
rainwater
Kong Chile
Keywords: restore Keywords: forest; face the
the traditional reconstruction from a new
interactions perspective; recover the lost
between Jinja housing and infrastructure;
(Japanese Shinto added to a restoration of
Shrine a vertically the flora and biodiversity,
organized Jinja through a system that
cum rice-farming prevents and mitigates
complex future catastrophes

Table 1.
Examination of 2018 eVolo Skyscraper Competition awarded projects in terms of sustainability principles.

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Awarded projects of 2017 eVOLO Skyscraper Competition

Gradation First award Second award Third award

Project Name Mashambas Skyscraper Vertical Factories in Espiral 3500
Megacities

Participants Pawel Lipiński, Mateusz Tianshu Liu, Javier López-Menchero Ortiz de

Frankowski/Poland Linshen Xie/United Salazar/Spain
States

Sustainable Keywords: bring the Keywords: bring Keywords: condenser tower;

design green revolution to the factories to the city; alternative urbanism;
decisions poorest people; modular Sustainable waste fundamentals of territory;
elements and system; management; Bring public and private; vertical
construct, deconstruct, nature back to the structure; public floorplans
transport city (tomato festival, agriculture
park, productive agriculture,
exchanger; catering; artificial
beach; culture; leisure;
exchanger; energy production);
reinterpretation of elements

Table 2.
Examination of 2017 eVolo Skyscraper Competition awarded projects in terms of sustainability principles.

Awarded projects of 2016 eVOLO Skyscraper Competition

Gradation First award Second Award Third Award

Project name New York Horizon The Hive: Drone Data Skyscraper: Sustainable Data
Skyscraper Center in Iceland
Participants Yitan Sun, Jianshi Hadeel Ayed Valeria Mercuri, Marco Merletti/Italy
Wu/United States Mohammad,
Yifeng Zhao,
Chengda Zhu/
United States
Sustainable Keywords: reverse Keywords: Drone Keywords: investigate a new
design decisions the traditional Technology morphological solution; represent
relationship between both the complexity and the
landscape and importance of the building into
architecture which we keep our data; maximize
the use of the available renewable
energies; allow the re-use in a
sustainable way.”

Table 3.
Examination of 2016 eVolo Skyscraper Competition awarded projects in terms of sustainability principles.

Awarded projects of 2015 eVOLO Skyscraper Competition

Gradation First award Second award Third award

Project Essence Skyscraper Invisible Perception: Cybertopia:

name Shanty-Scaper Future of an
Architecture
Space, Death of
Analogous Cities
Participants Ewa Odyjas, Agnieszka Suraksha Bhatla, Sharan Sundar/ Egor Orlov/Russia
Morga, Konrad Basan, India
Jakub Pudo/Poland

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Awarded projects of 2015 eVOLO Skyscraper Competition

Sustainable Keywords: nonarchitectural Keywords: a unique solution “A complex space

design phenomena in an urban
decisions fabric; overlapping
landscapes like an ocean, a
jungle, a cave or a waterfall
will stimulate a diverse and
complex range of visual,
acoustic, thermal, olfactory,
and kinesthetic experiences.“
for the fishermen; the vertical structure of the
squatter structure; comprised of future megapolis
post-construction debris such as combines the
pipes and reinforcement bars that physical and
crucially articulate the structural digital worlds.”
stability; Recycled corrugated metal
sheets, regionally sourced timber &
thatch; vernacular language

Table 4.
Examination of 2015 eVolo Skyscraper Competition awarded projects in terms of sustainability principles.

Awarded projects of 2014 eVOLO Skyscraper Competition

Gradation First award Second award Third award

Project Vernacular Car and Shell Skyscraper: Propagate Skyscraper: Carbon

name versatility Or Marinetti’s Monster Dioxide Structure

Participants Yong Ju Lee/ Mark Talbot, Daniel YuHao Liu, Rui Wu/Canada
United States Markiewicz/United States

Sustainable Keywords: Keywords: a city in the Keywords: carbon capture; transform

design contemporary sky; a vertical suburban carbon dioxide into solid construction
decisions adaptation neighborhood equipped material; air capture of carbon
of Korean with recreational dioxide and the resultant production
traditional and commercial of a solid construction material
architecture; areas; traditional and capable of supporting load; an
wooden structure contemporary houses and alternative mode of occupation and
other diverse programs ownership, and possibly a distinct
plug in the structure organization of social relationships

Table 5.
Examination of 2014 eVolo Skyscraper Competition awarded projects in terms of sustainability principles.

Awarded projects of 2013 eVOLO Skyscraper Competition

Gradation First award Second award Third award

Project Polar Umbrella Buoyant Skyscraper Phobia Skyscraper Light Park Floating
name Protects and Regenerates the Polar Revitalizes Paris Skyscraper
Ice Caps Suburbs
Participants Derek Pirozzi/United States Darius Maïkoff, Ting Xu, Yiming
Elodie Godo/France Chen/China

Sustainable Keywords: a statement for the Keywords: a new Keywords: no

design prevention of future depletion form of modular pollution; no traffic
decisions of our protective arctic region; a suburban residential jam; no ruined ancient
floating metropolis equipped with development; building; more O2;
National Oceanic and Atmospheric recycled industrial more public space;
Administration research materials; more socializing; more
laboratories, renewable power prefabricated units; time for life; using
stations, dormitory-style housing green spaces; water solar energy; water
units, eco-tourist attractions, and collection equipment; recycling; atmospheric
ecological habitats for wildlife; solar power panels pressure adjustment
reduction of heat gain on the artic
surface; polyethylene piping system
that pumps brackish water

Table 6.
Examination of 2013 eVolo Skyscraper Competition awarded projects in terms of sustainability principles.

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Awarded projects of 2012 eVOLO Skyscraper Competition

Gradation First award Second award Third award

Project name Himalaya Water Mountain Band-Aid Monument to
Tower Civilization:
Vertical Landfill for
Metropolises
Participants Zhi Zheng, Yiting Shen, Nanjue Wang, Ji Xia, Lin Yu-Ta, Anne
Hongchuan Zhao, Zihan Wang/China Schmidt/Taiwan
Dongbai Song/China

Sustainable Keywords: collect Keywords: mountain disruption; “Every city should have
design water in the rainy lean on the mountain surface; one garbage skyscraper
decisions season, purify it, recover both Hmong people’s to solve landfill
freeze it into ice and living tradition and mountain shortage, to feed one’s
store it for future use environment; a win-win vanity of height, and
relationship, benefiting both to remark mankind’s
human community and the icronic civilization.”
natural environment

Table 7.
Examination of 2012 eVolo Skyscraper Competition awarded projects in terms of sustainability principles.

Awarded projects of 2011 eVOLO Skyscraper Competition

Gradation First award Second award Third award

Project name LO2P: Delhi Recycling Flat Tower Re-imagining the

Center Hoover Dam
Participants Atelier CMJN Yoann Mescam, Paul-Eric Yheu-Shen Chua/
Julien Combes, Gaël Brulé/ Schirr-Bonnans, Xavier United Kingdom
France Schirr-Bonnans/France

Sustainable Keywords: recycle the Keywords: a medium- Keywords: a viewing

design old cars and use them as height dome structure platform, a bridge,
decisions building material for the that covers a large area; and a gallery scattered
new structure giant lung that solar energy and rainwater around the entire site
would clean New Delhi’s air collection; layered design
through a series of large-scale
greenhouses that serve
as filters; rotating filters;
the waste heat and carbon
dioxide from the recycling
center are used to grow
plants that in turn produce
bio-fuels

Table 8.
Examination of 2011 eVolo Skyscraper Competition awarded projects in terms of sustainability principles.

Awarded projects of 2010 eVOLO Skyscraper Competition

Gradation First award Second award third award

Project Vertical Prison Water Purification Nested Skyscraper in Tokyo
name Skyscraper in Jakarta

Participants Chow Khoon Toong, Rezza Rahdian, Erwin Ryohei Koike, Jarod Poenisch/
Ong Tien Yee, Beh Ssi Setiawan, Ayu Diah United States
Cze/Malaysia Shanti, Leonardus
Chrisnantyo/Indonesia

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Awarded projects of 2010 eVOLO Skyscraper Competition

Sustainable Keywords: a vertical Keywords: collect Keywords: adapt to climatic,

design prison in the sky,
decisions agricultural fields,
factories, and
recyclable plants that
will be operated by
the offenders as a way
to give back to the
community
the garbage of the urban, and programmatic
riverbank; purify conditions with the use of
its water through an advanced materials and robotic
ingenious system construction; carbon sleeves and
of mega-filters; the fiber-laced concrete performance;
equilibrium tubes multiple layers of louvers which
thicken and rotate according to
solar and wind exposure

Table 9.
Examination of 2010 eVolo Skyscraper Competition awarded projects in terms of sustainability principles.

Awarded projects of 2009 eVOLO Skyscraper Competition

Gradation First award Second award Third award

Project name Neo-Arc Living Bridge Vertical Farm

Participants Kyu Ho Chun, Kenta Fukunishi, Nicola Marchi, Eric Vergne/United States
JaeYoung Lee/United States Adelaide Marchi/
France

Sustainable Keywords: a possible solution Keywords: 400 m Keywords: mixing of

design to the multiple environmental
decisions problems we might have in the
year 2050; integrate the latest
green technologies; solar panels;
filtering systems for air and
water; artificial landscape that
provides shelter to plants and
people; own transportation
system
high building; fully politically opposing
integrated into the classes, social and cultural
bridge itself vertical confrontations; biomass
growing; the historic into the city use of
city can still develop surfaces to orchestrate the
and grow its density dynamic programmatic
vertically, respecting interactions and
and highlighting the the multiplicity of
existing context spatial organization they
suppose

Table 10.
Examination of 2009 eVolo Skyscraper Competition awarded projects in terms of sustainability principles.

Awarded projects of 2008 eVOLO Skyscraper Competition

Gradation First award Second award Third award

Project Layered Interiorities Skyscraper in Singapore Coastal Fog

name Skyscraper

Participants Elie Gamburg/United Rugel Chiriboga, Ted Givens/United Alberto

States States Fernández,
Susana Ortega/
Chile

Sustainable Keywords: 720 m tall
design skyscraper; integrated
decisions city; ‘interiorization’
of multiple climactic
zones; passively
conditioned air; passive
ventilation and cooling
Keywords: double skin facade; energy Keywords: a
conservation systems; modular design proposal
construction; rainwater reclamation; for lack of water;
interior gardens; exterior green 400 m height;
roofs; daylights Illumination; natural collect water
ventilation systems wih open windows; from the clouds
culture specific; gain inspiration from
the Wah Kim orchid

Table 11.
Examination of 2008 eVolo Skyscraper Competition awarded projects in terms of sustainability principles.

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Awarded projects of 2007 eVOLO Skyscraper Competition

Gradation First award Second award Third award

Project name Para-City Inverted Skyscraper Euro scraper
Typology

Participants Somnath Ray/India Yi Cheng Pan/ José Muñoz-Villers/Mexico

Sustainable Keywords: programmatically
design neutral habitats; proliferate
decisions in the varied and complex
geometrical and cultural
constructions of the present
Metropolis
United Kingdom
Keywords: Keywords: isolating the
cultivation of area; urban interventions,
difference, through potentiality; energy void;
the coexistence and vertical flows through urban
participation of attractors; mutation of
multiple types and floor areas; defining space
stakeholders with space; structural skin;
natural ventilation

Table 12.
Examination of 2007 eVolo Skyscraper Competition awarded projects in terms of sustainability principles.

Awarded projects of 2006 eVOLO Skyscraper Competition

Gradation First award Second award Third award

Project name Reciprocal Continuous Vertical City Peristal City
Conjugation

Participants Changhak Choi/ Gonzalo Pardo, Susana Neri Oxman, Mitchell Joachim/
United States Velasco, Victoria United States
González/Spain
Sustainable Keywords: Keywords: new Keywords: starting point of
design reciprocal system; psycho-geographic design: peristalsis; ideation:
decisions single geometric map; a vertical three- circulation = space; technology:
unit; growing dimensional network; fluidic muscle tectonics;
upwards and an intensified vertical environment: sky-surface as
downwards; landscape emerges; a new community realm; perspective:
vertical landscape; urbanism; more open; urban window
vertical lifeline more pragmatic

Table 13.
Examination of 2006 eVolo Skyscraper Competition awarded projects in terms of sustainability principles.

4. Conclusions

As mentioned in the introduction, architectural competitions are a project

acquisition method that nourishes the intellectual realm by disseminating and
discussing ideas and allowing them to be used in other projects. Thus, it is a valu-
able method for popularizing the use of sustainability principles and allowing
various ideas that are discussed to lead other designs. In this study, the following
conclusions were reached by examining the results of the Skyscraper Competition
held annually by eVOLO journal since 2006 in order to disseminate different ideas
on how sustainability can be addressed:

• The primary focus of the submissions have been social and economic sustain-
ability. We find proposals developed for solving social problems. Proposals
include reinterpreting vernacular architecture, using natural materials, revital-
izing production, bringing it back into the city, alternative property concepts,
and organizing social relations.

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• Certain social groups with distinct problems (such as rice producers, fisher-
men, etc.) have been addressed through skyscrapers that are designed to enable
their sustenance.

• Towers have been designed to reverse or protest the damage done by human-
ity to itself, to nature and the city (recycling carbon dioxide, waste tower
design, etc.)

• Some projects aimed to address problems such as natural disasters, drought,

and forest fires.

• Some proposals suggested combining urban functions in a vertical city struc-

ture due to space scarcity in cities.

• Some projects focused on anticipated future technological necessities such as

drone towers or data centers.

• There were new formal approaches that utilize the opportunities of new futur-
istic technologies or potential future advancements, reproducible, progenitive
forms, use of biomimicry, and the formal effects of geometric deconstruction
and the concept of differentiation.

• Some proposals addressed function and flexibility, in addition to height, as a

consideration in the global skyscraper race.

• The idea of horizontal skyscrapers was developed, questioning the existence of

skyscrapers, and the fact that they cannot exist in smaller cities.

• In addition to these main ideas, in many of the submissions, principles such as

reduction of carbon emissions, using natural energy sources, recycling water,
and convergence of building and green areas, which can be considered ecologi-
cal design principles, were included as integral parts of the design and not as
afterthoughts.

As a result of the examination of the eVolo Journal’s Skyscraper Competition, it

is determined that the concept of sustainability is not merely related to ecological
architecture and environmental values, and that addressing economic and envi-
ronmental sustainability together, developing new systems that will contribute to
the sustainability of the building in the light of technological advancements, form,
shape and geometric enquiries, and investigating flexibility, functionality, and
transformability as well as height will create an added value, that it is important to
support and promote these values through conceptual competitions, which offer an
environment of experimentation.

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Author details

Gizem Kuçak Toprak
Department of Architecture, Atılım University, Ankara, Turkey

*Address all correspondence to: gizem.toprak@atilim.edu.tr

© 2019 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms
of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/
by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is properly cited.

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[18] Kuçak TG. The place and evaluation

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Chapter 7

Learning from the Recycling

Ideas of Nature for Sustainability:
Council House (CH2)
Merve Ertosun Yıldız, Semra Arslan Selçuk and Figen Beyhan

Abstract

Building sector is playing an active role in the depletion of energy resources.

Ecological balance is hanged by a thread due to increasing waste and pollution
problem. Thus, ongoing discussions about sustainable development and environ-
mental consciousness are focusing on the “nature and built environment relation-
ship”. Furthermore, recent researches show that nature has good ideas to improve
a systematic approach to architectural design for sustainability. This discipline,
known as biomimicry, leads researchers working within interdisciplinary groups
to achieve built environments like “ecosystems” highly efficient, recycling, low
wasting. Accordingly, by learning from nature, using waste in building construction
by “recycling or reusing” has taken important place in terms of energy conserva-
tion. In this context, this chapter discusses a case study, Council House Building,
in detail from designing process to construction, from material usage to renewable
energy concerns. The findings demonstrated that a building can be designed with
sustainable design goals. This building can be called “a working ecosystem” due to
several strategies like efficient use of solar energy, natural ventilation and lighting,
using waste water, etc. It is also possible to conclude that biomimicry in the realm of
architecture should be discussed and formulated for formation of sustainable built
environments.

Keywords: biomimicry, recovery, recycling, sustainable architecture, CH2 building

1. Introduction

By the end of the twentieth century, the increase in the exhaustion rate of the
world’s limited resources leads to great environmental and social losses. In the
increasing urbanization/urbanization process, the construction sector, which
plays an active role in the consumption of energy resources, has demonstrated the
necessity of designing on the basis of people’s healthy and comfortable living, and
sustainability approaches have gained importance. Due to the increased awareness
of ecological impacts, serious studies are being carried out in developing methods
to understand and solve these effects. Recent researches have shown that nature is
a guide for worthy ideas in this context, and it is directed towards this field with
the interdisciplinary working groups of scientists. In nature, ecosystems are the
most effective examples of living organization in the world for today’s building
design, with its high efficiency, recycled approaches, little waste, and sustainable

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approaches. There are also successful examples to demonstrate that a building

within the city can be designed in line with sustainable design objectives by taking
ecosystems as a model. Council House (CH2) is one of those buildings which has
been designed by learning from the sustainability ideas found in nature. This build-
ing, which has recovery strategies such as effective solar use, natural ventilation-
lighting, use of wastewater, and the use of recycled materials are applied, has taken
its place in the literature as a working ecosystem in architecture. At the end of the
study, it is seen that, recycling ideas which works in any type of ecosystem in nature,
can be applied to the built environment through the biomimetic approaches and
sustainable results can be achieved in the buildings.

2. The concept of reuse/recycle in architecture

When sustainability concept is considered, which is in the core of economic,

social, and environmental aspects of building sector, it is seen that environmentally
sensitive design approaches can be adopted to the built environment. During the
production process, it is possible to perform conservation of natural resources,
and allow the use of the structural components throughout the life of the building.
Moreover, it will be feasible using old materials and components considered as
“waste” at the end of the life of the building by means of recycling or reuse.
Reuse of waste materials is a physical process such as collecting, cleaning, and
repeating the use of the material. Recycling is the process of converting wastes that
can be re-evaluated through a variety of physical and/or chemical processes into
secondary raw materials and including them in the production process. Reuse or
recycling of building waste is the recovery approach that aims to meet the raw mate-
rial needed for new materials to be produced. Most of the structural elements can
become recyclable when they have completed their life cycle. Thus, the raw material
consumption which is one of the main problems of the sector can be reduced, and
the buildings will show a more respectful attitude to the environment and contrib-
ute to the economy. For example, recycling of building materials could reduce total
life cycle energy by 30% [1]. Recycling aluminum or steel allows saving more than
50% of the embodied energy [2]. The use of recycling concrete can reduce the total
amount of waste by 12–15%. In addition, recycling or re-use of construction waste
can reduce demands on landfills [3]. For this reason, many countries around the
world give great importance to the recycling of structural waste. The waste man-
agement in Australia, which is an important framework for sustainability, aims to
avoid waste generation, reduce the consumption of energy and raw materials spent
in order to reveal new products, reduce the value of waste materials, and prevent
pollution [4]. Hong Kong has initiated initiatives such as the development of green
technologies, the classification of construction waste, the creation of a waste man-
agement plan scheme, and the use of recycled materials to increase the applicability
of waste management and to minimize the occurrence of structural waste [5, 6]. In
EU countries, like Germany, Holland, England, France, and Italy, the technology is
well established and highly developed, easily accessible and inexpensive, in general
for the separation and recovery of construction and demolition waste [6].
As an example, Kamikatsu Public House (Figure 1) in Japan was designed and
built in 2015 to raise awareness of reuse of building components in the county.
This building received the Kam Sustainable Buildings 2016 AP award due to its
attitude towards using re-functionalized waste materials. Components from
abandoned houses in the region were used on the building facade, recovered tiles
for flooring, bottles for luminaire and newspapers as wallpapers were used in the
building [9, 10].

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Figure 1.
Using re-functionalized waste materials on Kamikatsu Public House [7, 8].

Similarly, the Manifesto House designed by James and Mau is an eco-friendly

example completed in 2009. Designers used waste materials in their projects.
Wooden pallets were used as an envelope on the threecontainers which are used
as structure of the building (Figure 2). More than 85% of the building materials
are made of recyclable insulation, steel, paper, and aluminum. The project utilizes
prefabricated and modular components allowing more efficient construction for
potential future modifications or extensions [13, 14].
Another example, The Collage House, India was designed by S + PS Architects
in 2015 with the idea of reusing materials. The front facade is a “corner of windows”
that reuses old windows and doors gathered from the abandoned houses in the
region. They are designed to get a surface that wraps two sides of the building
(Figure 3a). Metal pipe remains repaired to construct a bamboo like “pipe wall”

Figure 2.
Recycled containers and wooden pallets of Manifesto House [11, 12].

Figure 3.
Reusing waste materials on building. (a) Doors/windows used on the Collage Houses envelope [15] and
(b) bamboo wall made of metal pipe remains [16].

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Figure 4.
Reusing brick and glass wastes on building facade: a) Crystal House [19]; b) recyclable glass components [20];
and c) recyclable glass components [21].

that integrates structural posts and downspout (Figure 3b). There is also a wall clad
made of cut-waste stone slices generated on site during the building process [17, 18].
MVRDV designed in Amsterdam a building called the Crystal House (2016). In
the construction of the project, broken and defective glass and brick wastes were
processed and reused on the facade surface (Figure 4a). In substance, whole facade
materials especially glass components are wholly recyclable (Figure 4) [22, 23, 55].
The University of Toronto Scarborough Campus (UTSC) Student Centre was
designed by Stantec Architects, 2004. A total of 16 tons of structural steel decon-
structed from the mechanical penthouse of the old Terrace Gallery of Royal Ontario
Museum (ROM) was reused in this building (Figure 5). This project shows the
processes that facilitated the reuse of structural steel components in the building
from the start of a recycling plan, deconstruction, and reconstruction [25].
As a result of sustainability-related concerns, the development of an archi-
tectural understanding that prioritizes the efficient use of existing resources is
extremely important for the protection of the environment and natural resources.
Generally, it is observed that recycle/reuse material usage for building sector is
widespread in the developed countries. In addition, these countries have developed
a number of motivations to increase the use of these materials. For example, certi-
fication systems have been developed to guarantee the quality of recycled materials
in European Union countries, such as Netherlands and Belgium. Documentation
of the quality of second-hand materials allow the recycling of wastes and use them
as secondary raw materials because of the appropriate price for material producers
[26, 27]. Moreover, research suggests that recycled materials could be in the quality
of new materials. So, recycled materials are efficient sources for the building sector
[1, 2]. Also, recycled materials instead of being waste, could create “secondary
market”, a new financial area for the sector [28].

Figure 5.
UTSC Student Centre constructed with reused steel [24].

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After all, due to potential risks on the human health and natural environment, it
is important to manage and operate effectively all building materials, especially the
wastes. The key point of that is the planning process formed by the decisions taken
in the design process. So, architects as the designers of the buildings and spaces have
growing responsibilities. From this perspective, the rest of this study quests for the
ideas and approaches found in nature and can be developed for the architecture in
terms of recycling and reusing.

3. Biomimetic architecture using recycling/reusing strategies of nature

The term of biomimicry comes from bios meaning life and mimic meaning to
imitate. It is a science that examines nature’s phenomena, processes, and elements
by mimicking nature’s best ideas to find out innovative solutions for complex
problems. It follows the nature’s way to solve human problems such as habita-
tion, nutrition, social relations, and optimization, using minimum material and
energy, effective patterns for appropriate structural solutions, etc. in a sustainable
way. So, its knowledge is based on the idea of effectiveness. Also, biomimicry
reminds that all creatures are dependent on nature, and they should continue
their lives with limited sources [29, 30]. To briefly explain, Janine Benyus in her
book sets out that there are nine basic principles of the concept of biomimicry:
“Nature runs on sunlight, uses only the energy it needs, fits form to function,
recycles everything, rewards cooperation, banks on diversity, demands local
expertise, curbs excesses from within, taps the power of limits” [31]. To sum up,
every organism in nature avoids excesses and “overbuilding”, gains maximum
efficiency with minimum material and energy, recycles, and finds a use for
everything.
The systems in nature, called “ecosystems”, are the most effective examples of
the life organization in the world and building designs with high efficiency, low
waste, and sustainable structures. Recoveries of organisms by using waste as a
source, as a result of the reactions in the cell systems, the cycle of carbon dioxide,
are an example for reusing in the ecosystems. Also, there is a significant cycle in the
ecosystems. The seeds are planted in the soil after which they become trees, and the
trees give fruits (the seeds are waste but they are actually the source).
Benyus and Koelman who studies about adapting basic principles of bio-
mimicry to architecture, say that biomimicry can find three basic areas of
performance [32]:

• development of more durable, strong, and self-healing and self-repairing

materials,

• the use of natural processes and forces in the air conditioning of buildings and
built environment, and

• generation of built environments by producing resources, energy conservation

and recyclable, and enabling waste reuse.

Biomimicry has three main levels which include form, process, and ecosystem
[33]. These can be applied when a design problem is tackled. Through analyzing
the organism or ecosystem, form and process in nature, a solution can be entirely
biomimetic. At that time, it is important to define which feature(s) in nature is to be
mimicked [33].

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Tables 1–4 indicate some examples presenting biomimetic idea in architecture.

These examples indicate that biomimicry can be used in different levels in terms of
needs in architecture.
The environmental problems are a global reality. The built environment is
responsible global environmental and social problems like waste, materials, energy
use, and greenhouse gases emission. The growing concern of environment has
led to the need for energy conscious, eco-friendly, and energy efficient designs to
minimize the negative effect of buildings and its related activities on the environ-
ment. In this context, biomimicry approach and principals could provide guide for
sustainability design.

Beijing National Aquatic Centre Example 1

Place Beijing, China

Construction year 2008

Design team CSCEC +

PTW + CCDI and
ARUP

Concept Water bubbles

Biomimicry level Organism

Learn from nature:

• visually striking, energy efficient, and ecologically friendly building design

• maximizing natural light and capturing solar energy to heat the interior spaces

• water efficiency (rainwater harvesting, recycling, efficient filtration and backwash systems)

Table 1.
Water Cube (Beijing National Aquatic Centre) [34, 35].

Dragonfly Vertical Farm Example 2

Place USA

Construction year 2009

Design team Vincent Callebaut

Architectures

Concept Exoskeleton of a
dragonfly

Biomimicry level Organism and

behavior

Learn from nature:

• true living organism, becomes thus metabolic and self-sufficient in water, energy, and bio fertilizing.

• nothing is lost; everything is recyclable to a continuous auto-feeding

Table 2.
Dragonfly Vertical Farm [36, 37].

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Hydrological Centre for University of Namibia Example 3

Place Namibia
Construction year Concept

Design team Matthew Parkes’ of KSS

Architects

Concept African Stenocara Beetle

Biomimicry level Organism

Learn from nature:

• water recycling; a series of arched shell designs utilizing water in the system
• water retention; a low-level technological approach

Table 3.
Hydrological Centre for University of Namibia [38–40].

The Bird’s Nest (Bejing National Stadium) Example 4

Place Bejing, China

Construction year 2008
Design team Herzog & de
Meuron, Arup

Concept Bird nest

Biomimicry level Behavior

Learn from nature:

• cost reduction and recyclable principles adopted
• openings on the façade used to provide natural ventilation
• panels reduced the dead load supported by the roof

Table 4.
The Bird’s Nest (Bejing National Stadium) [33, 41].

4. CH2-Council House, Melbourne

A 10-storey office building Council House 2 (CH2), which is totally 12,536 m2

with commercial spaces on the ground-floor and underground parking lots, has
been designed by mimicking the ecology using the natural 24-hour cycle of solar
energy, natural light, recycling rainwater to power, heat, cool, and water the build-
ing [42]. The first application of the biomimetic design approach in Australia was
designed by Mick Pearce (DesignInc). During the design, every possible element
of the building was planned on the basis of the “laws of nature”, and the concept
of biomimicry has shaped the building’s form, material, and all technical and
mechanical components. The design concept is defined as “…if human beings no
longer wish to survive, they have to create harmonious and more sustainable spaces
within the nature” [43].

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The design team states that CH2 is a highly energy efficient and sustainable
building, with all its systems and spaces. The building provides all of its compo-
nents like a living organism and summarized by the design team as follows [46]:

• Leaf structure: clean and operate the air with strewing heat and saving energy

• Bronchia: closed duct areas to transport gases

• Root: linking with ground for public areas, recycling space for non-potable
water

• Stem: controlling heating, cooling and ventilation systems by using air gas and
primary core structure

• Layer of skin: CH2’ vertical form

○ Epidermis: external layer of facade-vertical planting (green facade)

○ Dermis: sub-layer of skin to filter external influence likes light, wind etc.

• Antennae: the wind pipes (vertical pole) that have equipment for providing air
movement to control of ventilation, cooling systems

• Bark: external ventilation module for protecting the indoor spaces by filtering
waste and toilets air

• Soft body: the indoor spaces of the building which people spend time.

The CH2 building design inspired from nature; especially from the termite
mounds for natural indoor ventilation and from tree for the design of building skin
(Figure 6b and c). In fact that, biomimicry can be seen in whole building. First of
all, the west facade behaves like an epidermis of the tree so it can be sensible to the
external climate [46]. The north and south facades, inspired from the tree, and were
designed as wind pipes so they provide air movement on the building (Figure 7a
and b). The east facade is like a building core that has the services areas and toilets.
It performs like a tree bark and protecting the spaces by filtering air and light
(Figure 7c) [33].

Figure 6.
Council House 2 inspired by nature. (a) Council House 2 Building [44], (b) design concept [45], and (c) CH2’s
natural analogy [45].

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Learning from the Recycling Ideas of Nature for Sustainability: Council House (CH2)
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.87836

Figure 7.
Council House 2. (a) The wind pipes [47], (b) the wind pipes [48], and (c) the bark (inspired eastern
facade) [45].

The termite mound was a model for the CH2 thermal design concept which
mimics natural convection, thermal mass, ventilation heaps, and water use for
cooling (Figure 8). CH2 has many energy efficient/sustainability principles and
includes many technological features. For example, it uses thermal mass for absorb-
ing excess heat, it also uses facades to cool and heat building with its recycled
timber louvers controlled by photovoltaic cells. Furthermore, it has wind-powered
turbines which help cooling the building at night. The recycling of the waste heat
generated inside the building for their heating/cooling system, so there is always an
air movement [46].
The other striking features of CH2 are the five shower towers (Figure 9), in
which water droplets evaporate slightly as they use up energy and thus cool the
air. The shower towers take the water used from the phase change place and recool
them for using again within the phase change place. Later, the water evaporates
slightly, taking energy, and cooling the remaining droplets of water [53, 54]. There
is a system always reusing water.
CH2 building design is based on the fundamental “laws of nature”. It is con-
cerned with developing architectural responses which are expression of ecosystem.
In this way, design approaches that cover the principles of sustainability have been

Figure 8.
The bioclimatic section of CH2 buildings inspired from termite mound [49].

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Figure 9.
Shower towers [50–52].

The Council House 2 Example 5

Place Melbourne,
Australia

Construction year 2004–2006

Design team Mick Pearce,

DesignInc

Concept Tree-layer skin,

termite modules,
nature
Biomimicry level Behavior and
organism

Learn from nature:

• laws of nature: sustainable architecture
• shaping the building’s form, material and all technical and mechanical elements by biomimicry: taking all
its key architectural ideas from natural principles
• natural lighting and ventilation
• recycling materials and system
• reusing water and air
• utilization of solar energy

Table 5.
Learning from Council House 2.

adopted and the building has been attached in the literature as an effective design.
This case study is an effective one for architects who wants to learn more on how
sustainable buildings can be designed by the principles of nature (Table 5).

5. Conclusions

The construction sector, which has become more dominant, has created irre-
versible damage in the environment with the excessive use of natural resources and

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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.87836

energy consumption. Natural processes can serve to find innovative solutions to

complex problems. So, architectural problems of any kind can be solved by mimick-
ing the sustainability process of nature. Developing and improving sustainable built
environments actors involving construction sector can focus on nature and natural
systems to transfer sustainable ideas. Because, biomimesis could have three main
fields of application in architecture: in the production of more resistant, stronger,
lighter, self-combining, and self-repairing materials; in the acclimatization of the
buildings and the built environment; and in the creation of a sustainable, recyclable
built environment that allows the reuse of waste materials without consuming but
producing resources. The example analyzed within the scope of the study, presents
a respectable reproduction of nature as a form, behavior, and living system with
its high energy efficiency and sustainable design approaches. The findings of the
research demonstrated that a building in an urban area can be designed in accor-
dance with sustainable design goals just like in an ecosystem. Consequently, the
concept of biomimicry in the realm of architecture should be discussed and formu-
lated for formation of sustainable built environments. For the further studies creat-
ing a guideline for sustainable buildings learning from nature through biomimicry
would be useful for the architects looking for innovative sustainable solutions.

Author details

Merve Ertosun Yıldız*, Semra Arslan Selçuk and Figen Beyhan

Department of Architecture, Gazi University, Ankara, Turkey

*Address all correspondence to: ertosunmerve@gmail.com

© 2019 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms
of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/
by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is properly cited.

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Chapter 8

An Approach to the Zero Energy

Building in Sana’a
Samah Alramagha and Demet Irklı Eryıldız

Abstract

Green building movement has grown in Sana’a/Yemen for the last decade for
environmental and financial reasons is directly related to the energy consumption
and the cost. Before the power outage, people used the electricity provided by the
government from petrol. However, the power and water outages make people move
towards sustainable energy and rational use of water. On the other hand, construc-
tion technology is still the same like using the materials without insulators and
concrete bricks. The aim of this chapter is to learn what the construction of zero
energy is, analyze the various examples of countries of hot dry climate convergence
in Sana’a, design residential buildings in Sana’a, and test the building against con-
sumption, cost, and performance requirements, thereby reducing non-renewable
energy use in the construction sector. This study is very important to facilitate the
development of zero energy building (ZEB) in developing regions that have hot dry
climate in the world.

Keywords: zero energy building, energy efficiency, green building, rainwater

harvesting, life-cycle cost

1. Introduction

For nearly a quarter of a century, global temperatures and carbon dioxide

emissions have increased particularly in Yemen [1]. In recent years, Yemen has been
facing a major energy shortage that cannot provide the demands of the population
and infrastructure. For nearly a decade, the power of electricity had fallen to less
than 70%. However, in 2015, it became even worse because of internal and external
conflicts. Yemen is rich in resources that could be enough to produce electricity to
get enough energy for buildings [2]. The percentage of buildings using electricity
is about 55% of the total energy in Yemen (Figure 1). If the building is operated by
renewable energy, the problem of carbon emissions and energy shortage will be eas-
ily solved. That is why the zero energy building (ZEB) is very important in Yemen.
The residential buildings that are using renewable energy can significantly
reduce emissions for the construction sector. Now, there are nearly 65% of build-
ings in Sana’a which use the basics of zero energy building (ZEB) such as using
solar panels, trying to use less electricity and water. Zero energy buildings mean
a reduced cost of living, higher resale values (as the demand for high-efficiency
homes is increasing), and freedom from variable energy prices [3].
The chapter will explain recommendations for the best possible design solutions
to reach ZEB in Sana’a. For residential buildings in dry and warm areas, the design
and operation of passive and active systems quite different with cold and humid

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Figure 1.
Electricity consumption profile [3].

climate such as the ventilation, heating, and cooling systems, while other energy
results could be similar, such as lighting, harvesting water, solar panels, and house-
hold appliances. Energy consumption will be reduced to make it cleaner and less
expensive to meet the building’s energy needs that will be provided by renewable
energy sources. Building energy consumption will be determined by several differ-
ent means, including integrated design, low load components, energy conservation
programs, and energy efficiency updates.

1.1 Background

Historically, Yemen has established a unique, rich, distinctive, and unified

style of sustainable traditional Yemeni architecture. However, a few years ago, this
traditional style was successfully preserved in construction. Traditional build-
ings in Yemen were characterized by use of local materials and implementation of
traditional methods and techniques. Some of the traditional buildings contain up to
eight levels and have carrier walls built either with carved stone or mud, depending
on materials available in the area.
The constant evolution in infrastructure and housing projects has caused
transformation of traditional buildings into modern and modern/traditional build-
ings. Traditional Yemeni buildings are developed well with difficulties in different
climatic zones of Yemen and effective use of local resources. On the other hand,
modern and modern buildings were designed inappropriately due to the use of
unsustainable materials and various techniques to reduce cost, thus creating a less
attractive and unsustainable environment [4].

1.2 Methodology

This research method started with literature review to collection data from
various books, research articles, and scientific journals related to the model in order
to study for a better understanding of the concept of zero energy construction.
Then analyzing four existing buildings in different country which have dry and hot
climate. Then, using Autodesk Revit © 2014/2019 program and websites, analyze
the data and obtain the desired results.

1.3 Hot and dry climate

Climate in Yemen is often hot and dry and the central highlands have an
annual temperature of 21°C. The average daily temperature in January is 13.9°C

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Figure 2.
Yemen map temperature [5].

and in July 21.5°C (Figure 2) [5]. In Sana’a, the sunshines all year round, but the
hours of sunshine diminish a bit in July and August. In Sana’a, the temperature
is warm in the summer. The daily average is about (75°F) 24°C. The winter is
pleasantly warm and sunny during the day, with highs around 21/23°C from
November to February, but the temperature at night drops to around 10°C and
sometimes below.
The average annual rainfall in Sana’a ranges between 200 and 500 mm. The rain-
fall in Sana’a is characterized by two seasons, one of which starts from April to May,
while the other one starts from July until the first half of August. Clouds generally
gather on the western slopes, causing very heavy rain lead to the erosion of valleys
and soil [6]. A series of dams and small canals help to collect rain water.

2. Analysis of existing building

In this section, four examples were analyzed to understand how the zero energy
building works.

2.1 AREE Aqaba Residence

The design of the building is adapted to the local climate and takes advantage
of design elements to provide maximum energy through the building orientation,
materials, ventilation, and window shading. Moreover, having a garden in the roof
will definitely help to absorb the temperature in a more effective way.
The cost is greatly considered according to this design. For example, the design
of the bathrooms should be all on the same side on each floor, which makes it
cheaper compared to other designs. In addition to the design, the materials used are
local and this makes it very cheap. Finally, this house is provided by a solar heater to
use less energy, which leads to less expenses (Table 1) [7].

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2.2 Josh’s House

The project is characterized using local building materials and easy construc-
tion. The project shows how to use the garden in a way that allows the building to
connect with nature and create space for the children’s playground, as well as pro-
viding a garden for the production of local vegetables. For now, the house is being
used to collect performance data and test new technology. The building designs
have achieved a 10 Star Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme (NatHERS)
(Table 2) [8].

2.3 Vali Homes Prototype

This house is characterized using a comprehensive insulation method to reduce

energy. In addition, measures have been taken to reduce unwanted heat transfer.
Also, the materials used in the building with suitable characteristics that are easy to
install and maintain make the costs less. Tightly sealed building envelope including
vapor barrier beneath the slab, sealing all floor penetrations, house-wrap tape seal-
ant, and gaskets at all openings. Utilized wood doors with aluminum cladding help
reduce thermal heat gain (Table 3) [9].

2.4 Bayt Al-dahab

The house is located in the capital Sana’a, where it was built in 2002 with the
modern Yemeni character. The building was converted to renewable energy in 2010,
providing the building with solar panel and solar heaters to completely accommo-
date the building throughout the day. On rainy and cloudy days, solar energy stops
working, and the generators are used instead. The house is for a family consisting of
a father, a mother, and three children. The house consists of five rooms, three bath-
rooms, a living room, a kitchen and a basement floor. The house was built with local
stones, from the bottom of a black (basalt) stones to protect it from water. Also,
first and the second floors used beige (Saadi) stones. To provide water, the house
was equipped with a ground tank to conserve water from the government sporadi-
cally (not from the rain) and then using filters that filter the water. The house is
equipped with Yemeni colored curved windows (Qamariah) that are characterized
by Yemeni character (Table 4).
Four zero energy buildings are compared in terms of location, material,
wind, solar energy, water use, and biomass use. The comparison is presented in
Table 5.

AREE Aqaba Residence [7]

Location Jordan
Size 420 m2

Type Single family house that can also be

converted into three apartments
Builder Developed by the Emtairah
Consulting Corporation Amman,
Jordan. Designed by Florentine
Visser, a Dutch architect and
consultant

Table 1.
General information about AREE Aqaba Residence.

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Josh’s House [8]

Location Fremantle suburb of Hilton Perth,

Australia

Size 698.18 m2

Type Single family house

Builder Josh Byrne & Associates

Table 2.
General information about Josh’s House.

Vali Home Prototype [9]

Location Phoenix, Arizona, USA

Size 603.87 m2
Type Single Family, Custom

Builder coLAB Studio, LLC

Table 3.
General information Vali Home Prototype.

General information Bayt Al-dahab

Location Yemen, Sana’a

Size 560 m2
Type Single family house that can also be converted
into two apartments

Builder Unknown

Table 4.
General information Bayt Al-Dahab.

AREE Josh’s House Vali Homes Bayt

Aqaba (Australia-Perth) Prototype Aldahab
(Aqaba- (Arizona, USA) (Yemen-
Jordan) Sana’a)

Location Bioclimatic Hot and Mediterranean Dry climate, Dry and

dry, hot in climate, with mild, with little hot climate,
summer rainy winters rainfall with with warm
and warm and hot, sunny hot summer, and hot in
and cold summers and moderately summer
in winter warm winter and warm
and cold in
winter

Orientation ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

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AREE Josh’s House Vali Homes Bayt

Aqaba (Australia-Perth) Prototype Aldahab
(Aqaba- (Arizona, USA) (Yemen-
Jordan) Sana’a)

Materiel Structure Stone and Hilton brick and Wood and Concrete
gypsum weatherboard gypsum and stone
Roof Concrete Light colored 18” deep wood Concrete
roof and Colorbond truss roof
green custom Orb roof construction
roof with foiled batt completely filled
insulation under with cellulose
the roof sheeting insulation
Insulation ✓ ✓ ✓ –
Wind Windows ✓ ✓ ✓ (Not dabble
energy glass)
Wind ✓ – – –
catcher
Hydro-wind – – – –
Solar Natural ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
energy sunlight
Shading ✓ ✓ ✓ –
device
Panel (They ✓ ✓ (There are
studied solar panels,
the energy but not
of solar enough)
panel for
future)
Tube – ✓ – –
Water Water ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
energy heating
Water ✓ ✓ – –
harvesting
Geothermal – – – –
Naturel gas energy (biomass) – – – –

Table 5.
Comparison between existing buildings.

3. Design of the zero energy house in Sana’a

Zero Energy House in Sana’a was designed by Autodesk Revit 2014 and 2019,
program for Energy analyzing to get the best results. This analysis will be explained
as followed:

3.1 Orientation

As shown in Figure 3 by using Revit simulation, the long sides of the buildings
were oriented east and west. The southern facade is the best concerning sun expo-
sure throughout the day, especially in the winter. On the 21st December, the sun
will rise 84° east of due south and set 84° west of due south. On the 21st March/21st
September, the sun will rise 91° east of due south and set 91° west of due south. On
the 21st June, the sun will rise 98° east of due south and set 98° west of due south [10].

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Figure 3.
Summer and winter path of the sun (Autodesk-Revit).

3.2 Layout

The floors are carefully planned, the ground floor has the dining rooms, the
guest room, living room, the garage, two bathrooms, and the kitchen. First and
second floors have the bedrooms, which are most likely to gain temperature during
the winter. Bedrooms are located on the south side to keep the heat warm during the
winter. Garage was placed on the north side to protect the living room from the cold
monsoons during the winter. Bathrooms and kitchen were placed on the east side
with the same side to reduce the cost.

3.3 Walls and wall materials

To select the appropriate building material in, a simulation study was carried
out on a computer model of a concrete block building existing in Sana’a, to ascertain
the direct effect of the materials on their thermal behavior. During the research, the
building material was changed for each type of wall. Throughout the research, the
red, brick, stone, and concrete bricks were tested. Natural materials have been shown
to have fantastic thermal properties than modern materials. The stone is considered
the most expensive material available in the market. It has also been noted that
thermal evaporator was better, but stone section in Figure 4 is characterized by the
best thermal comfort during the summer and winter. While the stone is character-
ized by thermal comfort during the summer. If the summer temperature is higher
than normal due to global warming, the problem can be solved through ventilation
provided to the house [11].

3.4 Insulation

Rock wool, polystyrene, and sand straw mixture was chosen for heating insula-
tion inside the walls, which is considered an excellent insulation. It must be care-
fully formulated because if exposed to water and its vapor, the insulation effect
ends. This is not a major concern in the dry hot climate. Covering thermal beams
with insulation in the intersection of walls is very important because thermal beams
represent energy losses of 20% if they are not covered with insulation (Figure 8).

3.5 Roof

In Yemen, the sun’s rays are almost vertical on the surface of the earth during
the summer, with the sun’s angle approximately 98°. Because of the sun’s stabil-
ity on the surface of the house, the surface is more likely to absorb heat from the
sun. Therefore, it is important to cover the roof with thermal insulation, where
the roof of the house was covered with a layer of buffer 5 cm, and a layer of stable
sand mixed with a little cement added instead of using a layer filled with cement as

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Figure 4.
Section of the building’s wall construction.

shown in Figure 5. The sand is considered having a lower thermal conductivity. It

also has a high thermal mass, which helps improve surface insulation.

3.6 Windows

The windows of the house have been designed large and long in the eastern,
western, and southern facades in order to allow daylight to enter the house. The
glass dome located in the center of the building where it acts as a heat collector dur-
ing the winter. The double windows have been installed throughout the house. The
double glass reduces the value of U from 5.9 to 2.9 W/km2.

3.7 Domestic hot water supply

Water during the summer in Sana’a hardly needs heating continuously, but in the
winter, the solar heater must be provided by a system of solar panels that heat the
water. The system used 11 panels, and each panel has 24 channels. It is necessary to
leave a space between the panels for maintenance. The plates are placed on a roof to the
south side at a 15° angle in order to make maximum use of sunlight throughout the year.

3.8 Heating system

The diagram in Figure 6 shows the house is a loss of heat during the winter
through walls and roof maximum in January. As the winter in Sana’a is sunny, the
temperature rises during the day to sometimes reach 18°C, which helps the house to
store the amount of heat inside the house during the night.

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Figure 5.
Section of the building’s roof construction.

Figure 6.
Monthly heating load (Autodesk Revit ©—Energy analysis).

In the winter, if the climate is cooler due to climate change, portable natural
gas heaters will be available inside the house. The figure also shows that the heat-
ing does not rise inside the house during the summer. These help to maintain the
amount of energy used inside the home.

3.9 Cooling system

As can be seen in Figure 7, the cooling system is reduced in the winter from
November to April. However, in the summer from July to September, the plan shows
that the building is cooling due to the ventilation system that has been studied at
home which provides a natural ventilation system inside the house.
The windows were placed on each floor so that they are opposite to each other as
shown in Figure 7. Each floor shows how the window’s location designed and the

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Figure 7.
Monthly cooling load (Autodesk Revit ©—Energy analysis).

air movement inside the room in order to give the maximum amount of ventilation.
Even if the doors are closed, interior doors are designed on small openings above
maintaining ventilation.
The stairs are also designed to function as a tower to move the cold air to each
floor in Figure 8. In addition, there are openings between each floor and another for
transferring hot air in the summer from the bottom to the top.

3.10 Thermal system

The temperature of the house was reduced from 20 to 18°C in the summer,
while in the winter the temperature was kept between 14 and 18°C. The bedroom is
considered the warmest during the winter. In January, there is a cold week accord-
ing to measurements during which the building was closed. However, the internal
temperatures are close to comfort, and since the building is inhabited, it is likely to
raise this level by 2°, especially if ventilation is used during the day because the tem-
perature is somewhat high and may reach 18° during the winter. Thus, the building
performs very well in the winter.

3.11 Natural lighting

Natural lighting is one of the most important aspects of building design in

many ways. In order to provide the largest amount of natural lighting, the window
openings were designed to allow natural light to enter and distribute throughout the
house. The glass dome is designed above the living room so that it allows as much
light as possible to get inside. It is a northern windshield so that the direct sunlight
does not reach it in the summer and causes the house to warm up.

Figure 8.
Ventilation system in ground, first, second floor and section (Autodesk Revit ©).

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In the case study project, it turns out that we have good natural lighting of the
eastern, western, and southern facades and avoid windows on the western and
eastern facades in order to obtain maximum control of direct solar radiation, glare,
and more homogeneous lighting distribution in Figure 9.

Figure 9.
Natural light inside the house (Autodesk Revit ©).

3.12 Photovoltaic (PV) cells

Photovoltaic cells generate electricity for the entire house. The photovoltaic cells
in the house can generate more electrical energy than the house needs. Through a
collection of calculations conducted in the research, the project has been equipped
with 16 photovoltaic cells on the roof of the house in the south to provide the best
efficiency of photovoltaic cells, each of which generates 370 W. The corresponding
Figure 10 shows the angle of the solar panels each month of the year to achieve the
greatest possible efficiency.

3.13 Gray-water recycling and reuse

In order to reduce the cost of the house, it was equipped with a gray water
system for the use and absorption of gray water as shown in Figure 11. The system

Figure 10.
Sana’a optimum tilt of solar panel by month [10].

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Figure 11.
Gray-water recycling system [12].

works in a way to collect gray-water from bath basins and kitchen first in a small
tank containing filtration of solid objects that may exist. Then, the gray-water
passes through the wet flowers of three layers planted from bamboo, which helps to
filter water more. Then the filtered water passes into a coal filter that eliminates the
foul odors caused by the gray-water. Then the water reaches another tank to store
and to irrigate agricultural crops inside the house [12].

3.14 Rainwater harvesting

The annual rainfall is generally between 150 and 350 mm, where there are two
rainy seasons, separated by a distinct dry season (May–mid July). The amount of
rainfall varies from one year to another, with precipitation amounts greater than
350 mm. About 65–75% of rainfalls during the months January–June. There is a
difference in the amount of rainfall, which is 5 mm/day between 5 and 15 days. The
average amount of rainfall on a rainy day is about 16–17 mm. The evaporation rate
varies depending on height, wind exposure, and latitude. Ranging from 3 to 3.5
mm/day during the dry and cold periods and 5–6 mm/day during May–June. The
average total evaporation per year is about 1700 mm.
The process was carried out to calculate the capacity of the storage tank
taking into account the amount of accumulated water in and out. This value
appears to be 16.08 m3 in March. According to this value, the size of the tank
can be designed with the addition of 25% of the water volume to accommodate
any rise in rainfall amount may occur. We can form a graph of accumulated
water and cumulative demand and calculate the maximum storage requirements
(Figure 12) that occurs in March. All this water must be stored to cover shortages
during the dry period [13].

3.15 Life-cycle cost

Saving cost is one of the most important characteristics of ZEB. To reduce cost in
the Sana’a project, the house was designed with local materials, the bathrooms and
the kitchen were designed on the same side of the house, provided natural ventila-
tion inside the house, the temperature was regulated during the winter, and the
increased thermal insulation may save operating costs and reduce investment levels
in refrigeration devices and provided the house with appliances that consumed
fewer watts. Also, the photovoltaic cells calculated for home operation is shown in
Figure 13. The cost of solar panels has been calculated in Yemen, where solar panels
will save around $1020 per year. The repayment period of solar panels and batter-
ies is about 12.7 years. As shown in Figure 13, the battery will change and that cost
around $9000 every 10 years [14].

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An Approach to the Zero Energy Building in Sana’a
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Figure 12.
Showing the predicted cumulative inflow and outflow from the tank [13].

Figure 13.
Compering solar panels and without solar panels [14].

4. Conclusions

This chapter reviewed the state of buildings in Sana’a and the energy problems
it experienced. Then, some examples of ZEB houses were presented. The design of
a building in Sana’a uses zero energy standards and other performance factors as a
basis for analysis. The development and capability ZEB design has been presented
in Sana’a by including heating, cooling, hot water, roof, windows, and wall materials
analysis.
The floors are carefully designed so that the rooms are in the warm side and
careful to enter the sunshine into the living room. Stone has been chosen as a major
building material because stones are the best thermal comfort during the summer.
Wall insulation materials such as rock wool and polystyrene have been added for
good thermal insulation during the hot summer and sandblast for thermal insula-
tion inside the walls. The addition of glazed double glass reduces the value of U
from 5.9 to 2.9 W/km2. Hot water plates are placed on a tilted to the south side at a
15° angle in order to make maximum use of sunlight throughout the year. The house
works on the loss of temperature during the winter from the walls and the maxi-
mum ceiling in January is larger. Winter is sunny in Sana’a. Where the temperature
rises during the day to a degree Celsius, helps the house to keep up the temperature
at night. The cooling system is the least possible in the winter because the house

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does not need to be colder. In the summer, a ventilation system was studied inside
the house to work on cooling it from the inside. For natural lighting, window
openings are designed to allow natural light to enter and distribute throughout the
house. The house is equipped with reservoirs collecting annual rainwater, with a
total annual evaporation of about 1700 mm.
A zero energy building has been reached at the lowest cost through the use of
local building materials, reduced energy use, and the collection of rainwater and
gray-water. This project has been designed to be an initial approach to what ZEB
buildings should be in Sana’a.

Author details

Samah Alramagha* and Demet Irklı Eryıldız

Department of Architecture, İstanbul Okan University, İstanbul, Turkey

*Address all correspondence to: s.alramagha@gmail.com

© 2019 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms
of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/
by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is properly cited.

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References

[1] Fakh’ri I, Hassen T, Wassim T. Effects living-future.org/lbc/case-studies/vali-

of CO2 Emissions on Economic Growth.
Urbanization and Welfare: MPRA Paper
No. 65683. 2015;11:53 UTC
[2] Qasem AQS. Applications of
renewable energy in Yemen. Journal
of Fundamentals of Renewable
Energy and Applications. 2018;8(254):1.
DOI: 10.4172/2090-4541.1000254
[3] Hoque S, Iqbal N. Building to
net zero in the developing world.
Buildings. 2015;5:57. DOI: 10.3390/
buildings5010056
[4] Sultan B. Modern/traditional
buildings in Yemen and sustainability.
In: The First Engineering Conference
of Yemeni Architecture; 29-30 January
2008; Aden University
[5] Yemen Map Temperature. Petaluma,
CA: World Trade Press; 2007. Available
from: http://www.stockmapagency.
com/Temperature_Map_Yemen_C-
Yeme-2007-Temp.php [Accessed:
2018-08-10]
homes-prototype/#energy [Accessed:
2018-08-15]
[10] Solar Electricity Handbook 2019
Edition [Internet]. 2018. Available from:
http://solarelectricityhandbook.com/
solar-angle-calculator.html [Accessed:
2018-10-12]
[11] Alhaddad MA, Jun ZT. A
comparative study of the thermal
comfort of different building
materials in Sana’a. Architecture and
urban faculty. American Journal of
Engineering and Applied Sciences.
2013;6(1):20-24
[12] Khasawneh J. AREE—Aqaba
Residence Energy Efficiency. The Center
for the Study of the Built Environment
(CSBE); 2011. 44 p
[13] Salleh SA, Taher TM. Rooftop
Rainwater Harvesting in Modern Cities:
A Case Study For Sana’a City, Yemen.
Journal of Science & Technology.
2012;2(17):51, 52, 61-63

[6] Hadden RL. The Geology of Yemen:
An Annotated Bibliography of Yemen’s
Geology, Geography and Earth Science.
Alexandria, VA: US Army Corps of
Engineers Army Geospatial Center;
2012. pp. 8-10
[14] The Solar Electricity Handbook.
2019 [Internet]. 2018. Available from:
http://solarelectricityhandbook.com/
solar-angle-calculator.html [Accessed:
2018-12-09]

[7] Rosenlund H, Emtairah T, Visser F. 

Building green in Jordan? Performance
evaluation of the Aqaba Residential
Energy Efficiency Pilot Project (AREE).
In: The 2nd International Conference
on Sustainable Architecture and Urban
Development. 2010

[8] Josh’s House. Josh Byrne & Associates

[Internet]. 2018. Available from: https://
joshshouse.com.au/about-the-project/
[Accessed: 2018-06-28]

[9] International Living Future Institute

[Internet]. 2018. Available from: https://

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Chapter 9

Certification for Sustainability:

An Assessment on Design and
Construction Process of Via Green
Office Building
Fatma Handan Sarıgül and Semra Arslan Selçuk

Abstract

In the twentieth century, developments in technology and industry not

only increased energy consumption, but also initiated a period of oil crisis and
environmental pollution. “Construction sector” is one of the leading actors of
environmental problems which consumes 40% of the primary energy over the
world and naturally takes on the responsibility of energy efficiency problem.
Therefore, many researches and implementations have been initiated and shared
in many platforms at individual, organizational, and inter-state level. Leadership
Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Certificate is one of these studies. In
this research, it is examined that “Via Green Office Building” with LEED Gold
Certificate according to LEED 2009 Core&Shell Version-3. Our goal is to reveal
the differences of design and construction process of LEED certificated buildings
by comparing with the conventional buildings which have been only built accord-
ing to legal compulsions in Turkey. With this scope, the office building have
been examined according to LEED’s Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) through
project and LEED documents. Finally, it is suggested that in order to develop
sustainable/green buildings in Turkey, it is necessary to add new articles into the
national legislations and regulations and make it compulsory for buildings to have
settlement certificate.

Keywords: energy, sustainability, certification, LEED, project management,

office building

1. Introduction

Each project in construction sector has unique attributes. Location, design,

environment, situation, and people involved can be called as “key characteristics”
which determines the project direction [1]. In addition, all projects have a signifi-
cant scope. Project works have been mainly shaped to provide healthy environments
and energy efficiency in built environments due to concerns of global warming and
its threat for earth. Therefore, sustainable development concept was first launched
in the 1970s and many other studies that are relevant to environment and energy
issues had increased dramatically in following years. Sensitive approaches are
required to build sustainable buildings even more within this century.

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In recent years, depending on service sector, a rapid increase in number of office

building is observed. Especially, in metropolitan cities such as İstanbul and Ankara,
these buildings rates are more than other cities. This event brings some require-
ments in addition to like renovation of physical conditions and efficiency at work
for office buildings workers, also reducing environmental pollution from buildings.
For sustainability in construction sector especially in buildings, many certificates
and standards have been prepared. These standards which are in the subject area
of building physics include air conditioning, acoustics, and lighting aim to develop
energy efficiency solutions for new and existing buildings. One of the most impor-
tant requirements in office building project design is to ensure indoor environmen-
tal quality [2]. In addition, to achieve comfortable working places to provide healthy
living conditions for users, these places reduce absence of workers in working
place. In this chapter, an office building from Ankara that is called Via Green Office
Building Project, which had been assessed according to LEED 2009 Core&Shell
Version-3 and received “Gold” certificate, have been examined to highlight innova-
tive approaches which are different from the conventional project methods and
construction processes. The comparison has been done between selected LEED
certified office building which ensures some environmental criterias and related to
Turkish legal compulsories in project and construction activities. Driving force in
this research is considered that Turkish legislations, regulations, and standards are
used instead of local green building guide in Turkish building manufacturing.

2. Literature review

In literature, there are many studies on sustainability in buildings, green build-

ings, certified buildings, etc. that were revealing the current situation in the field
and researches for the future. The studies focusing on certificate systems are either
examination of LEED certificated building examples, green buildings key perfor-
mance indicators (KPIs), or comparisons of certifications systems with each other.
Indoor environmental quality concept especially in office buildings has been a major
research problem. Therefore, many researches specifically targets human comfort in
indoor spaces. They are both useful to determine why and how a particular system is
appropriate for a specific project. Other field of researches on this topic can be stated
as the comparison of green building rating systems a like LEED, Building Research
Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM), Comprehensive
Assessment System for Built Environment Efficiency (CASBEE), Germen Sustainable
Building Council (DGNB), Green Star, and ITECA highlighting the effects of green
building rating systems on green designing. For example, He et al. have studied
that LEED and Assessment Standard for Green Buildings (ASGB) are design-guide
schemes indicating that Green Star is a performance-based evaluation system [3].
Similarly, Chen and Lee [4] evaluated the office buildings according to LEED 2.2 and
BEAM Plus 1.1 in China. In their study, three office buildings have been chosen and
evaluated. Results regarding energy usage for air conditioning have indicated that
if the same tariff system had been used for estimating the energy expenditure, it
would have not been affecting assessment results [4]. Geng et al. [5] have focused on
large-scale and long-term measuring of green office buildings in China from point of
indoor environmental quality. In their research, 41 green office building have been
examined from 3 different climatic zones (cold-zone, hot-summer-cold-winter,
and hot-summer-warm-winter) from June 2017 to August 2018. Detected values of
CO2, thermal comfort, and illuminance have been compared with common offices
features and with the data in literature. Finally, the correlations between indoor and
outdoor environment and all factors affecting indoor environment quality have been

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Certification for Sustainability: An Assessment on Design and Construction Process of Via Green…
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determined in detail [5]. Occupant satisfaction that bases on indoor environmental

quality in office buildings [2] is another field of this research. Some researchers aim
to find occupants perception on green office buildings in regard to indoor health and
comfort. For this purpose, a set of questionnaire have been implemented and green
rated and non-green rated buildings have been compared [6]. Finally, conventional
and green office buildings have been evaluated regarding rental depreciation. Survey
based on gathering 27 buildings as case studies from Kuala Lumpur, statistical works,
correlation, and regression techniques have been used [7].
In Turkey, there is a gap regarding the differences between Turkish building,
energy and environment regulations, and LEED BD + C (New Construction)
Credits except one research. This research is about a public project which has been
prepared by Ankara Metropolitan Municipality as a Family Living Center [8]. This
project was not designed for LEED certificate yet it was designed in accordance
with all energy, environment and building standards, legislations and regulations
in Turkey. In this study, a similar point of view was adopted to examine through a
selected certificated office buildings in Turkey.

3. Methodology

In this study, qualitative research approach is adopted and sources relating to

Via Green Office Building Project are obtained from related construction firm.
The project that has been evaluated in accordance with LEED certificate pre-
requirements and credits by green building consultant firm has been examined.
In this research, some points corresponding to credits have been evaluated.
Therefore, total grade which have already been found before in accordance with
LEED certificate have been evaluated. Current-related legislation and regulation
clauses (Turkey legal compulsions) have been compared with LEED certificate
pre-requirements and credits. The topics of the tables are provided on sustainable
sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, indoor
environmental quality, and innovation and regional priority. Final chart has been
generated through gained grades according to LEED and legislations and regula-
tions in Turkey.
While evaluating buildings to understand their green properties, there are
many different certificate systems in Europe, Asia, and America. LEED is one of
the most common green building rating/evaluating systems in the world. This
rating system offers highly efficient, healthy, and cost-saving green building
design. In many phases of building from designing to construction and opera-
tion, this system ensures enhancing occupant productivity and health. Moreover,
this system aims to decrease the use of resources, life cycle costs of building,
and negative impacts caused from wastes to living environment [9]. According
to USGBC data, Turkey takes place in the 6th line due to its green building gross
square meter size degree [10]. In late 2018, LEED V 4.1 has been launched. Latest
version ensures that green building evaluating studies are being done with new
enhanced content.

4. Case study: Via Green Office Project

Via Green Office Building Project takes place on a 10,000 m2 site and it has
45,000 m2 total construction area. It is located on Eskişehir Road which is one of
the most rapidly developing districts in Ankara. There are 122 offices and their size
changes from 90 to 340 m2, 3 stores and 9 shops in the project which is examined.

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ISBS 2019 - 4th International Sustainable Buildings Symposium

Designing two horizontal blocks were the design approach of architectural team.
This project received “Gold” certificate in “Core&Shell” category of Leadership
Energy and Environmental Design and verified by the Green Building Certification
Inc. (GBCI). This office building fulfills LEED certificate credits for building
performance and environmental requirements. The office building project ensures
LEED certificate minimum program requirements. After the first evaluation,
pre-requirements and credits were done by green building consultancy firm. This
pre-requirements and credits are listed in this research. Via Green Office Project’s
assessment according to V3 LEED 2009 KPIs, and compulsions in Turkish legisla-
tions and regulations are shown in Table 1. The signs which have indicated as

Sustainable sites Credit Via Green Office Project Turkey legal

compulsions

Construction activity Required Erosion and Sedimentation Control +

pollution prevention
Site selection
Development density and
community connectively
Brownfield redevelopment
Alternative transportation-
public transportation
access
Alternative transportation-
bicycle storage and
changing rooms
Alternative transportation-
low-emitting and
fuel-efficient
Alternative transportation-
parking capacity
Site development-protect
or restore habitat
Site development-
maximize open space
Storm water design-
quantity control
Storm water design-quality
control
Heat island effect-nonroof
Heat island effect-roof
Light pollution reduction
Tenant design and
construction guidelines
(ESC) plan was developed
1 Trade region which is near dense +
settlement was selected
5 Project region is near fundamental +
facilities a like restaurant, shopping
centre, pharmacy etc.
1 Region was not brownfield +
6 Region provides to reach public −
transportation access through its central
location
2 In project there are 64 bicycle storage −
zone and showers
3 Low-emitting vehicle, fuel-efficient −
vehicle and share vehicle zone was
planned
2 In basement, sufficient parking zone was −
generated
1 In project, for restorating natural living, +
vegetated zone was expanded
1 In project, local and adapted plants were −
selected for designing much more open
space
1 In project, for increasing of storm water +
which goes to channel, the storm water is
picked up in terrace and discharged
1 In project, building roof picks up storm −
water and it is reused
1 In pathways and car parking areas were −
used floor materials that have high
reflective factor and 92% of total car
parking area is in basement
1 On roofs, high reflective materials were −
used
1 Not available −
1 Guidelines have been designed −

Table 1.
Sustainable sites assessment.

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a negative mean not compulsory clause in Turkish legislations/regulations for

settlement certificate yet. But lots of LEED credit titles similar examples have been
mentioned Turkey’s standards and legislations currently. Positive sign means the
LEED credits have been achieved with conventional design methods or regulations/
legislations.
To evaluate Table 1, it is noticed that some requirements have been satisfied
in accordance with Turkish regulations and legislations. But, credits related to
alternative transport have not been satisfied due to the lack of integrated master
plans for transportation in the country. Credits which are open space, storm water,
heat island and roof relationship, light pollution and guidelines for occupant design
are not compulsory for settlement certificate in Turkey. Via Green Office Project
has gained points from credits which were located sustainable sites title. When the
project had started, contractors from project design team worked to adopt envi-
ronmental design approach in accordance with LEED Certification requirements in
project phase. Thus, architectural, mechanical, electric, and landscape architecture
projects had been affected directly and static project had been indirectly affected
from this sustainable building design approach.
In Table 2, precautions on water efficiency have been taken on low water con-
suming plants selection and some water armatures selection which have ultra-flow.
The points have been gained from the credits which were located water efficiency
title in Via Green Office Building Project. For these credits, landscape projects and
mechanical projects have been required additional sustainable building design
approach in comparison with Turkey’s conventional building method. Table 2
shows that there are not compulsory clauses about these credits in Turkey.

Water efficiency Credit Via Green Office Project Turkey legal

compulsions

Water use reduction Required Some strategies were implemented +

Water efficient Up to 4 In project, storm water is picked up and reused +
landscaping for landscaping. Also, low water consuming
plants were selected

Innovative waste Up to 2 Not available −

water technologies

Water use reduction Up to 4 Implemented strategies are as follows: Low and −

double push toilets, reusing of storm water,
water armatures that have ultra-low flow

Table 2.
Water efficiency assessment.

Table 3 shows that some credits have been provided regarding energy per-
formance optimization, using renewable energy, green power whereas commis-
sioning issues, and measurement and verification-tenant sub metering credits
have been not provided in projects in accordance with Turkish regulations and
legislations. On the other hand, Via Green Office Building Project gained points
from credits which were located in energy and atmosphere title. In project phase,
these credits have been ensured through suitable mechanical project design since
mechanical design team prepared the projects in accordance with international
standards (ASHRAE, etc.).
Table 4 shows that only construction waste management credit has been
provided according to Turkish legal compulsions in conventional projects. Other
credits related to select of certified wood and regional, recycled, reusable of

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ISBS 2019 - 4th International Sustainable Buildings Symposium

Energy and Credit Via Green Office Project Turkey legal

atmosphere compulsions
Fundamental Required This was provided according to instructions and +
commissioning of international standards
building energy
systems

Minimum energy Required This was provided +

performance

Fundamental Required In buildings Heating Ventilating and +

refrigerant Air Conditioning (HVAC) system,
management Chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) and Hydro
chlorofluorocarbon (HCFC) gasses were not
used

Optimize energy Up to 21 Beyond the local standards, the building is −

performance suitable for ASHRAE 90.1–2007. Building shell,
lighting and HVAC system were designed for
optimum energy performance. Building energy
modeling and changeable simulations which
could be formed needs of tenants were prepared
On-site renewable 4 Renewable energy system was not installed −
energy

Enhanced Up to 2 This was provided according to instructions and −

commissioning international standards
Enhanced refrigerant Up to 2 HVAC system, CFC and HCFC gasses were not +
management used

Measurement and Up to 3 Measurement and verification plan that includes −

verification-base tenant regions was developed. This plan base on
building base year and base buildings energy efficiency of
electric systems.

Measurement and Up to 3 Tenants could be integrated own systems on +

verification-tenant measurement and verification plan. Tenants
sub metering could traces energy consumptions of HVAC,
lightning and plug loads. Also, all tenants have
separate electric meters

Green power Up to 2 In project, there is no green power source −

Table 3.
Energy and atmosphere assessment.

materials just have not been compulsion in Turkey. On the other hand, Via Green
Office Building Project gained points from credits which were located in materials
and resources title. In design phase, waste management plan was prepared and
recyclable waste regions were determined on project. Reuse of materials, recycled
content, and regional materials credits were ensured. In construction phase, waste
management plan was implemented.
Table 5 shows that innovation and regional priority credits have not been
compulsory in Turkey. On the other hand, when Via Green Office Project is
examined, LEED accredited professional participated in certificate process.
LEED certificate had been gotten through guidance of the person who is from
consultancy firm.
Table 6 shows that low-emitting materials credits, daylight and views, con-
struction IAQ plan, and outdoor air delivery monitoring have not been provided
in Turkey’s projects. These credits/topics are not compulsory but some ASHRAE

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Materials and Credit Via Green Office Project Turkey legal

resources compulsions
Storage and collection Required Besides, main recyclable waste region located −
of recyclables in ground floor, each floor have less recyclable
waste collecting region that was recommended
by designers

Building reuse- 5 Not available −

maintain existing
walls, floors and roof

Construction waste 2 Construction waste management plan was +

management developed and implemented on manufacture
phase. Contractor has oriented more than 70%
of total waste to local waste recyclable area

Materials reuse 1 Contractor found other using areas for waste −

materials
Recycled content Up to 2 Recycled content was used to avoid the −
consumption of limited sources

Regional materials Up to 2 In project, local materials (in 800 km distance) −

were used and reduced environmental effect
from transportation

Certified wood 1 Not available −

Table 4.
Materials and resources assessment.

Innovation and Credit Via Green Office Project Turkey legal

regional priority compulsions

Innovation Required Not available

Innovation in design 5 This credit was not ensured −

LEED Accredited 1 Project had been prepared with green building −
professional consultancy firm and LEED accredited
professional

Regional priority 4 Not available −

Table 5.
Innovation and regional priority assessment.

Indoor Credit Via Green Office Project Turkey legal

environmental compulsions
quality (IAQ )
Minimum indoor air Required Building is in accordance with ASHRAE 62.1- +
quality performance 2007 standards minimum indoor air quality
requirements

Environmental Required Rent areas and common area in building, +

tobacco smoke (ETS) smoking has been prohibited. Smoking areas
control 8 m far from building entrances

Outdoor air delivery 1 Not available −

monitoring
Increased ventilation 1 Fresh air in building more than 30% compared +
to indicated value in ASHRAE standard

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ISBS 2019 - 4th International Sustainable Buildings Symposium

Indoor Credit Via Green Office Project Turkey legal

environmental compulsions
quality (IAQ )
Construction IAQ 1 Indoor air quality plan has been developed and −
management plan- implemented construction phase. There are
during construction suggestions for tenants. Plan includes cleaning
services according to Sheet Metal and Air
Conditioning Contractors National Association
(SMACNA) standards, source control, prevent
and plan to air diffusion

Low-emitting 1 In construction phase, construction chemicals −

materials-adhesives alike these materials were used. Low Volatile
and sealants Organic Components (VOC) materials were
used. Also, encouragements for tenants about
low VOC were given

Low-emitting 1 Low VOC materials were used −

materials-paints and
coatings

Low-emitting 1 Low VOC materials were used −

materials-flooring
systems

Low-emitting 1 Low VOC materials were used −

materials-composite
wood and agrifiber
products

Indoor chemical 1 Permanent input systems (metal grid mop) −

and pollutant source has been used to prevent polluting materials
control entering

Controllability of 1 Building HVAC systems and shell (includes +

systems-thermal leased areas) have been designed in accordance
comfort with ASHRAE 55-2007 requirements

Thermal 1 Building HVAC systems and shell (includes +

comfort-design leased areas) have been designed in accordance
with ASHRAE 55-2007 requirements

Daylight and 1 Building window gaps in offices and living −

views-daylight areas have been designed to ensure sufficient
daylight using typical floor plan

Daylight and 1 Building window gaps in offices and living −

views-views areas have been designed to ensure sufficient
view using typical floor plan

Table 6.
Indoor environmental quality assessment.

standards are used in mechanical projects for indoor thermal comfort. On the other
hand, Via Green Office Building Project gained points from indoor environmental
quality title. In mechanical projects and electric projects, credits have been achieved
by ensuring ASHRAE and SMACNA standards along with suitable material
selection.
On this research, following graphic is achieved which is shown in Figure 1. This
graphic is a comparison between LEED certificate credit points and Turkish legisla-
tions/regulations clauses intersection points.

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Certification for Sustainability: An Assessment on Design and Construction Process of Via Green…
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Figure 1.
Relationship between LEED certificate credits and convenience of Turkish regulations and legislations.

5. Conclusion

Several new and sustainable approaches have been adopted in public institutions
especially over the last 10 years along with new standards and regulations related
with green/sustainable buildings, energy, and environment have been launched.
However these standards and regulations have not been implemented completely
yet. Via Green Office Building has its certificate through LEED certificate. The
building is a sustainable building yet not every building in Turkey accomplishes the
sustainable building properties sufficiently.
It is shown that Turkey’s construction manner compatibility is low according to
LEED credits (Figure 1). However, sustainable sites and water efficiency have been
achieved better compared to the other topics. One of the main reasons is the lack
of integrated master plan and insufficient infrastructure. Therefore, Sustainable
Urban Mobility Plan (SUMP) is very crucial requirement in Turkey for the sus-
tainable sites. Through this plan, alternative transportation is ensured; resulting
in improvements in safety and security in transportation. Moreover, integrated
public transportation plan and implementation (especially bicycle, subway, and
bus integration) provides low greenhouse emissions, low energy consumption, and
reduction in noise pollution and cost-effectiveness. Therefore, office building work-
ers would reach their workplace via healthier transportation methods with benefits
for both themselves and environment.
Encouragements given by municipality or government on using green/renew-
able energy in buildings is another key sustainable architecture approach especially
when energy topic is considered. Low tax rates and possibilities of sales extra
energy which is generated by building occupants enhance the tendency of green
energy. However, Turkey needs more specific approaches to address the problem
on this field. Based on the credits of LEED certificate, these approaches should be
specific to different project type. In addition, projects should be adopted to these
approaches compulsorily to obtain settlement certificate.
Based on all findings, implementing greener office building will ensure a more
responsive attitude for human health and a positive effect on environment in
Ankara. New projects can be implemented as green building and office buildings on
Eskişehir Road can be transform to green building with a comprehensive retrofit.

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So, office buildings employees will be healthier and his/her work efficiencies will
increase. Moreover, low carbon emission to nature, clean energy, and economic
benefits of sustainable architecture and construction approaches should be noted
as well.

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Bayraktar Kardeşler Construction Firm and Altensis Green Building

Consultancy Firm for providing all Via Green Office Building Projects documents
and their kindly approach for this research.

Author details

Fatma Handan Sarıgül1* and Semra Arslan Selçuk2

1 Department of Architecture, Istanbul Technical University, İstanbul, Turkey

2 Department of Architecture, Gazi University, Ankara, Turkey

*Address all correspondence to: mim.handan@gmail.com

© 2019 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms
of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/
by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is properly cited.

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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.87836

References

[1] Wilson R. Mastering Risk and
Procurement in Project Management,
a Guide to Planning, Controlling, and
Resolving Unexpected Problems. USA: FT
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[2] Liang HH, Chen CP, Hwang RL, Shih
WM, Lo SC, Liao HY. Satisfaction of
occupants toward indoor environment
quality of certified green office
buildings in Taiwan. Building and
Environment. 2014;72:232-242
thesis]. Ankara: Gazi University; 2018
(in Turkish)
[9] [Internet]. 2019. Available from:
https://new.usgbc.org/leed [Accessed:
2019-02-15]
[10] [Internet]. 2019. Available from:
https://www.usgbc.org/articles/
us-green-building-council-announces-
top-10-countries-and-regions-leed-
green-building [Accessed: 2019-02-15]

[3] He Y, Kvan T, Liu M, Li B. How green

building rating systems affect designing
green. Building and Environment.
2018;133:19-31

[4] Chen H, Lee WL. Energy assessment

of office buildings in China using LEED
2.2 and BEAM plus 1.1. Energy and
Buildings. 2013;63:129-137

[5] Geng Y, Lin B, Yu J, Zhou H, Ji W,

Chen H, et al. Indoor environmental
quality of green office buildings in
China: Large-scaleand long-term
measurement. Build and Environment.
2019;150:266-280

[6] Mediastika C, Lie K. Perception on

green-rated office building in Surabaya,
Indonesia. In: International Conference
on Sustainable Design, Engineering and
Construction (ICSDEC 2015); 10-13
May 2015; Chicago. pp. 546-553

[7] Rodi WNW, Hwa TK, Mahamood

NM, Said AS, Abdullah MI. 
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Green Office Buildings. In: International
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Putrajaya, Malaysia. pp. 661-670

[8] Sarıgül FH. Certification for

sustainability: Investigation of
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123
Chapter 10

Green Façades and Living Walls

as Urban Ecosystems: Functions,
Constructions and Maintenance
from the Architectural Point of
View
Ayşenur Coşkun and Semra Arslan Selçuk

Abstract

The human population is becoming more and more urbanized and there is no
doubt that increased urbanization is worsening the quality of life in many cities.
Dense buildings and the absence of adequate natural green in urban areas have
resulted in local changes in the climatic conditions namely “urban heat island
effect” and affected the indoor thermal comfort in all types of buildings. Therefore,
urban areas need to be more vegetated to perform as an ecosystem, yet due to the
dense urbanization, there is lack of spaces left as plantation areas. Many researches
shown that “green roofs” and “green walls” in dense urban areas can perform many
different ecosystem services and have a potential to withstand high pollutant
environments. From this context, this chapter focuses on “green wall systems” to
understand their characteristics, functions, construction methods, and mainte-
nance/operation processes from the architectural point of view. After evaluating the
data obtained through selected examples, results show that, there are many param-
eters that should be considered at the same time—so-called designing with holistic
approach—such as suitable support structure, plant selection, appropriate amount
of nutrients, water, and suitable lighting conditions to obtain a well-functioning,
not superficial and maintainable living wall.

Keywords: sustainability, green walls, green façades, living walls, construction,

maintenance

1. Introduction

Urbanization and urban activities, which are one of the biggest problems of
today’s world, trigger deterioration on natural environments due to their negative
effects and cause some environmental problems such as urban heat island (UHI). In
this context, researchers, academicians, and actors responsible for the creation of
built environments have been examining the issue with different aspects and try to
develop sustainable solutions. Green façades and living walls, which have been used
for this purpose in recent years is the subject of this study. Covering the external

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walls of the buildings with vegetation especially in dense built environments mini-
mize the negative effects of UHI, besides that can be a solution of the economic,
social, and environmental problems such as greenhouse gas (emission) reduction,
climate change adaptation, air and noise quality improvements, energy saving, and
decorative-esthetic appearance.
Green walls, a general term used to describe any vegetative wall surface, are
known historically since the Roman, Greek Empires, and the Hanging Gardens
of Babylon. In the historical process, green walls, which are used for shading and
decorative purposes, together with technological developments, contribute to the
sustainability performance of the buildings with passive and active design solu-
tion. Within the scope of the study, the current green wall systems and their main
features were defined, and green wall design examples were examined. The envi-
ronmental advantages of vertical green wall systems beyond the decorative proper-
ties are emphasized.

2. Green wall systems

Vegetation can be considered as one of the effective ways of contributing to the

built environment with its environmental, economic, and social benefits by increas-
ing the functionality of the building façades [1]. Green walls mean to all systems
that ensure the planting of a vertical surface by selecting a variety of plant species,
including all growth-oriented solutions [2]. It is possible to classify green walls
according to the structural components, growth media, construction technique,
plant species, or irrigation systems. In this study, the green walls were divided into
two categories as green façades and living wall systems (LWS) in terms of construc-
tion technique which is the most common form in literature (Figure 1).

Figure 1.
Classification of green wall systems according to their constructional features [3].

2.1 Benefits of green wall systems

2.1.1 Thermal performance in both urban and building scale

In dense urban environments where vegetation is not sufficient, unsolicited

temperature increases are observed in cities due to the heat being absorbed by
the solid surfaces of both buildings and roads. The most basic factors of reducing
the negative effects of this situation, which is defined as the effect of urban heat
island, are the choice of reflective surface coatings with high albedo (reflectability)

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values and increasing the trees-vegetation surfaces in urban areas [4]. Research
conducted in this context shows that planting of the exterior surfaces of the
building, increasing the vertical gardens results in to decrease of the urban heat
island effect by diminishing the temperature around the buildings. Within this
content, it is foreseen that the small-scale valley will be reduced by approximately
9°C by planting on the roofs of the buildings in which a valley in the urban area of
Hong Kong. In the same study, it is emphasized that the temperatures are reduced
to the optimum levels by green walls and roofs, and they save energy from 32 to
100% in the cooling of buildings [5]. From this point of view, green wall systems
can contribute to the cooling and insulation of buildings. For instance, evergreen
plants preserve the façade from snow and rain and wind flow in winter seasons [6].
In cold climates, the use of deciduous species in vegetation provides shading in hot
summer months while providing solar heat to be spread to the building with the
loss of leaves in winter months. Thus, increased thermal performance reduces the
energy requirement for heating or cooling a building and CO2 emissions can be
reduced [7].

2.1.2 Improving air and acoustic quality

Vegetation not only release oxygen through photosynthesis by absorbing carbon

dioxide, but can also significantly increase indoor air quality, as they also reduce
airborne pollutants such as nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds [8]. In
2010, at the Delft University of Technology, the result of the experiment showed
that vegetation can reduce the number of particles (<10 mm), a long-term threat to
human health in the air [9]. In this context, green wall systems contribute signifi-
cantly to increasing the air quality both inside and outside. In addition to improving
air quality, planted surfaces can also be useful for noise pollution by reducing the
sound reflection from the solid surfaces of buildings and roads in crowded cities
due to the sound absorption characteristics of the leaves [10].

2.1.3 Psychological effects/improvement of health and happiness

Many studies have been conducted to understand the interaction between

human and nature in built environments to increase the quality of life. Researches
for office workers in Norway have shown that staff working in offices with indoor
vegetation or windows having open view report higher satisfaction [11]. It has been
observed that closeness to nature improves productivity in business environments
and provides rapid recovery for patients [12]. These biophilic traits promote the
use of green wall systems, as part of sustainable design, making mild the harsh
climate of urban structures both interior and exterior in increasingly intense urban
environments.

2.2 Type of green wall systems

According to the construction characteristics with the developing wall technolo-

gies, it is possible to examine the green walls as “green façades” and “living walls”
by dividing into two main groups and their sub divisions.

2.2.1 Green façades

Green façades are systems in which climber plants or hanging plants that grow
downward when hung to a certain height are grown to cover a desired area. These

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façades can be classified in two groups as direct and indirect. In direct green façades,
including traditional green façades, plants are directly attached to the wall or hanged.
Indirect green façades have a supporting structure for vegetation. In indirect systems,
“continuous” or “modular” solutions are provided, and plants are guided by the sup-
port structures such as mostly galvanized or stainless-steel cable, wire or cage. When
the vegetation is completely covered in direct systems, it can be very heavy and the
risk of falling is increased. In this context, the support structure provided in indirect
systems stabilizes the weight of the vegetation and increases its resistance against
environmental effects (e.g. wind, rain, and snow). In addition, indirect green façades
serve as “double skin façades” by creating an air gap between the building surface and
the vegetation (Figures 2 and 3). Direct systems in terms of environmental perfor-
mance and costs can be more sustainable and economical than indirect systems due
to their low maintenance requirements and no extra structural materials [3].

Figure 2.
Green façades [6]. (a) Direct (traditional) green façade, (b) indirect green façade, and (c) indirect green
façade combined with planter boxes.

Figure 3.
Details from green façades [13]. (a) Direct green façade and (b) indirect (double skin green) façade.

2.2.2 Living walls

In order to ensure the integration of green walls into high buildings, the result-
ing living walls allow for rapid coating of large surfaces with more variety of plant
species, more homogeneous growth and adaptation to all kinds of buildings [3].
Living wall systems (LWS) can be categorized as modular or continuous according
to application methods (Figures 4 and 5). Continuous LWS is based on the applica-
tion of lightweight and permeable screens where the plants are placed separately.

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Figure 4.
Living walls. (a) Continuous LWS [3] and (b) modular LWS [14].

Figure 5.
Details from living walls [13]. (a) Continuous LWS and (b) modular LWS.

Modular LWS have elements of a certain size which include modular environments
in which plants can grow. Each element is supported by a supplementary structure
or fixed directly to the vertical exterior. These elements can be in the form of trays,
pots, planter tiles, or flexible bags.
Water and nutrients for the growth of plants in continuous LWS are provided by
a hydroponic method. Hydroponics structures allow the growth of plants without
soil by using screens frequently moist by the irrigation system [3]. Differently, in
modular LWS, the growth environment is usually provided by filling with soil or
artificial growing agents such as foam, felt, perlite, and mineral wool containing an
inorganic substrate layer to reduce weight [6]. In terms of environmental perfor-
mance and cost, green façades have a lower environmental load and cost than living
wall systems. Living walls can have negative effects on the environment due to
factors such as water consumption, vegetation resistance, and the properties of the
structural materials used [3].

3. Case studies on green wall system

In today’s cities, it is obvious that green areas are insufficient. In order to keep
people’s relationship with nature at the highest level and provide recreational facili-
ties for them, green should take place more in the city. In the planning and growth
of healthy, people-oriented, and esthetic cities, it is important to gain vertical green
right after the loss of the horizontal green.
For this purpose, the examples of the buildings with various green wall systems
applied and the evaluations showing the effects of these buildings in the city are
given in Tables 1–4.

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Atlas Hotel Hoian Case 1

Location Đào Duy Từ, tp. Hội An,

Quảng Nam, Vietnam

Project year 2016

Lead Vo Trong Nghia, Tran

architect Thi Asmak

Landscape —

Construction Green façade—direct

system

About the project

An architectural design with a courtyard

and building structure in harmony with the
texture and character of the city which has
been included in the World heritage list by
UNESCO
Building façade is covered with locally
found sandstone pieces used in combination
with bare concrete slab and several planters
in the corridors

With more than 100 concrete planters, the

greenery is appearing from all the façades,
balconies, and narrow corridors together
with rooftop

The benefits

Providing solar shading and cooler

air to ventilate the spaces due to the
plants hanging from the planter boxes
arranged throughout the entire façade of
the hotel
Integration of greenery into the
architectural design as a way of revitalizing-
built environments and contributing to
social development
Establishing strong relationship between
human and nature
Positive contribution of oxygen and
humidity to micro climate

Table 1.
A case on direct green façade usage [15, 16].

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The Breathing House Case 2

Location Ho Chi Minh City,

Vietnam

Project year 2019

Lead architect Vo Trong Nghia, Kosuke

Nishijima
Landscape —

Construction system Green façade—Indirect—

Continuous guides

About the project

• Within extremely high-dense neighborhood, aim

of designing a house that introduces an external
environment while ensuring privacy
• Ensuring the integration of planting into archi-
tecture to help mitigate the negative effects of
urbanization
• Design approach to maximize the opening area due
to restricted area (front, rear and top surfaces)
• Wrapping of the surfaces with a “green veil” made
of creeper plants that grow on a steel mesh

• Planter boxes with modularized galvanized steel

elements attached to it at each floor slab

The benefits

• Indirect illumination and ventilation through roof

luminaires called “micro voids”
• Provides both privacy and natural habitat for users
• Green area potential provided by the city center in
densely built environment
• The plant curtain filtering direct sunlight and
preventing the interior space from overexposure to
the outside, without the feeling of isolation

Table 2.
A case on indirect green façade usage [17, 18].

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ISBS 2019 - 4th International Sustainable Buildings Symposium

House in the Outskirts of Brussels Case 3

Location Brussels,
Belgium

Project year 2007

Lead architect Phillipe Samyn,

SAMYN and
PARTNERS

Vertical green Patrick Blanc

designer

construction Living wall

system system—
continuous

About the project

• Planted curved façades are very

isolated and closed to the neighbors
from the north, the east and the
south

• Continuous living wall used of exotic

plants, with hydroponic irrigation
system designed by botanical artist
Patrick Blanc

The benefits

• Providing living area for different

species
• Positive contribution to microclimate
with produced oxygen and moisture
• Insulation effect on the building
envelope in providing the comfort
conditions of the interior
• The contribution of integrity-diver-
sity-harmony and order to esthetic
perception

Table 3.
A case on continuous LWT usage [19–21].

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City Hall Venlo Case 4

Location Venlo,
Netherlands

Project year 2016

Lead Hans Goverde

architect
Landscape Copijn
Landscape
Architects

Construction Living wall

system system—
moduler—
vessels

About the project

• Application of the principles of
design from “cradle to cradle”
on the building scale
• A design approach that
anticipates future innovations
and continuous improvements
at all scale
• The vegetated façade with
200 m2 area is currently the
largest in the world

• Vertical green façade system is

provided modular panel with
substrate and plants aluminum
rectangular vessels

The benefits

• Contribute to biodiversity with

more than 100 plant species on
the façade
• By filtering 30% of NOX and
SO3 coming from highway and
rail, balancing the particulates
produced by the motorway
• Providing sound insulation
• Natural air conditioning,
ventilating and climate control
• Rainwater and waste water
recycling
• Provides the possibility of living
in natural environment for users
by bringing as much daylight
and greenery to the interior

Table 4.
A case on modular LWT usage [22–24].

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4. Conclusions

All vertical green wall systems differ with their advantages and disadvantages
in terms of construction technique, cost, esthetic, and sustainability potential. The
determination of the most suitable system is directly relevant to climate conditions
of the location and features such as height of the structure and accessibility. For
this reason, it is important to figure out the differences and basic feature of the
structures to be applied. The case studies analyzed within the scope of this study
have been selected from four different types which are differentiated in terms of
construction technique namely: direct green façade, indirect green façade, continu-
ous LWS, and modular LWS. It has been observed that practical solutions provided
by vertical green systems have similarities in terms of improvement of biological
diversity, positive contribution to micro climate, recovery of lost green, establish-
ing human nature relationship, and esthetic potential. In addition, these systems
have structure-specific solutions that improve building’s performance, such as
insulation, shading, rainwater and waste water recycling, and contribute to energy
efficiency. As a result, the contribution of green wall systems to build environment
and buildings in the environmental and social context should be evaluated in the
future studies, their benefits should be taken into consideration, and the positive
effects of these systems should be compared with other constructional solutions.
Studies in this field are important in terms of increasing the number of applications
in the building façades and thus decreasing the investment and operating costs.

Author details

Ayşenur Coşkun* and Semra Arslan Selçuk

Department of Architecture, Gazi University, Ankara, Turkey

*Address all correspondence to: aysenur.zr@gmail.com

© 2019 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms
of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/
by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is properly cited.

134
Green Façades and Living Walls as Urban Ecosystems: Functions, Constructions…
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.87836
References
[1] Ottele M, Perini K, Fraaij ALA, Haas
EM, Raiteri R. Comparative life cycle
analysis for green facades and living
wall systems. Energy and Buildings.
2011;43:3419-3429. DOI: 10.1016/j.
enbuild.2011.09.010
[2] Newton J, Gedge D, Early P, Wilson S.
Building Greener: Guidance on the
Use of Green Roofs, Green Walls and
Complementary Features on Buildings.
London: CIRIA; 2007
[3] Manso M, Castro-Gomes J.
Green wall systems: A review of
their characteristics. Renewable
and Sustainable Energy Reviews.
2015;41:863-871. DOI: 10.1016/j.
rser.2014.07.203
[4] Ekinci B. Reducing the urban heat
Island effect by urban design strategies:
Aksaray square case [M.Sc. thesis].
İstanbul: İstanbul Technical University;
2016 (in Turkish)
[5] Alexandri E, Jones P. Temperature
decreases in an urban canyon due to
green walls and green roofs in diverse
climates. Building and Environment.
2006;43(4):480-493. DOI: 10.1016/j.
buildenv.2006.10.055
[6] Perini K, Ottelé M, Haas EM, Raiteri R.
Vertical greening systems, a process tree
for green façades and living walls. Urban
Ecosystems. 2013;16(2):265-277. DOI:
10.1007/s11252-012-0262-3
[7] Loh S. Living walls—A way
to green the built environment.
Environment Design Guide. Brisbane:
Australian Institute of Architect;
2008;1(TEC 26):1-7
[8] Wolverton BC, Wolverton JD. Plants
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[9] Ottelé M, Van Bohemen HD, Fraaij
ALA. Quantifying the deposition of
particulate matter on climber vegetation
on living walls. Ecological Engineering.
2010;36:154-162. DOI: 10.1016/j.
ecoleng.2009.02.007
[10] Haron Z, Olham DJ. A Markovian
approach to the modelling of sound
propagation in urban streets containing
trees. In: Conference on Sustainable
Building South East Asia, November
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[11] Dravigne A, Waliczek T,
Lineberger R, Zajicek J. The effect
of live plants and window views of
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HORTSCI.43.1.183
[12] Kellert S. Building for Life: Designing
and Understanding the Human-Nature
Connection. Washington, DC, USA:
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[13] Medl A, Stangl R, Florineth F.
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[14] [Internet]. 2019. https://inhabitat.
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[18] [Internet]. 2019. https://www.

dezeen.com/2019/02/09/breathing-
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136
Chapter 11

Mainstream Use of EPDs in

Buildings: Lessons Learned from
Europe
Naeem Adibi, Marjan Mousavi, Ricardo Méndez Escobar,
Manon Glachant and Aliasghar Adibi

Abstract

Life cycle assessment (LCA) has been used widely by building sector to
assess the environmental impacts of products, new buildings, and renovations.
Environmental product declarations (EPDs) based on LCA are developed for
products in different EU countries. In addition, product environmental foot-
print (PEF) initiated by European Commission aims to provides benchmarking
for products based on LCA. Although EPDs are well developed in the Europe,
their use is challenging. First challenge for mainstream implementation is lack
of knowledge of different key actors to use EPDs. Awareness rising, training,
and simplification is needed for the key actors. The second issue is lack of equal
opportunity for companies to develop their EPDs. The cost of EPDs for small
and medium-sized companies is a real barrier. Finally, EPDs are developed as
information for building assessment to be used at building level for B2B and B2C
communication. Therefore, EPDs require new mechanisms in a decision-making
and benchmarking context at product or at application level. At building level,
simplified approaches are needed to converge EPDs to the buildings. The aim of
this contribution is to highlight the use of EPD in European context and discuss
challenges for a wider application of the EPD worldwide.

Keywords: mainstream, building, EPD, LCA, decision-making

1. Introduction

Buildings account for 40% of primary energy consumption and 36% of

Greenhouse Gas emissions across Europe. Decreasing the environmental impacts of
buildings is key to realize EU 2020 objectives of 20% reduction of GHG and energy
consumption while using 20% renewable energy [1].
Sustainable buildings are the fabric of sustainable lifestyle. While building
sector understands the importance of energy efficiency, the environmental impacts
of the building products and elements remained less known. For an energy-efficient
house, embodied energy in the construction represents approximately 75 years of
heating in equivalent energy. To assess environmental impacts of a building, it is
necessary to consider the overall building lifecycle [2].
Buildings have also influence on the vision of sustainability of a region. Energy
efficiency in a sector is well understood by the industry and the public sector,

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ISBS 2019 - 4th International Sustainable Buildings Symposium

but impact of product and materials are less known. The goal of sustainbility can
only be achieved if the entire life cycle of the building is considered. All construc-
tion stakeholders should be involved to improve buildings overall environmental
performance.
Building sector has already developed some intitatives based on life cycle
approaches to improve and harmonize the communication of the environmental
performance of products. The notion of life cycle thinking depends on the region
and the size of the company. While large enterprises can invest resources in imple-
menting life cycle thinking tools, smaller organizations find more problems. Lack of
awareness about life cycle aproaches avoid actors to obtain the benefits by creation
of shared value and reinforcement of links between stakeholders [2].

2. Life cycle approaches for building

2.1 Life cycle thinking

In selecting the most environment friendly product, some questions are frequently
asked: Is there a proper approach to select the best product? How to find the product
with the best ecological performance? What are the impacts of different products in
terms of global warming potential (greenhouse gases), human health effects, ecosys-
tem biodiversity losses, and depletion of resources? What is the best approach to make
an intelligent choice? Given the importance of products and materials in context of
sustainable buildings, it is important to make a wise choice among available solutions.
Decision-making needs to be based on objective information and approaches.
The following two main issues are important for selecting the most environment
friendly products:

• Extend your vision to life cycle of your renovation and new building: first, do
not focus on one single life cycle stage of product. As an example, if you focus
solely on building use phase impacts, you may end up with a very high-per-
formance product, while the installation phase may not be managed correctly,
sustainable products may not be used, or your product may not be recycled
content or recyclable at the end-of-life as shown in Figure 1.

• Consider a multi-criteria and multi-indicator approach: Instead of using a

single indicator (ex. energy, waste, or quantity of one single chemical com-
ponent) a holistic multi-criteria approach is needed. Making a good decision,
needs to be based on the negative effects of product over a multiple set of
issues, for example, global warming potential, human health, ecosystem losses,
and resource depletion.

Life cycle assessment (LCA) is used by sustainability experts in many different

fields which includes the two previous points in the basis of the study. LCA is based
on the principles of sustainable development and it has already been demonstrated
its efficiency in providing a systematic environmental assessment approach of
products, product system, and processes.
The effectiveness of LCA methods depend on the very fact that they contem-
plate all life cycle stages of a product, from the extraction of raw materials to the
end-of-life (recycling, etc.) through an assessment covering completely different
impact categories climate change, human health, ecosystems, and resources. Using
life cycle approaches also give economic value to companies, who are adopting life
cycle thinking practices to optimize their activities [4].

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Figure 1.
Life cycle stages of buildings [3].

As an example, environmental performance of insulation products can be easily

misunderstood if the study is focused only on the use phase, where the energy sav-
ings are highlighted. The material used and the manufacturing processes, as well as
the location of the manufacturing plant and the recyclability of the product must be
considered to make a holistic overview of the impacts of an isolation product. The
assessment can be used to identify hotspots of a product or to compare different
products in a decision-making context.
Along the different life cycle stages, resources from the environment are used
and transformed to develop a product, causing some impacts on the environment.
Using LCA is possible to assess the environmental performance of a product and
compare different products. Comparison is only representative when the study has
been made under certain conditions. International and national standards have been
implemented to make the comparison possible, providing general requirements and
guidelines to carry out and structure the document of the study (see Figure 2).
The first step to do an LCA is defining the goal and scope of the LCA. The prod-
uct system understudy and system boundary are determined to define processes,
materials, emissions, products, and by-products included in the study. Subsequently,
the data requirements, assumptions, and limitations are explained. This first step
will shape the study. In the life cycle inventory (LCI), all the data used in the study

Figure 2.
Phase of an LCA, from the international standard ISO 14040 [5].

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are gathered and shown, such as inputs (material and energy resources and prod-
ucts) and outputs (emissions to the environment, products and by-products). These
data are used in the life cycle impact assessment to provide the impacts classified in
different impact categories (climate change, acidification, eutrophication, etc.). At
the end of the study, the results are interpreted considering the scope, the data used
and the calculation method for the assessment previously described.
LCA can be applied to all types of products. Building sector has already
implemented to study the environmental impacts of different products used in
the construction of buildings. The construction industry is one of leading sectors
in the use of LCA. LCA has been used to assess the environmental impacts of
construction products and buildings. Life cycle approaches have been adopted
by different building actors involved aware of the benefits of minimizing the
environmental impacts. Different standards have been developed to facilitate
environmental assessment based on LCA (ISO 14040 and ISO 14044) and more
specifically for Type III environmental declarations [ISO 14025: 2006 the LCA-
based mechanism, more commonly known as environmental product declara-
tions (EPD)]. The first European leading national standards regarding EPDs of
building products were the French NF P01–010 and the Dutch Standard NEN
8006 both established in 2004 for the environmental declaration of building
products.
Third-party verified environmental product declarations (EPDs) based on
LCA are developed in the European context. EPDs are available for a wide range
of products and product systems in different EU countries. The environmental
declarations can be used in the context of decision-making and they are also used
nowadays in the study of potential impacts of new buildings and renovation. In
some countries, EPDs are related to benchmarking approach at product or build-
ing level (e.g., shadow cost approach in Netherlands permitting monetarization
of impacts). The standardization of the method allows the comparison between
products or systems with the same function. EPDs are standardized internationally
by ISO 14025 and, at European level, by the norm EN-15804:2012. They serve as
reference for national standards.
The building sector is currently implementing CEN/TC 350: EN 15804 [6] and
EN 15978 [7]. One of the outcomes of the work of CEN/TC350 “Sustainability of
construction works” is the development of voluntary horizontal standardized meth-
ods for the assessment of the sustainability aspects of new and existing construction
works, and for the environmental product declaration of construction products.
The most relevant elements in this context are:

• Product level: EN 15804: Sustainability of construction works—environmental

product declarations—core rules for the product category of construction
products [6],

• Building level: EN 15978: Sustainability of construction works—assessment of

environmental performance of buildings [7].

The work of CEN TC350 focuses on construction products (in EN 15804) and
buildings (in EN 15978). EN 15804 provides a structure to ensure that all EPDs of
construction products are derived, verified, and presented in a harmonized way.
EPDs are organized in modules covering different life cycle stages. Some modules
are mandatory (depending on the scope of the study—cradle to gate/cradle to gate
with option/cradle to grave); others are optional (such as module D). An important
methodological aspect is that indicators are declared in the individual modules to

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Figure 3.
Pathway to develop an environmental product declarations and use them in the building assessment [3].

enable the user of the EPD to aggregate information from different EPDs at the
building level as illustrated in Figure 3.

3. Use of EPD for building products in Europe

More than 5000 verified EN 15804 EPDs are published and available in different
European countries in 2019. The EPDs are published in different national data-
bases in different EU countries. Some of these national databases are illustrated in
Figure 4.
Different national bodies provide all the requirements and the platform to
realize and register an EPD in their respective national databases. All the products
found in a building are classified in different categories with specific rules to carry
out an environmental assessment, compiled in product category rules (PCRs). The
procedure to obtain an EPD includes contact the national body, carry out an LCA
following the PCRs, redaction of the EPD following the PCRs, verification by an
authorized verification, and submitting all the documents requested to the national
body. Once the EPD is available, the product environmental impact assessment is
valid for 5 years and the impacts must be recalculated after that period in order to
preserve the certificate.
EPDs are used inside building assessment softwares, enabling the assess-
ment, and Eco design of the buildings. The adoption of EPDs depends on vari-
ous factors and actors. Project owners, project managers, building products
manufacturers, and end-of-life collectors have more influence on the building
value-chain than the rest of the stakeholders in the building industry. The plan-
ning and design phase of the building are the most influencing hotspots in the
environmental performance of the building. The impacts from manufacturing,
construction, use, and end-of-life depend directly on the design of the building.

Figure 4.
Example of European EPD databases [3].

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They can use LCA methods to select more environment friendly products and
force the adoption of life cycle thinking in the rest of the supply chain.

4. Mainstream use of EPDs in buildings

EPDs are one of the main examples of how to use LCA in buildings. These
initiatives amplify the development of strategies aligned with the objectives of
reducing the carbon emissions in Europe. At the same time, LCM is not yet an
established approach for the majority of building stakeholders. A studied car-
ried out in France, Portugal, and Belgium showed that life cycle approaches are
only implemented by half of building sector companies in their environmental
strategy [7]. Only 21% of the participants in the study were using tools or sys-
tems to manage the environmental impacts. It is stated that building companies
in Northern France use life cycle management tools and resources more than in
other regions.
The difficulty to understand LCA and EPDs, their content, and value have
avoided the mainstream use of EPDs. Lack of homogenization of EPD in differ-
ent countries has been also an issue for companies to invest on EPDs given that
the certificate is only valid for one country for 5 years. There are also initiatives
to homogenize and simplify EPDs among European countries. Also several
efforts have been made in order to implement life cycle thinking in the build-
ing sector at region level, such as LCiP Project [8] or the creation of platforms
where different stakeholders have access to training or LCM tools. In this way,
small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), with a lack of financial capacity or
human resources to implement life cycle approaches in the business, can receive
help from regional or national platforms who gather key actors and base the
strategy in some key LCM concepts [9]. Although EPDs are well developed in
the European context, their use is limited and challenging. Several challenges are
identified in the use of EPDs.

4.1 Lack of knowledge and training of key actors

First major issue is the complexity of EPDs and lack of knowledge of different
key actors involved in the supply chain of the building to use EPDs. Although LCA
and EPDs are used in building and construction sectors, there is a need to raise
awareness regarding the applications of EPDs to public authorities and project
owners and providing training of EPDs for those who are involved in design and
manufacturing. For example, in France, our major challenge is to train real estate
owners: public and private on the use of EPDs. Missing regulation is another barrier
to use EPDs in wider context.

4.2 Missing EPDs for products

Tools and actions to support LCM integration need to be adapted to different

sectors to make them as relevant as possible to SMEs and reduce the cost of EPDs.
The second major issue is the lack of equal opportunity for different companies and
products to use EPDs. Availability of EPDs is still very limited. As a consequence
of the cost, small and medium-sized companies are developing less EPDs. The
missing EPDs for the companies with limited resources are a discriminatory aspect.
Therefore, it is required to financially support small companies to create EPDs to
avoid discrimination in accessing data.

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4.3 Difficulty in use of EPD for decision-making context

No CEN standards are provided for benchmark systems that aim to inform
consumers and businesses about the environmental performance of construction
products and assemblies in the consumer market. The benchmarking is based on the
use of a functional unit with a cradle-to-grave scope and the use of environmental
product declarations (EPD) drawn up in accordance with EN 15804. Intended users
are stakeholders setting up benchmark systems to make benchmarking possible for
their product group.
Based on EN 15804 and EN 15978, EPDs are developed as information for
building assessment to be used only at building level for B2B and B2C commu-
nication. Therefore, the information provided at a product level (or even at an
application level) cannot be used in a context of decision-making and benchmark-
ing. Therefore, it is required to facilitate the decision-making process for B2B and
B2C. For instance, at a product level (or application level), development of tools or
a proper method for normalizing and weighting of environmental impacts would
help facilitating the decision-making process.
At building level, the mechanism to converge EPDs to the building needs to be
further assessed. Simplified tools are crucial to mainstream the use of EPDs at this
level. At a building level, the ongoing integration of BIM with EPDs would facilitate
the decision-making process for B2B.

5. Conclusion

The building and construction industry in Europe are one of the leading
sectors in developing and implementing EPDs based on LCA. LCA has been used
to assess the environmental impacts of construction products and buildings.
Meanwhile, use of EPDs in decision-making context to reduce the environmental
impacts in building sector is limited. The challenges and barriers for mainstream
use of EPDs in the context of decision-making in construction sector is high-
lighted in this chapter.
The adoption of these methods by SME and non-organized group of building
materials and products is less frequent and rely on the development of the region in
terms of life cycle management. The lack of awareness in the public procurement
and the main actors of the building supply chain (like project owners) slow down
the implementation and mainstream use of EPDs. More investment for easier and
more adapted tools and methods for both consumers and businesses are needed to
facilitate the sustainability decision-making context.
In this context, the efforts and actions are ongoing at European level (both by
institutions and businesses) to mainstream the use of LCM in building sector. As
an example, ongoing initiatives like level(s) [10] project are an example of imple-
mentation of EPDs in construction decision-making. Level(s) aims to increase the
understanding of how buildings impact the environment. Level(s) shows how to
reduce environmental impact and can prepare users for more challenging perfor-
mance assessment schemes and tools [10].
Regions and regional authorities in Europe are playing a significant role in this
direction. North of France is one of these regions [2]. A variety of actors from
supply and demand sides of the building sector are engaged in the implementa-
tion of the action plan to mainstream the use of LCM in North of France. Life
cycle management is now systematically adopted in most regional development
projects in this region. The work has shown that active participation by regional

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government and by various authorities and institutions in the region is a key

success factor in fostering a life cycle management approach. Active participation
and support by industry federations and trade associations is also vital as smaller
companies—a strong feature of the building sector—rely heavily on their advice
and guidance.

Author details

Naeem Adibi1*, Marjan Mousavi2, Ricardo Méndez Escobar1, Manon Glachant1

and Aliasghar Adibi3

1 WeLOOP, Loos-en-Gohelle, France

2 RISE Research Institutes of Sweden, Stockholm, Sweden

3 University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

*Address all correspondence to: n.adibi@weloop.org

© 2019 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms
of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/
by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is properly cited.

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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.87836

References

[1] European Commission. The Energy [8] Pasquet V, Roy A, Adibi N,

Performance of Buildings Directive.
Context. 2010
[2] Adibi N, Darul M, Pasquet VD,
Christelle Traisnel C. Life cycle
management for regional development
in France: Example of building
sector. In: Life Cycle Approaches to
Sustainable Regional Development.
New York: Routledge; 2016. p. 362.
ISBN: 9781315674223. DOI: https://doi.
org/10.4324/9781315674223
[3] WeLOOP—Life Cycle Assessment
[Internet]. 2019. Available from: http://
weloop.org/fr/ [Accessed: April 17,
2019]
[4] UNEPLife cycle management. How
business uses it to decrease footprint,
create opportunities and make value
chains more sustainable. Life Cycle
Assessment: Theory and Practice.
2009;1:519-544. Available from: http://
hdl.handle.net/20.500.11822/7921
[5] ISO. ISO 14040: Environmental
management—Life cycle assessment—
Principles and framework.
Environmental Management. 2006;3:28.
Available from: http://www.iso.org/iso/
catalogue_detail?csnumber=37456
Coppée S, Echard P, Rocha C, et al.
Life Cycle in Practice—Capacity
building aiming European SME’s.
Conference Proceedings of the 17th
European Roundtable on Sustainable
Consumption and Production - ERSCP
2014, Portorož, Slovenia; 2015. p. 11
[9] Adibi N, Pasquet V, Roy A, Salamon A,
Bricout J, Darul M, et al. Mainstreaming
the use of life cycle management in
small and medium sized enterprises
using a sector based and regional
approach. In: Sonnemann G, Margni
M, editors. Life Cycle Management.
LCA Compendium – The Complete
World of Life Cycle Assessment.
Dordrecht: Springer; 2015. pp. 79-90.
Print ISBN: 978-94-017-7220-4. Online
ISBN: 978-94-017-7221-1. https://doi.
org/10.1007/978-94-017-7221-1_7
[10] Level(s) Building Sustainability
Performance [Internet]. 2019. Available
from: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/
eussd/buildings.htm [Accessed: March
10, 2019]

[6] CEN/TC350. EN 15804+A1.

Sustainability of Construction Works—
Environmental Product Declarations—
Core Rules for the Product Category
of Construction Products. Brussels,
Belgium: European Committee for
Standardization; 2014

[7] CEN/TC350. EN 15978:

Sustainability of Construction
Works—Assessment of Environmental
Performance of Buildings—Calculation
Method. Brussels, Belgium: European
Committee for Standardization;
2012. p. 61

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Chapter 12

Problems Experienced by
Wheelchair Sporters in Sports
Halls and Sustainable Solution
Proposals
Eylem Çelik, Zekeriya Çelik, Hüseyin Yılmaz Aruntaş,
Şefik Taş, Kübra Altunkaynak and Arzuhan Burcu Gültekin

Abstract

Purpose of this chapter is to attract attention to the problems faced by wheel-

chair sporters in sports halls and to present some proposals for the elimination of
these problems. Regularly made sports create positive development and changes
in a person regardless of whether the individual has disability or not. Many of the
limited number of sports options for physically disabled individuals can be made
in sports halls. Here it is focused on sports halls where sports such as volleyball,
basketball, and handball a field football, being among the sports that can be played
by wheelchair sporters are being done. Features of sports halls have been tried to
be explained in order for these sports to be done in a comfortable and easy way by
disabled individuals. Arrangements that will be made in sports halls for wheelchair
sporters will both increase participation in sports and improve the life quality of
sporters as well. While these arrangements are planned, primary criterion should
enable the sporter to realize all his activities in sports hall without requiring the
help of anyone. Architectural problems constitute the biggest obstacle in front of
wheelchair sporters. In the notification, certain solution proposals have been made
that would eliminate architectural problems.

Keywords: wheelchair sporters, sports halls, disabled people, disability,

architectural arrangements, sustainability

1. Introduction

It is quite difficult to make a common definition of disability that can be adopted

by everyone. In the Declaration of Rights of Disabled People being accepted by
General Council of United Nations, disabled people have been defined as: “Those
who cannot realize the works, which a normal person is required to do in his
personal or social life, due to a lack in their physical or spiritual skills originating as
a result of deficiencies being hereditary or occurring later on in their lives” [1]. If we
would like to generalize disability, we could define it as deficiency or incapability in
the skills or movements that would be had by a healthy individual. Depending on
the situation of deficiency in these skills or movements, disability can be divided

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into various groups. These can be counted as mental disability, physical disability,
visual disability, aural disability, spastic disability, lack of attention and hyperactiv-
ity disorder, common developmental disorder, language and speech disorder, and
specific learning difficulties.
It is known that nearly 13% of Turkish population and nearly 15% of world
population are composed of disabled people and that highest ratio of disabled
population is composed of physically disabled people [2]. These people have to
struggle with many spiritual, social, environmental, and restrictive factors due to
their disabilities while they continue with their lives. In order for disabled individu-
als to continue and maintain their psychologic and physical developments, it is
very important for them to socialize with the community. One of the most effective
methods for this is to play active role in physical activities. However, enabling them
to take part in such activeness can be provided by eliminating the situations that
restrict them. Each disability group has its own unique restrictive problems. For
wheelchair sporters, architectural problems rank in the first row. Limitation of
their movement freedom due to these architectural problems, current arrangements
are not completely meeting their needs, and trying to use the furniture, fixtures,
and fixed elements that have not been designed for them, make their lives quite
difficult.
In order for disabled individuals to take part integrally in social life, it is required
to provide them environments where they can realize their daily acts in a comfort-
able way. It is known that training of disabled people by means of sports branches
that are most suitable for them depends on their physical and mental situations
that will create positive effects on their physical and spiritual status and improve
their self-confidence. For this reason, by directing disabled individuals to sports,
the negative conditions they face with can be reduced to minimum level. Sports
serve as a very important tool for them to meet with their peers, to integrate with
community, and to be relieved from their feeling of loneliness. Sports that is also
part of rehabilitation programs being applied, accelerate adaptation of disabled
people to the community, improve their feeling of being sufficient for themselves,
and improve their capability of holding on to life. Therefore, it is recommended for
disabled people to do sports all through their lives.
It is known from the studies being made that among disabled individuals using
wheelchairs, those doing regular sports are acting with more self-confidence,
determination, and struggle against negative situations they face when compared
with individuals using wheelchairs who do not deal with sports [3].
When disabled people feel that they are deficient in social life generally, they
start doing sports. But starting to deal with sports requires big self-confidence
and courage. Especially when mentioned about sports for physically disabled
people, first one that comes to mind is wheelchair basketball sports and the first
preference of disabled people is wheelchair basketball. On the other hand, cer-
tain obstacles appear in front of dealing with sports that could not come to mind
at the beginning. Some of these obstacles could be counted as coming to sports
hall from home, reaching from carpark to building if he has come with a vehicle,
absence of ramp within building and ramp slopings not being in accordance with
the standard if there is any ramp, door width, absence of ramp next to the stairs,
lack of toilet and sink, non-conformity of internal and external architectural
arrangements of many halls, apart from the newly built ones, with the disabled
people [4].
In “o item” of second article with heading of “Duties and authorizations of
General Directorate of Youth and Sports” being stated in Law about Organization
and Tasks of General Directorate of Youth and Sports with no 3289 in Turkey,
it has been stated that enabling for disabled individuals to deal with sports and

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to disseminate them, ensuring that sports facilities are also suitable for usage of
disabled people, developing sports training programs and supportive technologies,
providing the required materials, to realize works, and publishing for notifying
and improving awareness, raising sporters, collaborating with other relevant
institutions for the disabled individuals to do sports are among the tasks of General
Directorate [5].
As it is known, sports halls are generally designed in a way to enable various
sports branches to be dealt with. Purpose of this study is to investigate the sports
halls where sports such as basketball, volleyball, handball, and hall football are
played and to determine the problems faced by wheelchair sporters in sports halls
and to present solution proposals. Halls where sports such as pool swimming, ice
skating, boxing, wrestle, shooting, cycling, riding (manege), and athletism are
done have been left outside the scope of research.

2. Sports halls

As per their spatial features, sports halls can be examined under two headings
such as open sports areas and closed sports areas. Spaces that are created by estab-
lishing the necessary physical environment for the aimed sports branch to be done
without being influenced from negative environmental factors and climate condi-
tions are named as “sports halls”. Examples of swimming pools, riding (manege)
facilities, basketball/volleyball sports halls, shooting ranges, arenas, fitness halls,
and playing halls can be given for sports halls. Sports halls are generally designed to
enable for various sports branches to be dealt with in the same venue. Sports such
as basketball, volleyball, handball, and football which are played with ball, cushion
sports such as gymnastics, wrestle, judo, and kick box and athletics can be given as
a few examples for these. It is also possible for spectators to watch this type of sports
in the sports halls.
Primary issue in designing sports halls is to ensure that the aimed sports branch
is dealt with in the healthiest way. Area where one or a few sport branches being
foreseen will be dealt with should be designed in conformity with current technolo-
gies in line with the technical and economic means of community. In the designing
of sports halls, changing rooms, sinks, toilets, showers, offices, tribunes, and other
spaces will meet the requirements of sporters, spectators, and officials before and
during sports contests should be evaluated in integrity.

2.1 History of sports halls

In Antique Greece, first sports complex named as “gymnasium” in Greek, has

been established with the aim to appease the community, to entertain spectators,
to create political agenda, and to raise sporters. The expression of “gymnasium”,
originating from the word of “gymnasiona” and meaning sports hall is also used
in our time. Oldest sports hall in human history, being similar to the known sports
hall form, is the stadium-like structure known as Stadia in B.C. fourth century
where the sporters reached the field by passing from a tunnel of 32 m and which
had a sitting order in shape of U. Contests being held in A.C. 776 in Olympia are
accepted as being the oldest Olympic games. As there was need for an area to
bring thousands of people gathering to watch these games together, first Olympic
stadium where spectators watched the games by standing was built in the stated
year in Olympia [6].
When reached to nineteenth century, sport activities came to the forefront and
sports being realized as a team were more popular than individual sports. Many

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people who became aware of gaining condition in those dates have put their efforts
for sports halls to be had in the schools by thinking that this should be started in
early ages. Again in nineteenth century, gymnastic clubs were very popular. In the
America of 1930s as the popularity of boxing sports increased, it begun to open
boxing sport halls in various places of the country and it started with raising profes-
sional or amateur boxers. This sport being still monitored by a quite big mass has
left its popularity to fitness halls in time. The years 1960s and 1970s have become
the turning point for body builders. At the beginning of 1980s as many corporate
companies in USA felt big responsibility for the health of their employees, it was
started with corporate gymnastics training and in this way, many sports hall chains
were established in 1980s. During the period between 1990s and today, the value of
doing sports and especially doing individual and group activities with professional
trainers in the sports halls has disseminated mainly in USA and throughout the
world in waves [6].

2.2 Features of sports halls

Disabled individuals have the right to benefit freely from all the opportunities
being benefited by the community just like all other individuals. For this purpose, it
is required to consider the requirements of disabled individuals in the architectural
designing and building of sports halls. For sporters using wheelchairs starting from
the project design stage, it is required to design each space and building element
such as external spaces, entries-exits, hall access, changing rooms, resting and
activity areas, sinks, toilets and showers, and doors by considering the requirements
of these people and it is required for them to be built by considering every detail.
Main topics to be considered in order for wheelchair sporters to act comfortably
in sports halls can be evaluated under two headings as internal and external space
designs.

2.2.1 External space designs

2.2.1.1 Carparks

Park place arrangements should be made for disabled individuals who realize
their own transportations with the private vehicles that are specially produced for
disabled individuals. In case there is sufficient area for this, it is required to build
a private carpark area for disabled people and in contrary case, it is required to
allocate a place in the general carpark area to meet the capacity of disabled sporters
(Figures 1 and 2).

2.2.1.2 Pavements

In order for wheelchairs to be easily lifted, it is required for ramps to be built for
disabled individuals in accordance with standards at appropriate places of pave-
ments in a way not to interrupt with continuity between pavement and carpark on
the ground. Sloping of ramps should not exceed 10% (Figure 3).

2.2.1.3 Building access

It is required for sporters using wheelchairs to reach the building entrance

without receiving any help after reaching the area where sports hall is situated by
means of a vehicle.

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Figure 1.
Parking place for the vehicle of disabled person and area required for movement (measures being in inches
and mm) [7].

Figure 2.
Figures where disabled people approach the vehicle and carpark for disabled people [8].

Figure 3.
Pavement zeroing application that enables continuity on ground (measurements being in mm) [9].

2.2.1.4 Main entrance

It is required for direct access to be provided at the ground level of main

entrance at the same elevation or by means of an appropriate ramp from the
ground to the main entrance door. Building entrance door should not have
any sills and at the entrance halls there should be movement area needed for
wheelchairs. This movement area should be composed of a circle with minimum
diameter of 150 cm and it should not be blocked with any door opening, fixture,
bulges, or furniture.

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2.2.1.5 Ramps

Ramps are inclined planes that combine transportation areas having different
elevations. Ramps are very important as they provide uninterrupted transporta-
tion means for wheelchair sporters. Ramp slopes are generally in the interval of
5 and 10%. At places where elevation difference is up to 10 cm, maximum ramp
slope should be 10%; at places where the difference is up to 25 cm, maximum
ramp slope should be 8.25%; and at places where elevation difference is up to 50
cm, maximum ramp slope should be 5%. At elevation differences where very short
ramps are required, if it is required, slope should not exceed 12%. If the length of
ramp exceeds 6 m, ramp should be divided to two parts and a stoop should be built
in between with a length of 150 cm. Ramp widths could be 13 cm on the average.
At places where fixed ramps can not be arranged, mobile ramps can be arranged
by providing necessary conditions (Figure 4) [9].

Figure 4.
Wheelchair ramp [9].

2.2.1.6 Sills

At the passages between venues, surfaces should be at the same level. Even a
small bulge could cause a risk for wheelchair sporters. In situations where sills are
much required, by smoothing the elevation difference, small ramps should be used
on both sides of the sill.

2.2.2 Internal space designs

2.2.2.1 Staircases

A well designed staircase should be safe for wheelchair sporters who can walk
by getting help. Since staircases with geometric uncertainties can create dangers
for disabled people, staircases with flat flight and stoop should be preferred. On
both sides of staircase, railing with circular sections as having height of 90 cm
and diameter of 4 cm could be placed. Distance of railing on the wall side, from
the wall should be 4 cm. On the staircases, stair width should be 28–30 cm and
riser height should be 15–16 cm and attention should be paid for riser elevations
to be equal and no ribbed sections should be left on the stairs (Figure 5) [9].

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Figure 5.
Staircases and railing (measures being in mm) [9].

2.2.2.2 Elevators

Starting from building entrance, it should be possible to reach elevator door

without any steps and sills. Control knobs in the elevators should be at a height that
is reachable by wheelchair sporters. Cabin measures of elevator that can be used by
wheelchair sporters should be minimum 110 × 140 cm. Cabin measures of elevator
that can be used also by other people together with wheelchair sporter should be
minimum 200 × 140 cm. At the front of elevator, cabin sufficient area should be left
as per usage purpose and elevator capacity. Elevator entrance should be designed in a
way enabling wheelchair to be easily placed in the cabin and maneuvers to be made.
Within the cabin, there should be holding bands with height of 900 mm. Cabin floor
should not be covered with carpets. It should be preferred to keep a phone inside the
cabin and to have a small sitting place that can be opened and closed (Figure 6) [10].

Figure 6.
Internal dimensions of elevator (measures being in mm) [11].

2.2.2.3 Corridors

In the corridors especially, elevation differences and obstacles that avoid continu-
ity on the ground should not be present. Corridor width should be 180 cm and atten-
tion should be paid for turning distances and maneuver areas not to have dimensions
less than 150 x 150 cm. In required places in order to maintain ground continuity,
appropriate ramps should be used. In the corridors and halls where there are two
opposite and parallel doors, the dimensions should be adequate to enable wheelchair
sporter to close the first door and to open the second door after entering in the corri-
dor or hall. The distance required for this is equal to 2× door width + 157 cm. Another

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particular that can create problems is related with sills being formed to avoid water to
pass to the balcony. If the height of this sill exceeds 2 cm, appropriate ramps should
absolutely be created. It should be preferred for radiators, fire cupboards, alarms, and
similar equipment which are present in the halls not to form any bulges [10].

2.2.2.4 Doors

First problem we are faced with in sports halls as related with internal space
designing with doors enabling for passages between main entrance and spaces.
Primary preference for disabled people is to leave gap areas instead of limiting the
passages between spaces with the doors. But in places where privacy should be
preserved, it could be required for doors to be used. Doors that will be used in such
cases should be sliding doors with automatic controlling as complying with techno-
logical developments. Using leaf doors is quite difficult for wheelchair sporters. If
hinged door has been used, it is required for opening distance to enable wheelchair
sporter to move comfortably and to maneuver easily. Doors having hydraulic
systems should not be preferred as their controlling requires big strength. Place of
mechanisms on the doors, functioning capacity of these mechanisms, and dimen-
sions of door gaps should be arranged in accordance with movement freedom of
sporters (Figures 7–9) [12].

Figure 7.
Net width that is required in hinged and sliding doors (measurements being in mm) [9].

Figure 8.
Net width required in swing doors (measurements being in mm) [9].

Hardware on the doors should also be arranged as fitting to wheelchair sport-

ers. Door handle height should be in the interval of 90–110 cm and it should be
preferred in the form requiring weak skills for being used. If peephole is required,
elevation of peephole from the ground should be 80 cm and it should be at an open-
ing distance of minimum 20 cm from door beginning [10].

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Figure 9.
Dimensions required in entrance doors and interior doors (measures in mm) [9].

2.2.2.5 Switch and socket heights

Elevation of switches, press buttons, and buttons requiring manual adjust-

ments from the ground should be in interval of 75–120 cm and elevation of control
switch buttons should be in the interval of 120–140 cm. Wall sockets should be
placed at an elevation of 40–100 cm from the ground and they should have pro-
tecting covers [10].

2.2.2.6 WC, bathroom/showers, and sinks

As the efforts put in and the time spent by wheelchair sporters for having move-
ment capability are more than the efforts put in and time spent by other people, time
they spend in WC and bathroom can be longer than that of other individuals. For this
reason, WC and bathroom should be designed as two separate sections for disabled
people. In wet spaces, for having safety doors should be opened towards outside and a
maneuver area with a diameter of 150 cm should be left in the reachable space. There
should be no sills or other elevations while entering WC. There should absolutely
be closets for wheelchair sporters and closets should be mounted to the wall or they
should be mounted to the ground. Depth of section where closet is placed should
be minimum 142 cm. When depth is minimum 160 cm, closet mounted to the wall
can be used and when depth is 165 cm, closet mounted to the ground can be used.
Toilets should be arranged to fit both for usage by the right hand and by the left hand.
Holding bands can be placed vertically or horizontally on both sides of closet. It is
preferred for closet sitting height to be adjustable. But for closets where the height is
fixed, the elevation should not exceed 49 cm. Siphon handle should be at a maximum
height of 110 cm from the ground. Bidets should be situated at a maximum height of
43 cm from the ground and they should be fixed to the wall. Section that will be used
as a sink should have a gap area where wheelchair can enter. Vertical measure of this
gap area should be minimum 73 cm. There should be a net area with dimensions of 75
cmx120 cm to reach the sink from the front. Disabled sporter should be able to use the
sink while sitting on the closet. If mirrors will be used inside WC, movable mirrors
should be preferred and if they are fixed, they should be hanged as having slope of
10°–15° towards the front (Figure 10) [13].
In the connection of bathroom with other spaces, there should be no elevation
differences on the ground and at required areas supporting should be provided

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Figure 10.
Wet space arrangements (mm) [9].

with ramps. For ensuring privacy of disabled person, he should be able to approach
the shower bath alone and all arrangements should be made in accordance with
the rules for him to meet his needs. In order for him to use bathrooms comfortably,
there should be handles, seats, emergency case buttons, and telephones in appro-
priate places. Handles should be placed at areas where he should act independently
from the wheelchair by considering the holding dimensions. Bathroom floor
should not be wet and sliding. Seat that will be used in the shower bath should be
safely placed and it should be put right opposite full hardware seat being placed in
the cabin. Edges of shower bath should be designed not to create obstacles for the
passage between wheelchair and the seat [13].

2.2.2.7 Notification boards and signs

Starting from carpark area of sports hall, appropriate visual or aural warnings,
and warning signs and notification boards should be placed in each space inside
the hall such as main entrance door, passages between spaces, elevators, wet spaces
such as WC and bathroom, areas with ramps, and glass sections by considering the
usage purposes, features of each space, and particulars to be paid attention to. Signs
and plates that define the places and directions in emergency cases and emergency
case equipment should be put in places that can be easily seen by disabled people in
accordance with the rules.

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2.2.2.8 Play areas

In this notification features of halls being required for branches such as basket-
ball, volleyball, handball, and hand football, which are among the sports that can be
done in sports halls by individuals using wheelchairs, have been considered. Fields
where these sports will be realized should have dimensions and features as per FIBA
standards. In order for these sports to be played in a more comfortable and profes-
sional way, it is required for private wheelchairs to be used. It is required for play
areas to be kept as dry, clean, free of obstacles, and with no slopes, as being always
ready for the plays. It is expected for field officials to be ready for their tasks on the
field with great care and as being ready by getting private training. At the field side,
there should be an appropriate resting area with adequate capacity for sporters.
By considering all types of negative events that can be faced with during the plays,
health personnel should be assigned on the field continuously. Fields should be
regularly controlled by officials before the plays and regular maintenance works for
ground furnishing and metal spares should be done.

3. Problems faced by wheelchair sporters in sports halls and solution

proposals

Fundamental problem of disabled people is related with meeting their needs

without getting help, carrying out their daily activities, and benefiting from
social areas. On the basis of approach that sporters using wheelchairs are differ-
ent from other individuals, trying to help them instead of producing designs,
and solution proposals as being unique for their movement capabilities can be
accepted as the most general problem. While this approach creates inequality
among the individuals of community, it also constitutes the basis of psychologi-
cal and developmental problems. Individuals using wheelchairs have the right
to benefit from all types of social areas in accordance with their capabilities.
Opportunity should be provided for them to use these rights alone without hurt-
ing their sense of self. On the other case, as a result of their avoiding, the activities
being carried out with the help of companions, it does not seem possible for them
to gain the habit of using sports halls.
When sports halls are examined starting from their entrance sections, ramps,
staircases, space sections, furnishing coatings, type, dimensions and placement
of furniture, and necessary maneuver areas constitute the subjects requiring most
attention to be paid to. Problems starting from the car park in sports halls continue
from building main entrance to the play field. Having access difficulties inside
sports hall causes problems to be faced while disabled people start with their regular
sports lives. Arrangements at wet spaces being the places where disabled people face
the biggest burdens, require especially good designing to be made both with respect
to privacy issues and also with regards to hygiene particulars. Resting area is an
important space where sporters filled with energy both physically and psychologi-
cally. For this reason at the resting spaces, there should be no physical restrictions
for sporters.
Main problem among those experienced by wheelchair sporters is related with
reaching the hall. These sporters can reach the hall in some way with the private
vehicles they find. Obtaining such vehicles cannot always be possible. On the other
hand, many of the transportation vehicles being operated by municipality are not
suitable for disabled people. There is elevator or ramp mechanism in only a few of
these vehicles. In USA, Florida municipality buses have the hardware that facilitate

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people’s getting easily on the vehicles and the drivers help disabled people as they
get on and off the buses.
Accessibility problem of disabled individual starts as he leaves the door of his
house. This situation is similar in sports halls. Since the entrances of some of the
sports halls being built in the previous dates were made without considering the
disabled people, first difficulty is experienced while entering the building. Because
at the entrance, ramp has not been considered for disabled people using wheel-
chairs. Disabled sporter who manages to enter the hall with the help of a compan-
ion or other people, experiences the second problem while he tries to reach the
changing rooms. Since the doors of many of these rooms are built as narrow, they
cannot enter with wheelchairs. Door sills, doors with hydraulic systems, differences
between ground surfaces, inappropriate designs of WC and showers, and similar
design problems cause movements to be restricted inside the sports hall. It is almost
impossible for a sporter to move in a sports hall not being designed for disabled
people. It can only be possible for him to make maneuvers easy with wheelchair and
to have access to the opportunities with the help of another individual. Disabled
sporter experiences problems while progressing some of the sports halls, as there
are staircase steps in the corridors and there are no ramps. Since the staircases are
passed each time with the help of companion, after a while, family members or
volunteers acting as assistants for the person do not wish to come to the hall with
the disabled sporter. For this reason, it is not possible to mention about accessibility
for the disabled sporter in sports hall. This situation causes for wheelchair users to
get away from sports halls.
A sports hall where there is no accessibility gives rise to negative outcomes
both with respect to their privacy and with regards to their psychological and
social developments. Since the showers which disabled individual will use fol-
lowing the training or after the match have been designed for healthy people,
this situation avoids them to have access to shower space and shower equipment.
Besides since shower and sink/WC doors designed as narrow, they cannot answer
to their needs. It is required for these doors to be widened. Since the sporters
using wheelchairs in the city of Van in Turkey could enter the hall only from one
match to another due to the above stated problems (reaching to the hall, having
training, etc.), they have become unsuccessful and they have fallen to a lower
league as a club.
It is required for individuals using wheelchairs to get training to learn about the
sports branch they are interested in as per their capabilities. Number of trainers
who can provide necessary training to these people is quite insufficient. Reason
for the insufficient capacity of trainers and personnel required to be present in
sports halls is due to the officials’ not attaching necessary importance to this issue.
Especially, usage of wheelchairs occurring later in their lives increases the require-
ment of these individuals for training.
Architectural designs in internal and external areas of sports halls should
be arranged by considering the movement capability of wheelchair sporters.
Appropriate arrangements will enable for problems originating from restric-
tion of their movement capabilities to be reduced to minimum level. In the wet
spaces where disabled people experience biggest burdens in sports halls, non-
slip floor furnishing should be used and there should be handles at appropriate
heights on the walls.
All the doors of sports halls should have appropriate widths. Outside the build-
ing at places where there are elevation differences, ramps with appropriate slopes
should absolutely be designed. In the buildings, ramps with appropriate widths
should be placed next to the staircases. In the showers, support elements to which
disabled people can hold on to should be used and it is required for equipment

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being used in the sinks and WC areas to be mounted on the walls or furnishing at a
height that can be easily reached by them. While spaces and equipment created for
disabled people can be used by healthy people, spaces and objects made for healthy
people cannot be used by disabled people.
Physical and motor development of disabled individuals should be regularly
monitored and as per the results, if required, period of training programs should
be extended and development level should be regularly monitored. Movement
training and physical application programs being implemented in sports halls
should be continuously reviewed and development works should be monitored
by the officials. In each sports hall, physical training teachers or sports specialists
with numbers meeting the capacity of wheelchair users and being able to apply the
movement training should be present. In order to eliminate the obstacles, solutions
including concepts such as accessibility, designing with no obstacles, universal
designing, and designing for everyone should be increased.
In order to increase participation of disabled people in sports, public institu-
tions, private institutions, schools, and all relevant institutions should provide
opportunities for sports with the appropriate planning. Within scope of these plan-
ning, areas such as hall entrance-exit, changing rooms, areas for meeting private
needs (toilets, showers, and personal care) should bear features enabling them to be
easily used by disabled people. It is also required for personnel who will be assigned
at the facilities to get training accordingly. Furthermore in order to contribute for
disabled people to use these facilities, it is also required to provide opportunities
for disabled individuals to take from their homes and return back in the same way.
Tools and equipment needed by sporters using wheelchairs in the sports halls can be
provided to them by local administrations.

4. Conclusions

Researches being made reveal that sports is a phenomenon that improves health
of disabled person with respect to physiological and psychological aspects and that
regulates his social attitudes. While participating in sports or any physical activity
enables for the person to discover his different identity and roles, it also provides
the opportunity for him to perceive his skills and it enhances the group feeling and
reduces awareness of disability. Regular sports applications in physically disabled
individuals play important role both in their daily life activities and in improv-
ing their life qualities. It is required for an environment being built with physical
surrounding not to inhibit a disabled person using wheelchair. By implementing
certain standards, a sports hall enabling for people using wheelchairs to act com-
fortably can be built. Disabled people managing to do certain works as independent
individuals without getting the help of others in their sports lives, their being able
to do movements necessitating physical strength, their being successful are directly
related with accessibility level of spaces where they are present. In the sports halls,
all types of physical barriers avoiding the movement and playing capabilities of
wheelchair users should be eliminated. Before sports halls are built, the opinions of
disabled individuals should be considered and it will be beneficial to realize archi-
tectural arrangements carefully starting from project stage until the application
stage in all the sports halls to be built newly.

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Author details

Eylem Çelik1, Zekeriya Çelik1, Hüseyin Yılmaz Aruntaş2*, Şefik Taş3,

Kübra Altunkaynak4 and Arzuhan Burcu Gültekin5

1 Department of Coaching Education, Pamukkale University, Denizli, Turkey

2 Department of Civil Engineering, Gazi University, Ankara, Turkey

3 Van Metropolitan Municipality, Van, Turkey

4 Occupational Health and Safety Specialist, Ankara, Turkey

5 Department of Real Estate Development and Management, Ankara University,

Ankara, Turkey

*Address all correspondence to: aruntas@gazi.edu.tr

© 2019 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms
of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/
by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is properly cited.

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Problems Experienced by Wheelchair Sporters in Sports Halls and Sustainable Solution Proposals
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.87836

References

[1] Aslan M, Şeker S. Social Perception problems of physically disabled people

and Exclusion for the Disabled (Case
of Siirt), International Social Rights
Symposium (in Turkish). 2011
[2] Association for Life Without
Obstacles [Internet]. 2018. Available
from: https://ey-der.com/ana-sayfa/
turkiye-ve-dunyada-engelliler/
[3] Yılmaz A, Şentürk U, Ramazanoğlu
F. Content analysis of the researches
about sports for physically disabled.
Sports Management and Information
Technologies Journal (in Turkish).
2014;9(1-2):1-2. ISSN: 1306-4371
[4] Face to Face Interview with Zekeriya
Çelik, Ankara. April 24, 2019
[5] Çınarlı S, Ersöz G. Proposals relating
with sponsorship and tax adjustments
for the development of sports services
aiming for disabled people. Journal
of Süleyman Demirel University
Institute of Social Sciences (in Turkish).
2010;2(12):141-156
and about solution proposals. ÖZ-VERİ
Journal. 2010;7(2):2
[11] TS9111. Rules for Arrangement of
Buildings where Disabled People Reside.
Turkey: Turkish Standards Institute;
1991
[12] Mülayim A. Solutions for disabled
people in interior arrangement.
Kırklareli University Journal of
Engineering and Science (in Turkish).
2017;3:3
[13] Altınok M, Kars MM. Functional
approaches in wet space arrangements
for disabled people using wheelchairs.
Dumlupınar University Institute of
Physical Sciences Journal (in Turkish).
2010;21:21

[6] History of Sports Halls [Internet].

Available from: https:// sporsalonlari.
weebly.com/giri351/ spor-salonlar-
tarihcesi [Accessed: 2018]

[7] Standards of Americans with

Disabilities Act (ADA) [Internet].
Available from: https://www.ada.gov/
[Accessed: 2019]

[8] Aköz E. Structure Adopted for

Disabled People. 1st ed. Turkey: OFD
Spinal Cord Paralysis Association; 2001

[9] Accessibility Guide. Basic Rules to

Comply with Relating with Disabled
and Old People in Architectural Projects
[Internet]. 2017. Available from: http://
www.izmimod.org.tr/yasa/engelli.
html#hakkinda#hakkinda

[10] Mülayim A, Özşahin B. An

examination on accommodation

161
 Section 2

Sustainable Building
Materials

163
Chapter 13

Sustainable Metakaolin-Based
Geopolymer Concrete with Waste
Plastic Aggregate
Wasan I. Khalil, Qais J. Frayyeh and Mahmood F. Ahmed

Abstract

Nowadays, the sustainability in construction and building sector is a vital issue,

and it takes priority worldwide. This study aims to produce sustainable geopolymer
concrete by using metakaolin (MK) as a source binder and incorporating waste
plastic (WPL) as coarse aggregate in it. To understand the effects of using WPL on
the mechanical properties of metakaolin-based geopolymer concrete (MK-GPC),
four mixtures have been prepared with 0, 10, 20, and 30% substitution by volume
of natural coarse aggregate with mixed shredded WPL particles. The experimental
investigation involves studying fresh and dry densities, mechanical properties,
ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV), and the microstructure feature. The results
indicate that the MK-GPC mixes containing WPL particles have lower fresh and
dry densities compared with the control mix. Also, all MK-GPC mixtures with
WPL aggregate show a reduction in the mechanical properties and UPV results. In
addition, the outcomes of SEM test reveal a porous structure for MK-GPC contain-
ing WPL particles. The evaluation of MK-GPC containing shredded WPL as coarse
aggregate demonstrates the ability to produce more eco-friendly concrete with
moderate strength, which can be used in wide area of civil engineering applications.

Keywords: sustainability, geopolymer concrete, metakaolin, waste plastic, aggregate,

mechanical properties

1. Introduction

The challenges associated with global warming, population growth, depletion

of natural resources, and pollution by wastes have pushed to highlight the sus-
tainability in construction and building sector as a universal priority issue. The
utilization of the concrete as a construction material is ubiquitous throughout the
world. Annually, the concrete production reaches 10 billion metric tons [1], which
causes a significant environmental impact in relation to the use of ordinary port-
land cement (key ingredient) in concrete manufacturing, ingesting huge amounts
of natural aggregate, and consumption of high energy and large amounts of raw
materials. Worldwide, the portland cement industry emits up to 1.5 billion tons of
CO2 per year [1], which contributes about 5–8% to greenhouse gas emission, and
this number could jump up to 10–15% by 2020 [2]. Therefore, many efforts have
been exerted to produce an eco-friendly alternative binder to portland cement; one
of these innovative binders is “geopolymer” that is synthesized through activating

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the aluminosilicate source materials like metakaolin, fly ash, and slag with alkaline
solution (usually sodium hydroxide and sodium silicate) in a fast chemical reaction
named geopolymerization process [3]. There are some studies that have investigated
the properties of geopolymer concrete based on Iraqi metakaolin as the source
material and the factors affecting its behavior [4–6]. Another research has also
examined the effects of using metakaolin on the properties of fly ash-based geo-
polymer concrete containing recycled aggregate [7].
Furthermore, the excessive use of plastic products has led to the generation of
million tons (Mt) of plastic waste around the world [8]. The global plastic con-
sumption jumped from 313 (Mt) in 2014 to 322 (Mt) in 2015, and the number could
reach to 485 (Mt) in 2030 [9, 10]. Most of this waste is usually disposed as landfill or
dumped into the rivers or oceans. Due to the low biodegradability and persistence
of waste plastic, associated with poor waste management [8], plastic waste pollu-
tion has become a vital environmental problem, which requires serious and sustain-
able solution. The utilization of the waste plastic in concrete as partial replacement
for natural (fine or coarse) aggregate is beneficial not only for minimizing the
environmental pollution but also for preserving the natural resources [9]. Although
the notable studies [8–16] that have been carried out on the use of different types
of waste plastic in normal concrete have reported the effects of these wastes on the
concrete properties, still there is a missing information about using the waste plastic
in geopolymer concrete. Therefore, the novel contribution of this research is to use
the shredded waste plastic as partial replacement for natural coarse aggregate in the
synthesis of metakaolin-based geopolymer concrete (MK-GPC). Accordingly, the
objectives of this study are to investigate the physical, mechanical, and microstruc-
tural properties of MK-GPC specimens with different contents of WPL aggregate
(0, 10, 20, and 30% by volume) as replacements for natural coarse aggregate and to
show the feasibility of reusing the waste plastic in the production of superior eco-
friendly geopolymer concrete toward the development of sustainable construction
industry.

2. Experimental works

2.1 Materials

Iraqi kaolin was burnt in furnace at 700°C for 2 hours to produce the metakaolin
(MK) which was used in this study. Table 1 shows the oxide composition obtained
from X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analysis and physical properties of MK which
comply with the requirements of ASTM C618-2017 [17] as a natural pozzolan Class
N. For the purpose of preparing the activator solution, sodium silicate (Na2SiO3)
containing 54% H2O, 32.5% SiO2, and 13.5% Na2O was mixed with sodium
hydroxide (NaOH) solution at a ratio of 2:1 for all mixes. The NaOH solution with
14 molarity concentrations was achieved by dissolving the pellets from 98% pure
NaOH in distilled water to minimize the influence of impurities. The final solution
was left for 24 hours to be cooled at room temperature before using.
For all mixes, the coarse and fine aggregates fulfilled the requirements of the
Iraqi specification No. 45/1984 [18]. The natural coarse aggregate was crushed with
a particle size of 5–14 mm, dry-rodded density of 1595 kg/m3, specific gravity of
2.61, and absorption of 1.3%, while the fine aggregate was natural sand zone 1 with
fineness modulus of 3.3, dry-rodded density of 1787 kg/m3, specific gravity of 2.58,
and absorption of 1.6%. The waste plastics were a mixture of different plastic types,
but most of them were high-density polyethylene (HDPE) which was obtained
from vegetable boxes, garbage container, plastic jerrycan, shampoo and dishwasher

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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.87836
Sustainable Metakaolin-Based Geopolymer Concrete with Waste Plastic Aggregate
Oxide SiO2 Al2O3 Fe2O3 CaO MgO SO3 Na2O K2O LOI
Weight% 54.20 39.0 0.92 1.37 0.15 0.45 0.22 0.27 0.71

ASTM C618 limits SiO2 + Al2O3 + Fe2O3 ≥ 70% / / ≤4.0% / / ≤10%

Physical properties of MK ASTM C618 limits

Specific gravity 2.64 /
2
Specific surface area (m /kg) 14,300 /

Amount retained when wet sieved on 45 μm (No. 325) sieve (%) 18.2 Max. 34%
7-day pozzolanic activity index (%) 113.3 Min. 75%

Table 1.
The chemical composition and physical properties of metakaolin compared with ASTM C618-2017.
ISBS 2019 - 4th International Sustainable Buildings Symposium

cleaner bottles, etc. Firstly, the waste plastic was cleaned and then crushed and
shredded into small flaky particles like chips using plastic scrap grinder machine.
Finally, the particles of waste plastic were graded by sieve shaker to comply with
the grading of natural coarse aggregate. The shape and physical properties of waste
plastic (WPL) aggregate are given in Table 2 and Figure 1, respectively. A super-
plasticizer (Conplast SP2000) and extra tap water were used to get the applicable
workability and improve the mixing process.

2.2 Mixing proportions

In this study, many trial mixes were prepared to determine the highest compres-
sive strength for MK-GPC, which was selected as reference mix, at the age of 7 days.
For all mixes, the ratio of alkaline activator solution to binder was 0.65, while the
dosage of superplasticizer and extra water was fixed at 2 and 10% by weight of
binder, respectively. To understand the effect of using waste plastic in MK-GC, four
mixtures with waste plastic contents of 0, 10, 20, and 30% as partial volumetric
replacement for the natural coarse aggregate were produced and denoted as 0%
WPL, 10% WPL, 20% WPL, and 30% WPL, respectively. Table 3 summarizes the
mixing proportions of different MK-GPC mixtures.

2.3 Mixing and casting procedure

The procedure of producing the geopolymer concrete is very important; thus,

the processes of mixing, casting, and curing were kept constant for all mixtures. All
aggregates were prepared to be in saturated surface dry (SSD) condition. Firstly, the
coarse, fine, and WPL aggregates were mixed together with the metakaolin (MK)
for 2 minutes in an electrical rotating tilting mixer. Then, half the amount of alkali
solution was added gradually to the dry mixture to be blended together for 3–4 min-
utes, while the remaining alkaline solution, superplasticizer, and extra water were
mixed manually for about 1 minute and poured into the mixer. The mixing process

Physical properties Results

Bulk density (ASTM C29-09) [19] 455 kg/m3

Water absorption (24 hours) 0.00%

Thickness Max. 3 mm

Shape of particles Flaky to lamellar particles and some pellet pieces with a
max. size of 14 mm

Table 2.
WPL aggregate physical properties.

Figure 1.
Shredded waste plastic aggregate.

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Materials (kg/m3) Mixtures

0% WPL 10% WPL 20% WPL 30% WPL
Metakaolin 415 415 415 415

Coarse aggregate 1240 1116 992 868

Fine aggregate 475 475 475 475

WPL aggregate 0 35.373 70.746 106.12

Alkaline solution (1NaOH/2Na2SiO3) 270 270 270 270

Extra water 41.5 41.5 41.5 41.5

Superplasticizer 8.3 8.3 8.3 8.3

Table 3.
Mix proportions for all MK-GPC mixtures.

continued for 7–8 minutes, including 1-minute rest to clean the blades. The homog-
enous fresh MK-GPC was discharged from the mixer and casted as layers into the
required cast iron molds. Each layer was tamped 30 times with a standard steel rod
and then followed by 30 seconds on the vibration table.

2.4 Curing method

The ideal curing regime with respect to period of time and temperature plays
a vital role in developing strength and behavior of the geopolymer concrete [20];
thus, many trials on curing process were done to produce a high-compressive-
strength MK-GPC, using sustainable curing method. In the current experimental
study, immediately after casting, the molds were covered with plastic sheet to pre-
vent water loss due to evaporation and left in ambient condition for 24 hours. Then,
the molds were opened and the specimens were sealed with thick plastic bags.
All specimens were placed in an electrical oven at 60°C for 4–5 hours, followed
by exposure to sunlight in the summer season at 35–49°C until the test time. The
previous study [5] had optimized the curing system of MK-GPC in 32–48°C under
the sunlight to gain 28.53 MPa 7-day compressive strength. Another study [6] used

No. Type of test Geometry of specimen The specification

1 Fresh density 100 mm cube ASTM C138-2017 [21]

2 Dry density Fractures from prisms ASTM C642-2013 [22]

3 Compressive 100 mm cube BS. 1881: part 116:1983 [23]

strength
4 Splitting tensile 100 × 200 mm cylinder ASTM C496-2017 [24]
strength

5 Flexural strength 100 × 100 × 400 mm prism ASTM C78-2018 [25]

6 Ultrasonic pulse 100 × 100 × 400 mm prism ASTM C597-2015 [26]

velocity

7 Microstructure Small thin samples were cut from Scanning electronic

investigation un-fractured part of the flexural microscopy (SEM) by
strength specimens apparatus named TESCAN-
VEGA III, LM

Table 4.
Details of testing methods.

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the curing regime for MK-GPC in an electrical oven at 45 ± 5°C for 72 hours to attain
22.70 MPa 7-day compressive strength. The adapted curing method in this research
had presented a combination of the efficiency and the sustainability to produce the
MK-GPC with a high compressive strength (40.93 MPa for 7 days), providing a wide
range of civil engineering applications.

2.5 Test methods

Table 4 outlines the type of the experimental tests and the geometry of speci-
mens; also it reports the specifications which are required to recognize the char-
acteristics of all MK-GPC mixtures. For each experimental test, the results of the
three specimens at 7 and 28 days were used to calculate the final result.

3. Results and discussions

3.1 Fresh density

Figure 2 shows the influence of incorporating the WPL aggregate on the

fresh density of all MK-GPC mixes. It can be seen that the fresh density decreases
with the increase of WPL aggregate amount. The fresh density of the reference
mix (0% WPL) drops from 2360 to 2147 kg/m3 for the mix with 30% WPL. This
behavior is attributed to the lower density and specific gravity of WPL aggregate
compared with that for natural coarse aggregate [8].

3.2 Dry density

The dry density values of MK-GPC with different WPL aggregate contents at
7 and 28 days are shown in Figure 3. Generally, the continuity of geopolymeriza-
tion process has improved and made the microstructure more dense; thus, the dry
density of all mixes increased with time. Also, for a specific age, as the replacement
dosage of WPL aggregate increased, a reduction in dry density occurred. At the
28th day, the dry density of reference mix (0% WPL aggregate) declined from
2206 kg/m3 to 2153, 2115, and 1981 kg/m3 for WPL aggregate replacement at the
dosage of 10, 20, and 30%, respectively. This reduction in dry density is due to

Figure 2.
Fresh density of MK-GPC with different WPL aggregate contents.

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Figure 3.
Dry density of MK-GPC with different WPL aggregate contents.

the lower density of WPL aggregate (about 71%) than natural coarse aggregate
[8, 11, 16]. Also, more pores in matrix would be formed due to the elongated and
flaky shape of WPL particles which can attribute to this decrement [8].

3.3 Compressive strength

The effect of different WPL aggregate contents on compressive strength of

MK-GPC at 7 and 28 days is presented in Figure 4. The results show that, regardless
of the WPL aggregate content, the compressive strength of all geopolymer speci-
mens tends to increase with time because the geopolymerization process develop-
ment increases the density of the microstructure. As expected, the compressive
strength of MK-GPC decreases gradually with the increase of the WPL aggregate
substitution level. It is observed that the 44.03 MPa compressive strength of the
reference mix decreases by 14.08, 31.11, and 35.27% for the specimens containing
10, 20, and 30% WPL aggregate on the 28th day, respectively. This reduction is
similar to that of normal concrete which incorporated the recycled plastic waste as
coarse aggregate. The main reasons that cause this decline are the lower strength
and stiffness of WPL aggregate than that of natural aggregate, weakness of the

Figure 4.
Compressive strength of MK-GPC with different WPL aggregate contents.

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bond strength between the surface of WPL aggregate and geopolymer paste, and
the generation of more pores in the concrete microstructure due to shape and size of
waste plastic aggregate [8, 11, 16].

3.4 Splitting tensile strength

Figure 5 shows the variation of the splitting tensile strength with various
percentages of WPL aggregate. For all mixes, the splitting tensile strength increases
with time; for reference mix the results are 1.76 MPa at 7 days and 2.55 MPa on
the 28th day. As in the compressive strength, the splitting strength decreases with
the increase in the quantity of WPL aggregate. Compared with the control mix, the
reduction in the splitting tensile strength for specimens 10% WPL, 20% WPL, and
30% WPL are 31, 35, and 53%, respectively. This could be attributed to the differ-
ence in shape, stiffness, and roughness of aggregates, since the WPL aggregate has
plane and flaky shape with smooth surface, different from gravel, which is angular
and stiff [8, 16].

3.5 Flexural strength

The values of the flexural strength for all MK-GPC mixtures at 7 and 28 days
are illustrated in Figure 6. As in the cases of compression and splitting strengths,
the replacement of natural aggregate with WPL aggregate has negative impacts
on the flexural strength of geopolymer concrete. For the mixes 10, 20, and 30%
WPL, the flexural strength drops at 7.57, 18.2, and 25.75%, respectively, with
respect to the 0% WPL mix. Similar to the explication of the reduction in com-
pressive and splitting tensile strengths, the low strength of waste plastic particles
and weak adherence between the surface of WPL aggregate and geopolymer paste
cause this deterioration in flexural strength [8, 11].

3.6 Ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV)

In order to evaluate the uniformity and structure of MK-GPC containing WPL

aggregate, the ultrasonic pulse velocity test was conducted for all mixes at 7 and
28 days, and the results are shown in Figure 7. It can be observed that for all speci-
mens, the UPV values increase intensively with time since the microstructure is

Figure 5.
Splitting tensile strength of MK-GPC with different WPL aggregate contents.

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Figure 6.
Flexural strength of MK-GPC with different WPL aggregate contents.

Figure 7.
Ultrasonic pulse velocity of MK-GPC with different WPL aggregate contents.

enhanced by geopolymerization activity. Nevertheless, the incorporating of WPL

aggregate by 10, 20, and 30% decreases the UPV results from 4.368 km/sec for 0%
WPL specimens to be 4.156, 3.739, and 3.711 km/sec, respectively. The performance
of UPV in geopolymer concrete containing waste plastic particles is the same as that
which was found in previous studies for normal concrete. When using waste plastic
as aggregate in normal concrete, the air voids, pores, and heterogeneity of the
matrix will increase, so the transmitting pulse velocity decreases [8, 11].

3.7 Microstructural analysis by scanning electronic microscopy (SEM)

To investigate and reveal the effect of WPL aggregate incorporation on the

MK-GPC microstructural feature, the mixes 0 and 30% WPL were tested, and the
typical microstructural aspect of both mixes is shown in Figures 8 and 9, respec-
tively. As it can be seen in Figure 8, the SEM micrographs of 0% WPL mix indicate
more dense and homogenous geopolymer paste, associated with fewer small pores
and microcracks, thus the interfacial transition zone (ITZ) characteristics.

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Figure 8.
SEM micrographs of MK-GPC without WPL aggregate (reference mix).

Figure 9.
SEM micrographs of MK-GPC with 30% WPL content.

The micrographs of 30% WPL mix illustrate a nonhomogeneous microstructure

with many large pores, multi-microcracks, and less compacted geopolymer paste,
which are related to the irregular and flaky shape of WPL particles that caused a
random distribution of waste plastic particles in the matrix. On the other hand, due
to the smooth surface of WPL aggregate, a large gap as well as poor bond between
the WPL particle and geopolymer paste has been observed at the interfacial tran-
sition zone. This explains the reasons behind the drawbacks of the mechanical
strengths of the MK-GPC which contains WPL aggregate and enhances the results
obtained in this research.

4. Conclusion

Based on the assessment of the physical and mechanical properties of MK-GPC

containing waste plastic, the most important findings can be summarized as
follows:

• There is a reduction in fresh and dry density of MK-GPC as the content of

WPL aggregate increases. Although all MK-GPC produced in this investigation

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are not classified as lightweight concrete, the reduction in density has provided
appropriate solution for applications where self-weight represents a problem.

• By increasing the amount of waste plastic aggregate, the mechanical proper-

ties gradually decrease. Since the lowest compressive, splitting, and flexural
strengths were 28.5, 1.18, and 2.45 MPa, respectively, for 30% of the waste
plastic aggregate content, it is still in structural concrete category. On the other
hand, the optimum volume replacement level is 10% WPL aggregate, which
achieves the slightest reductions: 14% for the compressive strength, 7.5% for
flexural strength, and 31% for splitting tensile strength, compared with the
reference mixture.

• In comparison with 0% WPL, mixtures with 10, 20, and 30% WPL have more
porous structure which causes reduction in ultrasonic pulse velocity up to
4.8, 14.4, and 15.0%, respectively. Thus, the usage of plastic waste as coarse
aggregate can enhance the sound isolation of geopolymer concrete.

• The inclusion of WPL aggregate into the MK-GPC shows SEM images with
clearly revealed weak paste containing pores, multi-microcracks, and defects
in the interfacial transition zone (ITZ). In addition, the smooth surface of
WPL particles causes poor bonding with the MK-geopolymer paste.

• In spite of the drawbacks in the mechanical properties when the waste plastic
aggregate has been used in synthesis of MK-GPC, the selection of adequate
WPL replacement level and adoption of sustainable curing regime will provide
a superior sustainable geopolymer concrete with moderate strength, efficient
sound absorbency, and lighter weight that can be used as a green material in
structural and nonstructural applications of civil engineering sector, especially
in hot-weather regions like the Middle East.

• More studies should be dedicated to investigate the effect of plastic waste

aggregate on thermal conductivity, long-term durability performance, and fire
resistance of MK-GPC.

Author details

Wasan I. Khalil, Qais J. Frayyeh and Mahmood F. Ahmed*

Civil Engineering Department, University of Technology, Baghdad, Iraq

*Address all correspondence to: mahmodmfa81@gmail.com

© 2019 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms
of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/
by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is properly cited.

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[6] Basil SA, Mohammed S, Tareq A.
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[11] Youcef G, Bahia R, Brahim S,
Rabah C. Use of recycled plastic bag
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[12] Hossain MB, Bhowmik P, Shaad KM.
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[13] Zakaria H, Masud A, Mozammel H.
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[14] Abhishek J, Salman S, Trilok G,
Sudhir J, Ravi KS, Sandeep C. Fresh,
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[16] Ammar AH, Khalid MB, Salim HJ,
Suad MH. Strength properties of
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[17] ASTM. Standard Test Method for
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Chapter 14

Investigation of the Effect of

Different Temperatures on the
Mechanical Strength of Industrial
Heat-Treated Wood in Terms of
Sustainability
Şemsettin Kılınçarslan, Bilgin İçel and Yasemin Şimşek

Abstract

Wood material has been used as a sustainable building material for many years.
Wood material has many positive properties, but it also has negative features
(dimensional changes and biodegradability) that limit its usable area. Various wood
modification methods have been developed to minimize these negative features.
One of the most important features of wood materials is that the wooden columns
and beams do not collapse immediately with increasing temperature (i.e., beginning
of fire). The mechanical stability of the heat-treated material with the increase of
the temperature constitutes the basis of this study. In this study the effect of dif-
ferent temperatures on the mechanical stability of Iroko wood (heat-treated wood
and unheat-treated wood) was investigated. All test samples are exposed to 105,
120, 140, and 160°C temperature for 3, 6, and 9 hours. As a result, heat treatment
of the wood material increased the resistance of the material to the temperatures,
and the service life of these materials is prolonged. Thus, the resistance against
environmental effects of wood materials increased, and the importance of nature is
emphasized by using natural materials in sustainable standards.

Keywords: modulus of elasticity, heat-treated wood, unheat-treated wood,

temperature, dMOE

1. Introduction

The concept of sustainability is one of the debated subjects of recent years in our
world, where environmental degradations are increasing. The issue of sustainability
lies at the heart of the triangle of energy loss, economical power, and environmental
consciousness. Therefore, sustainability subject is discussed in a very broad area
ranging from social sciences, natural sciences, policy, to local and international
environmental organizations [1–3].
Wood as a building material has been used since ancient times [4]. Today, wood
material is used in many areas because of its many positive features [5]. Wood material
has many positive features but also has negative features. The most important of these
negative features is the effect of dimensional changes by environmental influences

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and degradations due to the effects of various tree pests (insects and fungi). In order
to prevent the occurrence of this negativity in the wood material, it is a widely used
modification method for the penetration of various chemical materials into the wood
[6–8]. Wood is less affected by external factors with chemical modifying methods,
but it has many negative features such as toxic substances and the need for repeti-
tion. These negative features required the development of alternative modification
methods for the protection of wood, a nature-friendly and sustainable resource [7]. At
the present time, ThermoWood method is one of the most widely used modification
methods [9–11]. ThermoWood method was developed in Finland [12]. Looking at the
ThermoWood Handbook, heat treatment (ThermoWood) stages takes place in three
steps. The steps are warming up, drying, and cooling-conditioning [13].
The physical, mechanical, and chemical features of wood materials may vary
depending on various influences. One of these factors is temperature. One of the
most important and interesting knowledge about a wooden beam is that it does
not collapse quickly with increasing temperature (i.e., beginning of fire). The lack
of scientific information on the mechanical stability of heat-treated wood with
increasing temperatures is the main driven force of the study. The aim of this study
was to investigate the effect of different temperatures on the heat-treated and
unheat-treated Iroko wood. In this study, dynamic modulus of elasticity (dMOE)
changes of the Iroko wood (heat-treated, unheat-treated) in the temperature effect
were investigated.
For this purpose, heat-treated (HT) and unheat-treated (UT) samples were used
in the study. The samples were subjected to ultrasonic wave test after exposure to a
temperature of 105, 120, 140, and 160°C, and the modulus of elasticity values of the
samples was determined.

2. Material and methods

Iroko (Chlorophora excelsa) wood (heat-treated and unheat-treated samples) was

used in this study. Heat-treated and unheat-treated wood were taken from the forest
products firm. Samples were subjected to heat treatment at 190°C for 120 minutes
during the main heat treatment period for ThermoWood process in the company.
Heat-treated and unheat-treated samples were prepared in 20 × 20 × 60 mm dimen-
sions for ultrasonic wave test. Heat-treated and unheat-treated samples used in this
study are given in Figure 1.

Figure 1.
Samples that are used in the study. (a) Heat-treated (HT) and (b) unheat-treated (UT) samples.

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All test samples (heat-treated, unheat-treated) are acclimatized approximately

6–10 weeks at a stable temperature of 20 ± 2°C and 65% RH conditions. At the end
of this period, the density and the MOE of the samples were determined. Densities
of heat-treated and unheat-treated samples were determined according to TS
2472 [14]. TS 2472 [14] was calculated densities of the samples using stereometric
method which is based on measurements of volume and mass of the sample. Values
of MOE were determined by EPOCH 650 device. Kılınçarslan et al. [15] reported
that the values of dMOE can be determined using ultrasonic wave method. The
EPOCH 650 is an ultrasonic wave method and it is set according to EN 12668-1 [16].
This device was obtained from the Forest Faculty Laboratory of Isparta Applied
Sciences University. For determination of sound velocities, 2.25 MHz contact longi-
tudinal transducers were used. Time-of-flight (ToF) values used for calculation of
ultrasonic wave velocities were calculated according to EN12668-1. Then, values of
dMOE are calculated using Eq. (1):

Edyn = p × V2 × 10 −6 (1)

where Edyn is dynamic elasticity modulus (MPa), p is density (kg/m3), and V is

ultrasonic wave velocity (m/s).
Densities and dynamic modulus of elasticity values were determined before the
samples entered the oven. Later, ultrasonic wave test samples are exposed to 105,
120, 140, and 160°C temperature for 3, 6, and 9 hours (Figure 2).
After the samples were subjected to temperature, they were removed from
the oven and wrapped with aluminum foil so as not to be affected by the weather
conditions. Densities and modulus of elasticity values of the samples wrapped
with aluminum foil and the modulus of elasticity were quickly determined
(Figure 3).
In the study, modulus of elasticity and density values of samples (heat-treated
wood and unheat-treated wood) are determined before entering the oven and
after entering the oven. The change in the modulus of elasticity of the heat-treated
material compared to the unheat-treated samples was investigated depending on
different temperatures.

Figure 2.
The test equipment. (a) Oven. (b) HT and UT samples inside the oven.

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Figure 3.
Samples wrapped with aluminum foil and ready for measure.

3. Results and discussion

Ultrasonic wave test samples are exposed to 105, 120, 140, and 160°C tempera-
ture for 3, 6, and 9 hours. A drying oven that operates in an atmospheric environ-
ment was used for temperature treatment. It was determined that the density
values decreased in both groups (HT and UT) when the temperature and duration
increased (Figure 4).
Ünsal et al. [17] examined the effects of thermal treatment on the color and
physical and mechanical properties of Eucalyptus samples. They determined that
heat-treated Eucalyptus samples were compared with unheat-treated samples in
terms of swelling, hardness, kiln dry weight, and color change. As a result, as the
heat treatment temperature and duration increased, the colors were darkened,
and the decrease in density values and decrease in hardness were determined. Hill
[18] reported that loss of weight is one of the most undesirable properties during
the heat treatment of wood material. The weight loss formed due to the heating
of the wood and the decrease in the density due to this loss vary depending on the
type of wood used, the treatment environment, the treatment method, the tem-
perature, and the time applied. Weight loss at low temperatures is less than high
temperatures. Hill [18] stated that the reason for this is that free water and volatile
compounds are away from the wood. Gündüz et al. [19] studied the compressive

Figure 4.
Graphic of density-duration for HT and UT samples.

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Investigation of the Effect of Different Temperatures on the Mechanical Strength of Industrial…
Samples 3 hours 6 hours 9 hours

105 (°C) 120 (°C) 140 (°C) 160 (°C) 105 (°C) 120 (°C) 140 (°C) 160 (°C) 105 (°C) 120 (°C) 140 (°C) 160 (°C)
dMOE-UT (BO)* 7808 7975 7322 7030 6962 7292 6901 7338 7137 7181 7782 7226
(MPa)

Density-UT 0.72 0.72 0.72 0.70 0.71 0.70 0.70 0.70 0.71 0.70 0.70 0.70
(BO)* (g/cm3)

dMOE-UT 7657 7816 7153 6841 6813 7131 6712 7139 6982 7013 7591 6998
(AO)** (MPa)

Density-UT 0.70 0.69 0.681 0.69 0.69 0.69 0.676 0.69 0.69 0.69 0.71 0.68
(AO)** (g/cm3)

Difference of 151 159 169 189 149 161 189 199 155 168 191 228
dMOE-UT (MPa)

dMOE-HT (BO)* 5997 5801 5697 6539 6038 5644 6490 6771 5761 5761 6874 6384
(MPa)

Density-HT 0.65 0.65 0.64 0.66 .065 0.64 0.64 0.67 0.64 0.64 0.68 0.67
(BO)* (g/cm3)

dMOE-HT 5927 5726 5620 6454 5967 5570 6413 6692 5688 5685 6792 6301
(AO)** (MPa)

Density-HT 0.64 0.63 0.64 0.65 0.64 0.63 0.64 0.65 0.64 0.63 0.63 0.64
(AO)** (g/cm3)

Difference of 70 75 77 85 71 74 77 79 73 76 82 83
dMOE-HT (MPa)
*BO: before-oven.
**AO: after-oven.

Table 1.
MOE and density values of HT and UT samples for 3-, 6-, and 9-hour duration.
ISBS 2019 - 4th International Sustainable Buildings Symposium

strength and hardness results of heat-treated beech wood at different temperatures

and different durations. They stated that the compressive strength and hardness
values of the wood increased with the increase of the heat treatment temperature
and duration. They reported that the maximum density loss occurred at the highest
temperature and time.
Akyıldız et al. [20], Boonstra et al. [21], and Sehlstedt-Persson [22] reported that
the density of the HT sample is lower than the UT samples. As seen in Figure 4, the
density of the HT sample is lower than the UT samples in this study. However, it was
determined that the heat-treated samples were less affected than the unheat-treated
samples from temperature.
Modulus of elasticity values was determined by ultrasonic wave test. Table 1
shows the dynamic modulus of elasticity (dMOE) changes depending on the
temperature and duration.
Parallel results were also obtained to literature in this study. When the values of
MOE varying depending on the temperature are examined in both groups, it has
been determined that the modulus of elasticity values decreases with temperature
increase. Korkut [23] investigated the effect of heat treatment on some mechanical
properties (compressive strength, flexural strength, modulus of elasticity, Janka
hardness, and tensile strength) of the Uludağ fir (A. bornmuellerinana). At the end
of his research, it has been determined that heat treatment decreases the mechani-
cal properties of wood statistically significantly. Korkut et al. [24] reported that
the reasons for this decrease in strength values are the weight loss and the loss of
hemicellulose due to heat treatment. They stated that the reduction in strength val-
ues is not important, and especially good processing properties and stability can be
utilized in the areas where stability is important. It was determined that the change
of the MOE values in the HT samples is less than the UT samples (Figure 5).
When the rate of decrease in the modulus of elasticity is taken into account,
it is determined that the HT samples are less affected by the temperature than
the UT samples. It was determined that the modulus of elasticity was increased
from 105 to 160°. In addition, the maximum change was determined to be 160° in
9 hours and the minimum change was 105° in 3 hours. Pyrus elaeagrifolia Pall. wood
were heat treated at two different temperatures (160, 180°C) and three different
times (2, 4, and 6 hours), and Karakaş [25] examined the changes in physical
and mechanical properties of these samples. The results showed an improvement
in physical properties and loss of mechanical properties. The sixth hour showed

Figure 5.
Graphic of difference of dMOE for HT and UT samples.

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Figure 6.
Comparison of dynamic modulus of elasticity-density values for before-oven.

Figure 7.
Comparison of dynamic modulus of elasticity-density values for after-oven.

that the decrease in mechanical properties was higher than the second and fourth
hours. Figures 6 and 7 have represented a comparison between dynamic modulus
of elasticity and density values.
There are reasonable and strong relation between dynamic modulus of elastic-
ity and density values. Correlation values of 0.993 and 0.8614 were obtained for
before-oven and after-oven, respectively.

4. Conclusion

In this study, heat-treated and unheat-treated samples were subjected to an

ultrasonic wave test after exposure to a temperature of 105, 120, 140, and 160°C,
and the MOE values of samples were detected. When the data obtained in the study
were evaluated:

• Density values of the HT Iroko samples were lower than the UT samples. As the
temperature and time increased, the density values decreased in both groups
(heat-treated and unheat-treated samples).

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ISBS 2019 - 4th International Sustainable Buildings Symposium

• Considering the decrease in density depending on the temperature and dura-

tion in the samples, it was determined that decrease rate of density of the HT
sample was less than that of UT sample.

• Parallel results were also obtained to literature in this study. The modulus of
elasticity was lower in the HT sample than in the UT sample.

• In both groups (HT and UT), as the temperature and duration increased, the
values of the MOE decreased. However, a change of the values of MOE in HT
samples is less than in the UT samples.

• When the rate of decrease in the modulus of elasticity is taken into account, it
is determined that the heat-treated samples are less affected by the tempera-
ture than the unheat-treated samples.

• There are reasonable and strong relation between dynamic modulus of elastic-
ity and density values.

Water-resistant building materials are materials that consume little energy

during their service life and do not harm the environment and people. Wood
material, which is a sustainable and renewable material, has many field uses.
However, the material is limited due to some negative effects (i.e., water, biologi-
cal pests). Therefore, many researchers have been focused on eco-friendly wood
modification methods. Nowadays, heat-treated materials are used to protect from
these negative features. One of the most important and interesting knowledge
about a wooden beam is that it does not collapse quickly with increasing tempera-
ture (i.e., beginning of fire). Failure to demolish the material for a long time when
exposed to this high temperature will prevent loss of life and property. As seen
in the study, the change in the modulus of elasticity of the heat-treated material
is less than in unheat-treated material depending on the temperature. In addi-
tion, this material has a higher resistance to biological pests. Therefore, it can be
considered as a sustainable building material in terms of being a longer-lasting
and more environmentally friendly material.

Acknowledgements

This study was supported by Suleyman Demirel University Scientific Research

Projects. The authors would like to thank SDU-BAP for their support.

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Author details

Şemsettin Kılınçarslan1*, Bilgin İçel2 and Yasemin Şimşek1

1 Department of Civil Engineering, Süleyman Demirel University, Isparta, Turkey

2 Department of Materials and Material Processing Tech, Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart

University, Çanakkale, Turkey

*Address all correspondence to: semsettinkilincarslan@sdu.edu.tr

© 2019 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms
of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/
by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is properly cited.

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ISBS 2019 - 4th International Sustainable Buildings Symposium
References
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development—Historical roots
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[3] Gupta GS. The paradox of sustainable
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the term and the ınstitutionalization
process. Periodica Polytechnica
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2017;25(1):1-7. DOI: 10.3311/PPso.8919
[4] Erdoğmuş E. Wood: An excellent
building material. Turkey Engineering
News. 2003;5:89-92
[5] Ulay G, Budakçı M. Studies carried
out in Turkey regarding water-based
varnishes used on wood surfaces. Düzce
University Journal of Science and
Technology. 2015;3:470-480
[6] Berkel AA. Wood Material
Technology: Wood Material Protection
and Impregnation Technique. İstanbul:
Istanbul University, Faculty of Forestry
Publications; 1972. 334 p
[7] Aydemir D, Gündüz G. The effect of
heat treatment on physical, chemical,
mechanical and biological properties
of wood. Journal of Bartın Faculty of
Forestry. 2009;11:71-81. ISSN: 1302-0943
[8] Tomak ED, Ustaomer D, Yildiz S,
Pesman E. Changes in surface and
mechanical properties of heat treated
wood during natural weathering.
Measurement. 2014;53:30-39. DOI:
10.1016/j.measurement.2014.03.018
[9] Mayes D, Oksanen O. ThermoWood
Handbook. Finland: Finnforest; 2002.
pp. 5-15
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[10] Özçifçi A, Özen R, Altınok M.
Determine of strength join of polimarin
adhesive in boiling, cold and hot water
conditions of wooden material. In:
World Forestry Congress, Antalya. 1997.
pp. 45-46
[11] Korkut S. Effect of heat treatment
temperature and duration on some
mechanical properties of hornbeam
(Ostrya carpinifolia scop.) wood.
Düzce University Journal of Forestry.
2009;5(1):121-130
[12] Poncsak S, Kocaefe D, Younsi R. 
Improvement of the heat treatment
of Jack pine (Pinus banksiana) using
ThermoWood technology. European
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2011;69:281-286. DOI: 10.1007/
s00107-010-0426-x
[13] Shi JL, Kocaefe D, Zhang J. 
Mechanical behaviour of Quebec wood
species heat-treated using ThermoWood
process. Holz als Roh- und Werkstoff.
2007;65:255-259. DOI: DOI 10.1007/
s00107-007-0173-9
[14] TS 2472. Wood-determination of
density for physical and mechanical
tests, this standard comprises method
for determination of density for physical
and mechanical tests of wood. 2005
[15] Kılınçarslan Ş, İçel B, Şimşek Y.
Determination of modulus of elasticity
for ash (Fraxinus spp.) grown in Turkey
using ultrasound. In: Proceedings of
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[16] TS EN 12668-1. Non-destructive
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[17] Ünsal O, Korkut S, Atik C. The
effect of heat treatment on some
properties and colour in eucalyptus
wood. Maderas Ciencia y Tecnologia.
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2003;52(2):145-152. DOI: 10.4067/ [25] Karakaş G. The effect of heat

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[18] Hill C. Wood Modification-
Chemical, Thermal and Other
Processes. England: John Wiley and Sons
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treatment on physical and mechanical
properties of wood (Pyrus elaeagnifolia
pall.) [MSc thesis]. Zonguldak:
Karaelmas University; 2008

[19] Gündüz G, Niemz P, Aydemir D. 

Changes in specific gravity and
equilibrium moisture content in heat-
treated Fir (Abies nordmanniana subsp.
Bornmülleriana Mattf.) wood. Drying
Technology. 2008;26(9):1135-1139. DOI:
10.1080/07373930802266207

[20] Akyildiz MH, Ates S, Özdemir

H. Technological and chemical
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black pine wood. African Journal
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1684-5315

[21] Boonstra MJ, Van Acker J, Tjeerdsma

BF, Kegel EV. Strength properties of
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relation to polymeric structural wood
constituents. Annals of Forest Science.
2007;64(7):679-690. DOI: 10.1051/
forest:2007048

[22] Sehlstedt-Persson M. Colour

responses to heat-treatment of extractives
and sap from pine and spruce. In: 8th
International IUFRO Wood Drying
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Brasov, Faculty of Wood Industry; 24-29
August 2003. pp. 459-464

[23] Korkut S. The effects of heat

treatment on some technological
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bornmuellerinana Mattf.) wood.
Building and Environment.
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[24] Korkut S, Korkut DS, Bekar İ.

The effect of heat treatment on some
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I. National Eucalyptus Symposium,
Tarsus. 15-17 April 2008

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Chapter 15

Experimental Investigation
of 12 Molar Concentration
of Activators’ Salinity on
the Compressive Strength of
Geopolymer Concrete
Solomon Oyebisi, Anthony Ede and Festus Olutoge

Abstract

This study investigates the influence of the total concentration of all dissolved salts
of activators on the compressive strength of geopolymer concrete (GPC). Sodium
silicate (Na2SiO3) and six various samples of sodium hydroxide (NaOH) pellets were
used as activators. The eco-friendly waste products which are ground-granulated
blast-furnace slag (GGBFS) and corncob ash (CCA) were used as binding agents. The
study also adopted Grade 40 MPa concrete as a design mix proportion. The activators
were prepared to obtain 12 molar concentration, while the salinities were measured
with the aid of JENWAY 4510 conductivity metre. The concrete constituents were
cast and cured under the ambient conditions, and its compressive strengths were
determined at days 7, 28, 56, and 90 of curing. Regression models were also developed
using Minitab 17. The experimental investigation indicates that compressive strength
increases as the activators’ salinity increases. The coefficients of determinations (R2)
show that the models are 97.10, 96.80, 98.10 and 96.20% sufficiently fit to forecast the
correlation between the activators’ salinities and the compressive strength of geopoly-
mer concrete at days 7, 28, 56, and 90, respectively. This developed model equations
can be used to develop new methods for strength applications that can enhance the
short-term mechanical properties of geopolymer concrete.

Keywords: salinity, sodium hydroxide, sodium silicate, compressive strength,

regression model

1. Introduction

One of the important factors which affect the strength of geopolymer concrete
(GPC) is the activators’ salinity. Various researches have been carried out on the
mechanical property of geopolymer concrete, but the influence of activators’ salin-
ity on the compressive strength is still limited. The alkaline activators are from solu-
ble alkali metals particularly sodium (Na) and potassium (K), and they are formed
from the combinations of sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and sodium silicate (Na2SiO3)
or potassium hydroxide (KOH) and potassium silicate (K2SiO3). The combination
of sodium hydroxide and sodium silicate solutions are the most alkaline liquids used

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in the production of geopolymer concrete [1–3]. When the sodium hydroxide and
sodium silicate solutions are mixed together, polymerisation occurs and it evolves a
large amount of heat; that is why it is advisable to prepare the alkaline activator at
least 24 h prior to casting of the fresh concrete [4, 5]. The alkaline activator chemi-
cally reacts with silicon oxide (SiO2) and aluminium oxide (Al2O3) in the source
materials to form geopolymer paste which acts as a binder agent for fine aggregate
(FA) and coarse aggregate (CA) to form geopolymer concrete [1, 4–5].
Reference [6] projected the world population to 8.5 billion, 9.7 billion and
11.2 billion by 2030, 2050 and 2100, respectively, with a higher percentage of the
population in developing countries experiencing water crisis. It was further stated
that more than half of the population would not have access to drinkable water due
to the rapid development in infrastructure due to the yearly needs of clean water.
Thus, research on the freshwater economy is very essential.
Furthermore, freshwater has been a problem in coaster areas due to the effect of sea
salts (salinity) on the available water. So, in such a location, it is strenuous to provide
portable water for civil/building jobs. Thus, it is economically saved to utilise the
available seawater closer to the construction site instead of freshwater that has to be
delivered to such site from another location. On the other hand, seawater possesses a
large number of sea salts (salinity) that may adversely affect the properties of concrete.
Thus, water quality plays a significant part in the concrete’s preparation. The setting
of the cement may be interfered by impurities and may negatively affect the strength
properties. The chemical properties of water also partake in the chemical reactions and,
therefore, affect the setting, hardening and strength development of the concrete mix.
The concrete strength lies on the concrete mix, curing method, water-cement ratio,
aggregates and types of binding agents. Moreover the relevant literature and standards
of practice signify that the mixing and curing effects of seawater on the durability prop-
erty of concrete still remain an area needing further investigation more importantly in
the application of concrete meant for structural purposes in marine location.
Many researchers experimentally investigated the effect of salinity on the
strength property of Portland cement concrete [7–9]. Reference [7] discovered that
the concrete samples prepared and cured with freshwater at 7. 14 and 28 days was
found to have the compressive strengths of 27.12, 32 and 39.12 N/mm2, respectively,
while the concrete samples prepared and cured with salt water at 7. 14 and 28 days
were found to have the compressive strengths of be 28.45, 34.67 and 41.34 N/mm2,
respectively. These results indicate that there is a minimal increase in the compres-
sive strength of cubes prepared and cured with salt water when compared with
the freshwater at all curing days [8]. Similarly, Ref. [9] concluded that there is an
increase in concrete strength by 4–8% at 7 days and 9–13% at 14 days in the concrete
cubes prepared and cured with seawater when compared with the potable water.
Therefore, this study aims at investigating the effect of alkaline liquids on the
short-term property of GGBFS-based GPC incorporating corncob ash (CCA) when
mixed and cured with of 12 molar concentration adopting Grade 40 MPa concrete
as a design mix proportion and the ratio of Na2SiO3 to NaOH solutions as 2.5:1 based
on the germane studies [10–17]. Moreover, the study also fills the gaps identified
in the mix design of GPC by putting the physical properties of materials used into
consideration when designing the mix proportion.

2. Materials and methods

2.1 Materials

Sodium hydroxide pellets, sodium silicate gel, granulated blast-furnace slag

(GBFS), corncob (CC), water, fine aggregate and coarse aggregate were locally

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Composition CaO SiO2 Al2O3 Fe2O3 SO3 MgO Na2O M.C LOI

GGBFS (%) 36.52 35.77 14.11 0.92 1.08 9.45 0.30 0.52 0.32
CCA (%) 12.62 60.50 8.78 9.13 1.25 1.23 0.65 1.25 0.49
MC, moisture content; LOI, loss of ignition

Table 1.
The oxide compositions of GGBFS and CCA.

sourced and used. GBFS was obtained from Federated Steel Mills, Ota, Nigeria,
dried, ground and sieved with BS 90-μm sieve to obtain ground-granulated blast-
furnace slag (GGBFS), while the corncobs were obtained from Agbonle, Oyo State,
Nigeria, sun-dried for 5 days to aid the burning process. Thereafter, the materials
were burnt in a furnace under a controlled temperature (600°C) for up to 3 hours
to obtain corncob ash. The ash was then sieved using BS 90-μm sieve to manifest
the properties of cement. Furthermore, its oxide compositions were analysed using
the X-ray fluorescence analyser (XRF). The result of oxide compositions is pre-
sented in Table 1, while the results of the physical properties of the materials used
are shown in Table 2.

2.2 Methods

The mix design based on Grade 40 MPa concrete was determined according to
Ref. [18] to arrive at initial mix proportion, and the result is presented in Table 3.
The GGBFS replacement level was 100, 80, 60, 40, 20 and 0% by volume of CCA,
and they are denoted by Mix 1, Mix 2, Mix 3, Mix 4, Mix 5 and Mix 6, respectively.
The six different types of alkaline activators were prepared 24 h prior to use under a
standard laboratory condition [19].
The salinity of the alkaline activators was measured with the aid of JENWAY
4510 conductivity metre (Figure 1), and they are connoted by Samples 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
and 6. Thereafter, the concrete constituents were mixed for about 10 minutes while
the cube specimens were made, cast and cured under ambient conditions (23 ± 5°C
and 60 ± 5% RH). The cube specimens were allowed for a rest period of 3 days prior
to removal from the moulds to allow for proper polymerisation and enhance the
mechanical property [3, 5, 20].
The cube samples were cured, tested and crushed at 7, 28, 56 and 90 days using a
digital compressive strength machine with 2000 KN maximum capacity (Figure 2).
The results of the compressive strengths were modelled with the salinity values of
alkaline activators using quadratic regression analysis in Minitab 17.

Material Specific Water Fineness test BS 90-μm Moisture

gravity (%) absorption (%) residue (%) content (%)

CCA 2.44 — 7.4 —

GBFS 2.90 — 7.3 —

FA 2.60 0.7 0.3

Combined 2.64 0.8 0.2

CA

NaOH 1.49 — —
Na2SiO3 1.60 — —

Table 2.
The physical properties of materials used.

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Mixture ID GGBFS CCA CA 1 CA 2 FA SS SH AL/B

Mix 1 500 0 516 516 585 150 60 0.42

Mix 2 400 100 516 516 585 150 60 0.42

Mix 3 300 200 516 516 585 150 60 0.42

Mix 4 200 300 516 516 585 150 60 0.42

Mix 5 100 400 516 516 585 150 60 0.42

Mix 6 0 500 516 516 585 150 60 0.42

Table 3.
Mix design quantity (kg/m3) for Grade 40 MPa concrete.

Figure 1.
JENWAY 4510 conductivity metre. Note: Coarse aggregate—12.5 mm size (CA 1), coarse aggregate—19 mm
size (CA 2), sodium silicate solution (SS), sodium hydroxide solution (SH), alkali liquid/binder (AL/B) and
water-to-geopolymer solid ratio (W/S).

Figure 2.
A digital compressive testing machine.

3. Results and discussion

3.1 Oxide constituents

The oxide composition results as shown in Table 1 indicate that the GGBFS
satisfied the specifications of [21] which stipulates (SiO2 + CaO + MgO) ≥ 67% and
(LOI < 3.0%). Similarly, the oxide constituents of CCA fulfilled the specifications
of [22] which recommends (SiO2 + Al2O3 + Fe2O3) ≥ 70% and LOI < 10.0%. Thus, it
is desirable for use as a pozzolanic material.

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3.2 Salinity

Figures 3–6 illustrate the results of the alkaline activator salinity. The results
reveal that Mix 1 possessed higher salinity value of 1.79 with a percentage increase
of 7.19, 20.13, 22.60, 39.84 and 55.65% when compared with Mix 2, Mix 3, Mix 4,
Mix 5 and Mix 6, respectively. The higher value of salinity for Sample 1 is due to
its higher pH than other samples, and this affirms that the salinity of a solution
increases with increasing pH and linearly with temperature [23].

3.3 Compressive strength

Figures 3–6 illustrate the results of the compressive strengths for each mix. The
results indicate that with increasing salinity of alkaline activator, the compressive

Figure 3.
Correlation of salinity and compressive strength for GPC at day 7.

Figure 4.
Correlation of salinity and compressive strength for GPC at day 28.

Figure 5.
Correlation of salinity and compressive strength for GPC at day 56.

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Figure 6.
Correlation of salinity and compressive strength for GPC at day 90.

strength of GPC also increases. By comparison, Mix 1 due to its higher salinity value
possessed higher compressive strengths at all levels of GPC mixes than Mix 2, Mix
3, Mix 4, Mix 5 and Mix 6. This result establishes the findings of [7–9] that there is a
minimal increase in the compressive strength of cubes prepared and cured with salt
water when compared with the freshwater at all curing ages.

3.4 Quadratic regression model

Minitab 17 was employed to model and predict the correlation between the
compressive strengths of GPC and the salinity of alkaline activators for all
mixes as indicated in Figures 7–10. The regression equations for GPC at day 7 of
curing for mean compressive strength, fc = 15.00–37.00 MPa and mean salin-
ity of μ = 1.15–1.79 g/L, are illustrated in Eq. (1), while Eq. (2) illustrates the
regression equation for GPC at day 28 of curing for mean compressive strength,
fc = 25.00–55.00 MPa and mean salinity of μ = 1.15–1.79 g/L. Similarly, Eq. (3)
represents the regression equation for GPC at day 56 of curing for mean com-
pressive strength, fc = 25.00–55.00 MPa and mean salinity of μ = 1.15–1.79 g/L,
while Eq. (4) signifies the regression equation for GPC at day 90 of curing for
mean compressive strength, fc = 25.00–65.00 MPa and mean salinity of μ =
1.15–1.79 g/L. Thus, the coefficients of determinations (R2) for the GPC show

Figure 7.
Fitted line correlation between the compressive strength and the salinity at day 7.

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Figure 8.
Fitted line correlation between the compressive strength and the salinity at day 28.

Figure 9.
Fitted line correlation between the compressive strength and the salinity at day 56.

Figure 10.
Fitted line correlation between the compressive strength and the salinity at day 90.

that the models are 97.10, 96.80, 98.10 and 96.20% sufficiently fit to forecast
the correlation at at days 7, 28, 56, and 90 curing, respectively. Furthermore,
compressive strength majorly relies on the salinity of alkaline activator at 95%

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confidence and prediction bands where f c represents the compressive strength

(in MPa) and μ represents salinity of alkaline activator (in g/L):

f c 7−day = − 46.61 + 71.07 μ − 13.49 μ 2 (1)

f c 28−day = − 118.60 + 181.0 μ − 47.70 μ 2 (2)

f c 56−day = − 108.40 + 167.10 μ − 42.57 μ 2 (3)

f c 90−day = − 117.80 + 175.20 μ − 41.81 μ 2 (4)

Moreover, the experimental and the predicted compressive strength values sig-
nify that the predicted compressive strength values are in good agreement with the
experimental compressive strength values with a percentage margin of 1.0–3.0%
higher.

4. Conclusions

Based on the experimental findings and results, the study utilises the eco-
friendly materials for a sustainable concrete that can be applied in the building con-
struction. Heat curing regime of GPC was also removed to accommodate the field
practicability and the economic purposes. It was also found that the compressive
strength of GPC increases with increasing salinity of alkaline activator. Moreover,
the study developed the mathematical models that could be employed to forecast
the future data trend of strength development of GGBFS-based GPC containing
CCA based on the salinity value of alkaline activator at ambient conditions with
reasonable accuracy at an early age to later age of concrete samples.

Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the Centre for Research, Innovation and Discovery of
Covenant University for the support offered at the time of the study.

Conflict of interest

The authors affirm that there is no conflict of interest. This article is original and
contains unpublished material. Any cited published material is referenced.

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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.87836

Author details

Solomon Oyebisi1*, Anthony Ede1 and Festus Olutoge2

1 Covenant University, Ota, Nigeria

2 University of the West Indies, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago

*Address all correspondence to: solomon.oyebisi@covenantuniversity.edu.ng

© 2019 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms
of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/
by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is properly cited.

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ISBS 2019 - 4th International Sustainable Buildings Symposium
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[5] Rangan BV. Low-calcium fly
ash-based geopolymer concrete. In:
Concrete Construction Engineering
Handbook (Chapter 26). 2nd ed.
New York: CRC Press; 2008
[6] The United Nations Department
of Economic and Social Affairs
(UNDESA). World population
projected to reach 9.7 billion by 2050.
2015. Available from http://www.
un.org/en/development/desa/news/
population/2015-report.html [Accessed
2019 March 4]
[7] Tiwari P, Chandak R, Yadav RK.
Effect of salt water on compressive
strength of concrete. International
Journal of Engineering Research and
Applications. 2014;4(4):38-42
[8] Akinkurolere OO. The influence of
salt water on the compressive strength
of concrete. 2007;2(2):412-415
[9] Maniyal S, Patil A. An experimental
study on compressive strength of
various cement concrete under
200
sea water. International Journal of
Scientific & Engineering Research.
2015;6(4):199-203
[10] Oyebisi S, Ede A, Olutoge F,
Ofuyatan O, Oluwafemi J. Modeling of
hydrogen potential and compressive
strength of geopolymer concrete.
International Journal of Civil
Engineering and Technology.
2018;9(7):671-679
[11] Oyebisi S, Ede A, Olutoge F,
Ofuyatan O, Oluwafem J. Influence
of alkali-concentrations on the
mechanical properties of geopolymer
concrete. International Journal of
Civil Engineering and Technology.
2018;9(8):734-743
[12] Oyebisi S, Akinmusuru J, Ede A,
Ofuyatan O, Mark G, Oluwafemi J.
14 molar concentrations of alkali-
activated geopolymer concrete. In:
Proceedings of the International
Conference on Engineering for a
Sustainable World (ICESW ‘18); 9-13
July 2018, Ota. Vol. 413. Nigeria: IOP
Conf. Series: Materials Science and
Engineering; 2018. p. 012065. DOI:
10.1088/1757-899X/413/1/012065
[13] Oyebisi S, Ede A, Ofuyatan O,
Alayande T, Mark G, Jolayemi J, et al.
Effects of 12 molar concentration of
sodium hydroxide on the compressive
strength of geopolymer concrete.
In: Proceedings of the International
Conference on Engineering for a
Sustainable World (ICESW ‘18); 9-13
July 2018, Ota. Vol. 413. Nigeria: IOP
Conf. Series: Materials Science and
Engineering; 2018. p. 012066. DOI:
10.1088/1757-899X/413/1/012066
[14] Oyebisi S, Ede A, Olutoge F,
Ofuyatan O, Tolulope A. Building a
sustainable world: Economy index
of geopolymer concrete. In: 10th
International Structural Engineering and
Experimental Investigation of 12 Molar Concentration of Activators’ Salinity on the Compressive…
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.87836

Construction Conference (ISEC-10); Conformity Criteria. 2 Park Street,

May 20-25, 2019; Chicago, Illinois, USA: London: British Standard Institution;
ISEC Press; ISBN: 978-0-9960437-6-2 2006

[15] Oyebisi SO, Ede AN, Ofuyatan MO,
Oluwafemi JO, Akinwumi II.
Comparative study of corncob
ash-based lateritic interlocking
and sandcrete hollow blocks.
International Journal of Geomate.
2018;15(51):209-216
[16] Oyebisi SO, Olutoge FA, Ofuyatan
MO, Abioye AA. Effect of corncob
ash blended cement on the properties
of lateritic interlocking. Progress in
Industrial Ecology-An International
Journal. 2017;11(4):373-387
[22] British Standard EN 450-1. Pozzolan
for Use in Concrete: Definitions,
Specifications and Conformity Criteria.
2 Park Street, London: British Standard
Institution; 2012
[23] Charles EO. pH Scale: Acids and
Bases. Virtual Chembook, Elmhurst
College [Internet]. 2003. Available
from: http://chemistry.elmhurst.edu/
vchembook/184ph.html [Accessed: 2018
May 22]

[17] Raheem AA, Oyebisi SO, Akintayo

SO, Oyeniran MO. Effects of admixture
on the properties of corncob ash
cement concrete. Leonardo Electronic
Journal of Practices and Technologies.
2010;16(9):13-20

[18] British Standards EN 206. Concrete

Specifications, Performance, Production
and Conformity. 389 Chiswick High
Road London: British Standards
Institution; 2016

[19] Rajamane NP, Jeyalakshmi R. In:

Indian Concrete Institute Technical
Paper, SRM University, editor.
Quantities of Sodium Hydroxide
Solids and Water to Prepare Sodium
Hydroxide Solution of Given Molarity
for Geopolymer Concrete Mixes. India;
2014

[20] Fernández-Jiménez A, Palomo

A, Sobrados I, Sanz J. The role played
by the reactive alumina content in
the alkaline activation of fly ashes.
Microporous and Mesoporous Materials.
2006;91(1-3):111-119

[21] British Standard EN 15167-1.

Ground Granulated Blast Furnace
Slag for Use in Concrete, Mortar and
Grout: Definitions, Specifications and

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Chapter 16

Examination of Mortars Exposed

to High Temperatures Containing
Different Types of Aggregates
Kenan Toklu, Osman Şimşek and Can Demirel

Abstract

Although the concrete containing Portland cement is resistant to high tempera-

tures, its structure shows some physical and chemical changes due to fire or other
temperature increases caused by different reasons. The effect of high temperatures
on the concrete should be firstly examined for the repair of fire-damaged concrete.
This study was carried out to investigate microstructure and strength changes
in concretes exposed to high temperatures. For this purpose, mortars containing
normal Portland cement and two types of aggregates were prepared. Quartzite and
pumice were used as aggregates in the mixture in this study. The prepared mortar
samples for compressive strength tests were subjected to a temperature of 100, 200,
500, 700, and 850°C for 4 h, including the temperature rise period. The same region
of the same sample was examined before being subjected to temperature and after
being subjected to temperature for SEM analysis. It is an advantage of this study to
show the effects of temperature on microstructure in the same region of the same
sample.

Keywords: different types of aggregates, mortar, high temperature,

compressive strength, SEM

1. Introduction

Concrete is known as a material that is more resistant to high temperature and

fire effects compared to many building materials. Some characteristics of compo-
nents of the concrete such as thermal expansion coefficient and thermal conductiv-
ity play an important role for resistance to high temperatures. The performance of
concrete exposed to high temperatures depends mostly on changes of the mechani-
cal and physical properties of concrete [1]. Portland cement pastes, different types
of aggregates, and water in the concrete exhibit completely different behaviors
against high temperatures. When the cement paste is heated, it first shows normal
expansion; however, meanwhile, hydrates containing water lose the water in their
structure and these cause shrinkage in the structure. Thus, the opposite interaction
creates stresses in the concrete. One of the hydrates, calcium hydroxide, loses its
water at 400–450°C and calcium oxide is increased. When calcium oxide is rehy-
drated by the moisture, calcium hydroxide is increased again; this can lead to crack
formation by creating expansion in the hardened cement paste [2]. Also, calcium
silicate hydrate gels are broken down partially at 400–600°C [3]. High temperatures

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ISBS 2019 - 4th International Sustainable Buildings Symposium

around 600°C induce water loss in the pore structure, and temperature around
700°C causes the deterioration of C-S-H structure and degradation of hydration
products [4].
Different types of aggregates exhibit different behaviors at high temperatures.
Quartz is a major component of sand, gravel, and some volcanic rocks, and
expands regularly up to 573°C; but at the higher temperatures, α-quartz trans-
forms to β-quartz and the result of this transformation causes a sudden increase
in structure volume (2%) [5]. This expansion is thought to be responsible for the
formation of severe cracks in the concrete containing quartz aggregates, especially
at temperatures above 573°C [6]. As a result of the rapid developments in the
construction sector in recent years, there have been rapid developments in the
field of building materials. New building materials having technically superior
parameters have been searched in the construction sector. The use of light natural
aggregates in the construction area gained speed and some new regulations were
made in our country. After these arrangements, lightweight aggregate masonry
units have started to gain importance and the fire resistance of these structural ele-
ments is considered as an important parameter [7]. Pumice aggregate mortar keeps
the same compressive strength up to 500°C [8, 9]. The pumice used in this study
is highly porous, has a glassy structure, is natural, and is one of the lightweight
aggregates.
When the concrete is considered as a whole, it is generally known that the
thermal expansion of the components (aggregate and cement paste) of concrete
is different for each other [10]. For this reason, temperature changes in con-
crete cause different volume changes in the components, crack formation, and
decrease in the durability of concrete. This event is called as thermal discordance
between hardened cement pastes and aggregates [11].
The purpose of this study can be summarized in the light of the literature
described above as follows:

• To compare the performance of widely used aggregates in fire conditions

• To understand the mechanism of the damaged concrete at high temperatures in

order to repair

• To provide a visual understanding of the effect of high temperatures on con-

crete by examining the same areas before and after heating in concrete

2. Material and method

2.1 Aggregate

In this study, two different well-known types of aggregates, which are quartzite
and pumice in the concrete industry in Turkey, were used. The mineralogical
composition of these aggregates is given in Table 1.

Aggregate types Minerals

Quartzite Quartz
Pumice Quartz, Cristobalite, Albite, Sanidine, Glassy Phase

Table 1.
Mineralogical composition of aggregates.

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2.2 Cement

CEM I 42.5N cement was used in this study. The chemical properties of the
cement, whose specific weight is 3.14 g/cm3, are given in Table 2.

2.3 Mixing water

In this study, tap water in Ankara was used as mixing water. The chemical
properties of the mixing water [12] are given in Table 3.

2.4 Method

For compressive strength measurements, mortar samples which have 0.5 w/c
ratio were prepared according to the mixing, molding, and curing methods given
in TS EN 196-1 [13]. Each aggregate was broken and all passed through a 4-mm
sieve. A total of 18 samples, which have the size of 50 × 50 × 50 mm, were prepared
for compressive strength tests. Mortar samples were cured for 28 days at 20 ± 1°C
temperature and 90% relative humidity (Figure 1).
The compressive strengths of the samples cured at 20°C and during 28 days were
determined and these strength values were taken as reference. Other samples were
exposed to 200, 500, 700, and 850°C with a heating rate of 6°C/min for 4 h. This 4 h
of heating also included the time reaching the desired temperature. After heating,
the mortars were cooled slowly to the room temperature in the oven for 24 h.

Chemical composition Percent of chemical composition (wt%)

SiO2 20.98

Al2O3 6.14

Fe2O3 3.72
CaO 63.65

MgO 1.29

SO3 2.55
LIA* 1.42
*LIA, loss on ignition at 1000°C.

Table 2.
The chemical properties of the cement.

Parameter Unit Analysis EPA limit value TS 266 limit value

result
Residual chlorine (mg/l) 0.6 — —

Conductivity (25°C, mS/m) 74.6 — 250

Ammonium (mg/l) <0.06 — 0.5

Nitrite (mg/l) <0.006 3.3 0.5

Sulfate (mg/l) 190 250 250

Iron (μg/l) <5 300 200

Aluminum (μg/l) 40 200 200

Table 3.
The chemical properties of the mixing water.

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ISBS 2019 - 4th International Sustainable Buildings Symposium

Figure 1.
Testing apparatus for compressive strength test.

In order to observe the effect of high temperatures for microstructure inves-

tigations, the same regions before and after heating in the same mortar sample
were examined at similar magnification values. Samples of 20 × 20 mm size by
sectioning from the original mortar and then smoothed by abrading the surfaces
for microstructure analysis were prepared. Samples after drying were examined as
a reference in the scanning electron microscope. The same samples were exposed to
a temperature of 200°C and slowly cooled in the oven for 24 h and then examined
again under microscope. These processes were repeated to the same sample at
temperatures of 500, 700, and 850°C.
The following investigations were carried out in the scanning microscope:

• Crack development process, status of aggregate-cement paste interface

• Aggregate-matrix interface and structure of the cracks in this region

• Change in the structure of the hydration products and aggregates

3. Research findings and discussion

The compressive strength of mortars exposed to different temperatures is given

in Table 4. In order to better observe the strength changes after heat treatment, the
results are expressed according to the strength percentage of the reference mortar
for the same aggregate.
As can be seen from Table 4, the compressive strength of the mortars was
greatly influenced by the temperature increase regardless of the aggregate type.
It was observed that the strength of the mortar containing quartzite decreased
slightly at 100°C according to reference mortar containing quartzite. On the other
hand, the strength of the mortar containing quartzite exposed to the temperature
of 200°C increased slightly according to reference mortar containing quartzite. The
strength drop between 50 and 120°C may be due to the weakening of the bonding
forces due to the expansion of the water layers in the cement paste at these tempera-
tures. At temperatures up to 200°C, the reason for the recovery of strength is the
fact that Van der Waals forces become more effective as a result of the removal of
water and the particles are strongly bonded with each other. However, as stated in
the literature, a significant decrease in the strength of mortars containing quartzite
aggregates occurred at temperatures higher than 200°C [14].
Mortars containing pumice aggregates in terms of strength did not show a simi-
lar trend with mortars containing quartzite. As can be seen from Table 4, the mor-
tar containing pumice aggregates showed an increase in strength at both 100 and

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Reference 100°C 200°C 500°C 700 °C 850°C

2
Quartzite N/mm 43.8 40.70 49 32.5 17.8 9.7
% Reference 100 92.9 111.9 74.2 40.6 22.1
2
Pumice N/mm 38.8 42 50.2 39.2 24 18.4

% Reference 100 108.2 129.4 101 61.8 47.4

Table 4.
Compressive strength of mortars exposed to different temperatures.

200°C temperatures. This different situation may result from the different interface
structure of the mortar containing pumice aggregates. As is known, pumice is a
pozzolanic substance with quite a porous surface. This has resulted in improved
mechanical locking in the form of chemical bonding with the cement paste at both
the interface and the gaps. This difference in the interfacial structure caused the
mortar containing pumice aggregates to exhibit an increased strength at 100°C
temperature according to the mortar containing quartzite aggregates. In the case of
weakening of the bonds due to swelling of water layers around 100°C temperature,
it has been thought that the porous structure on the pumice reduces the applied
stress (as the air-entrained concrete in the freeze-thaw cycle). The strength of the
concrete depends on the strength of the aggregate and the adhesion forces of the
aggregate-cement paste interface as well as the cohesion forces in the cement paste.
It is generally thought that the decrease in the strength of concrete is caused by the
crack development caused by different reasons. In the case of all mortars exposed to
the temperature of 200°C, the similar strength increases in the mortars can be more
easily understood by the microstructure examination results.
The following results were obtained by comparing the SEM of both the reference
mortar samples and the same samples after exposed to 200°C temperature:

• Significant crack formation and development has not occurred.

• Aggregate-cement paste interface is not significantly damaged or has become

more intense.

• Any change was observed in hydration products such as C-S-H, ettringite, and
CH.

4. Conclusion

It was concluded that a significant decrease in the compressive strength of

mortars containing quartzite aggregates occurred at temperatures higher than
200°C. Also, a significant decrease in the compressive strength of mortars con-
taining pumice aggregates occurred at temperatures higher than 500°C. Lastly,
SEM analyses of the samples at 200°C show that there are no changes in hydration
products and significant crack formation.

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Author details

Kenan Toklu1*, Osman Şimşek1 and Can Demirel2

1 Department of Civil Engineering, Gazi University, Ankara, Turkey

2 Department of Construction, Kirklareli University, Kirklareli, Turkey

*Address all correspondence to: kenantoklu@gazi.edu.tr

© 2019 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms
of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/
by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is properly cited.

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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.87836

References

[1] Topcu IB, Demir A. Effect of high to standard sand in production of

temperature application time on mortar
properties. In: 7. National Concrete
Congress; 28-30 November 2007;
Istanbul. 2007. pp. 455-463 (in Turkish)
[2] Husem M. The effects of high
temperature on compressive and
flexural strengths of ordinary and
high-performance concrete. Fire Safety
Journal. 2006;41(2):155-163
[3] Lin WM, Lin TD, Powers-Couche LJ.
Microstructures of fire-damaged
concrete. ACI Materials Journal.
1996;93(3):199-205
lightweight cement mortar. Indian
Journal of Engineering and Materials
Science. 2011;8(1):61-68
[10] Smith GM. The effect of size and
thermal expansion of aggregates on the
durability of concrete [M.Sc. thesis].
Kansas: Kansas State College; 1951
[11] Shui ZH, Zhang R, Chen
W, Xuan DX. Effects of mineral
admixtures on the thermal expansion
properties of hardened cement paste.
Construction and Building Materials.
2010;24(9):1761-1767

[4] Heo Y, Lee G, Leeb G. Effect of [12] [Internet]. 1999. Available

elevated temperatures on chemical
properties, microstructure and
carbonation of cement paste. Journal
of Ceramic Processing Research.
2016;17(6):648-652
[5] Akman NG. Investigation of
Possibilities of Use of rice Husks Ash
as Quartz and Effect on Original
Form Application. Vol. 2017. Ankara:
Hacettepe University, Institute of Fine
Arts, Department of Ceramic, Master’s
Arts Study Report;  in Turkish
from: http://www.aski.gov.tr/TR/
SuAnalizSonuclari.aspx (in Turkish)
[13] TS EN 196-1. Methods of Testing
Cement—Part 1: Determination of
Strength: Turkish Standards Institution;
2016 (in Turkish)
[14] Castillo C, Durrani AJ. Effect of
transient high temperature on high-
strength concrete. ACI Materials
Journal. 1990;87(1):47-53

[6] Poole AB, Sims I. Concrete

Petrography: A Handbook of
Investigative Techniques. 2nd ed. Vol. 816.
Boca Raton, FL, USA: CRC Press; 2015

[7] Ceylan H, Sapcı N. Fire resistance

analysis of pumice aggregated Bims
concretes and investigation of their effect
on strength. SDU Journal of Technical
Sciences. 2016;6(2):13-20 (in Turkish)

[8] Turker P, Erdogdu K, Erdogan B.

Influence of marble powder on
microstructure and hydration of
cements. In: Cement and Concrete World
Journal. Turkey: TÇMB; 2002. pp. 38-89

[9] Degirmenci N, Yilmaz A. Use of

pumice fine aggregate as an alternative

209
Chapter 17

Experimental Compression Tests

on the Stability of Structural Steel
Tubular Props
Ibrahim Al-Jumaili, Samer Barakat and Zaid A. Al-Sadoon

Abstract

The stability of structural steel props was investigated experimentally. Speci-

mens were of steel tubular props with a total length of 4.5 m and had two hollow
steel tubes with the ability to slide into each other. The effect of inserted length
between the two steel tubes on the prop buckling capacity was investigated. Four
full-scale specimens were tested using a 100-kN hydraulic actuator to determine the
buckling strengths exhibited by the props. The steel specimens were of 2 mm and
3 mm thicknesses, while the inserted lengths were of 250 and 1000 mm. The effects
of the different parameters on the buckling capacity and modes of failure were
discussed. It was concluded that the buckling strengths were sensitive to the
inserted length and wall thickness of the inner tube. The prop buckling capacity
increased with the increase of the inserted length, and this increase is more pro-
nounced if combined with the increase in the wall thickness. Such increase in the
prop buckling capacity that leads to reduction in the required number of steel props
and lateral supports for the same working area also contributes to the sustainable
solutions in terms of reducing the material use, the construction time, and the costs
while taking into consideration the safety requirements.

Keywords: structural steel, prop, scaffold, stability, experimental research,

sustainable material

1. Introduction

Nowadays, the design philosophies and trends focus on sustainability that is

decreasing the resource use while reducing the impacts on human health and the
environment during the building’s lifecycle [1] and as meeting the human needs
without compromising needs of the future generations [2]. Steel is considered more
efficient in reducing the use of natural resources accompanied with less emissions
and energy usage due to its high recyclability that results in less wastes and emis-
sions and its durability that results in many sustainability favors. Many ways could
be adopted to limit the environmental-related issues associated with the production
of steel, starting from the design optimization, material recyclability, and reuse [3].
The construction methods being used in the construction industry contain shor-
ing systems used to avoid slab deflection and buckling to limit deflections and slab
failures. These systems consist of steel props which are evenly distributed under the
slab whereby each slab shares the formwork weight as well as the weight of the dead

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ISBS 2019 - 4th International Sustainable Buildings Symposium

loads. In order to avoid buckling, lateral supports are introduced in freshly placed
floors, but they exhibit a disadvantage of free movements to the workforce on-site.
Besides, steel props may fail due to flexural collapse, prop base failures, and the
buckling of tubes.
Many studies have been conducted to check the efficiency and safety of the
scaffold shoring system. Yanlong et al. [4] analytically investigated the influence of
the connection stiffness by the concept of the effective length. The study showed
that load capacity increased linearly with the increase of the effective number of
steel balls, inserted at the intersectional area between the two tubes of the prop. The
stable load capacity increases with the gap of the inner and outer tubes decreasing,
under a fixed radius of balls. Compared to the hydraulic prop, the stable load
capacity can be achieved. The maximum plastic zone depth increases with the
increase of the embedded depth of steel ball in the inner tube. The maximum
support height of the prop is a power function and decreases with the increase of
designed stable load capacity.
Barakat [5] experimentally studied the buckling capacity of a 6 m length steel prop
consisted of two hollow steel tubes. Each specimen consisted of two pipes, one slides
inside the other for a certain length, tightened together by two bolts. Different (outer,
inner, and inserted) length combinations are tried in order to maximize the elastic
buckling capacity of the whole prop. Based on the experimental results, it was con-
cluded that the typical failure mode of the studied steel props was the elastic global
buckling. The elastic buckling strength of the prop was found to be sensitive to the
inserted length of the smaller tube, and it increases with increasing inserted length.
Hongbo et al. [6] conducted an experimental and analytical study to obtain the
strength and failure mode of twelve full-scale structural steel tubes and coupler
scaffolds (STCs). The study concluded that the typical failure mode was global
buckling about the weak longitudinal axis. The strength was sensitive to the rota-
tional stiffness of the couplers and the story height but insensitive to the post
spacing, the U-head height, and the sweeping staff height. The study developed a
simplified model for the STCS post design that was verified by the full-scale test and
analytical results.
A number of other studies [7, 8] examined the stability and the non-linear
behavior of the steel scaffolding in full-scale testing and computer simulations. The
studies showed that structural failure of props was due to a number of reasons,
among them insufficient design, weak installation, and overloading. This failure
does not only lead to project delays but causes more serious injuries to the con-
struction workers. These strong scaffold tubes should be used when heavy loads are
needed to be carried, and multiple platforms must reach several stories.
Various analytical and experimental studies had been carried out to examine the
structural behavior of high-clearance scaffold in the efforts of determining their
safety when used in construction sites. Most of the research focuses on the two-wall
formed steel, door-type steel scaffolds, and the coupler scaffolds used in residential
and commercial buildings with limited research on structural coupler scaffolds and
steel tubes [9].
Freitas et al. [10] investigated the performance of five steel prop samples
subjected to gradually applied load and developed an analytical study using the
finite element method. Better results were found after using the computational
study in the comparison of the analytical and experimental studies. It was found out
that the critical load was 4% less than the value arrived at using the experimental
study.Gearhart [11] carried out studies to examine the effect of end conditions and
eccentric load profiles on props. It was established that the stability of props is
affected by parameters such as slenderness ratio, boundary conditions, the orienta-
tion of the load application, and the material properties of the specimens.

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In this study, the buckling capacity of steel tubular props with different geo-
metric combinations subjected to an axial load is investigated. Axial compression
tests up to failure are carried out on eight specimens under static loads. These
specimens consisted of two hollow steel tubes in which one slides inside the other
for a certain length and comprise two thicknesses of 2 and 3 mm and two inserted
lengths of 250 mm and 1000 mm. The research draws conclusions on the effects of
the inserted length and the tube wall thickness on the axial load capacity of the
tested steel props.

2. Theoretical formulation and AISC procedure

Steel tubular props contain numerous uses in the construction sector. In an ideal
situation, they are viewed as the column under axial load. However, columns fail in
events the stress in the column surpasses the yield stress of the material. For
example, large compression load makes the column unstable causing a sudden
lateral defection that leads to buckling. The factors which dictate the load required
to make the column buckle include column length, the elastic modulus of the
material member, configuration and dimensions of the column cross section, and
the column supports. The assumptions taken in the Euler buckling load are that the
column is perfectly straight before loading, column material is homogenous, the
load is applied through the centroid of the cross section of the column, and the
material stresses remain in the linear elastic region of the stress-strain curve. The
axial critical load Pcr and critical stress F cr of which buckling occur by Euler are

π 2 EI
Pcr ¼ (1)
ðkLÞ2

π2E
Fcr ¼
2 (2)
kL
r

where E is Young’s modulus, kL is the effective length, kL/r is the slenderness ratio,
pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
r ¼ I=A is the radius of gyration, I is the least second moment of inertia, and A is the
cross-sectional area. The (k) is dependent on the constraints of the boundaries.
It should be noted that laboratory conditions are ideal and do not apply in actual
column tests. Besides, even when all the experiments are performed in the same
laboratory, different results will be achieved due to difficulties met when centering
the loads, the absence of material uniformity, varying dimensions of the sections
provided, residual stresses, and end restraint variations, among other factors. In this
case, formulas will be developed to yield results which act as an approximate value
of the expected results. Inelastic buckling refers to a buckling phenomenon
whereby the proportional limit of a material is exceeded within the cross section
before the occurrence of buckling. Columns with such specifications undergo
buckling where permanent deformations occur after the critical buckling load is
reached. Columns are sometimes classed as being long, short, or intermediate.
For long columns where the axial buckling stress remains below the proportional
limit, such columns will buckle elastically, and the Euler formula (Eq. (1)) predicts
very well the strength of these columns. For short columns, no buckling will occur
and the failure stress will equal the yield stress. Intermediate columns will fail
inelastically by both yielding and buckling. Formulas with which the AISC-LRFD
estimates the strength of columns in these differences may be determined as
follows:

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ISBS 2019 - 4th International Sustainable Buildings Symposium

Pn ¼ ϕ Fcr Ag (3)
sffiffiffiffiffi
Fy
 
KL E h Fy i
if ≤ 4:71 or ≤ 2:25 F cr ¼ 0:658Fe Fy (4)
r Fy Fe
sffiffiffiffiffi
Fy
 
KL E
if > 4:71 or ≤ 2:25 Fcr ¼ 0:877 Fe (5)
r Fy Fe

π2 E
F e ¼
2 (6)
K L
r

3. Experimental program

The experimental program involves testing four 4.5 m long steel tubular props
using 100-kN hydraulic actuator. The two hollow steel tubes have the ability to slide
into each other and are tightened together with one 10 mm pin. The duplicate of the
four combinations (two thicknesses, 2 and 3 mm; and two inserted lengths, 250 mm
and 1000 mm) is considered and composed of the eight test specimens of the
experimental program. The details of the steel props are illustrated in Table 1 as
well as in Figure 1.
During testing, the axial load and stroke, the lateral vertical and horizontal
displacements, and the axial and transverse strains are recorded. The displacements
are measured by a linear variable differential transformer (LVDT), while the strains
are measured by strain gauges. Figures 2 and 3 present the test setup and instru-
mentations.

Combination Specimen* Overlap Thickness Outer tube Inner tube

(mm) (mm)
OD ID OD ID
(mm) (mm) (mm) (mm)

1 PT2.0-O2.0-I2.75 250 2 59.5 55.5 48.5 44.5

2 PT2.0-O2.0-I3.50 1000 2 59.5 55.5 48.5 44.5

3 PT3.0-O2.0-I2.75 250 3 60.5 54.5 48.5 42.5

4 PT3.0-O2.0-I3.50 1000 3 60.5 54.5 48.5 42.5

*
PT, prop thickness; O, outer tube; I, inner tube; D, diameter

Table 1.
Test specimen designation and geometric dimensions.

Figure 1.
Prop jack test configurations.

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Experimental Compression Tests on the Stability of Structural Steel Tubular Props
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Figure 2.
Experimental configuration of the prop jacks with dynamic actuator.

Figure 3.
Instrumentation of the testing props. (a) Prop jack test setup, (b) (LVDTs) location, and (c) strain gauges
locations.

4. Results and discussion

The geometric dimensions and the corresponding test results are summarized
and presented in Table 2. Four combinations of the tube thickness and the inserted
length were considered.
Figure 4 illustrates the load versus the stroke of an individual sample of the four
combinations. Due to the increase in the inserted length, 750 mm, there is an 8.1%
gain in the prop axial capacity for the prop with thickness 2 mm and 14.3% gain in
terms of lateral displacement. For the props with thickness 3 mm, a 20.3% gain in
the prop axial capacity and a 17.2% gain in terms of lateral displacement were
observed. In terms of the increased thickness, there is an average 60% increase in
the buckling load capacity for the props with the same inserted length. It was

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Combination Specimen Length Overlap Thickness Average Stroke Average

(mm) (mm) (mm) max at max lateral
load load displacement
(kN) (mm) at max load
(mm)

1 PT2.0-O2.0-I2.75 4500 250 2.0 17.2 6.1 35.0

2 PT2.0-O2.0-I3.50 4500 1000 2.0 18.6 13.5 40.0

3 PT3.0-O2.0-I2.75 4500 250 3.0 26.1 6.7 43.5

4 PT3.0-O2.0-I3.50 4500 1000 3.0 31.4 9.1 51.0

Table 2.
Experimental test results.

Figure 4.
Axial load—stroke displacement curves for props configurations.

observed that the failure mode exhibited by the eight full-scale specimens was
flexural buckling. Besides, the eight steel props did not return to the original posi-
tion after unloading and exceeding inelastic buckling. Figure 5 shows the deflected
shape for the specimen PT3.0-O2.0-I2.75 at maximum buckling load (Figure 5a)
and after unloading (Figure 5b).

Figure 5.
Deflection for props PT3.0-O2.0-I2.75 #3. (a) At maximum buckling load and (b) after unloading.

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Experimental Compression Tests on the Stability of Structural Steel Tubular Props
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Figure 6.
The state of the pins after the testing. (a) Prop with thickness 3 mm and (b) prop with thickness 2 mm.

Combination Specimens AISC buckling Experimental Theoretical (k) to get

load (kN)* buckling load the experimental
(kN) results

1 PT2.0-O2.0-I2.75 27.1 17.2 For k = 0.627

Load = 17.2 (kN)

2 PT2.0-O2.0-I3.50 27.1 18.6 For k = 0.603

Load = 18.6 (kN)

3 PT3.0-O2.0-I2.75 38.1 26.1 For k = 0.604

Load = 26.1 (kN)

4 PT3.0-O2.0-I3.50 38.1 31.4 For k = 0.551

Load = 31.4 (kN)
*
Total length the specimen is 4.5 m.

Table 3.
Comparison of thermotical calculations and experimental results of specimens.

Figure 6 shows the pins and holes of specimens after testing. The specimen with
thickness 3 mm shows a failure in the pins, while the prop with thickness 2 mm does
not. Also, props with higher thickness showed an extra elongation in the pinhole
area which causes a change in shape from a circle to an elliptical.
The prop buckling capacity is calculated using the AISC equations (Eqs. (3) and
(6) above) considering fixed-fixed ends with k = 0.5. Table 3 summarizes the
calculated buckling load and the k-value needed to produce the experimental
buckling load for each specimen. It is clear from the calculated k values that the
end conditions are in between the fixed-fixed (k = 0.5) and the fixed-pinned ends
(k = 0.7). A value of k = 0.63 is considered a conservative one.

5. Conclusions

This work aims to experimentally study the buckling capacity of a 4.5 m length
steel prop consisting of two hollow steel tubes in which one slides inside the other
for a certain length. In order to obtain the elastic strength of the props, four

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full-scale prop specimens in duplicate with various geometric properties were

constructed and tested statically and elastically in the lab. The total unsupported
length is 4.5 m for the eight props. Each specimen consists of two pipes, one
inserted in the other for a certain length, tightened together by a 10 mm pin. Two
different tube thicknesses and two (outer, inner, and inserted) length combinations
are tried in order to maximize the elastic buckling capacity of the whole prop. All
props are loaded up to elastic buckling using 100-kN capacity hydraulic actuator.
Based on the experimental results, the following conclusions can be drawn:

• The typical failure mode of the studied steel props is the elastic global buckling
of the inserted pipe.

• The strength buckling capacity of the steel prop was influenced by the inserted
length which was in the form of overlap between the inner and outer pipes.
The prop buckling strength capacity increases with the increase in the inserted
length while keeping all other variables the same.

• The influence of the inserted length on the buckling capacity of the prop is
increased if accompanied with the increase of the pipe wall thickness.

○ For the same inserted length increase, 3 mm thick props can carry about
2.5 times the axial load capacity of the 2 mm thick props.

○ For the same inserted length and increasing the prop thickness from
2 mm to 3 mm, there is an average of 60% increase in the prop buckling
load capacity.

• Increasing the inserted length and/or the wall thickness of the inner pipe leads
to increase the axial load capacity of the steel props without providing
additional lateral support and therefore reduces the number of required props
to support the same slab working area. Such reduction in steel props and lateral
supports decreases the material use and provides enough space for the workers
and the engineers to move around, move some equipment, and perform their
tasks. Furthermore, one might iterate to develop further and refine the prop
system to reduce material use, construction time, and costs, taking into
consideration the safety factor while contributing to the sustainable point
solutions.

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Deanship of Graduate Studies and Research and
the Sustainable Construction Materials and Structural Systems (SCMASS) research
group, University of Sharjah. This support is highly acknowledged.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest regarding the publica-
tion of this paper.

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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.87836

Author details

Ibrahim Al-Jumaili*, Samer Barakat and Zaid A. Al-Sadoon

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Sharjah,
Sharjah, UAE

*Address all correspondence to: u17105679@sharjah.ac.ae

© 2019 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms
of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/
by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is properly cited.

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References

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[3] Sustainability of steel-framed
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experimental tests of a new yielding
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[5] Barakat S. Experimental compression
tests on the stability of structural steel
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[9] Peng JL, Pan AD, Rosowsky DV,
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[11] Gearhart D. NIOSH, Pittsburgh PA:
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[6] Liu H, Zhao Q, Wang X, Zhou T,

Wang D, Liu J, et al. Experimental and
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[7] Milojkovic B, Beale RG, Godley

MHR. Determination of the factors of
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220
Chapter 18

Effects of Alkali Activator and

High Curing Temperature on
Thermal Properties of Expanded
Perlite-Based Thermal Insulation
Panels
Gökhan Durmuş, Damla Nur Çelik and Ümit Ağbulut

Abstract

Buildings have the most imperative factor in global energy consumption all over
the world. Therefore, it has increasing importance to reduce the energy consump-
tion from buildings and so provides not only to conserve the energy but also to
contribute positively economic growth of countries. In order to reduce energy losses
from the buildings, this paper mainly focused on expanded perlite-based heat insu-
lation materials. In this study, the effects of different sodium hydroxide (NaOH)
concentrations and curing conditions on heat insulation panels were experimentally
investigated. Binder was prepared from different NaOH concentrations (6, 8, 10,
and 12 M) and sodium silicate (Na2SiO3) for the samples. Prepared mortars were
firstly cured at 60°C throughout 24 h. Then, the panels were held at 300, 400, and
500°C for 3 h. The results showed that the thermal conductivity values of insulation
panels can be decreased by applying high temperatures. Additionally, the lowest
thermal conductivity value of manufactured panels in this paper was obtained as
44.37 mW/m K for the panel with 6 M NaOH and cured at 500°C. On the other
hand, the thermal cracks were obtained, and the panels were negatively influenced
for higher temperature degree of more than 500°C.

Keywords: insulation panel, expanded perlite, geopolymer, alkali activator, curing

1. Introduction

Today, energy production and consumption strongly affect the economic growth
of a country and are the most important factors that provide the sustainability of
economic development. However, Turkey generally imports 75% of its total energy
demand owing to its limited energy resources, and energy issue is, therefore, the
biggest obstacle to the economic growth for Turkey. In terms of energy dependency
ranking and share rates, Turkey has been holding onto the 20th rank in the list for a
while. Table 1 shows the energy import ratio and ranks for Turkey [1].
As is shown in Table 1, Turkey should rapidly cut off its energy import ratio
in the short-time run. Actually, it has limited energy resources and must import
energy at a high ratio. To reduce energy dependency, Turkey started to take concrete

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Years Energy import as a percent (%) Ranking in the world

2010 69.62 27
2011 71.61 25

2012 74.02 23

2013 73.07 24
2014 74.21 23

Table 1.
Turkish energy import ratio and ranking in the world from 2010 to 2014 [1].

steps and tended to increase renewable and alternative energy plants in the country.
For example, it began its third nuclear energy plant in the country and aimed to
meet the electricity demand at the ratio of 15% [2, 3]. Another effective method
to decrease its energy bill is reduced energy consumption ratio for the countries
with limited energy sources. In recent years, there has been an increasing interest
in energy conservation because energy generation is largely achieved by burning
the fossil fuels which will run out in the near future. Today, the total global primary
energy consumption has met the rate of approximately 85% from fossil fuels such
as coal, oil, and natural gas [4]. Approximately 50% of this consumption has
been directly spent on buildings. Therefore, it is important to decrease the energy
consumption particularly from buildings, and this positively affects the economic
growth of the countries in the short and long run because Turkey, for example,
meets its energy demand at the dominant rate from foreign sources. Turkey petro-
leum and other liquid consumptions, productions, and net import data between the
year 2005 and 2014 are given in Figure 1 [5].
The buildings are considered as the most dominant contributor to the world
energy consumption. In order to reduce dependence of countries on fossil fuels, the
biggest step to take is undoubtedly possible by renewable energy sources or energy
conservation. Here, we focused on reducing the energy consumption by applying
expanded perlite-based heat insulation panels to the buildings. Superior properties
such as low thermal conductivity coefficient, low density, non-flammability, and
high sound absorption capability of expanded perlite give the potential to be a good
insulation panel.
Actually, there are a number of studies which aim to obtain expanded perlite heat
insulation panels with low thermal conductivity. For example, Uluer et al. [6] experi-
mentally investigated to obtain the expanded perlite-based heat insulation panel with
the lowest thermal conductivity at different rate binders. The authors reported that
the thermal conductivity values of heat insulation panels decreased depending on the
decreasing of binder ratios in the mixture. However, a decrease on the binder ratio
has negatively influenced the strength of the panels. In a related study, the strength
values were not given: however, the lowest thermal conductivity value was obtained as
43.5 W/m K under the same curing conditions [6]. Tian et al. [7] investigated the curing
conditions to obtain the most compressive strength with the low thermal conductiv-
ity values from expanded perlite material. It is reported that it reached the maximum
compressive strength with the value of 0.38 MPa at 105°C [7]. In another important issue
for heat insulation panels, Papadopoulos emphasized that insulation panels must have
fire resistance [8]. Actually, expanded perlite gives a positive result for heat insulation
because it has A1 degree at fire resistance and provides the composite mortar better fire
resistance [9]. Durmuş and Çelik [10] mixed concrete, fly ash, and expanded perlite
aggregate in certain proportions, and obtained results indicated that the mixed concrete
retains its void space for high temperature owing to the presence of the expanded perlite

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Figure 1.
The consumption, production, and net import amount of Turkey petroleum and other liquids [2].

aggregate. As the density of expanded perlite is very low compared to other building
materials (cement, aggregate, etc.), it plays a key role on decreasing the dead load on the
structures and improving the thermal properties of the manufactured material
[9, 11]. For example, Sun and Wang [12] used paraffin and expanded perlite to improve
the thermal and mechanical properties of the cement mortars. Cement, paraffin, and
expanded perlite were directly mixed, and the mechanical and thermal properties of the
mixture were experimentally investigated. The authors added paraffin and expanded
perlite up to 65% of the total composition in the experiments. The results show that as
the ratio of paraffin and expanded perlite increased in the mortar, mechanical proper-
ties decreased, while thermal properties improved. They determined that the optimum
paraffin/expanded perlite addition was 20% of the total composition, and the thermal
conductivity value was obtained as 0.52 W/m K [12]. In another similar topic, Sengül
et al. [13] experimentally examined the changes in thermal conductivity values and
mechanical properties of lightweight concrete containing expanded perlite aggregate.
In the related study, expanded perlite aggregates with different densities were used
instead of natural aggregates, and it was observed that depending on the increase of the
expanded perlite in the mixture, the compressive strength and the modulus of elasticity
increased. In the experiments, expanded perlite aggregates were used instead of natural
aggregate. As a consequence, thermal conductivity value was decreased from 0.6 W/m.K
to 0.13 W/m.K adding expanded perlite aggregates at 80% of the total composition [13].
As is known, the concrete shows structural deterioration after it reached 300°C. On the
other hand, the expanded perlite can resist 870°C without structural deterioration [9].
This is one of the most desired properties for thermal insulation materials.
Because of the low thermal conductivity coefficient of heat insulation panels, it
is very difficult to dissipate the temperature completely and homogenously inside of
cured materials during the curing process. Therefore, a number of researchers have
tended to investigate the curing conditions, curing methods, curing temperature,
curing time, etc. Unlike curing at conventional ovens, Durmuş et al. [14] cured the
expanded perlite-based heat insulation panels by CO2 (carbon dioxide) method,
and the authors claimed that CO2 curing is a method that has low cost and is a short-
time process. In another study, Skubic et al. [15] cured the expanded perlite-based
heat insulation panels in the microwave, and the authors emphasized that more
homogeneous panels could be obtained in the microwave.
In addition to low thermal conductivity, expanded perlite is a good sound absorber
material, and this property of expanded perlite has a big importance for using it in the
outer walls of the buildings. Argunhan et al. added the expanded perlite vol. by 10, 20,
30, 40, 50, and 60% to cement mixtures and examined the heat and sound insulation

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properties of the obtained concrete. According to the results of experimental stud-

ies, it was observed that the strength and density of the concrete obtained by using
expanded perlite decreased, while the heat and sound insulation properties developed
highly. As a result of the related study, the thermal conductivity value of the samples
decreased by 75%, and the ultrasound transition rate decreased by 35% [16].
In this paper, we experimentally aimed to evaluate the thermal conductivity
values and compressive strength values for the expanded perlite-based heat insula-
tion panels that were manufactured at different NaOH concentrations (6, 8, 10,
and 12 M) and cured at different temperatures.

2. Materials

2.1 Expanded perlite

The expanded perlite aggregate was provided by Genper Company, in Kütahya,

Turkey. The chemical and physical properties of expanded perlite, used in this
study, were shown in Tables 2 and 3, respectively. The sieve analysis of expanded
perlite aggregate is seen in Figure 2.

2.2 Alkali activator

Sodium silicate and sodium hydroxide were firstly used to prepare the alkali
activator, and then the prepared alkali activator was blended with expanded perlite
in order to bind. Physical and chemical properties of sodium silicate and sodium
hydroxide were given in Tables 4 and 5.

2.3 Mold

The mold was made of wood material. The mold dimension detail and schematic
view were given in Figure 3. The mold cavity is 300 × 300 × 50 mm. This cavity was
fully filled with expanded perlite mortar.

Content SiO2 Al2O3 K2O Na2O MgO CaO Fe2O3 TiO2

wt.% 71–74 12–14 5–6 3–4 0.10-0.20 0.8–1 0.5–1 0.009–0.012

Table 2.
Chemical composition of expanded perlite (data was obtained from the supplier).

Properties Values

Color White
Ph 5.15

Dry unit weight, kg/m3 51.48

Water absorption, % 55
Structural degradation, °C 885

Fire resistance A1

Grain size, mm 1–5

Thermal conductivity, mW/m K 43.32

Table 3.
Pysical properties of expanded perlite aggregate (data was obtained from the supplier).

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Figure 2.
Sieve analysis of expanded perlite.

Properties Values

Physical condition Liquid

pH 11.2
Vapor pressure 14 mm Hg

Vapor density 0.7

Evaporation rate >1

Boiling point 100.6 °C

Specific density 1.4 g/cm3

Table 4.
Technical properties of sodium silicate with two moduli.

Properties Values

Purity 99%

Na2CO3 0.3%
NaCl 0.02%

Silica 0.01%

Molar mass 40 g/mol

Boiling point 324°C

Table 5.
Technical properties of sodium hidroxide.

Figure 3.
Dimension details and schematic view of panel mold.

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3. Methods

The flow charts of this study were briefly given in Figure 4.

3.1 Preparation of alkali activator

Sodium silicate and sodium hydroxide were used as alkali activator to bind
the expanded perlite particles. Sodium hydroxide (NaOH) was used with
different molarities between 6 and 12 M, and sodium silicate (Na2SiO3) was
used with two moduli. In order to prepare alkali activator used in the mixture,
the sodium hydroxide solution was first added. Then, sodium silicate was
added to sodium hydroxide at the rate of 1% volume of expanded perlite. Then,
the mechanical mixer was stirred at 400 rpm for 10 min in order to obtain a
homogeneous mixture.

3.2 Preparation of mortar

For each molarity, three samples were prepared. In order to prepare the mortar,
6 L of expanded perlite was added for each sample. Then, alkali activator mixture
was added to expanded perlite. While preparing the mortar, the mixture was stirred
by hand for 20 min without causing damage to the expanded perlite particles. After
the preparation of the mortar mixture was completed, the sample was allowed to
rest for 1 h under room conditions.

3.3 Molding

The mortar was poured into 300 × 300 × 50 mm molds in three sections. A
total of 4.5 L of the mixture was added to the mold for each sample. The molded
sample is shown in Figure 5. After the sample was filled in the molds, the sample
was subjected to 1000 N force. The manufactured heat insulation sample was held
throughout 3 min at a constant press force with1000 N.

Figure 4.
A brief flow chart mechanism of the study.

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Figure 5.
The molded mortar.

Specification Values

Temperature range (plates), °C 0–40

Temperature control (plate) Peltier

Thermal resistance measuring range, m2 K/W 0.1–8.0

Thermal conductivity measuring range, mW/m K 1–2500

Accuracy, % ±1–3

Variable contact pressure, kPa 0.25

Table 6.
Technical specification of thermal conductivity measuring device.

Figure 6.
HFM300 thermal conductivity measuring device.

3.4 Curing

The molded sample was placed in a drying oven. Then, prepared mortars were
cured at 60°C throughout 24 h. After that, the panels were held at 300, 400, and
500°C in an oven for 3 h. Afterwards, the cured sample was allowed to cool at room
temperature (25°C) for 3 h.

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3.5 Measurement of thermal conductivity coefficient

The thermal conductivity values of manufactured heat insulation samples were

measured by the aid of HFM 300 device. The technical specification of the thermal
conductivity testing device was given in Table 6. In addition, the sample cured and
placed in the HFM 300 device is shown in Figure 6.

4. Results and discussion

At the beginning of experimental studies, expanded perlite was supplied from

Genper Company in Kütahya, Turkey. The samples were prepared from different
NaOH molarities to obtain optimum alkali activator solution. Also, the samples
were cured at different temperatures to obtain optimum curing condition. First of
all, the average thermal conductivity of the samples which were cured at 60°C was
determined. The results were shown in Figure 7.
As Figure 7 is examined, the lowest thermal conductivity value of panels was
obtained as 46.38 mW/m K manufactured with 6 M NaOH. On the other hand,
the highest thermal conductivity value of panels was obtained as 59.43 mW/m K
manufactured with 12 M NaOH. In addition, the percentage change of the thermal
conductivity values of the panels depending on the curing temperature is shown in
Figure 8.
When Figure 8 is examined, thermal conductivities of panels changed with
curing temperature. The lowest thermal conductivity value of panels was obtained
as 44.37 mW/m K prepared with 6 M NaOH and cured at 500°C. On the other hand,
the highest thermal conductivity value of panels was obtained as 52.36 mW/m K
prepared with 12 M NaOH and cured at 300°C. And also, mass loss of panels was
determined. With the increase of the curing temperature, the mass loss of the
panels changed. The determined mass losses which belong to the panels were shown
in Figure 9.
As Figure 9 is examined, the lowest mass loss of panels was obtained as 258.657 g
prepared with 6 M NaOH and cured at 300°C. The highest mass loss of panels
was obtained as 434g prepared with 12 M NaOH and cured at 500°C. The graphs
indicated the relationship between mass loss and thermal conductivity value. Based
on the experimental data obtained in this study, the decrease on thermal conductiv-
ity value is directly related to mass loss, i.e., the panels, which have low density and
have also low thermal conductivity value as well.

Figure 7.
Thermal conductivity values of the samples depending on the changes of concentration.

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Figure 8.
Percentage differences of thermal conductivities compared with the first panel cured at 60°C.

Figure 9.
Mass loss of panels by temperature changes.

5. Conclusions

This study investigated the effect of alkali activator and curing conditions on
thermal properties of expanded perlite-based thermal insulation panel. The follow-
ing conclusions are drawn based on the given outputs in the study:

• Twelve samples were prepared in this study. Three samples were molded for
each NaOH molarity. Different NaOH molarities were used to obtain optimum
alkali activator solution. And also, different curing temperatures were used to
obtain curing temperature for panels.

• After the first binding process in lower temperatures, applying relatively high
thermal process to panels up to 500°C completely provided lower thermal
conductivity than the first case for all trials.

• The lowest thermal conductivity value of thermal insulation panels was

obtained as 44.37 mW/m K prepared with 6 M NaOH and cured at 500°C. The
developed panel can be used as a thermal insulation panel in the construction
industry.

• According to results, the thermal conductivity value of the panels cured

at 60°C was prepared with 6 M NaOH. In addition, thermal properties of
panels were affected negatively with increased molarity of NaOH. When the
curing temperature increased, thermal conductivities of panels decreased
because of the evaporation of water. The lowest thermal conductivity value
of panels was cured at 500°C. Although the samples were deformed with

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increasing temperature, the temperature affected the thermal properties

positively. Moreover, thermal conductivity depends on temperature and mass
loss directly. On the other hand, the thermal cracks were obtained, and the
panels were negatively influenced for higher temperature degree of more than
300°C. In order to obtain the lowest thermal conductivity, 6 M NaOH and
500°C curing temperature should be used.

• These results show that expanded perlite can be used as an insulation material
because of physical and chemical properties of expanded perlite. It has been
determined that the heat insulation panel produced by using expanded perlite
can be used in the construction sector. In addition, studies on this subject are
needed.

• Based on the experimental outputs from the study, thermal conductivity

value of panels was strongly related to density because the biggest decrease on
thermal conductivity value was seen in the sample which lost the most grams.

Acknowledgements

This study was supported by the Scientific and Technological Research Council
of Turkey (Project no.: 115 M041). We are indebted to TÜBİTAK for its financial
support.

Author details

Gökhan Durmuş1*, Damla Nur Çelik1 and Ümit Ağbulut2

1 Department of Civil Engineering, Gazi University, Ankara, Turkey

2 Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, Düzce University,

Düzce, Turkey

*Address all correspondence to: gdurmus@gazi.edu.tr

© 2019 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms
of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/
by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is properly cited.

230
Effects of Alkali Activator and High Curing Temperature on Thermal Properties of Expanded…
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/ 10.5772/intechopen.87836
References
[1] Ağbulut Ü. Turkey’s electricity
generation problem and nuclear energy
policy. Energy Sources, Part A: Recovery,
Utilization, and Environmental
Effects. 2019;41(18):2281-2298. DOI:
10.1080/15567036.2019.1587107
[2] Ağbulut Ü, Bakır H. The investigation
on economic and ecological impacts of
tendency to electric vehicles instead of
internal combustion engines. Düzce
University Journal of Science and
Technology. 2019;7(1):25-36. DOI:
10.29130/dubited.457914
[3] Ağbulut Ü, Ceylan İ, Gürel AE,
Ergün A. The history of greenhouse gas
emissions and relation with the nuclear
energy policy for Turkey. International
Journal of Ambient Energy. 2019:1-9.
DOI: 10.1080/01430750.2018.1563818
[4] British Petrol [Internet]. 2018.
Available from: https://www.bp.com/
en/global/corporate/energy-economics/
statistical-review-of-world-energy/
primary-energy [Accessed: 2018-11-02]
[5] U.S. Energy Information
Administration [Internet]. 2018.
Available from: https://www.eia.
gov/beta/international/analysis.
php?iso=TUR [Accessed: 2018-11-02]
[6] Uluer O, Aktaş M, Karaağaç İ,
Durmuş G, Khanlari A, Ağbulut
Ü, et al. Mathematical calculation
and experimental investigation of
expanded perlite based heat insulation
materials’ thermal conductivity values.
Journal of Thermal Engineering.
2018;4(5):2274-2286
[7] Tian YL, Gu XL, Wu DL, Su S.
A study of effect factors on sodium
silicate based expanded perlite insulation
board strength. In Applied Mechanics
and Materials. 2013;405(1):2771-2777
[8] Papadopoulos AM. State of the art in
thermal insulation materials and aims
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for future developments. Energy and
Buildings. 2005;37(1):77-86
[9] Uluer O, Karaağaç İ, Aktaş M,
Durmuş G, Ağbulut Ü, Khanlari A,
et al. An investigation of usability of
expanded perlite in heat insulation
technologies. Pamukkale University
Journal of Engineering Sciences.
2018;24(1):36-42 (in Turkish)
[10] Durmuş G, Çelik M. The
investigation on the effects of different
temperature types on concrete
containing expanded perlite aggregate.
Düzce University Journal of Scinece and
Technology. 2019;7(1):302-313. DOI:
10.29130/dubited.437472
[11] Yıldırım ST, Erman BA.
Experimental investigation on
properties of lightweight composite
mortars with pumice and expanded
perlite aggregates. Kocaeli University
Journal of Science. 2018;1(1):47-52 (in
Turkish)
[12] Sun D, Wang L. Utilization of
paraffin/expanded perlite materials
to improve mechanical and thermal
properties of cement mortar.
Construction and Building Materials.
2015;101(1):791-796
[13] Sengul O, Azizi S, Karaosmanoglu
F, Tasdemir MA. Effect of expanded
perlite on the mechanical properties
and thermal conductivity of lightweight
concrete. Energy and Buildings.
2011;43(2-3):671-676
[14] Durmuş G, Uluer O, Aktaş M,
Karaağaç İ, Khanlari A, Ağbulut
Ü, et al. A study on some factors
affecting on CO2 curing of expanded
perlite based thermal insulation
panel. In: International Sustainable
Buildings Symposium; March 2017.
Vol. 2017. Champions: Springer.
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[15] Skubic B, Lakner M. Plazl I:

“Microwave drying of expanded
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[16] Argunhan Z, Oktay H, Dogmus R. 

Investigation of the thermal and
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building materials. European Journal of
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232
Chapter 19

Predicting the 12 Molar

Concentration of Activators’ pH
and the Compressive Strength of
Geopolymer Concrete
Solomon Oyebisi, Anthony Ede and Festus Olutoge

Abstract

The study forecasts the activators’ pH and the compressive strength of the
geopolymer concrete (GPC). Sodium silicate and six various products of sodium
hydroxide pellets were considered as activators. The industrial and agricultural
waste products such as ground-granulated blast-furnace slag (GGBFS) and corncob
ash (CCA) were used as binders in the production of GPC. Grade 40 MPa concrete
was selected as a design mix proportion. Sodium hydroxide pellets were prepared
a day before the casting of fresh concrete and then mixed with sodium silicate to
obtain 12 molar concentration. The activators’ pH values were determined using
HANNA pH (211 microprocessor pH metre). The concrete constituents were
thoroughly mixed, cast and cured under the ambient conditions (23 ± 5°C and
60% ± 5% RH). The concrete’s compressive strengths were determined at days 7,
28, 56, and 90 of curing using a digital compressive testing machine of 2000 KN
capacity. Regression models were also developed for both the compressive strengths
and the activators’ pH values at 7, 28, 56 and 90 days curing using Minitab 17. The
developed models can be employed to predict the correlation between the compres-
sive strength and the activators’ pH in the production of GPC.

Keywords: pH, sodium hydroxide, sodium silicate, compressive strength,

regression model

1. Introduction

One of the important factors which determine the strength of geopolymer

concrete is the activators’ pH [1]. Various researches have been carried out on the
mechanical property of geopolymer concrete, but the influence of activators’ pH on
the compressive strength is still limited. Geopolymer concrete is an emerging and
innovative product emanating from the yearning for low-cost, durable, sustainable
and eco-friendly concrete. It utilises the source materials (industrial and agricultural
waste products) such as fly ash, ground-granulated blast-furnace slag, metakaolin,
rice husk ash, corncob ash and silica fume as its binding agents activated with the
alkaline liquids such as sodium hydroxide, sodium silicate, potassium hydroxide,
potassium silicate and sodium carbonate [1–12] to form a hardened product. The
alkaline activators are from soluble alkali metals particularly sodium (Na) and

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potassium (K), and they are formed from the combinations of sodium hydroxide
(NaOH) and sodium silicate (Na2SiO3) or potassium hydroxide (KOH) and potassium
silicate (K2SiO3). The alkaline liquids, sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and sodium silicate
(Na2SiO3), are mostly used as activators in the production of geopolymer concrete
[9–12]. When the sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and sodium silicate (Na2SiO3) solutions
are mixed together, polymerisation occurs, and it involves a large amount of heat;
that is why it is advisable to prepare the alkaline activator at least 24 h prior to casting
of the fresh concrete [13–14]. The silicon oxide (SiO2) and aluminium oxide (Al2O3)
present in the source materials react with an alkaline activator to form geopolymer
paste which acts as a binder agent for fine and coarse aggregates to form geopolymer
concrete [9–10, 13].
Furthermore, one of the most essential and useful properties of concrete is com-
pressive strength. Concrete is utilised as a construction material to resist compres-
sive stresses. The compressive strength is also employed to determine the needed
property at areas where tensile or shear strengths are of paramount importance. The
usual pattern in concrete technology is the attribution of compressive strength as a
quantitative determinant for other characteristics of hardened concrete.
Moreover, the effective power of hydrogen (pH) of the alkaline activator on the
short-term mechanical property of geopolymer concrete cannot be overemphasised
as it affects the final product of the concrete. Ref. [15] opined that the higher the
pH of the alkaline activator, the higher the compressive strength of the geopolymer
concrete. Ref. [15] further stated that the pH in the range of 13–14 is most appropri-
ate for the polymerisation with higher mechanical strength.
Thus, the study aims at evaluating the influence of 12 molar concentration of
alkaline activator’s pH on the compressive strength of geopolymer concrete using
six various sodium hydroxide pellets and a sodium silicate, while Grade 40 MPa
concrete was used as a mix design proportion. The correlation between the
activator’s pH and the compressive strength was predicted to forecast the future
data on the compressive strength of GPC. The study was conducted at ambient
condition to eliminate heat curing regime and at the same time ensure the field
practicability of the concrete produced while the ratio of Na2SiO3 to NaOH solu-
tions was taken as 2.5:1 pertained to the germane researches [1–5]. Moreover, this
study bridges gaps in the mix design of GPC by putting into consideration the
moisture contents, water absorption capacity and the specific gravities of materi-
als used in the course of concrete mix design. The experimentation was con-
ducted at the Civil Engineering Structural and Materials Laboratory, Covenant
University, Ota Nigeria.

2. Materials and methods

2.1 Materials

Granulated blast-furnace slag (GBFS), corncob (CC), sodium hydroxide

(NaOH) pellets, sodium silicate (Na2SiO3) gel, water, fine aggregate (FA) and coarse
aggregate (CA) were used and locally sourced. GBFS was obtained from Federated
Steel Mills, Ota, Nigeria, dried, ground and sieved with BS 90 μm sieve to obtain
ground-granulated blast-furnace slag (GGBFS), while the corncobs were obtained
from Agbonle, Oyo State, Nigeria, sun-dried for 5 days to aid the burning process.
Thereafter, the materials were burnt in a furnace under a controlled temperature
(600°C) for up to 3 h to obtain corncob ash (CCA). The ash was then sieved using
BS 90 μm sieve to manifest the properties of cement. Furthermore, its oxide compo-
sitions were analysed using the X-ray fluorescence analyser (XRF). The result of

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oxide compositions is presented in Table 1, while the results of the physical proper-
ties of the materials used are shown in Table 2.

2.2 Methods

The mix design based on Grade 40 MPa concrete was determined according to
Ref. [16] to arrive at initial mix proportion, and the result is presented in Table 3.
The GGBFS replacement level was 100, 80, 60, 40, 20 and 0% by volume of CCA,
and they are denoted by GPC 1, GPC 2, GPC 3, GPC 4, GPC 5 and GPC 6, respec-
tively. The six various samples of alkaline activators were prepared 24 h prior to use
under a standard laboratory condition [17]. The pHs of the alkaline activators were
measured with the aid of HANNA pH (211 microprocessor pH metre) (Figure 1),
and they are connoted by samples A, B, C, D, E and F. Thereafter, the concrete
constituents were mixed for about 10 min, while the cube specimens were made,
cast and cured under ambient conditions (23 ± 5°C and 60% ± 5% RH). The cube

Composition CaO SiO2 Al2O3 Fe2O3 SO3 MgO Na2O M.C LOI

GGBFS (%) 36.52 35.77 14.11 0.92 1.08 9.45 0.30 0.52 0.32

CCA (%) 12.62 60.50 8.78 9.13 1.25 1.23 0.65 1.25 0.49
MC, moisture content; LOI, loss of ignition

Table 1.
Oxide compositions of GGBFS and CCA.

Material Specific Water Fineness test BS 90 μm Moisture

gravity (%) absorption (%) residue (%) content (%)

CCA 2.44 — 7.4 —

GBFS 2.90 — 7.3 —

FA 2.60 0.7 0.3

Combined 2.64 0.8 0.2
CA

NaOH 1.49 — —
Na2SiO3 1.60 — —

Table 2.
Physical properties of materials used.

Mixture ID GGBFS CCA CA 1 CA 2 FA SS SH AL/B

GPC 1 500 0 516 516 585 150 60 0.42

GPC 2 400 100 516 516 585 150 60 0.42

GPC 3 300 200 516 516 585 150 60 0.42

GPC 4 200 300 516 516 585 150 60 0.42

GPC 5 100 400 516 516 585 150 60 0.42

GPC 6 0 500 516 516 585 150 60 0.42
Note: Coarse aggregate, 12.5 mm size (CA 1); coarse aggregate, 19 mm size (CA 2); sodium silicate solution (SS);
sodium hydroxide solution (SH); alkali liquid/binder (AL/B); water-to-geopolymer solid ratio (W/S)

Table 3.
Mix design quantity (kg/m3) for Grade 40 MPa concrete.

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ISBS 2019 - 4th International Sustainable Buildings Symposium

Figure 1.
HANNA pH (211 microprocessor pH metre).

Figure 2.
A digital compressive testing machine.

specimens were allowed for a rest period of 72 h before they were removed from
the moulds to allow for proper polymerisation and enhance the mechanical prop-
erty [11–12]. The cube samples were cured, tested and crushed at days 7, 28, 56,
and 90 using a digital compressive strength machine with 2000 KN maximum
capacity (Figure 2). The results of the compressive strengths were modelled
with the pH values of alkaline activators using quadratic regression analysis in
Minitab 17.

3. Results and discussion

3.1 Oxide compositions

The results of the oxide compositions as shown in Table 1 indicate that the GGBFS
satisfied the specifications of [18] which stipulates (SiO2 + CaO + MgO) ≥ 67% and
LOI < 3.0%. Similarly, the oxide constituents of CCA fulfilled the specifications of
[19] which recommends (SiO2 + Al2O3 + Fe2O3) ≥ 70% and LOI < 10.0%. Thus, it is
desirable for use as a pozzolanic material.

3.2 pH and temperature

Figures 3–6 present the results of the alkaline activators’ pH. The results reveal
that sample A possessed higher pH value of 13.75 with a percentage increase of 0.81,

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1.02, 1.60, 4.10 and 6.67% than samples B, C, D, E and F, respectively. Similarly,
higher temperature was observed for sample A than samples B, C, D, E and F.
This connotes that larger exothermic reaction evolved for a higher pH of alkaline
activator [1]. The higher pH value for sample A may be attributed to the increase in
OH− ions of NaOH solution, while H+ ions lower as the water equilibrium moves to
the left [20].

3.3 Compressive strength

Figures 3–6 illustrate the results of the compressive strengths for each sample.
The results signify that the compressive strength of GPC increases with increase in
GGBFS content. Moreover, the trend in compressive strength of GPC also indicates
that the higher the power of hydrogen (pH) of alkaline activator, the higher the
compressive strength. By comparison, sample A due to its higher pH value pos-
sessed higher compressive strengths at all levels of GPC mixes than samples B, C,
D, E and F. This result is in agreement with [15, 20] that higher pH in the range of
13–14 of alkaline liquids results in higher mechanical strength of GPC.

3.4 Quadratic regression model

Minitab 17 was employed to model and forecast the correlation between the com-
pressive strengths of GPC and the pH of alkaline activators for all mixes as indicated
in Figures 7–10. The quadratic regression equations for GPC at day 7 of curing for
mean compressive strength, fc = 15.00–37.00 MPa and mean pH = 12.80–13.80, are
illustrated in Eq. (1), while Eq. (2) illustrates the regression equation for GPC at
day 28 of curing for mean compressive strength, fc = 25.00–55.00 MPa and mean

Figure 3.
Correlation of pH and compressive strength for GPC at day 7.

Figure 4.
Correlation of pH and compressive strength for GPC at day 28.

237
ISBS 2019 - 4th International Sustainable Buildings Symposium

Figure 5.
Correlation of pH and compressive strength for GPC at day 56.

Figure 6.
Correlation of pH and compressive strength for GPC at day 90.

pH = 12.80–13.80. Similarly, Eq. (3) represents the regression equation for GPC at
day 56 of curing for mean compressive strength, fc = 25.00–55.00 MPa and mean
pH = 12.80–13.80, while Eq. (4) signifies the regression equation for GPC at day
90 of curing for mean compressive strength, fc = 25.00–65.00 MPa and mean pH =
12.80–13.80. Thus, the coefficients of determinations (R2) for the GPC show that the
models are 96.10, 96.20, 96.90 and 95.80% sufficiently fit to forecast the correlation
at days 7, 28, 56, and 90 of curing, respectively. Furthermore, compressive strength
majorly relies on the pH of alkaline activator at 95% confidence and prediction
bands:

f c 7−day = 4727 − 730.30 pH + 28.30 pH 2 (1)

f c 28−day = 2208 − 357.60 pH + 14.61 pH 2 (2)

f c 56−day = 2761 − 441.50 pH + 17.79 pH 2 (3)

f c 90−day = 4685 − 737.10 pH + 29.15 pH 2 (4)

where f c represents the compressive strength (in MPa) and pH denotes the
power of hydrogen.

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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.87836

Figure 7.
Fitted line correlation between the compressive strength and the pH at day 7.

Figure 8.
Fitted line correlation between the compressive strength and the pH at day 28.

Figure 9.
Fitted line correlation between the compressive strength and the pH at day 56.

Moreover, the experimental and the predicted compressive strength values reveal
that the predicted compressive strength values are in good accordance with the experi-
mental compressive strength values with a percentage margin of 3–4% decrease.

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ISBS 2019 - 4th International Sustainable Buildings Symposium

Figure 10.
Fitted line correlation between the compressive strength and the pH at day 90.

4. Conclusions

Consequent upon the experimental findings and results, the study utilises the
eco-friendly materials for a sustainable concrete that can be applied in the building
construction. Heat curing regime of GPC was also eliminated to allow for the field
practicability and the economic purposes. It was also found that the compressive
strength of GPC marginally increases with increasing pH of alkaline activator.
Moreover, the study developed the mathematical models that could be used to fore-
cast the strength development of GGBFS-based GPC incorporating CCA based on
the pH value of alkaline activator at ambient conditions with reasonable accuracy at
an early age to later age of concrete samples.

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank the Covenant University Centre for Research,
Innovation and Discovery (CUCRID) for the support granted in the course of
the study.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that there is no ‘conflict of interest’. This article is original
and contains unpublished material. Any published material is referenced.

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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.87836

Author details

Solomon Oyebisi1*, Anthony Ede1 and Festus Olutoge2

1 Covenant University, Ota, Nigeria

2 University of the West Indies, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago

*Address all correspondence to: solomon.oyebisi@covenantuniversity.edu.ng

© 2019 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms
of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/
by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is properly cited.

241
ISBS 2019 - 4th International Sustainable Buildings Symposium
References
[1] Oyebisi S, Ede A, Olutoge F,
Ofuyatan O, Oluwafemi J. Modeling of
hydrogen potential and compressive
strength of geopolymer concrete.
International Journal of Civil
Engineering and Technology.
2018;9(7):671-679
[2] Oyebisi S, Ede A, Olutoge F, Ofuyatan
O, Oluwafem J. Influence of alkali-
concentrations on the mechanical
properties of geopolymer concrete.
International Journal of Civil Engineering
and Technology. 2018;9(8):734-743
[3] Oyebisi S, Akinmusuru J, Ede A,
Ofuyatan O, Mark G, Oluwafemi J.
14 molar concentrations of alkali-
activated geopolymer concrete. In:
Proceedings of the International
Conference on Engineering for a
Sustainable World (ICESW ‘18); 9-13
July 2018, Ota. Vol. 413. Nigeria, IOP
Conf. Series: Materials Science and
Engineering; 2018. p. 012065. DOI:
10.1088/1757-899X/413/1/012065
[4] Oyebisi S, Ede A, Ofuyatan O,
Alayande T, Mark G, Jolayemi J, et al.
Effects of 12 molar concentration of
sodium hydroxide on the compressive
strength of geopolymer concrete.
In: Proceedings of the International
Conference on Engineering for a
Sustainable World (ICESW ‘18); 9-13
July 2018, Ota. Vol. 413. Nigeria: IOP
Conf. Series: Materials Science and
Engineering; 2018. p. 012066. DOI:
10.1088/1757-899X/413/1/012066
[5] Oyebisi S, Ede A, Olutoge F, Ofuyatan
O, Tolulope A. Building a sustainable
world: Economy index of geopolymer
concrete. In: 10th International
Structural Engineering and Construction
Conference (ISEC-10); Chicago,
Illinois, USA: ISEC Press; 2019. ISBN:
978-0-9960437-6-2
[6] Oyebisi SO, Ede AN, Ofuyatan MO,
Oluwafemi JO, Akinwumi II.
242
Comparative study of corncob
ash-based lateritic interlocking
and sandcrete hollow blocks.
International Journal of Geomate.
2018;15(51):209-216
[7] Oyebisi SO, Olutoge FA, Ofuyatan
MO, Abioye AA. Effect of corncob
ash blended cement on the properties
of lateritic interlocking. Progress in
Industrial Ecology—An International
Journal. 2017;11(4):373-387
[8] Raheem AA, Oyebisi SO, Akintayo
SO, Oyeniran MO. Effects of admixture
on the properties of corncob ash
cement concrete. Leonardo Electronic
Journal of Practices and Technologies.
2010;16(9):13-20
[9] Davidovits J. Chemistry of
geopolymeric systems, terminology. In:
Proceedings of the 2nd International
Conference on Geopolymer; Saint
Quentin. Vol. 1999. pp. 9-39
[10] Xu H, Deventer JV. 
Geopolymerisation of multiple
minerals. Minerals Engineering.
2002;15(12):131-1139
[11] Hardjito D, Rangan BV. Development
and properties of low-calcium fly
ash-based geopolymer concrete. In:
Research Report GC 1. Australia: Faculty
of Engineering, Curtin University of
Technology, Perth; 2005
[12] Fernández-Jiménez A, Palomo
A, Sobrados I, Sanz J. The role played
by the reactive alumina content in
the alkaline activation of fly ashes.
Microporous and Mesoporous Materials.
2006;91(1-3):111-119
[13] Davidovits J. Geopolymer Chemistry
and Applications. Saint-Quentin,
France: Institut Géopolymère; 2008
[14] Rangan BV. Low-calcium fly
ash-based geopolymer concrete. In:
Predicting the 12 Molar Concentration of Activators’ pH and the Compressive Strength…
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.87836

Concrete Construction Engineering

Handbook (Chapter 26). 2nd ed.
New York: CRC Press; 2008

[15] Khale D, Chaudhary R. Mechanism

of polymerization and factors
influencing its development: A
review. Journal of Materials Science.
2007;42:729-749

[16] British Standards EN 206. Concrete

Specifications, Performance, Production
and Conformity. 389 Chiswick High
Road London: British Standards
Institution; 2016

[17] Rajamane NP, Jeyalakshmi R. In:

Indian Concrete Institute Technical
Paper, SRM University, editor.
Quantities of Sodium Hydroxide
Solids and Water to Prepare Sodium
Hydroxide Solution of Given Molarity
for Geopolymer Concrete Mixes.
India; 2014

[18] British Standard EN 15167-1. Ground

Granulated Blast Furnace Slag for Use in
Concrete, Mortar and Grout: Definitions,
Specifications and Conformity Criteria.
2 Park Street, London: British Standard
Institution; 2006

[19] British Standard EN 450-1. Pozzolan

for Use in Concrete: Definitions,
Specifications and Conformity Criteria.
2 Park Street, London: British Standard
Institution; 2012

[20] Charles EO. pH Scale: Acids and

Bases. Virtual Chembook, Elmhurst
College [Internet]. 2003. Available
from: http://chemistry.elmhurst.edu/
vchembook/184ph.html [Accessed:
2018 May 22]

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Chapter 20

Effect of Mechanical Properties

of Cementitious Composites
Having Optimized Particle Size
Distribution of F-Class Fly Ash
İlhami Demir and Ahmet Filazi

Abstract

Although gradation is considered in aggregates, it is ignored in powder materi-

als such as cement and fly ash. Unless there is fine gradation, the void ratio will be
high, and the products obtained as a result of hydration will not be able to fill all of
the cavities. In this study, fly ash was sieved through vacuum sieves to determine
gradation of the fly ash at 0–20-, 20–38-, 38–45-, 45–53-, and 53–63-μm intervals.
Gradation of fly ash was optimized in these intervals. Using the Fuller-Thompson
equation, depending on their particle size distribution and finding most ideal distri-
bution module (n = 0.4), a more rigid structure was formed. The cement mortar was
produced by substituting 0–60% of the optimized F-class fly ash with the particle
size distribution. For the design of the most ideal “n” particle module of the cementi-
tious composite created, mechanical strengths were investigated for 20% F-class
fly ash (FA)-substituted cement mortar according to TS EN 196-1. After obtaining
(n = 0.4) that compressive and flexural strengths of F-grade FA-substituted cementi-
tious composite of 0–60% were tested, it has been observed that the same age of
optimized fly ash-substitute cement mortar is better than unoptimized ones in
compressive and flexural strengths.

Keywords: F-class fly ash, cement mortar, particle size optimization,

mechanical strength

1. Introduction

The damage to the environment during cement production is high; approxi-

mately 1-ton CO2 gas is released during production of 1 ton of cement [1]. In
addition, too much energy is required to produce 1300 C to 1450 C in rotary kilns to
produce cement. Cement is the most important material used in concrete produc-
tion. By replacing the cement with various pozzolanic materials, a more economical
and more environmentally sensitive concrete production will be achieved.
The materials that do not have binding properties on their own but which have
the property of binding with another binder such as cement are called pozzolans. In
these materials, silica and alumina are present in the colloid, which binds to poz-
zolans [2]. The most widespread pozzolan is fly ash. This fly ash is a product that is
produced by the combustion of ground coal in thermal power plants. The flue gases

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are obtained by collecting the fine particles in these gases before they are released into
the atmosphere by the dust collection system. Particles are generally spherical and
their diameters range from 1 to 150 μm [3]. The chemical composition and proper-
ties of the fly ash vary depending on the structure and composition of the used coal
and ash formed by the combustion process [4]. The pozzolans are mineral additives
which increase the physical, mechanical, and durability of cement of the concrete
naturally and artificially with the development of concrete technologies and which
contribute economically as a result of cement savings by replacing it with cement. Its
use is increasing day by day. These materials play an important role in the formation
of hydration products and play an important role in the desired properties of concrete
by changing the structure of the bonding dough [5]. The world’s fly ash production is
approximately 450 million tons per year, but only 6% of it is used in the cement and
concrete industry. The fly ash is about 15 million tons of annual production in Turkey,
but its use in industry is low. There are two reasons for this: (i) inadequate informa-
tion on fly ash properties; (ii) not always uniform fly ash properties [6, 7].
To this day, various particle size distributions have been used for an economical
concrete design. When selecting the particle size distribution, the gaps between
large particles must be selected to be filled. Firstly, the distribution of particle was
studied for an economical concrete design [8]. Fuller and Thompson methods have
been used for determining the rate at which concrete aggregates are mixed during
particle size distribution optimization [9]. Some researchers have suggested dif-
ferent values for the base in the equation to adjust the ideal curve (fuller curve) for
special concrete [10]. For the design of particle size optimization, special concrete
with a high content of filler was used. Furthermore, particle size optimization is an
important concept for more environmental concrete production because the density
of the highest particle size of aggregates is filled with cement mortar according to
the lowest amount of cavities. With this method, it is stated that sufficient strength
can be obtained with the mixture of aggregate and cement [11]. Some researchers
working on aggregate gradation have proposed to design an ideal aggregate particle
distribution curve. The granulometry curves obtained with the help of the formulas
which were developed and presented to the literature yielded high compactness
of the aggregate [9, 12]. These methods are made on the aggregate but not applied
to provide high compactness in materials such as fly ash. The following are the
purpose of this study: F-class fly ash particle size distributions are sieved by vacuum
sieves to produce appropriate particle size distributions, to determine the opti-
mum particle distribution by examining the effect of F-grade fly ash-substituted
cementitious composite containing the formed particle size distributions on the
strength, and to obtain the optimum design.

2. Experimental program

2.1 Materials used during work

2.1.1 Portland cement

In the study, CEM I 42.5 R type Portland cement according to TS EN 197-1 was used
[13]. The physical and chemical properties of the cement used are given in Table 1.

2.1.2 CEN reference sand

Standard sand used in the study is CEN reference sand specified in TS EN

196-1 standards [14]. While preparing mortars and utilizing F-class fly ash with

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Chemical composition (%) Portland cement F-class fly ash

SiO2 20.98 60.74

Al2O3 5.36 20.47

Fe2O3 3.32 10.05

CaO 61.08 1.33

MgO 1.97 2.09

Na2O 0.39 0.48

K2O 0.81 2.47

SO3 3.12 0.16

Na2O + 0.658 × K2O 0.92 2.10

Physical properties

Specific gravity (unitless) 3.18

Blaine fineness (cm2/g) 3356 2240

Loss on ignition (%) 2.37 1.53

Table 1.
Chemical and physical properties of Portland cement and F-class fly ash.

optimized PSDs, CEN standard sand which was in compliance with the TS 196-1
standard was also used.

2.1.3 Fly ash

In this study, F-class fly ash which is planned to be used in the cement mortar
mixtures produced by Fuller-Thompson method is provided according to the
standard specified in ASTM C618-15 “Coal Fly Ash and Raw or Calcined Natural
Pozzolan for Use in Concrete.” Physical and chemical properties of fly ash used
according to particle size analysis are given in Table 1.

2.2 Mixing ratio

During the study, optimized particle distribution and untreated fly ash-substitute
cementitious composite were prepared according to TS EN 196-1. The proportion
of mortar components was prepared by mass: 1 part cement, 3 parts standard sand,
and ½ part water (water/cement ratio: 0.5). Each mixture consisted of 450 ± 2 g fly
ash-substitute cement, 1350 ± 5 g standard sand, and 225 ± 1 g of water. Materials at
laboratory temperature are weighed with a scale of ±1 g [15]. Cementitious composite
was produced by replacing 0% by weight of cement, 5, 10, 15, 20, and 60% by fly ash.
Produced cementitious composite was kept in a moisture environment for 24 h and
then matured in water cure until the desired age. The ratio of water-binding material
(S/BM) in the fly ash-substitute cementitious composite produced during the study is
(S/BM) 0.50. Table 2 shows the material ratios of the mixtures.

2.3 Method

2.3.1 Particle size distribution optimization of F-class fly ashes

Class F fly ash 0–20-, 20–38-, 38–45-, 45–53-, and 53–63-μm intervals as shown
in Figure 1 by sieving the sieve size were determined by vacuum sieve. The sieving

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Component (g) Control %5 FA %10 FA %15 FA %20 FA %25 FA %30 FA %35 FA %40 FA %45 FA %50 FA %55 FA %60 FA
Total water 225 225 225 225 225 225 225 225 225 225 225 225 225

Portland cement 450 427.5 405 382.5 360 337.5 315 292.5 270 247.5 225 202.5 180

Fly ash (FA) 0 22.5 45 67.5 90 112.5 135 157.5 180 202.5 225 247.5 270
Standard sand 1350 1350 1350 1350 1350 1350 1350 1350 1350 1350 1350 1350 1350

Table 2.
Cement mortar mixing ratios.
Effect of Mechanical Properties of Cementitious Composites Having Optimized Particle Size…
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Figure 1.
Vacuum sieve system.

process is designed for each particle size with the help of vacuum sieve. In order to
obtain particle size distribution, optimization by using Fuller-Thompson equation
was used in normal concrete design (Eq. (1)).

P = 100.(d / D) n (1)

P(D), percentage of total material smaller than mesh size D; D, maximum

particle diameter for fly ash; d, minimum particle diameter for fly ash; n, distribu-
tion module.
The proportions of the materials in the total mixture were determined according
to the percentages obtained for the different values of the distribution module n.
In this way, for different purposes using different distribution module, a specific
purpose-appropriate cement mortar was designed. According to the equation for
each of the fly ash, the distribution module n = 0.3 to n = 0.6 was increased with a
precision of 0.05, and optimum particle distribution was determined according to
the n distribution module n = 0.35–0.45. Optimum particle distribution was deter-
mined as n = 0.4 by minimizing the sensitivity 0.02 between the two most suitable
values.
The proportions of the materials in the total mixture were determined according
to the percentages obtained for the different values of the distribution module n.
In this way, for different purposes using a different distribution module, a specific
purpose-appropriate cement mortar design was prepared. As the numerical value
of the distribution module increases, the mixture becomes larger, decreases, and
turns into a thinner mixture. For particle distribution, particle diameter is 0–63 μm.
According to these materials, the distribution curves were obtained based on the
percentages for each distribution module.
The particle size distribution to be designed is determined by 20% of the fly
ash to the cement. A 20% replacement rate was chosen to further understand the
efficacy of fly ash. After obtaining n distribution for optimum design, for 5, 10, 15,
20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 50, 50, and 60% substitution proportion, optimum design was
obtained.

2.3.2 Determining flexural and compressive strength of F-class fly ash optimized
particle size distribution

Flexural strengths of cementitious composite with fly ash dispersion optimized

and not optimized have been prepared according to TS EN 196-1. The cementi-
tious composite, which was kept in normal water for 7, 28, and 90 days for flexural
strength, was removed from the curing pool and subjected to the flexural strength
test at N/s loading speed of TS 196-1 (50 ± 10) with the flexural strength test given

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in Figure 1, 40 × 40 × 160 mm size prismatic bars, three pieces for each value,
and three results are evaluated by taking the arithmetic mean. The compressive
strengths of cementitious composite with fly ash substitution optimized and unop-
timized have been prepared according to TS EN 196-1. As a result of the flexural
strength, six 40 × 40 × 40 mm cementitious composites were tested by pressure
piston. The compressive strength device has been set at the appropriate capac-
ity and N/s loading speed according to TS 196-1 (2400 ± 200). After the flexural
strength test, the half prisms to be obtained were placed in the center of the device
with no more than ±5 mm. The device (2400 ± 200) is loaded at N/s until the prism
breaks [14].

3. Experimental findings and discussion

3.1 F-size distribution of F fly ash by vacuum sieve

In the study optimization was made by using Fuller-Thompson formula

P = 100 (d/D)n used in the design of the cement. The proportions of the materials
in the total mixture were determined according to the percentages obtained for
the different values of the distribution module n. In this way, a different distribu-
tion module was used for different purposes, and a specific concrete design was
made. According to the equation for each of the fly ash, the distribution module
n = 0.3–0.6 was increased with a precision of 0.05, and the optimum particle
distribution was determined by n = 0.35–0.45. Optimum particle distribution was
determined as n = 0.4 by minimizing the sensitivity 0.02 between the two most
suitable values. The proportions of the materials in the total mixture were deter-
mined according to the percentages obtained for the different values of the distri-
bution module n. In this way, for different purposes using a different distribution
module, a specific purpose-appropriate cement mortar design was prepared. As
the numerical value of the distribution module increases, the mixture becomes
larger, decreases, and becomes a thinner mixture. For particle distribution,
particle diameter is 0–63 μm. In Figure 2, the percentages of the total material
passing through the sieve diameters specified for the 20, 38, 45, 53, and 63 sieves
we use for the values taken by the “n” distribution module were determined, and
according to these determined materials, distribution scales were obtained by
taking the percentages for each distribution module.
In this study, the effect of particle distributions on mechanical properties
according to different n distribution modules was analyzed. In order to see the fly
ash activity according to the different values of “n” distribution module, 20% fly
ash-substituted cement mortar mechanical properties were analyzed. The results
of 7- and 28-day strengths of cementitious composite with 20% F-class fly ash are
given in Figures 3 and 4.
According to Figure 3, F-class fly ash-aged cement has been determined to
give the best flexural strength of 0.4 dispersion modules for different distribution
modules. While the distribution module was increased from 0.3 to 0.4, the flexural
strength was increased, and the flexural strengths of the distribution modules from
0.4 to 0.6 were reduced. n = 0.4 dissipation module provided the highest increase
in the compactness of flexural strengths. Considering the flexural strength of
7 days, the highest flexural strength was 6.02 MPa for n = 0.4 dispersion module.
Considering the flexural strength of 28 days, the highest flexural strength was
obtained as 9.52 MPa for n = 0.4 dispersion module.
According to Figure 4, the best compressive strengths of F-class ash-aged cement
for different distribution modules were determined as 0.4 dispersion modules. While

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Figure 2.
Particle distribution curves for different distribution modules.

Figure 3.
7- and 28-day flexural strengths of F-class fly ash-cementitious composite.

Figure 4.
7- and 28-day compressive strength of F-class fly ash-controlled cementitious composite.

the distribution module was increased from 0.3 to 0.4, the compressive strength
was increased, and the compressive strengths of the distribution modules from 0.4
to 0.6 were gradually decreased. The distribution module gave the best compressive

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strength values for 0.3.5–0.45. This is why we can see the filler effects in cementitious
composite very well. n = 0.4 dissipation module provided the highest increase in the
compressive strength. When 7-day compressive strengths were taken into consider-
ation, the highest compressive strength was 32.57 MPa for n = 0.4 dispersion module.
When 28-day compressive strengths were taken into consideration, the highest com-
pressive strength was obtained as 43.40 MPa for n = 0.4 dispersion module. In the
particle dispersion optimization study for F-class fly ash, high values were obtained
with the filler effect, and high values were obtained in the pressure and flexural
strengths of 7 days and 28 days in the distribution modules q = 0.3, q = 0.4, and
q = 0.5. In the n = 0.4 distribution module, the highest increase in the pressure and
flexural strength was obtained by providing the maximum increase in the compact-
ness. According to the obtained results, it is seen that particle distribution has a very
important place in the effect of filler by looking at changes in pressure and flexural
strength. The filler effect provides high occupancy by minimizing the gaps in fly ash
distribution. This ensures a high dispersion of the compactness. As in the aggregates,
it was observed that fly ash was also very good with high compaction. According to
these results, the best filler effect was found to be effective on fly ash. For the n = 0.4
dispersion module, high compressive strengths were obtained according to the
reference strengths by obtaining the best component and filler effect. With the filler
effect, it was observed that the pressure strength of 28 days increased significantly
compared to the reference compressive strength.

3.2 Production of cement mortar by replacing the F-class fly ash with 0–60%
cement in optimized particle size distribution

After “n” distribution, for 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30% substitution proportions,
designs were made according to n distribution module for best optimum design.
In order to determine the optimum particle size ratio, cementitious composite was
subjected to flexural and pressure tests according to TS EN 196-1.
As shown in Table 3, in 7 days’ flexural strengths, optimum flexural strengths
increased by 7.40% at 5%, 7.84% at 10%, 7.95% at 15%, 8.07% at 20%, 9.16% at
25%, and 9.61% at 30% with the difference of unoptimization related to com-
pressive strengths. The highest flexural strength among the results of 7 days was
obtained as 6.68 MPa in 5% optimum F-class fly ash-substituted cementitious
composite. The flexural strength in the 5% substitution ratio was 4.91% higher than
the flexural strength of unreinforced cementitious composite. As seen in Table 3,
the optimum bending strengths of all substitution ratios were higher than the
unoptimized F-class fly ash-substituted cement mortar flexural strength. After
determining the bending strength at 28 days, related to unoptimized compressive
strength, optimum bending strengths of 20.27% at 5% substitution rate, 20.26% at
10%, 21.05% at 15%, 21.27% at 20%, 21.63% at 25%, and 21.91 at 30% increase were
observed. Among the 28-day results, the highest bending strength was obtained as
10.68 MPa in 5% optimum F-class fly ash-substituted cement mortars. The bending
strength of the 5% substitution ratio was 18.40% higher than the bending strength
of additive-free cement mortars. The optimum cement mortars with 10, 15, 20,
and 25% substitution were higher than the unsupported cement mortar. Among
the 90-day results, the highest bending strength was obtained as 13.12 MPa in 5%
optimum F-class fly ash-substitute cement mortars. The bending strength of the
5% substitution ratio was 14.88% higher than the bending strength of additive-free
cement mortars. As shown in Table 3, the optimum bending strengths of all sub-
stitution ratios were higher than the unsupported F-class fly ash-substitute cement
mortar bending strengths. Bending strengths of 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30% of the
optimum fly ash substitution ratio were higher than unsupported bending strength.

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As can be seen in Table 4, in the 7-day compressive strengths, optimum com-

pressive strengths 7.80% at 5%, 7.93% at 10%, 8.47% at 15%, 8.47% at 15%, 12.38%
at 20%, 12.43% at 25%, and 12.52% at 30% increase were observed. Optimal
substitution rate of 5% was found to be the best for 7-day compressive strength. The
compressive strength of 5% substitution rate was 2.18% higher than the compres-
sive strength of unreinforced cementitious composite. Optimal compressive

Subst. 7 days 7 days (MPa) 28 days 28 days (MPa) 90 days 90 days (MPa)
rate (MPa) (n = 0.4) (MPa) (n = 0.4) (MPa) (n = 0.4)
(%)
0 6.48 6.48 9.02 9.02 11.42 11.42

5 6.22 6.68 8.88 10.68 11.02 13.12

10 5.99 6.46 8.38 10.12 10.68 12.82

15 5.78 6.24 7.98 9.66 10.34 12.56

20 5.57 6.02 7.85 9.52 10.24 12.45

25 5.24 5.72 7.58 9.22 9.98 12.14

30 4.89 5.36 7.21 8.79 9.54 11.62

35 4.69 5.15 6.89 8.41 9.22 11.25

40 4.3 4.74 6.53 8.02 8.8 10.82

45 3.97 4.38 6.18 7.61 8.44 10.4

50 3.71 4.1 5.94 7.35 8.16 10.08

55 3.48 3.86 5.71 7.08 7.72 9.56

60 3.21 3.57 5.26 6.53 7.32 9.08

Table 3.
7, 28, and 90 daily average flexural strengths of F-class particle distribution and non-particle distribution.

Subst. 7 days 7 days (MPa) 28 days 28 days (MPa) 28 days 90 days (MPa)
rate (n = 0.4) (Mpa) (n = 0.4) (Mpa) (n = 0.4)
(%)

0 32.44 32.44 43.89 43.89 52.49 52.49

5 30.74 33.14 42.3 45.44 51.26 54.46

10 29.98 32.36 40.96 44.05 49.72 52.92

15 29.16 31.63 39.66 42.68 48.44 51.64

20 27.85 31.3 38.34 41.4 46.94 50.16

25 27.02 30.38 37.42 40.45 46.02 49.22

30 25.22 28.38 36.51 39.76 44.11 47.31

35 23.66 26.72 35.32 38.68 42.92 46.12

40 22.14 25.11 34.32 37.62 40.92 44.22

45 21.33 24.24 33.28 36.64 39.23 42.68

50 20.76 23.66 31.63 35.36 38.23 41.84

55 19.22 21.94 29.9 33.78 37.08 40.64

60 17.68 20.22 27.98 31.84 36.38 39.98

Table 4.
7, 28, and 90 daily average compressive strengths of F-class particle distribution and non-particle distribution.

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strengths were higher than the non-optimization strengths at all replacement rates.
The compressive strength of 5% optimized fly ash displacement rate is higher than
the unsupported compressive strength. The compressive strength of 10, 15, 20, and
25% optimum F-class fly ash replacement ratio was very close to the value of the
unsupported compressive strength. In the compressive strengths of 90 days, the
optimum compressive strengths were determined as 6.24% at 5%, 6.43% at 10%,
6.60% at 15%, 6.85% at 20%, 6.95% at 25%, and 7.25% at 30% increase in compres-
sive strength. The highest compressive strength of 90-day results was obtained as
54.46 MPa in 5% optimum F-class fly ash-cementitious composite. The optimum
replacement rate was found to be 5%, which best improves the compressive strength
of 90 days. The compressive strength of the 5% substitution ratio was 3.75% higher
than the compressive strength of unadulterated cementitious composite. Optimal
compressive strengths were higher than the non-optimization strengths at all
replacement rates. The compressive strength of 5, 10 and 15% optimum F-class
fly ash was higher than the unsupported compressive strength. The compressive
strength of 20, 25 and 30% optimum F-class fly ash displacement was very close to
the value of the unsupported compressive strength.

4. Conclusions

Within the scope of the study, F- and C-class fly ash n distribution modules
divided into 5 different groups as 0–20, 20–38, 38–45, 45–53, and 53–63 μm, by
increasing its distribution module between n = 0.3 and n = 0.6 0.5 in sensivity,
between n = 0.35 and n = 0.45 0.02 precision n distribution module for different
values of mechanical properties, were investigated. The results are given below:

• In the particle dispersion optimization study performed for F-class fly ash,
high values were obtained with the filler effect, and high values were obtained
in the distribution modules n = 0.3–0.6 between 7 and 28 days. n = 0.4 dissipa-
tion module provides the highest increase in the maximum value of pressure
and flexural strength.

• It was seen that the fly ash with more fineness reacted better with cement and
gained better strength.

• According to the results, it is seen that particle size distribution has a very
important place in the filler effect by looking at changes in pressure and
flexural strength. The filler effect minimizes the gaps in fly ash distribution
and provides a high filling effect. As in the aggregates, it was observed that fly
ash was also very good with high compactness.

• In the study, it was shown that physical properties, mechanical properties, and
durability of the pozzolanic reaction, including the cavity dimensions of the
cement paste rather than the chemical properties, were important.

• 20% optimum FA substitution of cement mortar mechanical properties

with high occupancy effect, giving better values than 90 days of unsaturated
mechanical strength, shows very good results.

• In general, it is seen that for all results, it is possible to ensure the use of
FA-made optimization of 20% of the corresponding 10% of the FA without
optimization. By making the fly ash particle distribution optimization, the

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amount of cement required for the same target distribution will decrease, and
the use of fly ash will increase.

As a result, the high capacity of the fly ash is optimized, and the mechanical
properties have been improved in good proportions. By making the fly ash particle
distribution optimization, the amount of cement required for the same target
distribution will decrease, and the use of fly ash will increase. In this way, the cost
of concrete obtained will decrease, the use of waste materials will increase, and the
release of carbon dioxide (CO2) into the nature will be reduced by the less use of
cement. The high occupancy effect, i.e., the finding of the best particle distribution
providing the compaction, will reduce the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) emis-
sions that pollute the environment in the cement production and will contribute to
the economy of the country by saving on the economy by saving a lot of cement.

Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial assistance of the Scientific

and Technical Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK) provided under Project:
115 M325.

Author details

İlhami Demir and Ahmet Filazi*

Department of Civil Engineering, Kırıkkale University, Kırıkkale, Turkey

*Address all correspondence to: ahmetfilazi@gmail.com

© 2019 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms
of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/
by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is properly cited.

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of the 21st century. In: Second
International Symposium on Cement
and Concrete Technology in the 2000s;
6-10 September 2000; Istanbul. Vol.
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[2] ASTM, C 618, Standard Specification
for Coal Fly Ash and Raw or Calcined
Natural Pozzolan for Use as a Mineral
Admixture in Portland Cement
Concrete. Annual Book of ASTM
Standards, New York, 1994. pp. 141-148
[3] Berry EE, Malhotra VM. Fly Ash in
Concrete, SP85-3, CANMET; 1986. 178 p
[4] Helmuth R. Fly Ash in Cement and
Concrete. Skokie Illinois: Portland
Cement Association, Research and
Development Laboratories; 1987
[5] Malhotra VM, Mehta PK. Pozzolanic
and Cementitious Materials. Advances
in Concrete Technology. Ottawa:
Gordon and Breach Publishers; 1996
[6] Mehta PK. Reflections on recent
advancements in concrete technology.
In: Second International Symposium
on Cement and Concrete Technology in
2000s; 6-10 September 2000; Istanbul.
2000. pp. 43-57
[7] Tokyay M. Characterization of
Turkish Fly Ashes. Ankara: Turkish
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[8] Feret R. Sur la compacité des
mortiers hydrauliques. Annales des
Ponts et Chaussees, Dunod C; 1892.
pp. 5-16 (in French)
[9] Fuller WB, Thompson SE. The
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[10] Funk JE, Dinger DR, Funk JEJ. Coal
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Chapter 21

Structural Performance of Faced

Calcutta Bamboo (Dendrocalamus
strictus) for Use in Joined
Structural Assemblies
Jonas Hauptman, Katie MacDonald, Kyle Schumann,
Daniel Hindman and Tom Hammett

Abstract

Bamboo has the potential to be a transformative sustainable building material

on a global scale but remains underutilized due in part to the natural irregularity
of the poles and the subsequent difficulties in predictably harvesting, grading, and
applying the material in structural applications. Dendrocalamus strictus (Calcutta
Bamboo) is a unique species of solid structural bamboo, allowing for applications
more akin to a wood product than traditional hollow bamboo. By facing one or more
sides of the bamboo and creating a flat surface through stock reduction, oppor-
tunities for constructing consistent and reliable joints are created, whether the
bamboo is joined to itself or to other more common flat or linear elements. Facing
the bamboo poles also creates opportunities for dimensional and geometric con-
sistency as well as the ability to control certain aspects of structural performance
through changing the orientation of the faced bamboo. This paper examines the
structural performance of faced Calcutta Bamboo through static bending, tensile
strength, and hardness. Comparative performance of bamboo that has been faced
to varying degrees, from no faces to four faces, is presented, as well as an analysis
of the comparative performance of faced and unfaced poles to other traditional and
non-traditional forest products.

Keywords: bamboo, bamboo construction, Calcutta bamboo, structural bamboo,

bamboo joinery

1. Introduction

Bamboo has well-documented structural and sustainable benefits in com-

parison to many common structural building materials but remains difficult to
utilize reliably in construction due to its irregular form—poles are tapered from
bottom to top, have irregular cross-sections, nodes which increase the local
diameter, and variable wall thickness along their length—and historical lack of
grading standards [1]. These natural inconsistencies result in difficulty in the
design and fabrication of structural joints between poles, often requiring labori-
ous hand-worked connection methods [2].

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The cross-section of bamboo has increasing fiber density moving from the
interior to the perimeter. Because the denser fiber bundles provide greater strength,
the perimeter and skin of the pole is stronger than the interior [3]. This is due in
part to how the bamboo grows—first vertically and then inward as the wall section
thickens [4]. Given the structural variation across the section, questions remain
about the structural integrity of the pole after it has been faced.
Building on previous research, we utilize Dendrocalamus strictus (known col-
loquially as Calcutta Bamboo, Iron Bamboo, or Tam Vong), a unique species of
solid bamboo grown in Asia, Indochina, and Latin America. Dendrocalamus strictus
offers advantages over the relatively thin proportional wall thickness of other
bamboo species, which makes producing a flat face through milling impractical
due to compromised structural performance. Current processes for flattening other
bamboo species rely on unwrapping or bending the poles, fundamentally changing
their structural performance and possible applications in structural assemblies [5].
Alternatively, selectively facing one or more sides of Dendrocalamus strictus to create
flat surfaces creates opportunities for constructing consistent and reliable joints in
both bamboo to bamboo connections as well as connections between bamboo and
other common flat or linear elements in various materials. This chapter examines
the benefits of faced Dendrocalamus strictus according to quantifiable structural
performance and compares the performance of faced Dendrocalamus strictus to
equivalent structural members fabricated from wood or steel.
We evaluate the structural performance of faced Dendrocalamus strictus in sev-
eral configurations and orientations (top face flat, bottom face flat, both sides flat,
top and bottom flat, top and both sides flat, etc.) using a series of standard test-
ing methodologies for various loading configurations such as transverse bending
(Table 1). The results of this testing presented herein demonstrate that processing
the bamboo in this way can make the material easier to work with in creating struc-
tural assemblies while maintaining much of its inherent structural performance.
The research and testing presented in this chapter provides direction for future
application of faced Dendrocalamus strictus in joined structural assemblies, dem-
onstrating the species’ structural value in comparison to traditional structural

Cross-section geometry Cross-section terminology

Unfaced (Omnidirectional)

Faced 1 side (Down)

Faced 2 sides (Left & Right)

Faced 2 sides (Top & Bottom)

Faced 1 side (Up)

Faced 3 sides (Left, Right, & Down)

Faced 4 sides (Omnidirectional)

Faced 3 sides (Left, Right, & Up)

Table 1.
Cross sections of faced poles.

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members in wood and steel. This research paves the way for future testing of the
structural performance of joinery enabled by faced bamboo.

2. Methods

Samples for the tests performed in this chapter were taken from a stock of
100 Dendrocalamus strictus poles (12 feet in length) grown, harvested, and pre-
pared in Vietnam. These poles were harvested and prepared using the common
Vietnamese method, which entails selective cutting of mature poles, straightening
by selectively heating and bending over a fire, treatment in a borax bath to insect-
proof the pole, and a final air drying typically performed outdoors under intense
sunlight.

2.1 Sample preparation

The samples were taken from the bottom and most solid portion of the poles.
For the uniform bending tests, three samples were prepared for each condition:
unfaced, faced one side (faced side up), faced one side (faced side down), faced two
sides (faced sides top and bottom), faced two sides (unfaced sides top and bottom),
faced three sides (unfaced side up), faced three sides (unfaced side down), and
faced all four sides.
A total of 24 poles were selected from a batch of 100, with preference given to
those with the most solid sections at the base of the poles. The selected poles were
sorted by largest overall diameter within one-eighth of an inch. The selected poles
were then culled for visible defects, charring, and splitting. Next, the poles were
marked at the midpoint between two nodes and 10 inches to each side. Finally, the
poles were cut into 20-inch-long pieces on an electrically powered circular miter
saw using masking tape wrapped around the cut location to minimize tear out. The
prepared samples were sorted by greatest overall diameter. The area of each cross
section was calculated from scans of crosscuts in a sample set of three for each shape.

2.2 Pre-test documentation

A total of 24 samples were prepared, inventoried, and labeled. Values were

recorded for outside diameter at top, inside diameter at top, wall thickness at top,
surface area at top, outside diameter at bottom, inside diameter at bottom, wall
thickness at bottom, and surface area at bottom.
All samples were documented with a flatbed scanner and a photo scale to
document each sample’s top and bottom sections. Each of the four elevations was
documented with a DSLR camera and a photo scale.

2.3 Testing

Unfaced poles were tested for transverse bending. Poles with one side faced
were tested for transverse bending with an upward face, transverse bending with
a downward face, axial compression, and axial tension. Poles with two sides faced
were tested for transverse bending with two horizontal faces, transverse bending
with two vertical faces, axial compression, and axial tension. Poles with three sides
faced were tested for transverse bending with the unfaced side down, transverse
bending with the unfaced side up, axial compression, and axial tension. Poles with
four sides faced were tested for transverse bending, axial compression, and axial
tension.

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3. Results

Tables 2 and 3 catalog the strength equivalent in wood and steel of various
faced conditions of Dendrocalamus strictus poles. Whole poles were found to offer
higher strength than faced poles, which is consistent with the known strength of the
bamboo’s skin and the density of fibers at the perimeter of its cross section.
Within the range of faced sections tested, variation in strength is significant,
leading to a range of structural equivalents in wood and steel for all faced mem-
bers. In wood, whole poles, poles with one or two sides faced, and poles with three
sides faced oriented downward are equivalent in strength to a wood 2 × 4 No. 2
SPF, while poles with four sides faced or poles with three sides faced oriented
upward are equivalent in strength to a wood 2 × 3 No. 2 SPF. In steel, strength
equivalents vary for each shape and orientation tested, as cataloged in Tables 2
and 3.

Shapes Orientation Equivalent Equivalent strength in steel

strength in wood
Whole Omnidirectional 2 × 4 No. 2 SPF 2″ angle, ¼″ wall thickness
1¼″ Standard Pipe
1.25″ × 1.25″ square tube, 8 gauge
2″ channel, 1/8″ wall thickness

Faced 1 side Faced side down 2 × 4 No. 2 SPF 1.5″ angle, 0.187″ wall thickness
1.25″ × 1.25″ square tube, 8 gauge
1.25″ diameter round tube, 3/32″
wall thickness

Faced 2 sides Faced left/right 2 x 4 No. 2 SPF 1.5″ angle, 0.187″ wall thickness
opposite 1.25″ × 1.25″ square tube, 9 gauge
1.25″ diameter round tube, 3/32″
wall thickness

Faced 2 sides Faced top/bottom 2 × 4 No. 2 SPF 1.5″ angle, 0.187″ wall thickness
opposite 1.25″ × 1.25″ square tube, 9 gauge
1.25″ diameter round tube, 3/32″
wall thickness

Faced 1 side Faced side up 2 × 4 No. 2 SPF 1¼″ Standard Pipe
1.25″ × 1.25″ square tube, 10 gauge
1.25″ diameter round tube, 3/32″
wall thickness

Faced 3 sides Faced left/right/down 2 × 4 No. 2 SPF 1.5″ angle, 0.187″ wall thickness
1.25″ × 1.25″ square tube, 13 gauge
1.25″ round tube, 3/32″ wall
thickness

Faced 4 sides Omnidirectional 2 × 3 No. 2 SPF 1.5″ angle, 0.187″ wall thickness
1.25″ × 1.25″ square tube, 13 gauge
1.25″ round tube, 3/32″ wall
thickness

Faced 3 sides Faced sides up 2 × 3 No. 2 SPF 1.5″ angle, 0.187″ wall thickness
1.25″ × 1.25″ square tube, 13 gauge
1.25″ round tube, 3/32″ wall
thickness

Table 2.
Structural equivalents of faced poles in wood and steel.

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Table 3.
Bending moment comparisons of faced bamboo cross sections.

4. Conclusion

This research suggests comparative advantages of Dendrocalamus strictus as

a lightweight, structural building material. Dendrocalamus strictus poles have a
smaller volume and lighter weight than traditional structural members in wood
and steel of equivalent strength, meaning that more Dendrocalamus strictus can
be transported under the same volume and weight vehicle restrictions as wood or
steel of equivalent strength. On a construction site, Dendrocalamus strictus is also
comparatively lighter and leaner to maneuver, saving labor costs and fostering a
safer work environment. In both transport and construction, the relative lightness

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ISBS 2019 - 4th International Sustainable Buildings Symposium

and leanness of Dendrocalamus strictus requires less energy to move and assemble,
resulting in less embodied energy in the material.
The demonstrated lightness and leanness of Dendrocalamus strictus also offers
advantages for implementation in prefabricated structural systems such as open-
web trusses when compared to systems made from other materials. While current
open-web truss products are available in wood and steel, the same systems made out
of Dendrocalamus strictus would likewise be lighter and smaller for transport and
construction.
Codifying the structural performance of Dendrocalamus strictus and its resulting
advantageous qualities in lightness, leanness, and embodied energy offers opportu-
nities for more widespread implementation of Dendrocalamus strictus as a structural
building material. Dendrocalamus strictus’ demonstrated advantages in transport
and construction incentivize its use in the construction industry because it offers
both sustainable and economic benefits in terms of reducing costs of fuel, energy,
and manpower during construction.

5. Future work

This chapter undertakes a study of the effects to the strength of Dendrocalamus

strictus caused by facing in order to define how faced poles will perform structur-
ally. While facing reduces the strength of the pole, faced poles maintain strength
comparable to standard structural members in wood and steel construction. Given
these results, the testing will be repeated with a larger sample size as well as include
new research to explore potential applications of joinery enabled by faced poles of
Dendrocalamus strictus. The authors will also look at other aspects of using faced
bamboo poles such as using different species and the transportation logistics and
costs for obtaining bamboo from various sources. The authors also foresee examin-
ing the economics of production, market influences, market-based programs for
ensuring sustainability (i.e., certification), and processing efficiencies to further
ratify the use of Dendrocalamus strictus in building systems.

Acknowledgements

We would like to acknowledge the generous support by the American Institute

of Architects through the Upjohn Research Initiative.

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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.87836

Author details

Jonas Hauptman1, Katie MacDonald2, Kyle Schumann2*, Daniel Hindman1

and Tom Hammett1

1 Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Virginia, USA

2 University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, USA

*Address all correspondence to: kyle@after-architecture.com

© 2019 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms
of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/
by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is properly cited.

263
ISBS 2019 - 4th International Sustainable Buildings Symposium

References

[1] Van Der Lugt P. Booming Bamboo:

The (re)Discovery of a Sustainable
Material with Endless Possibilities.
Naarden, Netherlands: Materia
Exhibitions B.V; 2017. p. 59

[2] Trujillo D, Suneina J. “Grading

Bamboo” International Network for
Bamboo & Rattan. INBAR Working
Paper 79; 2016

[3] Van Der Lugt P. Booming Bamboo:

The (re)Discovery of a Sustainable
Material with Endless Possibilities.
Naarden, Netherlands: Materia
Exhibitions B.V; 2017. p. 39

[4] Van Der Lugt P. Booming Bamboo:

The (re)Discovery of a Sustainable
Material with Endless Possibilities.
Naarden, Netherlands: Materia
Exhibitions B.V; 2017. p. 94

[5] Trujillo D. “Bamboo: 21st

Century Steel.” Lecture,
TEDxCoventryUniversity, Coventry
University [Internet]. 2016. Available
from: https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=XSuZ6ukuz5s [Accessed:
30-12-2018]

264
Chapter 22

Investigation of the Engineering

Properties of Micronized Zeolite
Replaced Mortars
Semih Ceylan and Salih Yazıcıoğlu

Abstract

Engineering properties of mortars made with micronized natural zeolite that has
big amount of reserves in Turkey have been investigated in this study. CEM I 42.5 R
cement, standard sand, 10% replaced silica fume, 15 and 20% replaced micronized
zeolite, and powder superplasticizer have been used upon preparing mortars. After
24 hours, 50 × 50 × 50 mm cubic specimens were taken out from the molds and
cured at 23 ± 2°C at 7 and 28 days. Compressive strength tests were done on the 7th
and 28th days. Water absorption and ultrasonic velocity tests were done to mortar
specimens on the 28th day. According to the results, it is observed that usage of 15%
micronized zeolite gave close results with 10% silica fume.

Keywords: zeolite, silica fume, mortar, engineering properties, pozzolan

1. Introduction

Concrete is the furthest expansively used artifact-building item in the world

owing to its low cost, convenient durability, and mechanical properties as well
as ease of being formed into different shapes and sizes. Although those benefits
exist, peripheral problems also exist because of the manufacture of Portland
cement as a constituent of concrete. The cement industry is assumed to be liable for
approximately 7% of all CO2 produced [1, 2]. For this reason, decreasing the cement
consumption is assumed a formula for sustainable progress. In addition, extending
the functionality of cement and concrete materials by healing the mechanical and
durability specifications has gained significance in recent years. The use of arti-
ficial or natural pozzolans as fractional use of Portland cement is recognized as a
prevalent influential path to get those aims. For example, the general production of
European cement is devoted to blended cements [3].
Pozzolanic materials usually combine with the hydrated calcium hydroxide
Ca(OH)2 to make the hydrated calcium silicate (C–S–H) that is liable for the
strength of hydrated cement pastes. In addition, rise in bulk density of concrete
results as the mixture cavities are filled with little admixture components (micro
filler influence) [4].
Developing tendency of using natural zeolite in the cement and concrete world,
many surveys have been done to explore its impression on concrete functions and
compare that indigenous pozzolan with other pozzolanic materials. Generally, natu-
ral zeolites have suitable pozzolanic characteristics and their existence as pozzolan
generate durability increase of cement and concrete composites [5].

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Silica fume is a waste material after getting ferrosilicon blends or silicon metal.
One of the most useful usage area for silica fume is concrete. Owing to its physical
and chemical and specifications, it can be stated as a reactive pozzolan. Concrete,
which includes silica fume, may be very durable and very high strengthened.
Silica fume can be gotten from concrete admixtures source and can be, basically,
added during concrete manufacturing. Today in USA, the main reason of concrete
deterioration is corrosion because of marine salts or deicing. Silica-fume con-
crete with a low water context is resistible to penetration by chloride ions. Many
companies use silica fume in concrete in order to remedy existing structures or
build new bridges [6].
The use of blended cements or supplementary cementing materials such as silica
fume lowers the permeability, for that reason it increases the resistance of concrete
against corrosion [7]. Owing to its high pozzolanicity and its excess fineness, silica
fume is assumed to make low permeability concrete. The service life and durability
performance and, evaluating the permeability of an existing concrete structure can
be mentioned as an essential parameter. Because permeability of concrete is main
key to find the durability of the structure [8, 9].
Little amount of silica fume, 5–10% by weight of cement, can be put to concrete.
The outcome of decrease in slump is amended by putting much superplasticizers
or water. When compared with the control mix, there is an important increase in
compressive strength in each situation.
Silica fume is very mild due to of its higher fineness (about 20 pounds per cubic
foot) and have handling problems. The problems have been prevailed to a percent
by transporting and using silica fume in slurry in Norway. Patents have been
presented to densify the fume for carrying without problem in Canada [10].
Zeolite has big amount of reserves in Turkey. Silica fume is an expensive and
very fine additive material (causes handling problems) that is generally imported
from Scandinavian countries. The aim of this study is to find an approximate
material to silica fume that exists in Turkey. Therefore, micronized zeolite, silica
fume and control mixture were prepared for the experiments and the results were
compared with each other.

2. Methods and procedures

2.1 Materials

2.1.1 Cement

CEM I 42.5 R Portland cement, that is compatible with TS EN 197-1, was used in
the experiment and its chemical body is given in Table 1 and its strength specifica-
tions are given in Table 2. Specific bulk density of cement is 3.11 g/cm3and specific
surface is 3640 cm2. The initial and final setting time of cement are, respectively,
165 and 280 minutes.

2.1.2 Zeolite

Clinoptilolite type micronized grained natural zeolite obtained from Rota

Madencilik San. and Tic. A.Ş. was used in the experiments. Zeolite has the speci-
fications of specific weight 2.3 g/cm3, blain specific surface value 19,340 cm2/g,
BET value 45,862.4 m2/kg and its chemical composition exists in Table 1 and laser
gradation exists in Figure 1.

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Chemical composition (%) Cement Zeolite Silica fume

SiO2 19.39 65–72 94

CaO 63.24 2.4–3.7 0.35

Al2O3 4.98 10–12 0.23

Fe2O3 2.75 0.7–1.9 0.13

MgO 2.15 0.9–1.2 0.43

SO3 3.24 0.22–0.46 0.83

Na2O 0.20 0.1–0.5 0.6

K2O 0.7 2.5–3.8 2.7

Loss of ignition 3.70 9–14 3.5

Insoluble residue 0.89 — —

Table 1.
Chemical specifications of cement, zeolite and silica fume.

Day Compressive strength (MPa)

1 20.1

2 33.2

7 44.9
28 52.8

Table 2.
Cement compressive strength specifications (MPa).

Figure 1.
Gradation of zeolite.

2.1.3 Silica fume, sand, and water

Imported silica fume from Norway was used in the experiment and its chemi-
cal composition exists in Table 1. CEN norm sand taken from Trakya Set Çimento
A.Ş. compatible with TS EN 196-1 was used during the preparation of the mortars.
Ankara tap water was used as mixing water during the experiments.

2.1.4 Plasticizer

About 2% melamine sulfonate-based super plasticizer was added to keep the

workability constant and to compensate the negative influence of zeolite, silica
fume addition on the slump of mortars.

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2.2 Experimental study

Mortars were prepared based on ASTM C 305, ASTM C109/C. All mixtures were
prepared using 1375 ml sand, 242 ml water, 500 g binder and plasticizer and put
into 50 × 50 × 50 mm cubic molds. Mortar mix ratios exist in Table 3.
Prepared cubic specimens taken out from molds after 24 h and cured in labora-
tory conditions in limed water at 25°C. Compressive strengths of the specimens at
7 and 28 days were measured. Strength values and unit dry weights exist in Table 4
and strength graph exists in Figure 2.
Flow table experiments were done during the experiments and 235–245 mm
values were obtained.
Saturated unit weight, water absorption ratio of the specimens were also calcu-
lated and stated in Table 5.
Generally, it is observed that the unit weight of mortars prepared with additive
are under control mortar. Dry unit weight of the other specimens is under dry unit
weight of the control specimen. It is assumed that the reason behind that is, the

Specimen Sand Cement Water Zeolite Silica fume Plasticizer

(g) (g) (ml) (g) (g) (g)

Control 1375 500 242 — — 10

Silica fume 10% 1375 450 242 — 50 10

Zeolite 15% 1375 425 242 75 — 10

Zeolite 20% 1375 400 242 100 — 10

Table 3.
Mortar mix ratios.

Specimen Unit dry weight (g/cm3) 7 day (MPa) 28 day (MPa)

Control 2.225 33 45
Silica Fume %10 2.21 42.6 57.1

Zeolite %15 2.225 41.9 55

Zeolite %20 2.205 29.7 61.4

Table 4.
Mortar strength values and unit dry weights.

Figure 2.
Strength values.

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specific gravity of the specimens are lower than cement and their porosities are
higher than cement.
The absorption capacity of the concrete has relation with the total volume of
the voids in concrete. Due to fineness of silica fume and zeolite, the voids in the
paste and interface between aggregate and cement were filled with those mineral
admixtures and therefore capillary voids were decreased. Values related to water
absorption ratio exist in Table 5 and Figure 3. The main function of the mineral
admixtures is to increase the strength and decrease the capillary absorption.
Concretes that have higher water absorption capacities have lower strength and
durability.
The time for sound wave to reach the other side of the concrete is higher in the
concrete that has many voids. In other words, when the amount of voids in the
concrete increases, the sound velocity decreases [11].
It is evaluated that the ultrasonic sound velocity increases in silica fume added
mortars due to the filled microstructure. The values about ultrasonic pulse exist in
Table 6 and Figure 4.

Specimen Saturated unit weight (g/cm3) Water absorption (%)

Control 2.275 2.6

Silica fume 10% 2.255 2.005

Zeolite 15% 2.27 2.305

Zeolite 20% 2.26 2.535

Table 5.
Water absorption ratios and saturated unit weight values.

Figure 3.
Water absorption ratio.

Specimen Ultrasonic velocity (km/s)

Control 3.51

Silica fume 10% 3.59

Zeolite 15% 3.51

Zeolite 20% 3.39

Table 6.
Ultrasonic pulse velocity values.

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Figure 4.
Ultrasonic pulse velocity.

3. Conclusion

All the experiments were done as planned. The results were compared and
evaluated with each other, and it is revealed that this study should be widened with
different approaches. The following conclusions can be drawn based on the experi-
mental work that has been carried out and presented in this chapter:

• According to the results obtained, the usage of 15% zeolite is the best ratio in
terms of cost/benefit.

• It is obtained using 15% zeolite as addition can get results close to silica fume.

• For further investigations, it is planning to prepare mortars using 10% silica

fume and 15% zeolite. The strength of the specimens will be calculated on the
3, 7, 14, 21, 28, 56, 90, 180, and 365th days.

• SEM, XRD, and hydration rate experiments, FTIR and TGA analyses will be
done to obtain the other engineering values.

• Detailed experiments will be done with 100×200 mm cylindrical, 150×300 mm

cylindrical, 100×100×100 mm cubic concrete specimens. On the 3, 7, 14, 21, 28,
56, 90, 180, and 365th days compressive strength, split tension tests, chloride
ion permeability tests, capillarity tests, porosity tests, ultrasonic pulse velocity
tests, carbonation tests, and modulus of elasticity tests are being planned to be
done. One of the aim of this study is to obtain impermeable concrete.

• Sulfate experiments and ASR experiments can also be done for further
investigations.

• It is observed that when the amount of natural zeolite increases, the unit
weight of the mixtures decreases.

• It is evaluated that the zeolite used in this study due to its silisalumin content,
pozolanic activity values, low specific gravities, high specific surfaces, micron-
ized grained, and adequate compressive strength values can be used in making
blended cements.

• It is assumed that micronized zeolite can be used instead of silica fume as

mineral additive.

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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.87836

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank those for their contributions: VOTORANTIM/Elmadağ

Cement for CEM I 42.5 R cement, DOST KIMYA for exported silica fume, Rota
Madencilik San., and Tic. A.Ş. for micronized zeolite, DRACO for superplasticizer.

Conflict of interest

The authors do not have conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible
for the matter and manuscript of this article.

Notes/thanks/other declarations

This project has been funded by Gazi University Scientific Research Projects
with project no: 07/2018–2030. I would like to thank Kenan Toklu for his help dur-
ing the cracking of the specimens.

Author details

Semih Ceylan* and Salih Yazıcıoğlu

Department of Civil Engineering, Gazi University, Ankara, Turkey

*Address all correspondence to: smhceylan@hotmail.com

© 2019 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms
of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/
by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is properly cited.

271
ISBS 2019 - 4th International Sustainable Buildings Symposium

References

[1] Mehta PK. Concrete technology for of Silica Fume in Concrete, CANMET

sustainable development. Concrete Report 82-6 (R). 1982
International. 1999;21(11):47-52
[11] Erdoğan T. Concrete. 1st ed. Ankara:
[2] Damtoft JS, Lukasik J, Herfort D, Metu Press; 2003. pp. 478-512
Sorrentino D, Gartner EM. Sustainable
development and climate change
initiatives. Cement and Concrete
Research. 2008;38(2):115-127

[3] The European Cement Association.

CEMBUREAU Annual Report 2001.
Brussels: CEMBUREAU; 2001

[4] Müller IL. Influence of silica

fume addition on concretes physical
properties and on corrosion behavior
of reinforcement bars. Cement and
Concrete Composites. 2004;26:31-39

[5] Misaelides P. Natural zeolites:

Still a subject of innovative research.
In: Proceedings of 8th International
Conference on the Occurrence,
Properties, and Utilization of Natural
Zeolites; Sofia; 2010. pp. 27-8

[6] What is Silica Fume? [Internet].

2019. Available from: http://www.
silicafume.org/general-silicafume.html
[Accessed: 24-02-2019]

[7] Malhotra VM, Mehta PK. Pozzolanics

Cementitious Materials—Advances in
Concrete Technology. 1st ed. Australia,
Canada: Gordon and Breach Publishers;
1996. p. 189

[8] Chia K, Zhang MH. Water

permeability and chloride permeability
of high strength light weight aggregate
concrete. Cement and Concrete
Research. 2002;32:639-645

[9] Şimşek O, Dur A, Yaprak H.

Properties of mortars added silica
fume and superplasticizer. Journal of
Polytechnic. 2004;7:169-178

[10] Carette GG, Malhotra VM.

Preliminary Investigations into the Use

272
Chapter 23

Effects of Treated Bamboo Fiber

and Linseed Oil on the Physical
and Mechanical Properties of
Unfired Clay Brick
Aubin Fossouo and Alan Hoback

Abstract

Unfired composite clay brick is being investigated. Amendment with bamboo

fibers are considered for bending strength, and waste linseed oil is considered for
protection from moisture. The fiber used in this study was extracted from Guadua
angustifolia bamboo and treated with 4% Lye for 24 hours. The composite brick was
made by adding soil (clay and sand), 0–7% treated bamboo’s fibers, and 8% mixing
liquids (water and oil) to make water-fiber-brick (WFB) and oil-fiber-brick (OFB).
The mixture was confined using a hydraulic jack. The specimens were air-dried for
45 days. The tendency to absorb water was measured by soaking the bricks in water
for 24 hours. The results showed a decrease of water absorption by 71% due to the
incorporation of linseed oil. At 3% ratio of bamboo fiber to clay, the bending and
compression strength of the OFB composite reached an optimum value of 2.50 Mpa
(357 psi) and 23.4 Mpa (3400 psi), respectively. Linseed oil contributed to increas-
ing the strength of the brick. This is due to the fact that unsaturated linseed oil
reacts with oxygen to form a stable polymer with strong bonds.

Keywords: alkaline, clay, oil, fiber, composite

1. Introduction

People around the world, especially in developing countries, need strong, cost-
effective, and environmentally friendly materials to make permanent structures. In
rural areas of many developing countries, unfired clay bricks are the predominant
method of construction, but most of the time the bricks and masonry are not in
good shape. A natural material such as bamboo which grows in many parts of the
developing world such as China, India, South America, and Africa can enhance the
performance of clay bricks by improving their mechanical properties. In addition,
linseed oil, because of its hydrophobic nature can improve the water resistance of
the brick.
Synthetic fibers such as glass and carbon have been widely used over the last
decades as reinforcement in composite materials. The fiber is incorporated into
the matrix to improve the mechanical properties of the composite material. For
the last decade, bio fibers such as bamboo fiber have been explored as a substitute
for synthetic fiber due to its low cost, high specific strength, superior mechanical

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properties, and renewability [1]. However, natural fiber is not free from problems.
It easily absorbs water and is incompatible with bonding to the matrix. Some
chemical functional groups can attach to the structure of the natural fibers and alter
their composition, making them less vulnerable to water and able to react with the
matrix [2].
Previous research reported that the use of natural fiber contributes to improving
the mechanical properties of composite materials. Banga et al. [3] studied the effect
of bamboo fibers at different weight percentages (20, 30, and 40) to modify epoxy
resin. The average length of a bamboo fiber used was about 2 mm, and average
diameter was between 10 and 20 μm. Epoxy resin (CY-230) was kept in the furnace
at a temperature of 90 ± 10°C for approximately 1 hours to remove any moisture
in the resin and then cooled down to 45°C. The tensile properties of the bamboo
fiber filled epoxy resin composite material were determined by a 100 kN universal
testing machine at a fixed strain rate 1 mm/min. After running and analyzing the
mechanical results, the authors found that 30% of the weight of bamboo fiber’s
mixed epoxy gave optimum mechanical properties.
Takagi and Ichihara [4] investigated the effects of fiber content and fiber length
on mechanical properties of bamboo fiber reinforced “green” composite using
starch-based biodegradable resin as a matrix. Bamboo fiber ranging from 4 to 25 mm
in length and 0.2 mm in diameter was extracted by steam explosion, alkali-treated
in 0.25 mol/L solution at room temperature for 30 min, and randomly distributed in
the matrix. The mixture with 50% fiber by mass was pressed under constant pressure
of 20 MPa for 5 min. The results varied depending on fiber length and content. The
authors reported that when the fiber length was less than 15 mm, both the tensile and
flexural strength of fiber-reinforced green composite increased with increasing fiber
length; the trend of increasing strength was saturated for fibers longer than 15 mm.
Some research has incorporated waste oil in the production of clay bricks.
Tonnayopas et al. [5] studied the incorporation of palm oil waste into the manufac-
ture of bricks in Thailand. He investigated the incorporation of oil palm in making
construction clay bricks and found improvements in the properties such as water
absorption and compression strength.

2. Materials and methods

2.1 Bamboo fiber

The bamboo species (dry bamboo) used as specimens for this experimental
work is known as Guadua angustifolia which is part of the Guadua bamboo family.
This bamboo comes from Colombia. Fibers used in the composite were extracted
from dried culms using a shredder machine. The cross-section diameters obtained
ranged from 0.7 to 1 mm. The length of the extracted fibers ranged from 30 to
45 cm. The fibers were treated and then cut into pieces. The fiber length ranged
from 15 to 25 mm.

2.2 Soil

The soil used for this study was obtained from a construction site, after excava-
tion, in Detroit. The engineered soil was stored and oven-dried for 24 hours at
110°C. Once the drying process was completed, the dried soil was classified. The soil
was sieved to remove any impurity (organic material, debris, and plastic). The soil
was first classified according to USCS (Unified Soil Classification System). The
results of the soil’s test are shown in Table 1. A low plasticity clay is more suitable

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Properties Amount

Liquid limit 30%

Plastic limit 20%

Plasticity index 10%

Moisture content 0.8%

Unit weight 16.3 KN/m3

Sand 64%

Fine-soil (Clay) 36%

Table 1.
Soil’s properties from authors’ tests.

for pressing since smaller amounts of water are needed to reach clay plasticity. The
Atterberg limit test was then performed on the fine grain soil (soil passing #200
sieves) to get the plastic and liquid limit. The plastic and liquid limits were used for
the soil classification as SC (Sand-Clay).

2.3 Linseed oil

Oil does not mix spontaneously with water. This ability to repel water can be
exploited to reduce the water absorption of bricks, thereby protecting the fiber
embedded in the clay. Molecules of water are strongly attracted to each other
because they are polar (a positive charge at one end and a negative charge at the
other end). Raw linseed oil was used in the study and was provided by Sunnyside
Corporation (Illinois, USA). One significant reason for choosing this oil is that its
properties are potentially beneficial. For centuries, linseed oil has been extensively
used in varnishes and as a medium for painting [6]. This oil can be colorless or
yellow and is extracted from the seeds of the flax plant (Linum usitatissimum,
Linaceae). It is also used as a wood protection product because of its hydrophobic
properties, and its ability to penetrate and impregnate wood upon drying, giving
good protection against moisture, and water diffusion [7]. Linseed oil has a signifi-
cant amount of α-linolenic acid, which has a distinctive reaction with oxygen in the
air. It is composed of about 53% linolenic acid, 18% oleic acid, 15% alpha-linoleic
acid, 6% palmitic acid, and 6% stearic acid [8].

2.4 Treatment of bamboo fiber

When used in composites, natural fiber should be treated because of the

hydrophilic nature of fibers and the hydrophobic behavior of the matrix. This
incompatibility can be improved by physical and chemical modification of fibers
to make them less hydrophilic. The behavior of the composite depends not only
on the properties of the individual material but also on the quality of the interface
between the two materials. The quality of the fiber-matrix interface is crucial for
the incorporation of natural fibers as reinforcement [9]. To improve the compat-
ibility between the hydrophobic matrix and the hydrophilic cellulosic fibers, many
physical and chemical surface treatments have been tested [10].
Several chemical treatments are used on bamboo fiber such as, sodium hydroxide
(NaOH), silane (SiH4), acetic acid (CH3 OH), benzoly chloride (C6 H5 − CH2 Cl),
maleic anhydride (C4 H2 O3),potassium permanganate, and peroxide [11]. The modifi-
cation of the fiber properties using coupling agents is common. These coupling agents
react with hydroxyl groups, exposing the cellulose structure to react with the matrix

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[12]. Alkali treatment has two effects on the fiber: (1) it increases surface roughness
resulting in better mechanical interlocking and (2) it enhances the amount of cellulose
exposed on the fiber surface, thus increasing the number of reaction sites [13].
The treatment was a two-step process. The bamboo fiber was first dried in an
oven at 110°C for 72 hours. The hydroxide (NaOH) and the pH indicator used to
check the pH of the treated fiber was purchased from a lab supply company. The
sodium hydroxide used has a high alkalinity (i.e., pH 12) characteristic. Fibers
were soaked in 4% sodium hydroxide solution for 4 hours (see Figure 1). After
this treatment, the fibers were washed adequately with water until the alkaline was
neutralized. pH paper was then used to verify that the fibers reach their neutral
state (pH 7). The fibers were air dried for 24 hours and oven-dried for 8 hours.

2.5 Preparation of specimen

This study uses the matrix reinforced by a dispersed phase in the form of discon-
tinuous fibers randomly oriented. The production of the composite brick sample
was carried out in three steps: mixing liquid, water, or oil, was added to the mixture

Figure 1.
Fiber treatment.

Figure 2.
Molding of composite brick.

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at a ratio of 8% by weight. This ratio provided desirable workability. Controlled

specimens using water as mixture liquid were also made. The entire mixture was
then blended to homogeneity. Then treated bamboo fibers (15–25 mm in length)
were manually added to the mixture at a weight ratio of 0–7%. The mixture was
then poured into the mold. A molding box of dimensions 17.8 cm × 12.7 cm × 7.6 cm
was used to make the composite specimen. The press machine (Brick Press, Code
23241800) is designed and manufactured by High Tech Press Company (USA).
After mixing the fibers and the clay and pouring it into the mold, a pressure was
applied using a hydraulic jack machine (Figure 2). A force measurement device was
used to make sure that the same pressure was applied on every sample. The speci-
men was then removed from the machine by applying a force at the bottom of the
mold. The specimens were stored and dried at room temperature.

3. Testing

3.1 Compression

Tests took place 45 days after the composites were manufactured and dried and
were performed according to ASTM C39/ASTM C 67 [14, 15]. For every fiber content,
five specimens were made. A total of 70 specimens, including control specimens, were
tested. The equipment used was the Uniaxial Compression Machine with a maximum
capacity of 1779 KN (400,000 Lbf). We started by measuring the dimensions of the
brick unit and determined the area of the bed surface. Each specimen was carefully
placed in between the upper and base metal plates (approximately 18 cm × 13 cm
in dimensions) in the compression machine to distribute the load. The speed of the
moving head of the testing machine was set at 3 mm per min. The process continued
until all specimens were crushed and their loads at failure were recorded. Figure 3
illustrates the compression test result for OFB and WFB from 0 to 7% fiber content.

3.2 Bending

The three-point flexural test was performed according to ASTM D C67-97/7264

[15]. The experiments were conducted on the universal testing machine (INTRONS
8511.4) under axial loading with the capacity of 44.5 KN (10,000 Lbf). The speed of
the moving head of the testing machine was set at 1.27 mm/min. At this speed, the
rate of loading is about 8.9 KN (2000 Lbf) per min. Bending tests to determine the

Figure 3.
Compression test results.

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specimen bending strength were conducted on brick using the three-point loading
method. The specimens were placed on two supporting pins a set distance of 9.1 cm
(3.6 in) apart and a third loading pin, set precisely at the center of the two supports,
was lowered from above at a constant rate until failure. The load of failure was read
from the computer connected to the INSTRON machine. The process continued
until all specimens were crushed and their loads of failure were recorded. The
flexural modulus was calculated according to the following equation: σ f = 3F ∗ (__L − x)/w
2 2
h . The results of the bending test for OFB and WFB are displayed on Figure 4.

3.3 Water absorption

In the manufacturing of green composite materials, water absorption plays an

important role which directly affects the manufacturing process, product proper-
ties, and product quality [9]. Water absorption is considered one of the most impor-
tant properties affecting brick durability. The less water infiltrates into brick, the
more durable and resistant to the natural environment the brick will remain [13].
To investigate the influence of oil on moisture absorption, 10 specimens were
made. Specimens were divided into two parts, namely the linseed oil mixed bricks
and controlled specimens without oil. Specimens for this test were made by mixing
dry soil and linseed oil in a ratio of 8% in mass using a mixing machine. The speci-
mens were entirely submerged in water at room temperature. The water absorption
of brick was evaluated after 24 hours and conducted according to ASTM C67/C20
[15, 16]. The specimens were removed from the water and weighed. The weighing
of each specimen was completed within 1 min after removing from water. Table 2
shows the water absorption results for OFB and WFB. The difference in weight
gives the amount of water absorbed by the bricks. The calculation of water absorp-
tion was performed as follows:
Moisture content (MC) (%) = 100 ∗ (Ws − Wd)/Wd.

3.4 Discussion

With 3% treated fiber reinforcement, the proposed brick reached the maximum
compressive and bending strength of 23.4 Mpa (3401 psi) and 2.50 Mpa (357 psi),
respectively.

Figure 4.
Bending test results.

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Type Sample Wd (kg) Ws (Kg) MC (%)

WFB 1 2.75 2.89 5.22

2 2.61 2.76 5.90

3 2.70 2.81 4.16

4 2.86 3.00 4.87

5 2.99 3.16 5.71

Average 5.17

SDT 0.70

OFB 1 2.67 3.17 18.44

2 2.85 3.36 18.07

3 3.00 3.49 16.55

4 2.98 3.57 19.72

5 2.88 3.46 19.90

Average 18.54

STD 1.36

Table 2.
Net water absorption test’s results.

As the fiber content was increased up to 3%, the compression strength

increased. The incorporation of fiber resulted in higher bending strength since fiber
is strong in tension. Fiber also resisted lateral displacement when the brick was sub-
jected to compression and therefore contributed to the compression strength of the
brick. Figure 4 shows that the substitution of linseed oil for water has significantly
contributed to increasing the strength of the brick. The oxidation and polymeriza-
tion of linseed oil is the primary reason why the brick gained additional strength.
The hardening of linseed oil has been studied, and it results from a process
of oxidation followed by polymerization [6]. The drying power of linseed oil is
directly related to the chemical reactivity conferred on the triglyceride molecules by
the double bonds (C〓C) of the unsaturated acids, which allows them to react with
the oxygen and with one another to form a polymeric network [6]. The oxidation of
C〓C bonds of the fatty acids chain leads to the formation of peroxidic compounds
(R—O—O—R). The relatively unstable peroxide will give rise to the hydroperox-
ides, such as ROOH. On the higher mechanical level, the cross-links give rise to a
highly stable network. The oxidation and polymerization affect not only the struc-
ture of the dried oil itself but also the surrounding materials [17]. Polymerization
of unsaturated linseed oil with soil molecules (Alumina: Al2O3 and silicates: SiO4,
+ +
with a small amount of potassium: K , Sodium:Na , Iron: Fe 2+, Calcium: Ca 2+, and
Magnesium: Mg 2+) requires the presence of oxygen. During polymerization, the
viscosity of the oil increases and its wetting properties decrease. The substitution of
oil for water contributes to the improvement of bonding of fiber with soil.
Beyond 3% fiber content, the compression and bending strength decrease.
As the fiber percentage increases, the homogeneity of the composite decreases.
Figure 5 shows a more homogeneous feature at 3% than at 7% fiber. Beyond 3%
fiber, the fiber is no longer firmly bonded to the soil. As a result, the load is not
transferred properly. Therefore, the drop of strength is due to the decrease of
homogeneity.
Substitution of linseed oil for water allowed for the moisture content to be
decreased by 71%. The hydrophobic (ability to repel water) character of linseed oil

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Figure 5.
Fiber content and the homogeneity of brick.

is well known. For this reason, the use of chemically treated bamboo fiber coupled
with linseed oil provides both additional strength and water resistance to unfired
bricks. This work could contribute to the application of this unfired technology in
the brick construction industry.
The authors have designed an unfired composite brick which meets the require-
ments of ASTM C 62 in terms of minimum compression strength and maximum
water absorption [18].

4. Conclusion

This study shows that treated bamboo fiber can be successfully used as
reinforcement in composite unfired clay brick. Fibers were extracted from dry
raw bamboo using a shredder machine and treated with 4% Lye. This treatment
reduced the ability of cellulose to absorb water and improved the compatibility of
fiber with the soil matrix. The compression and bending strength of the brick was
found to increase with the increase of fiber up to 3%. After this, the bending and
compression strength gradually decreased with the increase in fiber. The bend-
ing and compression strengths of OFB brick were higher than that of WFB at all
fiber contents. Both treated fiber and linseed oil have improved the physical and
mechanical properties of the composite unfired brick. Since the bricks are unfired,
this may contribute to reducing the CO2 footprint.

Nomenclature

σf maximum bending strength (Mpa)

δ deflection (m)
F maximum load at failure (N)
H thickness of the brick (m)
L distance between the center of the two supports (m)
W width of the brick (m)
Wd dry weight of the specimen (kg)
Ws weight of the specimen after submersion in water (kg)
x average distance from the mid-span of the specimen to the plan of
failure (m)

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Author details

Aubin Fossouo1* and Alan Hoback2

1 UCAC-ICAM, Douala, Cameroon

2 University of Detroit Mercy, Detroit, USA

*Address all correspondence to: ngueloh@gmail.com

© 2019 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms
of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/
by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is properly cited.

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References
[1] Lau K-T, Hui D, Hung P-Y, Zhu M-H.
Properties of natural fiber composites
for structural engineering applications.
Composites Part B: Engineering.
2018;136:222-233
[2] Mekki H, Anderson M, Amar E,
Skerratt GR, BenZina M. Olive oil mill
waste water as a replacement for fresh
water in the manufacture of fired clay
bricks. Journal of Chemical Technology
& Biotechnology. 2006;81(8):1419-1425
[3] Banga H, Singh VK, Choudhary SK.
Fabrication and study of mechanical
properties of bamboo fibre reinforced
bio-composites. Innovative
Systems Design and Engineering.
2015;6(1):84-99
[4] Takagi H, Ichihara Y. Effect of fiber
length on mechanical properties of
“green” composites using a starch-based
resin and short bamboo fibers. JSME
International Journal Series A Solid
Mechanics and Material Engineering.
2004;47(4):551-555
[5] Tonnayopas D, Ponsa A. Benefication
of oil palm fibre fuel ash in making
construction clay brick. In: Proceedings
of 4th PSU Engineering Conference.
Songkhla; 2005
[6] Lazzari M, Chiantore O. Drying
and oxidative degradation of linseed
oil. Polymer Degradation and Stability.
1999;65(2):303-313
[7] Stenberg C, Svensson M,
Wallström E, Johansson M. Drying of
linseed oil wood coatings using reactive
diluents. Surface Coatings International
Part B: Coatings Transactions.
2005;88(2):119-126
[8] Kundu PP, Larock RC. Novel
conjugated linseed oil−Styrene−
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Biomacromolecules. 2005;6(2):797-806
[9] Bogoeva-Gaceva G, Avella M,
Malinconico M, Buzarovska A,
Grozdanov A, Gentile G, et al. Natural
fiber eco-composites. Polymer
Composites. 2007;28(1):98-107
[10] Sujaritjun W, Uawongsuwan P,
Pivsa-Art W, Hamada H. Mechanical
property of surface modified natural
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[11] Li X, Tabil LG, Panigrahi S. Chemical
treatments of natural fiber for use in
natural fiber-reinforced composites:
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[12] Kadir AA, Zahari NA, Mardi NA.
Utilization of palm oil waste into fired
clay brick. Advances in Environmental
Biology. 2013;7(12 S2):3826-3835
[13] Valadez-Gonzalez A, Cervantes-Uc
JM, Olayo RJ, Herrera-Franco PJ. Effect
of fiber surface treatment on the fiber–
matrix bond strength of natural fiber
reinforced composites. Composites Part
B: Engineering. 1999;30(3):309-320
[14] American Society for Testing and
Materials. Committee C-39 on Concrete
and Concrete Aggregates. Standard Test
Method for Compressive Strength of
Cylindrical Concrete Specimens. Barr
Harbor Drive, West Conshohocken,
United States: ASTM International; 2013
[15] American Society for Testing and
Materials. Committee C-67 on Concrete
and Concrete Aggregates. Standard Test
Methods for Sampling and Testing Brick
and Structural Clay Tile. Barr Harbor
Drive, West Conshohocken, United
States: ASTM International; 2013
[16] American Society for Testing and
Materials. Committee C-20 on Concrete
and Concrete Aggregates. Standard Test
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Methods for Apparent Porosity, Water

Absorption, Apparent Specific Gravity,
and Bulk Density of Burned Refractory
Brick and Shapes by Boiling Water. West
Conshohocken, United States: ASTM
International; 2013

[17] Salehi M. Chemical Interactions

between fatty acids and wood
components during oxidation processes
[Doctoral dissertation]. KTH Royal
Institute of Technology

[18] American Society for Testing and

Materials. Committee C-62 on Concrete
and Concrete Aggregates. Standard
Specification for Building Brick (Solid
Masonry Units Made from Clay or
Shale). West Conshohocken, United
States: ASTM International; 2013

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Chapter 24

Improving Microwave Heating

Characteristic of Asphalt Binder
by Using Fly Ash
Mert Atakan and Kürşat Yıldız

Abstract

Previous studies have indicated that asphalt can heal itself, if it is allowed to rest
enough. Current research on self-healing is focused on induction and microwave
heating methods which provides with adding metallic fibers to asphalt mixture.
However, any study about usage of fly ash to improve microwave heating of asphalt
binder is not encountered. Because utilization rate of fly ash that is an environmen-
tal pollutant is 25% in the world, is required to find new field to use it. This chapter
studies usability of fly ash as a microwave absorber in order to accelerate microwave
heating of asphalt binder. In order to achieve this, specimens that contain fly ash at
different ratio were prepared and microwave heating rate of these specimens were
tested. These tests revealed that fly ash can accelerate microwave heating of bitu-
men, so it has a potential to improve self-healing of asphalt. The study also showed
that below 20% of fly ash ratio by bitumen weight may not be enough to provide
self-healing.

Keywords: microwave heating, self-healing, asphalt binder, fly ash, heating rate

1. Introduction

Asphalt mixture, composed of aggregate, filler, and asphalt binder, is widely

used for pavement construction in the world. The reasons of this choice are that it
provides comfortable driving, its initial investment cost is relatively low, it reduces
wheel noise, it needs less qualified labor, and it can be repaired fast. However,
throughout service life, asphalt pavement exposed many effects such as climate
effects, aging of bitumen, and traffic loads. Because of these effects, micro cracks
occur and these cracks grow larger and bring about surface cracks, raveling, and
potholes at last [1]. Deteriorations are usually repaired using conventional methods
such as regional patch, filling the potholes, and rebuilding the pavement. These
methods are insufficient due to both high cost and traffic disruption. New methods
are needed to extend the service life of the pavement and to make the repair process
less costly and faster.
Bazin and Saunier [2] revealed the self-healing phenomenon of asphalt in 1967.
They reported that after the loading, asphalt can heal when it is allowed to rest,
and temperature of the asphalt plays an important role in self-healing. After that,
self-heling of asphalt has become a research focus.

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As the bitumen is very viscous material [3], it tends to flow through a micro
crack just as capillary flow [4]. Thus, the crack heals as the bitumen fills in it. Little
and Bhasin [5] explained the healing mechanism in 2007. They reported, as soon
as external load removed, viscoelastic recovery occurs, regardless of the external
load is large enough to damage the material or not. On the other hand, if the load
is large enough to damage the material, healing occurs immediately after removal
of external load. They also explained the difference between viscoelastic recovery
and healing; “While the former is due to the rearrangement of molecules within the
bulk of the material, the latter is due to the wetting and interdiffusion of material
between the two faces of a nano crack to achieve properties of the original material”.
The healing process lasts until the material returns to its original state as long as
the material is not exposed to the traffic load. Traffic load would make the cracks
even worse. Furthermore, the process may last days at the ambient temperature [6].
In practice, however, it is not possible to stop the traffic to provide healing at the
ambient temperature [7]. If asphalt concrete is exposed at higher temperature, heal-
ing rates are also enhanced [8, 9]. Moreover, a lot of researcher reported that cracks
which are seen at winter disappear at summer [10]. In 2011, Garcia [4] reported
that increasing the temperature of asphalt mix, increases the healing rates of the
asphalt mix and there is a certain temperature and fixed heating time to provide
self-healing of asphalt.
Self-healing of asphalt can be accelerated via some methods such as induc-
tion heating and microwave heating. Induction heating can heat electrically
conductive materials such as metals by electromagnetic waves and adding such
materials to asphalt mix makes it electrically conductive. Therefore asphalt mix
can be heated by induction heating [7]. Much research on induction heating has
been done [7, 10–18]. However, microwave heating has become a research focus
recently. In 2013, Gallego and his colleagues [19] revealed microwave heating
method and some studies on it has been done until now [15, 16, 19–29]. Different
additives were used in asphalt mix to provide self-healing via microwave heating
such as carbon nano tubes (CNT) [22], steel slag [21, 23, 29], carbon powder [27],
and recycled asphalt pavement (RAP) [20, 28].
Fly ash is a by-product which is generated by combustion of coal at the thermal
power station and it is known as a environmental pollutant [30]. Blissett and
Rowson [31] estimated that 750 million tons of fly ash is produced annually world-
wide and Wang [32] predicted that fly ash utilization rate is about 25%.Therefore,
in order to deal with this environmental pollutant, it is necessary to find new fields
where fly ash can be used in. In this chapter, fly ash was used as an additive for
asphalt binder in order to accelerate microwave heating of asphalt binder, since fly
ash is much more affected from microwaves than bitumen or aggregate is.

2. Materials and methods

2.1 Material description

In order to prepare specimens, 50/70 penetration grade bitumen supplied from

Kırıkkale oil refinery was used. The fly ash which was mixed with bitumen was sup-
plied from Çayırhan Thermal Power Plant. The fly ash type was chosen randomly
by taking into consideration the amount of metal oxides. The chemical composition
of the fly ash based on another study is given in Table 1. According to same study,
blaine fineness of fly ash is 2830 cm2/g. The microwave oven which is used in the
experiment has 800 W output power and 2450 MHz frequency same as any micro-
wave ovens.

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Chemical composition of the fly ash (%)

SiO2 46.6 Na2O 1.01

Al2O3 12.4 K2O 2.28
Fe2O3 9.74 SO3 5.52
CaO 14.5 Loss on ignition 1.08
MgO 7.23

Table 1.
Chemical composition of the fly ash (%) [33].

2.2 Preparation of specimens

In order to prepare specimens, 30 g of bitumen were put in each beaker and fly
ash was weighed. Both fly ash and bitumen were heated at 150°C in the drying oven
before mixing together them. After that, 150°C bitumen which is in the beaker was
put on the heater and hot fly ash was added in it and the bitumen had been stirred
with a stick until they mixed homogeneously (Figure 1). Finally, they were left to
cool for one night.
Fly ash ratio was chosen variable from 2 to 50% by weight of bitumen and they
were named from FA2 to FA50. Besides, a control specimen which contains 0%
of fly ash was generated. Apart from that, a specimen generated contains 2% of
steel wool in order to confirm heating effect of metallic fibers and named SW2
(Figure 2).

2.3 Testing of microwave heating characteristic

Microwave heating test was used in order to determine microwave heating rates
of different samples. Microwave output power employed 800 W. First, samples
were heated for 20 seconds and measured its temperature. As the immersion ther-
mometer works slowly, it waited for 1–2 minutes to read the temperature of speci-
men. After that, specimen was heated another 20 seconds and it went on six times

Figure 1.
Preparation of the specimens.

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Figure 2.
Steel wool used in the specimen.

Figure 3.
Measuring the temperatures of asphalt specimen.

in total to reach 120 seconds. Same experiment was repeated for 40 seconds breaks
and 60 seconds breaks, until reach 120 seconds in order to eliminate errors.
While measuring the temperature via the immersion thermometer, the specimen
was cooled at the same time. Therefore, the temperatures which were gauged were
lesser than it should be. To solve this problem, temperatures were measured quickly
with an infrared thermometer and compared with the immersion thermometer
(Figure 3). According to values obtained from infrared thermometer, measured
temperatures enhanced 5%, in order to compensate cooling.

3. Results and discussion

These tests showed that microwave heating rate of bitumen increased as fly ash
ratio increase. According to infrared thermometer values, there was a difference
between top surface and bottom surface of the bitumen sample at the rate of up

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Figure 4.
Microwave heating rate of asphalt binder specimens.

to 30–40%. This means that additives did not mix with bitumen homogeneously;
instead they settled at the bottom of the beaker. We faced the same problem with
the specimen which contains 2% steel wool. The bottom surface of the specimen
reached 90°C in 20 seconds via microwave heating, while top surface barely exceeds
the ambient temperature. To get rid of the problem, asphalt mix may be used
instead of merely asphalt binder.
Tests indicated that little amount of fly ash such as 2 or 4% is not very effective
to improve heating rate of bitumen. Therefore, high amount of fly ash such as from
20 to 50% was used subsequently.
The sample which contains 2% of steel wool reach approximately 90°C at the
bottom and 24°C at the top in 20 seconds. When the temperature is balanced, it was
around 50°C which is quite higher than the all samples with fly ash.
Garcia [4] reported that below certain temperatures, healing cannot occur
because bitumen behaves non-Newtonian fluid. However this certain temperature
changes with the type of bitumen and usually healing can start between 30 and
70°C [34]. In our study, 20% and higher fly ash ratio was enough to reach 30°C
in 40 seconds and 50% fly ash ratio was enough to exceed 40°C in 40 seconds
(Figure 4). In order to confirm whether this temperature is sufficient or not to
self-heal, further experiments are required such as determining healing index of
asphalt mix containing fly ash or comparing the viscosity of asphalt binder con-
taining fly ash.
The effect of the fly ash to mechanic properties of asphalt was not evalu-
ated. However, it is observed that high amount of fly ash may reduce its ductility.
According to previous study, high amount of fly ash rate gives rise to a drop at
ductility and penetration of the asphalt, whereas its softening point is rising [35].

4. Conclusions and recommendations

In the chapter, contribution of the fly ash to microwave heating of bitumen was
researched. A sample with 2% of steel wool was also tested in order to compare the
results. From the outcome of our investigation, it is possible to conclude that:

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• Fly ash has a potential to enhance microwave heating acceleration of the

bitumen.

• Fly ash should be used higher than 20% in order to reach 40°C in a short time.
Therefore, it can be used as a filler in asphalt mix rather than a modifier in
binder.

• Steel wool, which is used in literature commonly, was also tested at the ratio
of 2% and the specimen reached quite high temperature at a short time.
Therefore, the next step of our research will be the combination of steel wool
and fly ash in the asphalt mix.

• It was seen that the specimens did not mixed completely homogeneously. In
order to get rid of this problem, asphalt mix can be used for tests instead of
only bitumen.

• The study is important for sustainability because fly ash which is an environ-
mental pollutant and usage of microwave heating which is an efficient way to
heat are used.

• Practical application of the method is still a problem and microwave heating

method has not been used in practical yet. Despite of practical application
costs, the method is promising to extend service life of the asphalt pavement
and to reduce maintenance cost.

• Further study of the issue is still required.

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank their colleagues Prof. Dr. Salih Yazıcıoğlu and
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Osman Şimşek for their contribution in conducting some of the
experiments for the research. Besides, the authors also would like to thank to their
colleagues Tech. Osman Aydın for his technical assistance.

Author details

Mert Atakan* and Kürşat Yıldız

Faculty of Technology, Department of Civil Engineering, Gazi University, Ankara,
Turkey

*Address all correspondence to: mertatakan@gazi.edu.tr

© 2019 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms
of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/
by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is properly cited.

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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.87836
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2018;5(17):1-21
[2] Bazin P, Saunier J. Deformability,
fatigue and healing properties of asphalt
mixes. In: International Conference
on the Structural Design of Asphalt
Pavements. Ann Arbor, Michigan; 1967.
pp. 553-569
[3] Read J, Whiteoak D. The Shell
Bitumen Handbook Fifth edition,
Exhibit 1008. 2003. p. 463
[4] García Á. Self-healing of open cracks
in asphalt mastic. Fuel. 2012;93:264-272
[5] Little DN, Bhasin A. Exploring
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[6] Qiu J. Self Healing of Asphalt
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Construction and Building Materials.
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[8] Bonnaure F, Huibers A, Boonders A. 
A laboratory investigation of the
influence of rest periods on the
fatigue characteristics of bituminous
mixes. Association of Asphalt Paving
Technologists. 1982;51:104-128
[9] Daniel JS, Kim YR. Laboratory
evaluation of fatigue damage and
healing of asphalt mixtures. Journal
of Materials in Civil Engineering.
2001;13(6):434-440
[10] Liu Q , Wu S, Schlangen E.  [18] García A, Bueno M, Norambuena-
Induction heating of mastic asphalt
for crack control. Construction and
Building Materials. 2013;41:345-351
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Vega I, Pascual-Muñoz P, Castro-Fresno
D. Environmental impact assessment
of induction-healed asphalt mixtures.
Journal of Cleaner Production.
2019;208:1546-1556
[12] Gómez-Meijide B, Ajam H, Lastra-
González P, Garcia A. Effect of air
voids content on asphalt self-healing
via induction and infrared heating.
Construction and Building Materials.
2016;126:957-966
[13] García Á, Schlangen E, Van De
Ven M, Van Vliet D. Induction heating
of mastic containing conductive
fibers and fillers. Materials and
Structures/Materiaux et Constructions.
2011;44(2):499-508
[14] Gómez-Meijide B, Ajam H,
Garcia A, Vansteenkiste S. Effect of
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Chapter 25

A Comparative Study between

Concrete Masonry Units (CMUs)
and Insulated Concrete Forms
(ICFs)
Nehal Atlam and Mukaddes Darwish

Abstract

This chapter aims a comprehensive comparative study in order to assess the

success of a resilient masonry walls system for major successful buildings in the
United States and guide for the selection of optimum materials for each building.
Many essential parameters, which control building behaviors such as durability,
acoustical privacy, structure configurations, fire and wind resistance, material
type, energy use, and cost of the assembly have been analyzed. The mentioned
analysis is performed on 10 major buildings, for which the data were available. The
results of the analyzed data identified the similarities of the used materials. The
learning outcomes of these analyses can be used to improve building strategies for
the designs of existing buildings and new buildings. A case study in Gulf Coast,
Mississippi is investigated. The procedure for selection of this case study can be
utilized as the decision criterion for similar cases of resilient walls system design,
and as the main essential factor that lead to the optimum way of building these kind
of buildings. Principal component analysis (PCA) is used to correlate the commonly
used materials within concrete masonry units (CMUs) and insulated concrete forms
(ICFs) properties of the resilient masonry walls system.

Keywords: concrete masonry units (CMUs), insulated concrete form (ICFs), resilient
masonry walls system, masonry, buildings

1. Introduction

Within the building industry complexity, there is a growing interest in new tech-
nologies that promise to deliver efficiency, cost savings, durability, and productivity
increase to the construction projects. Increasingly, new construction method is emerg-
ing, and it called resilient masonry walls system. Using sustainable (resilient) masonry
walls system in the construction industry provides safe and a healthy environment,
durability, fire, flood, and wind resistance. The key success of a resilient masonry walls
system for major successful buildings in the United States and guide future depends
on selective optimum materials for each building. Concrete masonry units (CMU) and
insulated concrete forms (ICFs) are the most versatile products in the construction
industry [1, 2]. These products are not diametrically opposite, they have clear overlaps.
Despite this, the main differences between CMU and ICF can be defined.

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Although the concrete block was invented in 1830, it was not widely used until
the first half of the twentieth century in the United States. In 1937, insulated con-
crete forms were developed by Swiss inventors August Schnell and Alsex Bosshard.
There were no engineering or architectural method of masonry design for build-
ings until 1950s. Thickness of the walls were being calculated by “Rule-of-Thumb”
tables that were presented in building codes and regulations [1–3]. Consequently,
walls were very thick and masonry buildings were not economic after three or four
stories so that these buildings had to be constructed with steel or RCC frames. Many
experimental and theoretical researches have been conducted on different aspects
of masonry in developed countries since 1950s [4, 5]. Prior to the 1990s, wood
framing was being used for above-grade walls in homes except in some regions of
the United States. Concrete walls have begun to receive a larger share of the market
for above-grade walls of homes in the last 10 years. According to the estimations
of Portland Cement Association, more than 10,000 homes were built in 1997 with
insulated concrete forms (ICF) walls [6]. In addition, in the United States market
of foundation walls of homes, concrete masonry units (CMU) have an essential
percentage. Besides, CMU has been used for a long time in Florida, Texas, Arizona,
and other parts of the southern United States for above-grade walls [6]. However,
there are often difficulties encountered by home builders converting from a tra-
ditional above-grade framing material to CMU walls or ICF walls [7]. Wood is the
most used framing material in the US markets so that the comprehension of CMU
or ICF construction for above-grade walls is limited [8].
This chapter presents the analysis of using CMU and ICF methods in construc-
tion. In this chapter, a multiple parameter, such as energy use, fire resistance, durabil-
ity, acoustical privacy, indoor air quality, structure/finish, and cost of the assembly
are grouped and compared in different regions all over the United States. All these
parameters depend on the principle of sustainability which are environmental, social,
and economic impacts. Accordingly, this may lead to develop a better and efficient
future community by using a construction system that may be resilient.

2. Methodology

The main aim of this chapter is to analyze and compare 10 major buildings in
United States for which the data were available. According to the analysis of the
data, similarities in many important parameters were identified, which control
building behaviors such as durability, acoustical privacy, structure configurations,
fire and wind resistance, material type, energy use, and cost of the assembly.
Principal component analysis (PCA) was used for correlating the commonly used
materials within concrete masonry units (CMUs) and insulated concrete forms
(ICFs) properties of the resilient masonry walls system.
The parameters are selected according to questionnaire survey. A case study in
New Orleans, LA is investigated. The procedure for selection of this case study can
be utilized as the decision criterion for similar cases of resilient wall systems design,
and as the main essential factor that lead to the optimum way of building these kind
of buildings. The learning outcomes of these analyses can be used to improve build-
ing strategies for the designs of existing buildings and new buildings.

2.1 Main distinctions between CMU and ICF

ICFs can be basically defined as concrete wall systems where the forms remain
in place. The forms are typically made from polystyrene foam insulation in which
concrete is poured. The ICFs provide an insulated structural wall and, depending

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on a particular system, allow the external and internal wall coverings to be held at
a medium or medium level without making any modifications to the wall. ICF sys-
tems are typically described according to the type of form and form of the concrete
wall after curing. ICF forms consist of foam panels or planks that are held together
with special ties or foam block systems (Figure 1) [9–11].

Figure 1.
Insulated concrete forms (ICFs) [12].

CMU is a standard-sized rectangular block which is used for building construc-

tion. CMU is one of the most versatile building product available due to the wide
variety of appereances, which can be achieved using concrete wall units and it can
also serve as a strong backup system for many types of veneer systems. CMU is
known to have high fire-resistance, low maintenance, and high durability. Viewed
from decades, it is observed that the basic design of CMU has not changed. CMUs
are concrete blocks which are made from Portland cement, water, and aggregates
such as stone and quartz. These blocks come in various shapes and are solid or hol-
low, with two or three voids or cores (Figure 2) [3, 12, 13].

Figure 2.
Concrete masonry units (CMUs).

Both CMU and ICF wall systems attempt to create energy-saving, durable,
storm, and fire resilient wall systems. These resilient wall systems should also create
a healthy and comfortable environment for the building occupants, where the two-
methods part ways are the ease and efficiency of the building process [2–10, 14].
Insulated concrete foam takes half the time to construct over concrete masonry
unit walls. In addition, concrete block walls have very low R-values ranging from
2 to 3, and insulated CMU have R-values ranging from 4 to 14, depending on the
blocks thickness and density [15, 16].
Insulated CMU is not widely used in the US which, in many cases, requires
CMU walls to be insulated with additional materials and systems. R-values for ICF

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construction vary with the type of ICF and thickness of the foam. An example of
an ICF product is the Bautex Wall Assembly. Bautex Blocks achieve an R-value of
R-14. ICF structures are esthetically pleasing and provide design flexibility, such as
complex architectural contours and curves. But the CMU is not flexible in complex
architectural designs (Table 1) [6–10, 17].

Features CMU ICF

R-value R-4 to R-14 R-14

Cost High Low
Labor Craftsmanship Industrialization, factory-workers
Construction speed Slow Best
Weight Light and heavy Lightweight
Timeframe to weather Slow, requires additional Very fast, once the windows and doors
tight building materials and sealing are installed
Resiliency Medium Best

Table 1.
Main distinctions between CMU and ICF methods.

2.2 Questionnaire survey

In this study, the purpose of the questionnaire survey was to determine the
significance of the selected construction parameters and using both CMU and ICF
methods that control the sustainable building behavior. The proposed analysis is
performed on 10 major buildings, for which the data were available, all over the USA.
The buildings are mainly from Washington, Iowa; Urbana, Illinois; River, Texas;
Springfield, Ohio; Gulf Coast, Mississippi; and Burnsville, Minnesota. The introduction
section of the questionnaire focused on the general information about the requirements
of the home they want to live in. The main section of the questionnaire focused on
building materials in order to determine the importance of selected parameters [12].
A total of 44 questionnaires were completed in this study. A 5-point Likert-type
scale was used for the questionaire—1 stood for “very important for me” and 5
for “not important for me”. The distribution of the respondents by construction
method is presented in Figure 3.

2.3 Parameters of CMU and ICF methods that control behaviors of sustainable
buildings

Energy use is one of the most important environmental issues and managing its
use is inevitable in any functional society. Buildings are the major energy consum-
ers. Building energy use currently accounts for over 40% of total primary energy
consumption in the United States and the European Union. Significant energy
savings can be achieved in buildings, if they are properly designed, constructed,
and operated. For this reason, building energy efficiency can provide key solu-
tions to energy shortages, carbon emissions, and their serious threat to our living
environment. CMU and ICF are two choices for wall systems in both commercial
and residential construction to take advantage of their mass. Both CMU and ICF
are mass walls. The mass walls systems store energy during the day and release it
throughout the night. They provide energy efficiency through mass which makes
mass walls a good choice in hot and humid climates, where the temperature varies
significantly throughout the day [3, 4, 20]. Many important parameters that control

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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.87836

Figure 3.
Comparison of construction methods used in the survey.

Parameters CMU ICF

Durability (YRS) 25 30
Energy use efficiency Moderate High
Acoustical privacy low High
Indoor air quality Good Good
Structure configuration Not flexible Flexible
Fire resistance High Moderate
Wind resistance High Moderate
Assembly cost High Reasonable low

Table 2.
Comparison between CMU and ICF parameters.

building behaviors and material chices such as durability, acoustical privacy, struc-
ture configurations, fire and wind resistance, material type, energy use, and cost of
the assembly used to identify the similarity by using both CMU and ICF methods
in 10 major buildings, for which the data were available, all over the USA. A com-
parison study between CMU and ICF parameters performed to show the differences
between the two methods is given in Table 2.

3. Case study: concrete home

As an example, a concrete home known as the “Sundberg home” was identified

[18]. Hurricane Katrina had slammed in the coastal counties of Mississippi with
sustained winds of 125 mph and a storm surge that reached 28 feet. All the homes,
in which concrete was used as the main building material, were demolished. Scott
and Caroline Sundberg Home, of which 85% was complete, was the only building to
survive in the Mississippi coast when the Hurricane hit. This home was built using
ICF walls, which are reinforced both horizontally and vertically by concrete col-
umns, post tension concrete slab, and concrete roof on the top of cold rolled metal
panel sections. It has spread footings with concrete members in order to distribute
the load to the soil. Besides, it has a 4-foot-high beam-wall and a beam-wall down
the center. There is connection from the roof down to the third floor, on to the
second floor, and then to the carport [18]. The bottom of the beam of the first-floor
living space is 25.4 feet above the sea level. The main purposes when building this
home was to provide elasticity and to withstand 180 and 200 mph winds. Thus, the
concrete home had the power to resist the wind, flood, and achieve the goal to be a
resilient building (Figure 4).

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Figure 4.
Pass Christian, MS, October 4, 2005—aerial photo shows Sundbergs’ home after Hurricane Katrina [19].

4. Results and discussion

This chapter demonstrates the proposed approach for the resilient walls system
in the construction industry. The aim of this study is to choose optimal construction
method for buildings from two selected construction systems such as ICF and CMU
methods. Mainly, 10 major buildings all over United State have been analyzed and
compared. The analysis of the data identified similarity in many important param-
eters that control building behaviors such as durability, acoustical privacy, structure
configurations, fire and wind resistance, material type, energy use, and cost of the
assembly. Therefore, the key success of a resilient masonry walls system for major
successful buildings depends on selective optimum materials for each building.
Finally, this may lead to develop a better and efficient future community by using a
construction system that may be resilient.

Author details

Nehal Atlam and Mukaddes Darwish*

Civil, Environmental, and Construction Engineering Department, Texas Tech
University, Texas, USA

*Address all correspondence to: mukaddes.darwish@ttu.edu

© 2019 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms
of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/
by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is properly cited.

300
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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.87836
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[19] Xiaodong C, Dai X. Building

energy-consumption status worldwide
and the state-of-the-art technologies
for zero-energy buildings during the
past decade. Energy and Buildings.
2016;128(15):198-213

[20] Photo courtesy of John Fleck. 2018

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Chapter 26

Sustainability of Concrete Roads

by Using Reclaimed Asphalt
Pavements
Tayfun Uygunoğlu, İlker Bekir Topçu and Aytaç Ünverdi

Abstract

The reuse of reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) instead of aggregate reduces

natural aggregate consumption in concrete mixtures and production cost of con-
crete. Waste crushed asphalt’s water absorption is less than the water absorption
of natural aggregate owing to the bituminous structure; this reduces the water
demand in fresh concrete. In the present study, the optimal use of RAP particles
as aggregate in concrete roads has been measured. In the tests, concrete specimens
have been produced with 0–12 mm waste crushed asphalt at the replacement
ratios of 0, 25, 50, and 100%. The destructive, nondestructive, and durability
tests have been carried out on hardened and fresh concrete specimens to identify
physical and mechanical properties. The slump values were obtained in fresh
concrete and ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV), and compressive strengths were
obtained in concrete at the end of 3, 7, and 28 days. According to experimental
results, asphalt waste caused the reduction of strength, physical, and mechanical
properties.

Keywords: reclaimed aggregate, waste, recycle, concrete road, crushed asphalt

1. Introduction

Roads have an important role in infrastructure departments of any nations. Roads

consume large amounts of energy because of their construction and maintenance
phases also for the vehicles which travel on them. This consumption increases the
atmospheric emissions, reduces the nonrenewable resources, and effects other
environmental changes [1]. Any reduction of the energy consumption related to road
building, even just by a small percentage, is going to have remarkable constructive
inferences for sustainable urban development. Approximately 98% of roads are
built as asphalt pavement in Turkey. Wearing asphalt pavement layers are generally
removed during resurfacing, reconstruction, or rehabilitation operations. By remov-
ing and processing the asphalt, obtained material after removing becomes reclaimed
asphalt pavement (RAP), which comprises substantially aggregate and asphalt
binder (Figure 1) [2, 3].
On the other hand, using concrete is more durable and safer at road construc-
tion technology. They are considerably less inclined to tear and wear defects like
stripping, cracking, rutting, loss of texture, and pothole. Concrete pavement’s
principal advantage is low maintenance requirement. Some well-designed concrete

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Figure 1.
A view of reclaimed asphalt pavement.

Using area Compressive strength, MPa Flexural strength, MPa

Heavy traffic 37 4.5

Normal traffic 25–30 3.0–3.5

Local traffic 20–25 2.5–3.0

Parking area 20–25 2.5–3.0

Table 1.
Compressive strength values for concrete roads depending on using area [5, 6].

pavements not require any heavy maintenance for their life of 40 years [4]. Less
maintenance also means fewer traffic delays and an advantage on some of the
already congested highways. Table 1 shows compressive and flexural strength
suggestions to build concrete roads related to using areas. The compressive strength
value of concrete road for highway is given as 37 MPa at least [5, 6].
The environmental impacts of the construction industry are very huge concern-
ing waste product, material use, and energy use. Infrastructure construction and
highway design within the construction industry are one of the biggest material
consuming industries throughout the world. Besides, reclaimed asphalt pavement
(RAP) is a frequently used recycled material in the world. In recent researches
[7–9], in order to produce hot mix asphalt (HMA) mixtures, RAP replacement with
proportions above 50% is mentioned to be feasible while providing satisfactory
mechanical properties. RAP is most commonly used as a virgin asphalt binder sub-
stitute and an aggregate in recycled asphalt paving, but it is also used as a stabilized
base aggregate, granular base or sub-base, and embankment or fill material. The
main objective of this study is to evaluate the sustainability of roads by using 100%
recycled asphalt materials for rehabilitation and construction.

2. Experimental studies

2.1 Materials used

Ordinary portland cement (OPC) was preferred with a minimum strength

of 45 MPa at 28 days (CEM I 42.5 R) in the experiments. It is according to the
European Standards E 197-1. Table 2 shows the characteristic properties of related
cement. Calcareous stone as crushed stone I (CS I) in 6–12 mm and crushed stone

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Chemical properties %

CaO 62.17
SiO2 20.02

Al2O3 4.36

Fe2O3 3.79
MgO 0.89

SO3 2.86

K2O 0.8

Na2O 0.13
Cl_ 0.01

Insoluble residue 0.56

LOI 1.78
Components (Bogue) %

C3S 58.07

C2S 13.77
C3A 5.14

C4AF 11.53

Table 2.
Characteristics of OPC.

Mix Cement Water CSS CS-I CS-II RAP

0 350 158 763 525 646 0

25 350 158 575 393 646 313

50 350 158 381 262 646 627

100 350 158 0 0 646 1254

Table 3.
Material component per cubic meter.

II (CS II) in 12–22 mm is used as coarse aggregate. The specific gravity of coarse
aggregates is 2.70 and 2.71, respectively. Crushed stone sand (CSS) was used as fine
aggregate with specific gravity of 2.57, in 0–6 mm.
The RAP was obtained from the asphalt construction site of Afyonkarahisar. The
specific gravity of RAP was 2.6.

2.2 Concrete mix design

Chemical admixture content, cement dosage, and water cement ratio are
designed as 1.0% (by weight of cement), 350 kg/m3, and 0.45 lt/kg in concrete
specimen mixtures. Aggregate volume was used to establish the aggregate weight.
RAP was added to the concrete specimen mixtures instead of the total of CSS and
CS-I used in the concrete by 25, 50, and 100%. Table 3 shows the mixture propor-
tion for per cubic meter of concretes.
After the concrete production, the slump test was performed by Abrams cone.
The concrete was then poured into molds with dimensions of 150 × 150 × 150 mm

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and de-molded after 24 h. They were cured until 7 and 28 days in water under
standard conditions. After the curing process, compressive strength and flexural
strengths were determined. In addition, ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV) test was
also performed according to ASTM C597-16 [10].

3. Results and discussions

The slump test is carried out to explore and to check the workability of fresh
concrete, consequently the ease with which concrete flows. In addition, it can be
used as an indicator of a consistency of fresh concrete. The slump values of RAP
containing concrete are presented in Figure 2. The slump of the control mixes
(0% RAP) was 60 mm. The higher slump was obtained with comparable quantities
of free water.
When slump value is 65 mm for 25% of RAP content, it is 75 mm for the 100%
RAP-containing fresh concrete. It is emphasizing that the water requirement for
a given slump is lower of RAP aggregates than crushed limestone due to asphalt
residue on the RAP. Asphalt residues repel the surface water due to polymeric
structure, and aggregate does not absorb the mixing water from their surface.
In other words, using of RAP in concrete increases the workability of fresh
concrete.

Figure 2.
Consistency of RAP containing concrete.

Figure 3.
Compressive strength values of RAP containing concretes.

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Figure 3 shows the various mixtures with compressive strengths for ages of 3, 7,
and 28 days. Loss of strength of 26–59.4% was observed in recycled concrete, which
is made with RAP. There was a maximum reduction in the concrete made from
100% of RAP containing concrete at 28 days. The adhesive of cement matrix and
RAP in the concrete was relatively weak due to asphalt residue, and the effect of the
crushing age was more restrained. However, according to Table 1, the mentioned
values are inside of a reasonable range.
All the RAP concrete has different using areas depending on RAP content. For
example, when the 25% of RAP concrete is proper for using in heavy traffic, 50% of
RAP concrete can be used in normal traffic, and 100% of RAP can be used in local
traffic or parking area concrete for recycling.
The use of RAP as recycled aggregates also causes a decrease in the flexural
strength of the concrete as shown in Figure 4. The reduction was in ratio of 44, 48,
and 50% for 25% RAP, 50% RAP, and 100% RAP concrete, respectively. Again,
when the flexural strength values are considered, according to ranges shown in
Table 1, it is clear that 25% of RAP concrete can be used in normal traffic and 50
and 100% of RAP concrete can be used in local traffic and parking area (Figure 4).
Ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV) and nondestructive ultrasonic pulse velocity
(UPV) tests have been performed on 3-, 7-, and 28-day aged cube samples [10].
Higher UPV means high quality of concrete and durability. The UPV values that
were measured on all types of concrete specimens were examined (Figure 5), and it

Figure 4.
Flexural strength values of RAP containing concretes.

Figure 5.
Ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV) of RAP-containing concretes.

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Figure 6.
Dynamic E-Moduli of RAP containing concretes.

Figure 7.
SEM image of RAP in concrete.

was observed that the UPV values decreased by an increase of the RAP using ratio.
UPV can be evaluated as an indicator of the amount of pore medium in the concrete
[11]. For this reason, it is clear that the RAP concretes include a small amount of
space. If UPV values are higher than 4 km/s, this means the concretes are classified
as high-quality concrete.
The modulus of elasticity (E-Moduli) of concrete depends on the type and
content of aggregates, the modulus of elasticity of the hydrated cement matrix,
the volume of the binding materials, and the water-to-binder ratio [12, 13]. It
is a key factor for estimation of deformation and stiffness of the structures.
Furthermore, the precise determination of the modulus of concrete elastic-
ity is essential for structures, which require strict deformability control [14].
Relatively low values of modulus of elasticity (Ec) were obtained for the tested
concretes (Figure 6) in RAP recycled concrete when compared to reference
concrete. Values of elasticity dynamic modulus varied from 51 to 39 GPa for RAP
including concrete.
To define the surface properties of RAP, scanning electron microscope (SEM)
imaging was carried out (Figure 7). It can be clearly seen that when aggregate sur-
face is rough, it has smooth surface after asphaltic coating [15]. The asphalt coating
of aggregate surface makes the concrete more workable but with weaker adhesion
of cement matrix than the reference concrete.

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4. Conclusions

The strength of concrete including 100% recycled aggregates instead of natural

aggregate was less than the concrete including natural aggregates with the same
water-to-cement ratio:

• The slump of the control mixes (0% RAP) was 60 mm. When slump value is
65 mm for 25% of RAP content, it is 75 mm for the 100% RAP-containing fresh
concrete. Using of RAP in concrete increases the workability of fresh concrete.

• When the flexural and compressive strength values are considered, according
to ranges given in Table 1, 25% of RAP concrete can be used in normal traffic,
and 50 and 100% of RAP concrete can be used in local traffic and parking area.

• The UPV values decreased by an increase of the RAP using ratio. It is clear that
the RAP concretes contain a small amount of space. All the concretes, which
have UPV values higher than 4 km/s, are classified as quality concrete based on.

• When aggregate surface is rough, it has smooth surface after asphaltic coating.
The asphalt coating of aggregate surface makes the concrete more workable
but with weaker adhesion of cement matrix than the reference concrete.

Consequently, the distances between the material source and the construction
site add an additional burden on construction costs. RAP can reduce the required
transportation costs for natural aggregates by evaluating them in mobile concrete
plants, which can be found near to the construction site after being broken at the
desired dimensions. As a result, it has been concluded that in terms of compressive
and flexural strength, it provides the limit values recommended in the specifica-
tions up to 100% and therefore can be used in concrete road construction.

Author details

Tayfun Uygunoğlu1, İlker Bekir Topçu2 and Aytaç Ünverdi3*

1 Department of Civil Engineering, Afyon Kocatepe University, Afyon, Turkey

2 Department of Civil Engineering, Eskişehir Osmangazi University, Eskişehir,

Turkey

3 Eskişehir Metropolitan Municipality, Eskişehir, Turkey

*Address all correspondence to: unverditr@yahoo.com

© 2019 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms
of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/
by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is properly cited.

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ISBS 2019 - 4th International Sustainable Buildings Symposium
References
[1] Mhlongo SM, Abiola OS, Ndambuki
JM, Kupolati WK. Use of recycled
asphalt materials for sustainable
construction and rehabilitation of
roads. In: International Conference on
Biological, Civil and Environmental
Engineering (BCEE-2014) 17-18 March,
2014 Dubai, UAE
[2] Huang B, Shu X, Li G. Laboratory
investigation of Portland cement
concrete containing recycled asphalt
pavements. Cement and Concrete
Research. 2005;35:2008-2013
[3] Decker D. State of the practice for
use of RAP in hot mix asphalt. Journal
of the Association of Asphalt Paving
Technologists. 1997;66:704
[4] Nagataki S, Gokce A, Saeki T, Hisada
M. Assessment of recycling process
induced damage sensitivity of recycled
concrete aggregates. Cement and
Concrete Research. 2004;34:965-971
[5] Topcu İB, Isıkdağ B. Utilization of
reclaimed asphalt pavement instead
of aggregates for. Concrete TCMB
Turkish Cement and Concrete World.
2006;11:72-85
[6] Rezende LR, Silveira LR, Araújo WL,
Luz MP. Reuse of fine quarry wastes in
pavement: Case study in Brazil. Journal
of Materials in Civil Engineering.
2014;26(8):1-9
[7] Reyes O, Camacho J. Informe
Proyecto ING-730 evaluation of hot
mix asphalt mixtures with replacement
of aggregates by reclaimed asphalt
pavement (RAP) material SIIV—5th
international congress—sustainability
of road infrastructures. Procedia—
Social and Behavioral Sciences.
2012;53:379-388
[8] Pereira P, Oliveira J, Picado-Santos L. 
Mechanical characterization of hot
mix recycled materials. International
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Journal of Pavement Engineering.
2004;5(4):211-220
[9] Celauro C, Benardo C, Gabriele B. 
Production of innovative,
recycled and high-performance
asphalt for road pavements.
Resources, Conservation & Recycling.
2010;54(6):337-347
[10] ASTM C597-16, Standard Test
Method for Pulse Velocity through
Concrete. West Conshohocken, PA:
ASTM International; 2016. Available
from: www.astm.org
[11] Yasar E, Erdogan Y, Kılıç A. Effect
of limestone aggregate type and water
cement ratio on concrete strength.
Materials Letters. 2004;58(5):72-777
[12] Uygunoğlu T, Topçu İB, Çelik AG. 
Use of waste marble and recycled
aggregates in self-compacting concrete
for environmental sustainability. Journal
of Cleaner Production. 2014;84:691-700
[13] Shkolnik I. Effect of nonlinear
response of concrete on its elastic
modulus and strength. Cement and
Concrete Composites. 2005;27:747-757
[14] Valdés G, Pérez-Jiménez F, Miró R,
Martínez A, Botella R. 
Experimental study of recycled asphalt
mixtures with high percentages of
reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP).
Construction and Building Materials.
2011;25(3):1289-1297
[15] Ryu JS. An experimental study
on the effect of recycled aggregate
on concrete properties. Magazine of
Concrete Research. 2002;54(1):7-12
Chapter 27

Drying Shrinkage and

Permeability of Geopolymer
Lightweight Aggregate Concrete
Ibtesam F. Nasser, Wasan I. Khalil and Waleed A. Abbas

Abstract

Geopolymer lightweight aggregate concrete (GPLWAC) has many benefits. Many

researches have been carried on solutions for the sources of construction materials
by using geopolymer technology. This paper presents information on fly ash-based
geopolymer concrete using artificial lightweight aggregates, and it describes the
experimental investigation on drying shrinkage and permeability of GPALWAC with
artificial lightweight coarse aggregate and natural fine aggregate (reference mix),
as well as four GPALWAC mixes with different volumetric replacement to natural
normal weight fine aggregate (sand) (25, 50, 75, and 100%) by artificial lightweight
fine aggregate, and also two GPALWAC mixes reinforced with 0.25% and 0.5% steel
fiber were investigated. The results show that the all heat-cured GPALWAC mixes
undergo very low drying shrinkage. The drying shrinkage values for various types
of GPALWAC are increased by the partial and total replacement of natural sand by
increased artificial fine aggregate. On the contrary the partial and total replacements
of natural sand by artificial fine aggregate show increase in water penetration.

Keywords: geopolymer concrete, artificial lightweight aggregate, drying shrinkage,

permeability, geopolymer lightweight aggregate concrete (GPLWAC)

1. Introduction

The environment matters pertaining to the process of ordinary Portland cement

(OPC) are common. Carbon dioxide emitted through the manufacturing of OPC
is 1 ton to each OPC ton being produced. The availability of fly ash as a by-product
of burning coal worldwide creates a big problem; such amounts of fly ash needs to
be utilized, as partial or total replacement for OPC. Fly ash in itself has no binding
properties, within the presence of water, and in ambient temperature, fly ash reacts
with the calcium hydroxide during the hydration procedure of OPC to shape the
calcium–silicate–hydrate (C–S–H) gel. The improvement use of high-volume fly
ash, which empowered the substitution of OPC up to 60–65% by mass [1], had been
considered as a big step in this attempt. Davidovits explained the polymerization
process as a significantly rapid chemical response in extremely alkaline condition on
Si–Al mineral deposits, causing a triple dimension polymeric sequence as well as ring
construction having Si–O–Al–O chains [2]. The proposed technique consists of the
process of dissoluting Si in addition to Al atoms from the source materials by the action
of hydroxide ions, orienting precursor ions into monomers, and then setting them into
polymeric structure [2].

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Many researches showed that the geopolymer is created via a reaction of the
alkaline solution with sodium plus alumina in addtion to fly ash, getting a binder
material which shows excellent mechanical properties and durability in aggressive
environments [3, 4]. When fly ash are alkali activated, a chemical procedure started
to permit to allow the user to transform glassy structures partially or totally amor-
phous into very compact well-cemented composites [5].
Fly ash is appropriate to be utilized as a geopolymer original substance since this
powder is comprised for the most part of polished, empty, and circular particles [6].
Fly ash geopolymer concrete has been utilized broadly, due to its features, lower creep
[7], lower shrinking [8], better flame and acid resistance [9], and protection from
sulfate assault [10], which have been superior properties to these of typical concrete.
Lightweight concrete is in demand these days, which can be produced in several ways:
injection of air or neglecting the finer size of the aggregate or substituting these by
pore ones. Most standards mention that the density of light concrete could be ranged
as 300–1800 kg/m3 [11], while the density of typical concrete can be about 2400 kg/m3.
Light aggregate concrete is comprised of light aggregate (extended shale, mud,
or slate substance that has been burnt in a rotational furnace to grow a pored
construction) which could be utilized as a substitution for normal aggregate, for
example, pounded stone or sand [11]. In our study we produce geopolymer artificial
lightweight aggregate concrete (GPALWAC) for the first time in Iraq [12], using
local artificial lightweight aggregate [13]. Yet, the purpose of this research is to
study some additional properties.

2. Experimental work

The aim of this study is to investigate the drying shrinkage and permeability of
GPALWAC, as these properties have not been taken much care of in researches that
deal with geopolymer lightweight aggregate concrete.

2.1 Materials

The substances utilized to make GPALWAC are fly powder type F (low-calcium),
artificial local course lightweight aggregate, naturalistic typical weight fine aggre-
gates (sand), alkaline solution, steel fiber, and water. The fly ash utilized was
imported from Turkey as by-product of coal combustion from ISKENment-Turkey
power station during production of electricity. The tests show that the fly ash fulfills
the demands of ASTM C 618 [14], as shown in Table 1 and Figure 1.
Sodium silicate (Na2SiO3) in addition to sodium hydroxide (NaOH) sols that
make the alkali-activated solution and sodium silicate solution chemical composi-
tion and properties were shown in Table 2.
Sodium hydroxides are, as flakes (NaOH with 98% virtue), produced in
Iraq. The sol was readied, a day before blending so as to be cooled; later it was
blended with sodium silicate sol in a weight extent of 1, 2.5 sodium hydroxide,
sodium silicate, and it was blended with the fly powder. Al-Ekhaider char-
acteristic ordinary sand with greatest volume of 4.75 mm had been utilized

Oxide SiO2 Al2O3 Fe2O3 CaO MgO SO3 Na2O K2O L.O.I

Content (%) 59.56 29.33 3.36 2.20 0.66 0.67 0.21 2.24 2.77

Table 1.
Chemical analysis of fly ash.

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Figure 1.
Fly ash: ALWCA used in GPALWAC.

Oxide composition and SiO2 Na2O Density Specific Viscosity (CPS)

properties (20 baum) gravity 20o

Results (%) 32–33 13.1–13.7 51 + 0.5 1.534–1.551 600

Table 2.
Chemical composition and properties of sodium silicate.

as fine aggregate; its physical characteristics meet the demands of the Iraqi
Specification No. 45/1984. Its degree is in zone (2). Synthetic light aggregates,
which are created by bentonite mud and water glass (sodium silicate) [13,
15], had been utilized as coarse with most extreme volume of 19 mm and fine
aggregates as an incomplete substitution by volume of the normal sand in some
mixes made in the research as shown in Figure 1. Table 3 shows the properties
of artificial lightweight fine aggregate (ALWFa), and artificial lightweight
coarse aggregate (ALWC) that is used in this investigation was prepared as the
requirements of ASTM C330-03 [16].
High-malleable steel snare-end fibers had been used, having length and distance
across of 30 mm and 0.5 mm individually and proportion (l/d) of 60 with modulus
of elasticity (E) of 210 GPa as indicated by the maker organization (BASF) as
appeared in Figure 2. A high water-reducing admixture DARACEM 19CFMQ had
been utilized in the current investigation with 1.9% by weight of binder.

Properties Specifications Results for coarse Results for fine

aggregate aggregate
Absorption (%) ASTM C127-04 [17] 11.5 17
Specific gravity ASTM C127-04 [17] 1.63 1.69
Dry rodded unit weight ASTM 29/C29M [18] 773.31 1180
(kg/m3)
Dry loose unit weight ASTM 29/C29M [18] 768.52 1100
(kg/m3)
Aggregate crushing value BS 812-part 110-1990 51.6 _
(%) [19]
Sulfate content (as SO3) BS 3797-part 2-1981 [20] 0.97
(%)

Table 3.
The properties of artificial coarse and fine aggregate (material test is carried out by constructing labs and
research center).

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Figure 2.
Steel fiber used in GPALWAC.

2.2 Mixing, casting, and curing of geopolymer lightweight concrete

The production of GPALWAC was described briefly in previous researches

[21, 22], after casting in molds. Samples are left in ambient conditions for a period
of 24 hours; after that the samples had been demolded and restored in a broiler for
48 hours at 90°C. These samples had been removed and left at surrounding condi-
tion with a normal temperature of 28°C until the testing period. Figure 3 shows the
steps of preparing the GPALWAC.
GPALWAC reference mix (MR) was carried out after many trial mixes [21]. Four
mixes were produced using (25, 50, 75, and 100%) contents of artificial fine light-
weight aggregates as a volumetric substitution to naturalistic ordinary weight fine
aggregates. Two percentages of steel fiber (0.25, 0.5) were added to the (MR) mix to
enhance the mechanical properties. The details of mixes are shown in Table 4. The
specimen notation listed in Table 4 refers to the volume content of lightweight fine
artificial aggregate and steel fiber content.
It should note that:

• Mixing ratio by weight; Fa, fly ash; FA, fine aggregates; LWA, lightweight

aggregate; W, water.

• Temperature of curing heating = 90°C for a period of couple days, superplas-

ticizer dose =1.9% by weight of binder, and sodium silicate/sodium hydroxide
sols = 2.5 for each drying mixture.

Figure 3.
Production of geopolymer lightweight artificial aggregate concrete.

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Mix Fly ash + Sand Fine LWA W/Fa Steel fibers NaOH solution
symbol binder (kg) (kg) (kg) (kg/m3) (kg/m3)
MR 704 750 0 0.35 — 55.9

MF25 704 563 124 0.36 — 55.9

MF50 704 375 248 0.37 — 55.9

MF75 704 188 371 0.38 — 55.9

MF100 704 0 495 0.39 — 55.9

MSF0.25 704 750 0 0.35 19.63 55.9

MSF0.50 704 750 0 0.35 39.25 55.9

Table 4.
Details of GPALWAC mixes.

• The GPALWAC mixes have a mixing ratio of 1:1.1:1.5 (fly ash/ALWCa/

sand) by weight, alkali activator ratio to fly ash = 0.4, and molarity of alkali
activator = 16.

2.3 Experimental tests

Table 5 shows the experimental tests, their standard specifications, their speci-
men dimension, and their ages that have been carried out in this research on the
GPALWAC as in Figures 4 and 5:

Tests Slump test Fresh density Dry density Compressive Drying shrinkage Permeability
strength
Standard ASTM ASTM C138 ASTM C642 BS. 1881: Part ASTM C490 BS EN 12390-8
specifications C143 [24] [25] 116 [27] [28]
[23] [26]

Specimen — Cube 100 × 200 mm Cube Prismatic Cube

dimension specimens of cylindrical specimens of (75 × 75 × 285 mm) specimens of
100 mm 100 mm 150 mm

Age of tests After 28 28 7, 28, 56 3, 7, 14, 28, 56, 28

(days) the 90, 180
mixing

Table 5.
Tests of GPALWAC.

Figure 4.
Drying shrinkage of GPALWAC.

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Figure 5.
Permeability test for GPALWAC.

3. Results and discussion

3.1 Properties of fresh GPALWAC

Fly ash geopolymer lightweight aggregate concrete made in the current work
shows excellent feasibility having slump amount of 245 mm plus density of 1951 kg/
m3 for the reference mixture (MR). On the contrary, GPALWAC mixtures that
include ALWFa experience a loose in workability state. Such behavior can be attrib-
uted to various specified gravity of the ALWFa relative to natural sand. The added
steel fiber causes an increase in density of GPALWAC mixtures in comparison with
the plain GPALWAC mixture. This can be attributed to the large specified gravity of
steel fiber as shown in Figure 6.

3.2 Properties of hardened GPALWAC

3.2.1 Oven-dry density

The reference GPALWAC (MR) produced in this investigation satisfied the

requirements of lightweight concrete [16] . Due to the low density of the ALWFa,
furnace-dried density of GPALWAC having various contents of this aggregate
shows a slight decrease, but 100% substance shows a great reduction of about 10.6%

Figure 6.
Fresh density, oven-dry density, and slump of GPALWAC.

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relative to the reference mix, while the density of GPALWAC mixes containing steel
fiber (0.5%) is higher than that for reference mix of about 4.63% due to the high
specific gravity of steel fiber.

3.2.2 Compressive strength

As ordinary concrete, the compressive strength increments when the age

increments in GPALWAC. The rates of increment are in the scope of 6.3–12.6 and
12.2–19.1% at the age of 28 and 56 days separately, with respect to the age of 7 days.
This is because of the constant geopolymerization process.
The quick geopolymerization procedure under heat cure makes early strength
improvement at the age of 7 days in the range of 86–94% of that at the age of
28 days for all geopolymer concrete that has or has no fiber. The compressive
strength outcomes of 28-day age show that the reference GPALWAC (MR)
obtained strength of 35.8 MPa which means, based on ACI 213R-14 [29], a struc-
tural lightweight concrete. Figure 7 shows opposite outcomes in the compressive
strength of GPALWAC, as the increase in the percentage content of ALWFa causes
a decrease in the compressive strength of GPALWAC (the variety in relation to
reference mixture at the age of 28 days ranging from −8.93 to −19.74%) because
the ALWFa had low strength relative to natural sand. Using steel fibers led to slight
increment in the compressive force which belongs to GPALWAC (the variety in
relation to reference mixture at the age of 28 days ranged from +0.86 to +4.46%),
as the steel fibers had large stiffness and big surface area, which improves the
bond-resisting ability, besides restricting the crack propagation as in Figure 7.

3.2.3 Drying shrinkage

This shrinking can be defined as the middling variation in length of the

sample per unit length because of the lost in free water under ordinary condi-
tion. A huge amount of drying shrinkage took place at an early age because of
speedy dampness lost out of the sample surface due to heating as shown during
the test of specimens, whereas the final result of heat-cured fly ash GPALWAC
suffers very low drying shrinkage. Table 6 outlines the drying shrinkage value
which exhibits a lower amount than ordinary cement. This is because of the
heating curing that limits the moisture in the pores; this is concurred with
different scholars [30, 31]. Test outcomes demonstrate that the drying shrink-
age strain of steel fiber mixes was equivalent to the reference GPALWAC. This
implies that the impact of fiber in restricting the free drying shrinkage strain
was observed to be immaterial.

Figure 7.
Compressive strength of GPALWAC.

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ISBS 2019 - 4th International Sustainable Buildings Symposium

Drying shrinkage strain × 10–6

Age (days) Mix symbols

MR MF25 MF50 MF75 MF100 MSF0.25 MSF0.5

3 30 35 44 52 59 34 32

7 53 56 79 70 80 53 56

14 85 89 84 86 90 83 82

28 110 112 115 120 130 112 110

56 122 126 131 135 146 120 114

90 140 145 150 153 160 145 140

150 160 161 163 174 182 155 162

180 165 164 170 188 190 165 166

Table 6.
Drying shrinkage of GPALWAC.

The drying shrinkage of GPALWAC against age is shown in Table 6. The

incomplete and complete substitutions of normal sand by ALWFa increased the
drying shrinkage amounts for GPALWAC. The amount of increment in drying
shrinkage at the age of 180 days was 15% for MF100 concrete samples, compared
with MR mixture. Such result can be credited to the lower modulus of elasticity
of fine artificial aggregates than normal sand which influences the limitation
to shrinking. In addition, the increase of artificial fine aggregates increased the
water needed to have reasonable workability, and thus this would prompt more
shrinking strains.

3.2.4 Permeability

The test had been conducted by examining the depth of penetration of water
under pressure, and the samples are then broken to measure the deepness of the
waterfront. The water might be connected to the outside of the test sample from
either the base or the head [28]. The consequences of porousness testing of all
GPALWAC can be seen in Figure 8.
The specimens of GPALWAC containing ALWFa as a substitution for natural
fine aggregates illustrate more water penetration than MR mix. The proportions
of increasing water penetration are 25.0, 32.3, 61.7, and 64.7% for samples with
25–100% ALWFa, respectively, relative to reference GPALWAC specimens.

Figure 8.
Penetration depth of GPALWAC.

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Drying Shrinkage and Permeability of Geopolymer Lightweight Aggregate Concrete
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.87836

4. Conclusions

• The drying density of reference GPALWAC equals 1835 kg/m3. The incorpora-

tion of artificial LWAFa in many proportions of 25, 50, 75, and 100% reduces
the drying density to 2.99, 5.99, 8.44, and 10.62%, respectively, whereas the
addition of steel fibers makes a little increment in dry density.

• As the OPC, the compressive strength of GPALWAC specimens rises within

the age. The increment in compressive strength is about 9.48% and 12.2% at
the age of 28 as well as 56 days. The 28-day compressive strength results show
that the reference GPALWAC (MR) achieved 28-day compressive strength of
35.8 MPa, whereas the incorporation of artificial LWAFa in the percentages
of 25, 50, 75, and 100% causes reduction in compressive strength relative to
reference mix at 28 days in the range of −8.93 to −19.24.

• Unlike OPC, heat-cured fly ash GPALWAC suffers low dry shrinkage. Dry
shrinkage strains at all of steel fiber GPALWC mixes are close to the plain
GPALWAC.

• Drying shrinkage values of GPALWAC are affected by the partial and total
replacement of natural sand by ALWFa. With percentage of 100% ALWFa in
comparison with the reference, 15% increase in drying shrinkage at the age of
180 days is recorded.

• Concerning permeability, GPALWAC specimens with 100% ALWFa as volu-

metric substitution to naturalistic fine aggregates appear to have high water
penetration among all GPALWAC specimens.

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Author details

Ibtesam F. Nasser1*, Wasan I. Khalil2 and Waleed A. Abbas2

1 Institute of Technology, Middle Technical University, Baghdad, Iraq

2 Civil Engineering Department, University of Technology, Baghdad, Iraq

*Address all correspondence to: ibtesamhabbaba@yahoo.com

© 2019 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms
of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/
by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is properly cited.

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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.87836
References
[1] Hardjito D, Wallah SE, Rangan BV.
Research into engineering properties
of geopolymer concrete. In: Lukey GC,
editor. Geopolymers. 2002 International
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Australia. 2002
[2] Davidovits J. Chemistry of
geopolymeric systems terminology.
In: Proceedings of Geopolymer
International Conference; France. 1999
[3] Davidovits J. High-Alkali Cements
for 21st Century Concretes. Special
Publication. 1994;144
[4] Sofi M, van Deventer JSJ, Mendis
PA, Lukey GC. Engineering properties
of inorganic polymer concretes.
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[5] Palomo A, Grutzeck MW, Blanco MT.
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for the future. Cement and Concrete
Research. 1999;29(8):1323-1329
[6] Kumar S, Kumar R, Alex TC,
Bandyopadhyay A, Mehrotra SP. Effect
of mechanically activated fly ash on the
properties of geopolymer cement. In:
Proceedings of the 4th World Congress
on Geopolymer, Saint-Quentin, France.
2005. pp. 113-116
[7] SE W. Creep behaviour of fly
ash-based geopolymer concrete.
Civil Engineering Dimension.
2010;12:73-78
[8] Hardjito DW, Wallah SE, Sumajouw
DMJ, Rangan BV. On the development
of fly ash based geopolymer
concrete. ACI Materials Journal.
2004;101:467-472
[9] Guo X, Shi H, Dick WA. Compressive
strength and microstructural
characteristic of class C fly ash
geopolymer. Cement and Concrete
Composites. 2010;32:142-147
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[10] Wallah SE, Hardjito DW, Sumajouw
DMJ, Rangan BV. Sulfate and acid
resistance of fly ash-based geopolymer
concrete. In: Proceedings of the
Australian Structural Engineering
Conference; Newcastle, Australia. 2005
[11] National Ready Mixed Concrete
Association (NRMCA). Structural
Lightweight Concrete. Silver Spring
MD, USA: NRMCA; 2003
[12] Khalil WI, Abbas WAA, Nasser IF.
Geopolymer Lightweight Aggregate
Concrete, patent. Iraq; 2018
[13] Khalil WI, Ahmed HK, Hussein ZM.
Properties of artificial and sustainable
lightweight aggregate. 17th International
Conference Berlin, Germany. Vol. 17,
No. 9. 2015
[14] C618 A. Standard Specification
for Coal Fly Ash and Raw or Calcined
Natural Pozzolan for Use in Concrete
American Society for Testing and
Materials. 2008
[15] Khalil WI, Ahmed HK, Hussein
ZM. Inventor Properties of Artificial
and Sustainable Lightweight Aggregate.
Iraq; 2015
[16] C330-03 A. Standard Specification
for Lightweight Aggregates for
Structural Concrete Annual Book
of ASTM Standards Concrete and
Aggregates, United States. Vol. 04-02.
2003
[17] ASTM C127 Standard Test Method
for Density Relative Density (Specific
Gravity) and Adsorption of Coarse
Aggregate. Annual Book of ASTM
Standards. Vol. 04, No. 02. 2004.
pp. 68-73
[18] ASTM C29/C29M Standard Test
Method for Bulk Density (Unit Weight)
and Voids in Aggregate American
Society for Testing and Materials.
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Annual Book of ASTM Standards. Vol. of Length Change of Hardened Cement

04.02. 2004. pp. 1-4
[19] BS 812. Part 110 Method for
Determination of Aggregate Crushing
Value (ACV). British Standards
Institution; 1990. p. 8
[20] BS 3797. Specification for
Lightweight Aggregates for Masonry
Units and Structural Concrete. British
Standards Institution. Manchester,
United Kingdom: AZO build; 1990. p. 2
[21] Khalil WI, Abbas WAA, Nasser
IF. Production of Lightweight
Geopolymer Concrete Using Artificial
Local Lightweight Aggregate 3rd
International Conference; Sharem
Alshakh-Eyjpt. 2017
[22] Nasser IF. Some Properties of
Geopolymer Lightweight Aggregate
Concrete [PhD thesis]. Baghdad, Iraq:
University of Technology; 2018
[23] ASTM C143 Standard Test Method
for Slump-Cement International.
Annual Book of ASTM Standards:
American Society for Testing and
Materials. Vol. 04-02, United States;
2004
Paste, Mortar and Concrete. Annual
Book of ASTM Standards. Vol. 04.02.
2009. pp. 266-270
[28] BS EN 12390-8:2009. Part 8: Depth
of Penetration of Water Under Pressure.
British Standards Institution; 1881
[29] ACI 213R-03. Guide for Structural
Lightweight Aggregate Concrete ACI
Manual of Concrete Practice, Part 1:
Materials and General Properties of
Concrete. 2004
[30] Wallah SE. Drying shrinkage of
heat-cured fly ash-based geopolymer
concrete. Modern Applied Science.
2009;3(12):14
[31] Rangan BV. Fly Ash-Based
Geopolymer Concrete Proceedings
of the International Workshop on
Geopolymer Cement and Concrete.
Mumbai, India: Allied Publishers
Private Limited; 2010

[24] ASTM C138 Standard Test Method

for Density (Unit Weight), Yield, and
Air Content (Gravimetric) of Concrete.
Annual Book of Standards. Vol. 0402.
American Society for Testing and
Materials; 2015

[25] ASTM C642-97 Standard Test

Method of Specific Gravity, Absorption
and Voids in Hardened Concrete.
Annual Book of ASTM Standards. Vol.
04-02. 1997

[26] BS 1881-Part 116. Method for

Determination of Compressive Strength
of Concrete Cubes. British Standards
Institution; 1989

[27] ASTM C490. Standard Practice for

Use of Apparatus for the Determination

322
Chapter 28

Microstructure Properties of
Sulfate-Effected Blast Furnace Slag
Reinforced Restoration Mortars
Rüya Kılıç Demircan and Gökhan Kaplan

Abstract

In this study, the sulfate resistance was investigated in lime mortars, which
are used in restoration works, by adding artificial pozzolana and fiber. Instead
of lime, ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS) was used at the rate of
25, 50, and 75%. Moreover, basalt fiber (BF) was also added to the mortars at
the rate of 0.5 and 1% according to their binder contents. It was determined that
the most appropriate BFS ratio was 50% for the non-fiber mortar production.
When fiber was added to the mixtures, the compressive strength of the mortars
decreased. As per the sulfate resistance, an increase in the BF rate could cause
an increase in the expansion of the mortars. As was in the compressive strength,
a 50% BFS content increased the sulfate resistance. It was determined in the
microstructure analyses that ettringite structures were generally observed in the
mortar contents. It was determined that chemical and mineralogical properties
should also be considered while choosing the material to be used in repair works
of historical structures.

Keywords: blast furnace slag, basalt fiber, cultural sustainability, restoration,

durability

1. Introduction

Historical structures are important fingerprints reflecting the society of their

time in the history or the culture of this society. Protection of this culture and
handing it down to the next generations are among the most important respon-
sibilities of countries. Historical structures are damaged due to reasons emerg-
ing from environment-climate, human beings, and time. Some parts of these
structures are destroyed due to the damage sustained, and some other parts need
repairs. This repair should be appropriate to the historic fabric of the structure
and its genuine condition should be protected. The applied repairs and reinforce-
ments should physically and chemically comply with the structure, without
affecting its stability.
From past to present, numerous research studies have been conducted about the
mortars used in the repair of historical structures. Studies are intensely conducted
in a quest for finding the mortar with the quality suitable for the lime mortar,
which had been used as a binder before the cement was not discovered. With the

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development of technology, it is now possible to simply detect the physical, chemi-

cal, mineralogical, and microstructure characteristics of the mortar of the time.
Under the light of these pieces of information, mortars are produced in compliance
with the structure.
In our world, where the nonrenewable energy resources are rapidly running
out, sustainability has gained an important place and due consideration is given
to the conscience about the use of sustainable material in the construction sector.
Considered as a sustainable material, the blast furnace slag, which is also known as
the artificial pozzolana, has been used in many fields of the construction sector as
well as in the contents of the repair mortars. Some research studies on this issue in
the literature can be summarized as follows.
Altun et al. [1] produced mortars with hydraulic lime using polypropylene fiber
and examined some properties of the mortars such as compressive-flexion strength,
water absorption capacity, and drying shrinkage. They prepared three different
sets of mortar mixtures as fibrous and non-fibrous including hydraulic lime as the
binder and limestone aggregate as the aggregate. In order to increase the strength
and decrease the drying shrinkage, they added polypropylene fiber as much as
0.5 and 1.0% of the total volume to the mortar mixtures. They determined the
compressive-flexion strength values of the mortar mixtures at the 1st, 3rd, 7th, and
28th days, and the water absorption and drying shrinkage values at the 28th day.
According to the results, it was determined that there was not a significant improve-
ment in strength, water absorption, and shrinkage values.
Aktürk et al. [2] produced two kinds of mortars to be used as plaster and
activated with sodium hydroxide and sodium silicate, not-including cement, and
based on blast furnace slag and hydraulic lime. Certain mechanical properties of
the mortars were determined such as flexion-compressive-adhesional strength,
as well as other characteristics such as sulfate effect and freeze-thaw stability. The
performances of the plasters, which were produced from materials activated with
alkalies, were compared with lime-based plasters, thus, their usability in historical
structures was evaluated. Considering the strength and durability characteristics of
the mortar, which was blast-furnace-slag-based and activated with sodium hydrox-
ide, they reported that it could be a second alternative to be used in the plaster and
repair of historical structures.
Tesch and Middendorf [3] developed gypsum-based lime mortar resistant to
the adverse weather conditions to be used in the restoration works of historical
structures. They observed the formation of thaumasite due to hydraulic and car-
bonate components. They prepared mixtures with different amounts of hydraulic
components. At the end of the 90-day curing period, the mortars were investigated
through physical, mechanical, and chemical-mineralogical techniques. As the
conclusion, it was reported that the cause of thaumasite formation and expansion
was the raw material components of the lime, the thaumasite formation was at a low
level and it did not influence the mechanical properties. Böke and Akkurt [4] took
a sample of lime mortar-brick from a historical Ottoman Turkish-Bath. While the
first type of plaster was original and structurally sturdy, the second type of plaster
taken from the same place was deteriorated. The motive behind this difference
was investigated through comparison of the pozzolanic activity and raw material
composition. As a result, ettringite crystals were determined in the XRD, SEM-EDS,
and FT-IR analyses. An expansion occurred due to the enlargement of the ettringite
crystals of the repair plaster mortar, and it was reported to cause the mortar to lose
its original status.
Makhloufi et al. [5] examined the magnesium sulfate resistance of lime mortars
containing limestone filling material, blast furnace slag, and natural pozzolana.

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Certain properties of the samples such as weight and height change, and compres-
sive strength values were measured at the 30th, 60th, 90th, 120th, and 160th days
and they were evaluated. The X-ray method was used in order to determine differ-
ent mineral phases.
Borges et al. [6] took samples of lime mortars under the sea water influence
from two historically important castles on the shore of Portugal-Lisbon region and
conducted analyses on them. Physico-chemical and micro-structural characteriza-
tion techniques, optic and SEM images, XRD analysis, DTA-TG analysis, chemical
analysis, mercuric porosimeter, and water absorption experiments were conducted
to determine the properties of the mortars. Gökdemir et al. [7] examined materi-
als properties of Kastamonu Castle’s and made suggestions for restorations. They
determined SEM-EDS properties of samples, and according to their result, they
made suggestions about lime mortar.
In this study, restoration mortars were prepared that were produced from blast
furnace slag, among the artificial pozzolanas, which have recently started to be used
as a sustainable construction material, replacing lime. In preparation of the restora-
tion mortars, blast furnace slag and basalt fiber were used in different ratios and
certain properties were examined such as physical, mechanic, sulfate resistance,
and dimensional stability. Dimensional changes and microstructural analyses of the
samples in 365 days were explained through the SEM images.

2. Material and methods

2.1 Materials

In the production of the mortars, aggregate, lime, blast furnace slag (as the
artificial pozzolana), water, and basalt fiber were used. Sub-chemical and physical
properties of the materials are explained below.

2.1.1 Lime

CL 70-S class, slacked calcium lime, which complies with the TS EN 459-1
standard, was used as the binder material in the preparation of the mortars.
Chemical and physical properties about the slacked calcium lime are explained
in Table 1.

2.1.2 Blast furnace slag (BFS)

In the preparation of the mortars, the granulated blast furnace slag was used,
which was the waste of the Edremit Iron and Steel Plant and which was granulated
until 4400 cm2/gr fineness value. 28-day activity index of the BFS used in the
mortars is approximately 90%, according to the ASTM C 989 Standard. Chemical
and physical properties concerning the BFS are given in Table 2.

Main component Impurity components Specific gravity

Ca(OH)2 (>80%) CaCO3, Mg(OH)2, SiO2, Al2O3 (<20%) 2.60

Table 1.
Properties of lime.

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ISBS 2019 - 4th International Sustainable Buildings Symposium

Oxide CaO SiO2 Al203 Fe2O3 MgO Na2O K2O SO3 Cl−
(%)
31.61 43.45 16.47 0.56 4.1 3.91 0.66 1.55 <0.01
Specific weight 2.95 Specific surface (cm2/gr) 4400

Table 2.
Properties of the blast furnace slag (BFS).

2.1.3 Aggregate

In the production of the BFS added lime mortars, the silica aggregate was used
as the fine aggregate. The gradation of the silica aggregate and other properties are
given in Table 3.

2.1.4 Basalt fiber (BF)

Basalt fiber was used for the dimensional stability in the production of the BFS
added mortars. The properties of the basalt fiber are given in Table 4.

2.2 Mixture properties

In this study, nine different mortars were prepared. The total binder content
in the mortars was determined as 900 gr. Instead of lime, the BFS was substituted
at the rates of 25, 50, and 100%. The water/binder (w/b) ratio and the aggregate/
binder (a/b) ratios of the mixtures were fixed between 0.50 and 1.00. BF was added
to the mixture as much as 0.5 and 1% of the binder content. The ratio and material
contents of the mixtures are given in Table 5.

Sieve aperture (μm) Production range (%) Other properties

1000 0–5 Ave. grain size 450–500

710 2–10 Clay amount (%) 0.1–0.2

500 21–43 Specific weight 2.65

355 20–42

250 3–26
180 1–8

125 0–1

90 0–1
63 0

Table 3.
Gradation of the silica aggregate (gradation properties).

Tensile strength Young’s Modulus Specific Fiber diameter Fiber length

(MPa) (GPa) weight (μm) (mm)
4840 89 2.70 9 12

Table 4.
Properties of the basalt fiber (BF).

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Mixture Mixture Mix proportions (%) Material weights (g)

no. code
BF YFC Aggregate Water Lime BFS BF
1 0B25C 0 25 900 450 675 225 0
2 0B50C 0 50 900 450 450 450 0

3 0B75C 0 75 900 450 225 675 0

4 0.5B25C 0.5 25 900 450 675 225 4.5

5 0.5B50C 0.5 50 900 450 450 450 4.5

6 0.5B75C 0.5 75 900 450 225 675 4.5

7 1B25C 1 25 900 450 675 225 9.0

8 1B50C 1 50 900 450 450 450 9.0

9 1B75C 1 75 900 450 225 675 9.0

Table 5.
Mortar mix proportions.

2.3 Preparation of the mortars and the cure conditions

In the preparation of the mortars, initially, dry aggregate, lime, and BFS were
mixed in a mixer for 0.5 minutes with 140 rpm speed. Adding water inside the
mixture, it was mixed for 1 minute with 140 rpm speed and 1 minute with 285 rpm
speed. Lastly, BF was added to the mixture and it was mixed for 1.5 minutes in
285 rpm speed. Total mixing duration was 4 minutes in the preparation of the
mortars. At the end of the mixing procedure, the mortars were placed as two
layers into steel containers with 40×40×160 and 25×25×285 mm3 sizes. Each layer
was pressed with a mechanical vibration for 1 minute. The mortars, which were
dismantled from the containers 1 day later, were placed into plastic containers
including a certain amount of water. Closing the lids of the plastic containers, they
were kept under room conditions with 18–23°C of until the experiment day. The
mortars were placed into the plastic containers without contacting the water. The
lids of the plastic containers were kept open for 1 hour each day until the 28th day.
The water inside the plastic containers was checked and refilled if needed against
vaporization. The cut view of the cure conditions prepared for the lime mortars is
given in Figure 1.

2.4 Hardened mortar experiments

For hardened mortar samples, 5% Na2SO4 sulfate solutions were prepared for
the sulfate resistance of the BFS-added mortars. The mortar samples, which were

Figure 1.
Cure conditions prepared for the lime mortars.

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exposed to cure procedure for 28 days in a humid environment, were subse-

quently placed into 5% Na2SO4 solutions. Determining the height changes of
the mortars with 25 × 25 × 285 mm3 arris at the 0, 30, 60, 90, 120, 150, 180, 210,
240, 270, and 365 days, the sulfate resistance was investigated. The 5% sodium
sulfate solution was refilled in every 30 days. SEM images were taken in order
to examine the microstructure in the mortars being exposed to Na2SO4 effect
for 365 days. The SEM analyses were conducted in the Department of Material
and Metallurgical Engineering, Gazi University, through the Jeol JEM 6060 LV
scanning electron microscope.

3. Findings

3.1 Mechanical properties of the mortars

The effect of BFS (25, 50, and 75%) and BF (0, 0.5, and 1.0%) used in different
ratios on the 7th and 28th day compressive strength is given in Figure 2.
It is seen in Figure 3a that BFS addition to non-fiber mixtures increases the com-
pressive strength in the 7th and 28th days. In the 7-day lime mortars including 50%
BFS, the compressive strength increases by 70.9%. If the BFS ratios are 75%, the
increase rate is 42.9%. In the 28-day non-fiber lime mortars with 50% BFS ratio, the
compressive strength value increases by 109.6%. In case the BFS substitution ratio
is 75%, the increase in the compressive strength is 88.7%. When the ratio of the BFS
is 75%, there is a neglectable amount of compressive strength loss compared to the
mortars with 50% BFS content. When the cure duration increases, as expected, the
compressive strength values increase as well.
In the mortars with 0.5% BF, 25 and 50% BFS, the 7-day compressive strength
values decreased compared to the non-fiber mixtures. In the mortars with 0.5%
BF and 50% BFS, increases were observed in the compressive strength values in
the 7th day compared to the non-fiber mixtures. Use of 0.5% BF, 25 and 50% BFS
caused workability loss, and as a result of this, decreases were observed in the
compressive strength values. However, in the mixtures with 0.5% BF and 75% BFS,

Figure 2.
The effect of BFS and BF on compressive strength.

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Microstructure Properties of Sulfate-Effected Blast Furnace Slag Reinforced Restoration Mortars
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.87836

Figure 3.
7th and 28th-day compressive strength values of the BFS and BF added mortars.

the workability increased compared to the non-fiber mixtures and as a result of

decreasing porosity, the compressive strength increased. The 28th-day compressive
strength values of the mortars with 0.5% BF were detected to be similar to those of
the 7th-day compressive strength values. As a result of increasing BFS content, the
compressive strength values increased. Use of 75% BFS in the mixtures with 0.5%
BF increased the compressive strength values by 117.6% at the 7th day, and by 128%
at the 28th day. That the compressive strength increases together with the increase
in the BFS content are explained by the pozzolanic activity.
In Figure 3a, it is observed that the 7th-day compressive strength values of the
mixtures with 1% BF were similar to those of non-fiber mixtures. With a 50% BFS
ratio, the compressive strength value was obtained as 3.85 MPa at the 7th day, while
it was determined as 3.44 MPa in the mixtures with 75% BFS. Use of 75% BFS at
the 28th day in the mixture with 1% BF decreased the compressive strength to a
large extent. Use of 1% BF in the mixtures with 75% BFS decreased the compressive
strength by approximately 14.6%. However, the compressive strength of these mix-
tures doubled compared to the 7th-day mortar mixtures. The 28th-day compressive
strength values of the mixtures with 1% BF and 50% BFS increased approximately
2.9 times compared to that of the 7th day. The changes in the compressive strength
values of the BFS and BF added mortars at the 7th and 28th days are given in
Figure 3a.
As is seen in Figure 3b, the highest compressive strength (>4.25 MPa) value in
the 7th-day mortar samples was determined in the mixture with 0% BF and 50%
BFS. Moreover, when the BF ratio was 0.5%, having the BFS ratio at 75% increased
the compressive strength. Increasing the BFS content ratio in the 7th-day mortar
mixtures generally increased the compressive strength. As per the 28th-day com-
pressive strength values, the highest value (>13.2 MPa) was obtained when 0.5% BF
was added to the mixture with 50–75% BFS content. In the 28th-day mortar mix-
tures, the use of BFS generally increased the compressive strength values. The most
appropriate content ratio for the 7th and 28th-day compressive strength values were
observed to be 75% BFS and 0.5% BF. Concerning the mechanical properties of the
mortars, an increase in the BFS ratio made a positive contribution to the compressive
strength value. The motive behind this can be explained by the Ca/Si ratio in the
mortar structures. It is considered that due to the SiO2 content of the BFS, the Ca/Si
ratio decreases. In previous studies, it was reported that a decrease in the Ca/Si ratio
caused an increase in the compressive strength. The molar volumes of the C-S-H
gels decrease with the decrease of the Ca/Si ratio, accordingly, higher surface areas
are obtained and compressive strength increases [8]. Additionally, the compressive
strength values increase with the effect of precipitated silica and pozzolanic activity
incorporated in the BFS.

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Since fibers such as BF have the water retention characteristic, decreases are
generally observed in the workability. In previous studies, it was determined that
workability decreased as a result of increasing BF ratio [9]. Therefore, it was deter-
mined that the most appropriate BF ratio was 0.5%. An increase in the BFS ratio
in the mixtures with 0.5% BF increased the compressive strength. This effect was
explained by the strengthening fiber-matrix interface because of mineral additives.

3.2 Sulfate resistance

The BFS added lime mortars were placed into the 5% Na2SO4 solution following
a 28-day cure process. The sulfate mixtures were kept in the Na2SO4 solution for
360 days (approximately 1 year). The temporal expansion of the mortars kept in the
Na2SO4 solution for 360 days is given in Figure 4.
As is seen in Figure 4, the lowest expansion value was determined in the
non-fiber mortars (0B50C) with 50% BFS content, and the highest value was
determined in the mortars (1B25C) with 1% BF and 25% BFS contents. In general,
higher expansion values were obtained from the mixtures with 1% BF content.
This case can be explained by that workability negatively influenced the increase
of BF content. As a result of decreasing workability, it becomes more difficult to
place the mortars into molds, and therefore, the porosity values can increase. It
is considered that the sulfate ions influenced the microstructure more as a result
of increasing porosity. The 50% BFS used in the mortar with 0B50C code, in
which the lowest expansion value was obtained, made contributions to its sulfate
resistance.
Fibers such as BF, which has the water retention characteristic, have negative
effects on workability. This, in return, causes an increase in porosity, ultimately
decreasing the resistance. Therefore, due diligence should be given to the fiber
preference for the lime mortars to be used in the restoration works. It was observed
that the BFS, which is used as a mineral additive, increased the sulfate resistance,
even a little. Since the C2S content of the BFS increases the Ca(OH)2 content, it
did not cause the expected enhancement for the sulfate resistance. However, the
mineral additive preferences should also be carefully decided for the mortars that
are exposed to sulfate effect. Shrinkage is generally observed in the first 30 days in
the mortars with 75% BFS content. This is explained by that the sulfate ions activate
the BFS. The deteriorations in the mortars exposed to Na2SO4 effect for 360 days are
given in Figure 5.

Figure 4.
Temporal expansion values of the BFS-added lime mortars exposed to the Na2SO4 effect.

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Microstructure Properties of Sulfate-Effected Blast Furnace Slag Reinforced Restoration Mortars
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Figure 5.
Physical deteriorations in the mortars exposed to Na2SO4 effect.

3.3 Microstructure examinations

Microstructure examinations were conducted on mortars exposed to Na2SO4

effect for 360 days. The SEM images of the microstructures are given in Figure 5–7.
The SEM images of the non-fiber mixtures are seen in Figure 6.
As is seen in Figure 6, it was determined in the SEM images that C–S–H gels
were formed as well as ettringite was detected due to the sulfate effect. The SEM
images of the mortars with 0.5% BF are given in Figure 6.
In the SEM images of the mortars with 0.5% BF in Figure 5, C–S–H gels,
ettringite, and CH formations were observed. An intense ettringite formation was
detected in the mortars with 50% BFS. As per the mortars with 75% BFS, reac-
tion outputs were observed similar to the hemihydrate calcium sulfate (basanite)
structure. The SEM images of the mortars with 1% BF are given in Figure 7.
As seen in Figure 8, ettringite structures were observed in the microstructures
of the mortars. Similarly, basalt fiber was observed in the microstructures of the
mortars with 75% BFS.

Figure 6.
The SEM images of the non-fiber mixtures.

Figure 7.
The SEM images of the mortars with 0.5% BF.

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Figure 8.
The SEM images of the mortars with 1% BF.

4. Conclusion

In this study, the effect of the use of BFS and BF in the production of lime
mortars to be used in restoration works on the sulfate resistance was investigated.
The results obtained from this experimental study are summarized below.

• The most appropriate BFS ratio to be used in the non-fiber mortars was deter-
mined as 50%. Increasing fiber content decreases the compressive strength of
the mortars.

• Increasing BF ratio decreased the workability due to the water retention char-
acteristic of the fibers, causing an increase in porosity. This, in return, caused a
decrease in the compressive strength.

• Concerning the sulfate resistance, an increase in the BF ratio caused an

increase in the expansion of the mortars. For the sulfate resistance, 50% of BFS
content is more appropriate. In the microstructure examinations of the mor-
tars, ettringite formations were generally observed due to the sulfate effect.

• As conclusion, in terms of cultural sustainability, due diligence should be given

to the fiber and mineral additive preferences in lime mortar productions. The
water retention characteristic of the fibers and chemical or mineralogical prop-
erties of the mineral additives should also be taken into consideration.

Author details

Rüya Kılıç Demircan1* and Gökhan Kaplan2

1 Department of Civil Engineering, Gazi University, Ankara, Turkey

2 Department of Civil Engineering, Kastamonu University, Kastamonu, Turkey

*Address all correspondence to: ruyakilic86@gmail.com

© 2019 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms
of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/
by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is properly cited.

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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.87836

References

[1] Altun MG, Özen S, Mardanı- [9] Elshafie S, Whittleston G. A review
Aghabaglou A. The effect of using of the effect of basalt fibre lengths
polypropylene fiber on drying shrinkage and proportions on the mechanical
of natural hydraulic lime mortars. properties of concrete, IJRET:
Sakarya Unıversıty Journal of Scıence. International Journal of Research in
2018;22(2):427-435. e-ISSN: 2147- Engineering and Technology [Internet].
835X. DOI: 10.16984/saufenbilder.342521 2019. Available from: http://www.ijret.
org [Accessed: April 22, 2019]
[2] Aktürk B, Ulukaya S, Kızılkanat,
A, Yüzer N: Investıgatıon of Usabılıty
of Blast Furnace Slag-Based Mortars
for Hıstorıcal Buıldıngs, Uluslararası
Katılımlı 6, Tarihi Yapıların Korunması
ve Güçlendirilmesi Sempozyumu; 2-4
November 2017

[3] Tesch V, Middendorf B. Occurrence

of thaumasite in gypsum lime mortars
for restoration. Cement and Concrete
Research. 2006;36:1516-1522

[4] Böke H, Akkurt S. Ettringite

formation in historic bath brick-
lime plasters. Cement and Concrete
Research. 2003;33:1457-1464

[5] Makhloufi Z, Aggoun S, Benabed

B, Kadri EH, Bederina M. Effect of
magnesium sulphate on the durability of
limestone mortars based on quaternary
blended cements. Cement and Concrete
Composites. 2016;65:186-199

[6] Borges C, Santos Silva A, Veiga R.

Durability of ancient lime mortars in
humid environment. Construction and
Building Materials. 2014;66:606-620

[7] Gökdemir A, Demirel C, Durmuş G.

The proposal of restoration of historical
Kastamonu Castle’s. Lecture Notes in
Civil Engineering. 2018;6:213-222

[8] Kunther W, Ferreiro S, Skibsted J.

Influence of the Ca/Si ratio on the
compressive strength of cementitious
calcium–silicate–hydrate binders.
Journal of Materials Chemistry A.
The Royal Society of Chemistry.
2017;5(33):17401-17412. DOI: 10.1039/
C7TA06104H

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 Section 3

Sustainable Urban Design

335
Chapter 29

Involuntary Relocation Process of

Local People Due to Private Land
Development Projects: A Study of
Eastern Fringe Area of Dhaka City
S.M. Shah Mahmood and Md. Moynul Ahsan

Abstract

The relocation process of local people due to private residential land devel-
opment projects is one of the growing concerns in Dhaka City, the capital of
Bangladesh. Although relocation is a complex issue, this study has unfolded the
process of local people relocation in the Eastern Fringe Area of Dhaka City. This
study has selected four renowned housing projects from four different real estate
and land development companies such as Ashiyan City, Green Model Town, United
City, and Pink city. A number of indicators were studied to get information about
the relocation process that have been gathered from literature reviews, discussions
with experts, and field survey. Approximately 3920 families were identified as
relocated families from these project areas. It has been found that four actors such
as land developers, middleman or muscleman, local officials, and local people
played a vital role in land transformation process. The study concluded that “Thayer
Scudder’s Four-stage Framework Model” can be applicable for initial planning and
development stage of housing projects, and government should prepare specific
guidelines for the relocation process of local people.

Keywords: Dhaka city, eastern fringe, involuntary relocation, land development

project, local people

1. Introduction

Real estate and land development projects sometimes require involuntary

relocation of local people from their living or working place. This type of reloca-
tion left affected people no option but to rebuild their lives, incomes, and asset
bases elsewhere known as involuntary resettlement [1]. Multiple factors behind
involuntary dislocation are natural disasters; ethnic, religious, or political conflicts;
and development projects [2]. But the process that follows this relocation should be
well identified to formulate adequate policy and purposive actions and to reduce the
negative effects of relocation. Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh is experiencing
high rate of urbanization. Private sector is significantly involved in land and hous-
ing sector development in Dhaka city. About 77 private land developer companies
are registered with RAJUK (The Capital Development Authority of Dhaka) under
Private Residential Land Development Rules, 2004 and these companies land

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development projects belongs to the jurisdiction of RAJUK area. However, The city
areas of Dhaka and its fringe areas are experiencing continuous land use develop-
ment by these real estate companies [3, 4].
Generally, land is considered as a product and is controlled by a specific class
of land owners, especially richest class [5, 6]. For poor farmers or middle or lower
middle class land owners, it is tough for many individuals to keep hold over one’s
own land in the city of Dhaka, especially in its fringe areas. A loss of occupation,
social network, and physical dislocation can result when fringe people are dislocated
from their own land. On the other hand, to buy a small piece of land to build a house
in the urban fringe area, a middle or lower middle class individual invested his whole
life’s savings. The middle and working class people are not capable of buying land
within the city limit. As a result, they become land less in the city areas, therefore,
they have to purchase land at the periphery of the city where land price is cheap [7].
To ensure the reasonable sharing of cost and benefit of development projects
among the residents, it is necessary to study the consequences of involuntary
resettlement in the life and livelihood of the affected people. The decision to shift
one’s residence is voluntary and involuntary [1]. In case of voluntary shift, people
move away for reasons ranging from better economic opportunities to a safe social
or natural environment [1]. As the displacement of local people took place through a
complex process, a detailed investigation was conducted on the issue of safety, free-
dom of expression, compensation, and living environment during the displacement
process faced by the local residents of the study areas who were mostly involuntarily
displaced by the private land developers. In this backdrop, the research aimed to
study the process of relocation of local people due to land development projects.
From theoretical perspective, two models such as Thayer Scudder’s Four-stage
Framework Model and Michael M Cernea’s Impoverishment Risk and Resettlement
Model [8] are found more prominent in involuntary resettlement research. Among
these models, “Thayer Scudder’s Four-stage Framework Model” helps to explain the
reasons of resettlers that can be expected to achieve during a resettlement process.
Scudder (2005) defines the four-stage framework as: (a) planning and recruitment
stage; (b) multidimensional stress and initial coping; (c) economic and community
redevelopment; and (d) handing over of local governance and incorporation into
the larger society. Scudder [10] considered first stage as Planning and Recruitment
stage. This stage deals with activities related to the pre-resettlement period, such
as planning for the removal, rehabilitation, and development of the people. Next
stage is Coping and Adjustment stage where adjustments that take place in order
to adapt to the new environment such as new neighbors, new economic activities,
rising expenses, and the host population. Community Formation and Economic
Development takes in third stage. Here community formation activities and con-
structing various religious structures and common infrastructure is established for
relocated people. Successful integration of relocated populations into a regional or
national political economy will bring an end to the relocation process in Stage Four
[9]. On the other hand, Cernea’s IRR model has identified the causes of impoverish-
ment and its interrelation with resettlement where government and humanitarian
agencies need to impose preplanned packages for resettlement [8].

2. Selection of study area and data collection approach

In this research, 5% of private land developers, who have land projects in

Dhaka City are included. As the total number of real estate is 77, therefore, four
land developers’ land projects were considered for survey. Therefore, four housing
projects were selected for this study according to the size of the project from the

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year 2000 to 2010. In this selection process, the land projects approved by RAJUK
were considered for this research. Again, publications from various government
and non-government organizations, daily newspaper sources were used for collect-
ing the list of land projects of all the registered land developers from the year of
2000 to 2010. Then top four land projects according to the size were considered for
this research. Finally, four land projects selected for the study such as Green Model
Town (200 hectare) of Amin Mohammad Foundation Ltd., United City (73.33
hectare) of Neptune Land Development Ltd., Pink City (120 hectare) of Xenovally,
and Ashiyan City (466.67 hectare) of Ashiyan Land Development Ltd.
Data were collected from both primary and secondary sources to fulfill the
objectives of the research. In order to obtain the objectives of this research, several
methods of data collection and analysis were adopted. This research required
primary data because there was no previous study conducted on relocation of local
people due to private housing projects. Therefore, a questionnaire survey conducted
to collect data on relocated people, to explore the relocation process of local people.
Relocation process of local people can be understood through various analytical
procedures. Therefore, to get information about the relocation process, a number
of indicators were studied such as original place of settlement, duration of living in
original settlement, influential actors, factors that influenced relocation process,
selling procedure, sale price of the land in original settlement, satisfaction of the
owner regarding selling price, financial resources transfer procedure, utilization of
financial resources, nature of pressure faced by the local residents in land transfer
process, duration of stay in new place, factors influencing the choice of the new
place, distance from original location, etc. The indicators selected for this study
were gathered from literature reviews and discussions with experts.
There was no authentic information and specific number of relocated families
in any government offices. It was a challenging task of this research to find out the
information of relocated families. Though original local residents sold their land
and moved to different places, some local people still lived around the projects
areas and provided the information about relocated families. At first, survey team
collected information from those people who lived in surrounding areas of selected
land projects. By this way, approximately 3920 families were identified as relocated
families who had land in project areas. To achieve 95% confidence level and confi-
dence interval 5, at least 350 questionnaires were conducted. Sometimes question-
naire survey could not answer some issues in details which gathered through case
study. Therefore, this research used both qualitative and quantitative methods for
data collection.
Case studies from local people both relocated and existing localities (surround-
ing areas of selected land projects) who were under pressure by land developers
were conducted to portray the real scenarios in these four land projects. Secondary
data included relevant literature like published and unpublished thesis, study
reports, journals, books, newspapers, magazines, research publications, seminar
paper, ordinance/policy, etc. related to this research topic. Information on housing
projects was collected from relevant government offices of land developers and
advertisements published in media and webportals.

3. Actors in land transformation process

This study have found four main actors played a vital role for land transforma-
tion process. They are land developers, middleman/muscleman, local officials, and
local people. Each actor played a specific role in land transformation process that
are discussed below.

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3.1 Land developer

The land development activities in Dhaka City started in the decade of 1980.
Initially, the investment in this sector was made by the largest real estate companies
of Bangladesh such as Banasree Residential Area by Islam Group, Bashundara City
by Bashundhara Group for gaining profit. Private Land and Real Estate firms may
not have the privilege and coercive powers of state land acquisition. But they have
stronger financial foundation and can secure political backing. These enable them
to subordinate relevant governance arrangements and deploy strong arm techniques
in securing land in their own terms. As a result, not only financial resources but also
other techniques have played as capital for this business. In this study, land develop-
ers played or have been playing a number of techniques for buying land.
From secondary literatures, it has been found that the owner of the Ashiyan City
was first involved with Bashundhara City as a middleman, who managed the land
purchasing process from the local people. Understanding the techniques of land
acquisition process, the owner of the Ashiyan City started Ashiyan City project. A
resident of Barua village at Ashkona, Dakkhinkhan alleged that the owner of the
Ashiyan City initially bought 5 Bigha (<0.67 hectare) land in that village. Later, he
laid claim to 500 Bigha (67 hectare) land and started land development work there.
The developer of Ashiyan City established his office in his own village and formed
his own group with local young political party leaders to buy local people’s lands.
From field investigation, it has been found that the political support and existing
muscleman power makes smooth activity of Ashiyan City. Ashiyan City has been
widely reported in media for its land grabbing and forced land purchases. However,
the land gaining process are somewhat same by the Green Model Town, a project
developed by Amin Mohammad Group. Here, the developer did not actively play
any role to acquire the land, rather they engaged middlemen for forceing land
owners to sell land. A site office inside the Green Model Town project operates their
activities in an easy way. The Neptune Land Development Ltd. of United Group has
implemented the United City project. United City authority did not actively play
any role to acquire the land. They mainly engaged middlemen for the acquisition
of land. From field investigation, it was informed that most of the lands were sold
to the corporate group staff, politician, and high professional people. For example,
the employers of City Bank bought a large portion of lands from the United City
authority. As a consequence, United City authority received a large amount of
money at a time and could implement their project very quickly. Again, the owner
of the Pink City is a politician. At first, the authority of the Pink City started their
journey to set up the land development project on their owned 10 Bigha (13.38 hect-
are) of land and acquired the surrounding land with the help of local muscleman.
Due to lack of the political support, the activity of acquiring land by Pink City has
stopped.

3.2 Middleman/muscleman

Middleman/muscleman is the person who creates connection between land

developers and local people. From field investigation, it was found that usually
middlemen/muscleman are the local residents who have good knowledge about
over all local conditions. It was informed by local people that in most of the cases,
middlemen/muscleman were involved with ruling political party to get the political
favor. This situation is same for all regimes. They sometimes act as the middleman
who collect land from local people at low price and sell to the developer at a higher
price. In most of the cases, middlemen get a percentage from land developers after
he negotiates a deal between the developer and the land owner. Similarly, in some

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cases, muscleman acquires land through illegal procedure by using unwanted

force. From field experience, it was found that sometimes middleman acts as
representative of developer at root levels. For example, land developers get defective
land papers and other related information of the local people from muscleman/
middleman.
In some cases, land developers engaged with the local muscleman to threat and
pressurize the local people for selling their land. From field investigation, it was
found that although muscleman had a social connection with previous local people,
they did not show any favor for them. Muscleman conduct their activities to gain
benefit within short time. In this procedure even the relatives of the muscleman
were not excused from the land acquisition. For example, Mr. Jamal Sikder, 43,
worked as a middleman for Ashiyan City. He pressurized his neighbors’ to sell
their land to developer. He added that even his cousin was also pressurized for
selling land. He also added that without immoral activities, there was no chance to
become a rich person within a short time. Relocated people also informed that local
muscleman always came from unprivileged family and developer’s pursuation and
financial offer easily motivated them to work with land developer. So they always
tried to provide maximum benefit of land developers. Local residents also men-
tioned that muscleman/middleman changed their lifestyle within few years they
were involved with land developers. They can be considered as wealthy person and
lived in aristocratic areas for their safety and dignity. Muscleman created their own
group in root level to implement their defined activities. They also maintain con-
nection with political leaders, local administratives, land officers, social influential
persons, and young mobsters for continuing their activities without any interrup-
tion. Figure 1 shows the linkage that muscleman has to maintain and this scenario
was almost same in all areas. As a result, it can be said that muscleman/middleman
plays a vital role in the land transformation process in the study area.

3.3 Local officials

From focus group discussion and field experience, it can be said that the local
administrative body always favored for land developers. At the same time, the land
developers also used this tool (people believe) to create rumor among local people.
As a consequence, most of the local people did not show any interest to take sup-
port from local administrative for avoiding unnecessary harassment. Survey team
was interested to set interviews with the respective area’s local Union Parishad
Chairmans, but it was not possible for their lack of interest. Similarly, the officials
of the land offices also played another vital role which ultimately provided support
for the land developer’s activities. For example, this information was collected from
the local people that middleman used the process of “Commission Register” with
the help of land office. As a result of that, the land registration was done in the land

Figure 1.
Muscleman linkage.

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Figure 2.
Linkage among four actors.

seller’s house instead of office. This type of option used by land developers and local
muscleman is a common phenomenon in study areas. Local unprivileged household
expressed very negative aspects according to this issue. Sometimes muscleman pres-
surized local people to sell their land through “Commission Register”. In most of the
cases, local poor people had no option to refuse muscleman initiatives. Similarly,
the land officers working in the government and private sector were provided land
information to the muscle man and land developers. It is easier for the developers
to get hold of several inheritances or dispute lands. In this process, land officers pro-
vide information about lands and middleman/muscleman arranges false documents
for disputed piece of lands. Local people are well aware about those illegal activities
done by local officials. Similarly, muscleman/middleman also tried to spread rumor
that local officers are in favor for land developers. As a consequence, local officials
(land officers and local administrative) activities discouraged people to take initia-
tives against land developer’s illegal actions. So from above discussion, it can be said
that local officials played as an actor in relocation process.

3.4 Local people

From the field investigation, it was found that the main occupation of local
people in the previous area was agricultural. Most of the local people got their land
through inheritance (81.4%). Most of the respondents in the sample survey lived
in their original location more than 20 years. It is evident from the field investiga-
tion that the people of those areas were not aware of their rights. So middleman/
muscleman and land developers took advantage from the local people having lack of
awareness. Linkage among four actors is shown in Figure 2.

4. Major findings of land acquisition process from local people

Land developers with the help of local muscleman and local officials used many
techniques to buy land from local people. More or less same techniques were used
by all land developers for acquiring local people’s land. Here social status, politi-
cal influence, and educational background of the people influenced developers
to choose their techniques. Figure 3 (Asian City), Figure 4 (Green Model Town),
Figure 5 (United City), and Figure 6 (Pink City) shows the land acquisition process
of local people in broad scale for selected land projects.
It is evident from the field survey that the land acquiring process from the local
people in four land development project contains some similar techniques but

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Figure 3.
Ashiyan City land acquisition process.

Figure 4.
Green Model Town land acquisition process.

not all of them are identical. All the developers treated the local people according
to their size of land ownership, social status, political involvement, etc. All the
developers used their political and social power to pressurize the land owners to sell
their land but the extent varied. For example in case of Ashian City, the middle man
used all the techniques to terrorize the local people to sell the land. On the other
hand, Green Model Town used some techniques of negotiation such as they said the
local people can cultivate their land for long time but when it was necessary they
also used treat and pressure. Figure 7 is a generalized diagram showing the typical
land acquisition process.

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Figure 5.
United City land acquisition process.

Figure 6.
Pink City land acquisition process.

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Figure 7.
Typical land acquisition process.

5. Review and conclusion

Though both voluntary and involuntary procedures were used for relocation but
this research outcome clearly showed that local people were mainly displaced from
their original location through involuntary procedure. Four actors namely, land
developers, local muscleman, local officials, and local people are being identified
to actively play various roles in this relocation process. From survey findings, those
local people who were not interested to sell their land used many strategies to save
their land from developers. After getting land selling finance from the developers,
people search new place for living and prime consideration was job opportunity.
Local people tried to live within short distance from their original location which
ultimately showed their strong belongings with the existing localities.
It can be concluded that suitable relocation in private land development projects
should follow some stages like “Thayer Scudder’s Four-stage Framework Model” in
2005 [10] because Scudder’s study and the existing study found some major causes
of failure of resettlement such as (a) failure to involve those to be displaced in the
planning process, (b) failure to provide real opportunities for improvements in
living standards for the displaced populations, (c) insufficient funding, (d) lack
of resettlement staff expertise and experience, and (e) lack of political will by
government and the project authorities to follow through on resettlement plans and
promises. Again, it has been found from field investigation of four land developers
that different techniques have used for acquiring land without considering the right
of the local people. Land developers had followed their own strategies. Social status,
political involvement, and educational background of local people influenced
developer to select their strategies. Again, Scudder’s Planning and Recruitment
stage should be considered in Eastern fringe case because activities relating to
pre-resettlement period is very important. In resettlement process, community
formation activities and constructing various religious structures and common
infrastructure need to be established for relocated people. According to Scudder’s
model, successful integration of relocated populations into a local, regional, or

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national political economy will bring an end to the relocation process in the fourth
stage of the framework model. But this research findings show that there had no
specific pre-resettlement plan for local people from land developers. Similarly,
coping and adjustment in new location regarding environment, social condition,
and economic activities were not considered for relocated people. Likewise, there
had no provision for community formation activities and construction of various
religious structures for relocated people. From the research finding, it can be said
that the process of relocation could not be defined in an exact way as it varied from
place to place, developer to developer, people to people, time to time, and society
to society in selected four land projects. There were no specific guidelines for local
people relocation from their original location. As a consequence, local people
relocated from their original location though various procedure by land developers.
Land developers with the help of local muscleman and officials’ displaced local
people without any humanity, only monetary matters are considered. As a result,
local people rights are not properly maintained in relocation process. Therefore,
there need to prepare and implement adequate relocation guidelines which should
ensure the right of the local people by the real estate developers.

Author details

S.M. Shah Mahmood1 and Md. Moynul Ahsan2*

1 New York City Department of Environmental Protection Police, New York, USA

2 Department of Real Estate Development and Management, Ankara University,

Ankara, Turkey

*Address all correspondence to: moynulurp01@gmail.com

© 2019 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms
of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/
by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is properly cited.

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References

[1] Lobo L, Kumar S. Land Acquisition, [8] Cernea M. The risks and
Displacement and Resettlement in reconstruction model for resettling
Gujarat. New Delhi: SAGE Publishing; displaced populations. World
2009. pp. 1947-2004 Development. 1997;25(10):1569-1587

[2] Adesina A. Socio-Spatial [9] Fahmi WS. The Adaptation Process

Transformations and the Urban Fringe
Landscape in Developing Countries.
Munich, Germany: United Nation
University Institute for Environment
and Human Security (UNU-UHS)
Summer Academy on Social
Vulnerability and Resilience Building in
Mega City; 2007
[3] Haque KNH. The Political Economy
of Urban Space: Land and Real Estate
in Dhaka City. IGS Working Paper
Series No. 03/2012. Bangladesh:
Institute of Governance Studies, BRAC
University; 2012
of a Resettled Community to the
Newly-Built Environment a Study of the
Nubian Experience in Egypt: A Study
of the Nubian Experience in Egypt.
Boca Raton, USA: Dissertation.Com;
2014. pp. 64-76
[10] Scudder T. The Future of
Large Dams Dealing with Social,
Environmental, Institutional and
Political Costs. London; 2005

[4] Ahsan MM, Rahman MH. In:

Jahan S, Abul Kalam AKM, editors.
Environmental Impact of Rapid Urban
Growth in Dhaka Megacity: A Case
Study of Bhatara Union in Dhaka
Metropolitan Development Area and Its
Planning Problems, Issues and Policies.
Bangladesh Institute of Planners
[Internet]; 2013. Available from: http://
www.bip.org.bd/SharingFiles/journal_
book/20140427152157.pdf [Accessed:
2019-02-08]

[5] Jamuna Multipurpose Bridge

Authority. Revised Resettlement
Action Plan. Dhaka: Report of Jamuna
Multipurpose Bridge Authority; 1993

[6] Alam MJ. Rapid urbanization and

changing land values in mega cities:
Implications for housing development
projects in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Bandung
Journal of Global South. 2018;5(2):2-17.
DOI: 10.1186/s40728-018-0046-0

[7] Logan J, Molotch H. Urban Fortunes:

The Political Economy of Place. Berkley:
University of California Press; 1987

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Chapter 30

Sustainable Cultural and Natural

Heritage-Oriented Spatial
Strategic Planning Process in a
Development and Governance
Model Proposal: Example of Core
Cappadocia Site
Özlem Köşker, Arzuhan Burcu Gültekin,
Gizem Hayrullahoğlu and Enis Yeter

Abstract

Cities, which are all of the natural and sociocultural values that determine their
identity, are considered as living organisms. The transfer of the original identities
of the cities to the future is possible with the efforts of local, regional, and national
actors. Similarly, the preservation and transferal of historical cities, which are the
world heritage sites, to future generations, is associated with the sustainability
of cultural and natural values. The Cappadocia Site, which was included in the
UNESCO World Heritage List in 1985, has been hosting the tangible and intangible
cultural heritage treasure with unique examples in Turkey for centuries. However,
policies for the conservation of intangible assets in this site seem to be insufficient.
This study aims to establish an individual, social, and institutional sustainability
associations network focused on integrated cultural and natural heritage in the Core
Cappadocia Site. For this purpose, fundamental problems and potentials of the
site, which underlies the planning, have been detected. Observational and survey
methods were implemented in the fieldwork, and secondary data on the subject
were collected from the relevant institutions. Using the implemented methods and
obtained data, “Spiral Sensitivity Model” was proposed to establish an individual,
social, and institutional network of sustainable associations in integrated cultural
heritage oriented site management.

Keywords: sustainability, cultural and natural heritage, spatial strategic planning,

Core Cappadocia Site, governance

1. Introduction

The city identity is a broad concept of distinct components for each city and
emphasizes social, economic, environmental, and cultural characteristics that allow
a space to be distinguished from another [1]. In this respect, the natural and built

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environment and the sociocultural values that constitute the intangible cultural
heritage are considered as the essential components of the city identity. The socio-
cultural component of this identity brings together all conscious or unconscious
perceptions, knowledge, experience, behaviors, requirements, and desires of the
individual, as well as the traditions, beliefs, and expectations of the society in which
the individual lives [2].
When cultural and natural heritage is concerned with tourism, it is of particular
importance to conserve its originality and to emphasize its distinguishing character-
istics. According to the perception of visitors, the sociocultural and physical origin
of values that make that site unique can be regarded as the principal reason for this.
Sustainability of earnings derived from tourism is possible with the sustainability of
these values. On the other hand, the sustainability of cultural and natural heritage is
dependent on ensuring the balance of conservation and utilization; and the balance
of conservation and utilization depends on the planning of spatial strategies.
The Core Cappadocia Site, which is decided as a field of study, is commemorated
as a universal value which is located in the borders of Nevşehir province and some
of which are included in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage List. With the analysis work carried out
with the secondary data collected within the scope of the research and the data col-
lected from the on-site examinations, fundamental problems have been identified,
and the underlay for the spatial strategic plan has been created. According to this,
the sustainability of cultural and natural values in the site is threatened by problems
such as the low resilience in legal dimensions, the monotony of tourism strategies
developed for the built environment, the physical decay of the built environment,
the relocation of the local resident from the heritage site, the low resilience of
cultural heritage structures to the visitor population, and the lack of sustainability
of intangible cultural heritage assets. It is striking that these problems are caused
by inadequate planning processes and lack of governance. In the site, in addition to
conserving unique local values, global competitiveness is also essential. Therefore,
in this study, a sustainable development model was tried to be created with [3]
“spatial strategic planning” method, which aims to keep pace with the global world
while ensuring the conservation of the locale-specific values.
The “Spiral Sensitivity Model,” which is gained in the literature with this study,
is a model that is the leading role of local people, especially youth and women.
The main objective of the model is to carry cultural and natural heritage values to
the future through an organizational form that is collectively carried out by non-
governmental organizations and multisectoral stakeholders. This model is designed
as a critical and integral component of planning. The concept of dominant par-
ticipation is envisaged as a complementary model in the implementation of spatial
strategic plans, especially in terms of town and regional planners and policymakers.
Although the study is fictionalized in the Core Cappadocia Site, it is envisaged that
it constitutes an example for the studies carried out within the scope of various
themes in Turkey.

2. Conceptual framework

2.1 Sustainable cultural and natural heritage

The concept of a UNESCO World Heritage has been developed to protect the
cultural or physical significance of sites that have been laid out by different cultures
or civilizations throughout the history of humankind and which are considered
to be the common heritage of humanity. This common history is wanted to be

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put under protection with the understanding of “The loss of one is the loss of all
humanity’s memory.” UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization, has prepared an agreement on the protection of The World
Cultural and Natural Heritage [4]. The agreement was ratified on November 16,
1972. Turkey is among the 192 countries that have signed this agreement. The
contracting parties undertake to ensure the sustainability of all cultural and natural
heritage within their borders. In Turkey, 18 assets have been joined to the UNESCO
World Heritage List. Sixteen of these assets were accepted as cultural heritage.
Pamukkale-Hierapolis, with Göreme National Park and Cappadocia, is regarded as
both cultural and natural heritage into the list.

2.2 Spatial strategic planning

The spatial strategic plan associates country development policies and regional
development strategies at the spatial level. It consists of thematic layouts prepared
using schematic and graphical language on a scale of 1/250,000 maps, 1/500,000
maps, or higher scale maps. With this plan, spatial strategies for the conservation
and development of natural, historical, and cultural heritages are determined with
the help of economic and social potential, goals, and strategies. In this process, an
order of importance between actions is defined, and the most critical problems are
addressed [3]. Albrechts has examined nine different spatial strategic plans and has
identified six key features: They are selective, relational-annex-inclusive, integra-
tive, visioning, action oriented, and they have some initial reflections [5]. The focus
of the planning process, which is proposed in the model implementation, is also
highlighted in these six features.
In Turkey, when the legislation is examined, it is seen that the matters related to
the spatial strategy plan are detailed in The Regulation on Spatial Planning pub-
lished in the official journal dated June 14, 2014. With the article of the 6th amend-
ment of the zoning law no. 3194 changed on November 29, 2018, spatial plans are
composed of “environmental plans” and “development plans” levels in accordance
with the “spatial strategy plans.” Furthermore, the position of spatial strategy plans
on the planning levels has been determined. In the current situation, preliminary
preparation was made for a spatial strategy plan at the country scale. However, there
is no approved model of a spatial strategy plan.

2.3 Governance

The term governance was first used in the President’s message of Sub-Saharan
Africa: From Crisis to Sustainable Growth, which was published by the World Bank
in 1989 and thus officially entered into the literature [6]. The concept is involved in
the report in the statement of: “Private sector initiatives, and market mechanisms
are essential, but they need to be managed with good governance.” In addition to the
World Bank, the concept of governance commonly used in the reports of inter-
national organizations such as the Organization for Economic Co-operation and
Development (OECD), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the United
Nations (UN) represents a complement of associations where mutual interac-
tion is the primary rather than one party’s administration of others. The concept,
which means “collaborative management,” is used to emphasize the administra-
tion activities based on mutual interaction with the participatory, participative,
consistent, responsible, transparent, accountable, and equitable approach. In the
process of spatial strategic planning, an approach that allows the establishment of
inter-stakeholder relations is adopted. The concept is the foundation of the Spiral
Sensitivity Model.

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3. Spatial strategic planning process in Core Cappadocia Site

3.1 Characteristics of Core Cappadocia Site

The Core Cappadocia Site, chosen as the study domain, is located on the borders
of Nevşehir province, which is placed in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey.
The site consists of Göreme, Uçhisar, Ortahisar, Mustafapaşa, Ürgüp, and Avanos
settlements located at the borders of Nevşehir province. In this site, there are
capped fairy chimneys with a conical-shaped body, which have a boulder on the top
(Figure 1). The conical-shaped bodies of these natural formations consist of rock
formed of tuff, tuffite, and volcanic ash, and chimney caps consist of competent
rocks. These natural formations are rarely encountered in the world. Because of
their uniqueness, they are inevitable to be regarded as a universal heritage.
There is air transportation from İstanbul, Nevşehir, and Kayseri to Cappadocia,
which is one of the major tourist centers of Turkey with its cultural and natural
heritage. Transportation is provided by land from nearby cities. The study domain
is among the essential tourism destinations of Turkey due to its natural rock-
cut structure sites and its local, intangible cultural values. In the field, tourism
activities constitute the primary source of living. However, due to the upper scale
tourism decisions that remain inefficient, local values are gradually disappear-
ing. The study aims to introduce a new approach based on continuity, integrity,
reconciliation-participation, and vision, which contributes to the conservation of
the unique values of the site. The population centers, archeological and natural
protected areas, historical protected areas, buffer zones, and areas that can be
opened to tourism in the Core Cappadocia Site and immediate surroundings are
presented in Figure 2.

3.2 Analysis studies in spatial strategic planning process in Core Cappadocia Site

The study region, denominated Core Cappadocia, was located based on the
boundaries of the Cappadocia Cultural and Tourism Development Zone deter-
mined by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Turkey. The
site consists of Göreme, Uçhisar, Ortahisar, Mustafapaşa, Ürgüp, and Avanos
settlements. The size of the area is approximately 48,300 hectares. Within these
boundaries, according to the data of 2013, a total of 51,284 people are living in
Avanos and Ürgüp city center. This number is about 25% of the total population of
Nevşehir province.
In the Core Cappadocia Site, the analysis was carried out within the context of
the spatial strategic planning process through a problem tree method. As a result of
these studies, primary problems were determined in the context of sustainability
of cultural and natural heritage on settlement basis to create an underlay for the
spatial strategic planning process and presented in Table 1.

Figure 1.
The appearance of the natural and built environment in the Core Cappadocia Site [7].

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Figure 2.
Core Cappadocia Site protected areas and tourism facilities [8].

3.3 Potentials and synthesis study in spatial strategic planning process in Core
Cappadocia Site

Cultural and natural heritage characteristics are of great significance for

the planning of the site in the study field, approximately 9884 hectares, which
is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. The potentials of the Core
Cappadocia Site, consisting of Göreme, Uçhisar, Ortahisar, Mustafapaşa, Ürgüp,
and Avanos settlements, are given in Table 2 in terms of settlements.
In the context of sustainability of cultural and natural heritage, the problems
obtained by problem tree method are taken into the problem circle. The potentials
and problems determined were reflected in the environment as a synthesis study
based on settlements, as indicated in Figure 3.

3.4 Planning approach in spatial strategic planning process in Core

Cappadocia Site

With the zoning operation, the site is divided into two main zones, and the
problems are scrutinized in each zone. It is possible to sort the criteria based on the
zoning as follows:

• Isolation of the social environment to the existing texture,

• Degradation of existing texture as a result of tourism investment decisions,

• Physical decay,

• Low resilience of local development,

• Natural disaster risks such as erosion,

• Exceeding of the social carrying capacity, and

• A variance of the scale of boutique hotels.

The relationship between these criteria and the zones is presented in Figure 4 on
the map.

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Primary problems
Low resilience in legal
dimension
Standardization of tourism
strategies developed for
built environment
Accommodation areas
and physical decay of built
environment
Alienation of the local
people from the area of
heritage
Low resilience of cultural
heritage structures against
the visitor population
Low resilience of intangible
cultural heritage assets
against time
Table 1.
The primary problems determined on a settlement basis in Nevşehir.
354
Formulation of problems
It is observed that the applicable legislation and the inspection mechanism
are inadequate. The existing plans have been identified as weak local
community orientation.
The formation of the accommodation facilities in the area has also changed
with the tourism understanding which started to alteration in the region
since the 2000s. With the restoration of historical structures in the old city
centers, the concept of “boutique hotel” has become an established concept
in the region and gained significant momentum.
Examining the current tourist profile is vital for the future development
of the site. In this context, visitors’ income statue, age groups, preferred
activities, preferred accommodation facility typologies, and duration of
their stay were examined.
Although there are many natural and cultural elements that the site has to
offer to its visitors, it is noticed that the facilities are quite luxurious and
constrain both infrastructure and superstructure. Trends in the increase
of boutique hotels in the site, faster conversion of existing structures,
acceleration of restoration processes, and similar restorations result in the
loss of unique characteristics.
With the changing tourism structure of the site since the 1980s, the
interest for old city centers has increased, and the former housing stock
has been restored and converted into tourist accommodation facilities.
However, with the increasing recognition of the site, the process is
proceeding very quickly, and the cost of this transformation has paved
the way for the implementation of the same method by the large
investor.
The demand for tourism increased from year to year. On the one hand,
it helps to settle economically. On the other hand, it damages its intrinsic
values and its social and cultural structure.
One of the reasons for the physical decay in the built environment is due to
the natural disaster. Wind erosion, soil erosion, rock fall, and collapse in
caves cause physical decay in buildings.
Another reason for physical decay in the built environment is that the
community cannot implement conservation plans because of their economic
insufficiencies or because of their personal preferences. By the restoration
of historical buildings according to personal needs, incorrect material usage
and faulty repairs hinder the sustainability of the historical texture.
In the field of study, it has been determined that the local people are
alienated to the area, especially by the transformation of the housings to the
hotel, and therefore the intangible cultural heritage cannot be sustained.
Especially with hotel investments becoming an investment tool for people
outside the area, it has been determined that local development cannot be
achieved, quality of life has reduced, and the local people have abandoned
the area in time.
As a result of the revitalization or transformation projects of the physical
decay areas, the function and user differences are experienced in the built
environment. As a result, the local people are alienated to their cultural
heritage.
The activities of visitors to the Cappadocia Site should be well supervised.
For example; although quad bikes are forbidden to enter the valleys in
Göreme, it is known that tourism firms violated this rule. The presence of an
efficient and supervised “visitor management” is vital in the site.
Intangible heritage assets consist of traditions-customs, manners, mores,
lifestyles, and disciplines. It is observed that pottery, weaving, Bektashism,
folk expressions, ballads, and gastronomy, which constitute intangible
cultural heritage values, have not been adopted sufficiently by the next
generation in the site.
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3.5 Determination of objectives, policies, and actions within the scope of

planning approach

The solution of the problems identified in this section is discussed under the
headings of legal/administrative dimension on cultural and natural heritage,
cultural landscape and built environment relationship, the impact of tourism on
the local community and local values, and the low resilience of cultural heritage
structures to the visitor population. The vision of the plan has been determined as a
“responsible and participatory Cappadocia, which maintains its tourism activities
while conserving its cultural and natural values.”

3.5.1 Legal/administrative dimension in cultural and natural heritage conservation

The robust legal infrastructure for the conservation of cultural and natural
heritage has a significant role in sustainability. Although conservation and admin-
istration policies have been fixed in the law on the Conservation of Cultural and
Natural Property and the law on National Parks, it is observed that in the field of
work, implementation and inspection mechanisms remain incapable. In the forma-
tion of this situation, it is possible to say that the interference and lack of coordina-
tion of the realm of authority regarding the government agencies have a significant
share. However, regulatory proposals are out of the scope of this study. This section
focuses mainly on “visitor administration” strategies as part of the field manage-
ment in the sites of cultural heritage through the solution of problems arising from
inadequate planning.
For the field of study, there is no spatial strategy plan designed in the current
condition. When looking at the plans on a similar scale, it is recognized that the
Cappadocia Cultural Tourism Development Site is defined in the 2023 Action Plan
of the Turkish Tourism Strategy. For the site, within the framework of sustainable
tourism understanding, proposals have been made to evaluate the current tourism
opportunities and to diversify tourism. However, it is observed that the propos-
als are limited in extent. On a 1/25,000 scale, Regional Plan for the Cappadocia
Cultural and Tourism Conservation and Development Area and Environmental
Plan and Göreme National Park Long-Term Development Plan is at the lower level.
The lack of an upper scale plan based on these planning results in the determination
of the main decisions and detailed decisions on the lower scale basis. However, it is
imperative that the necessary policies and strategies are defined in the upper scale
plans, and the lower scale plans are fictionalized under these policies.
Another administrative problem is that the importance of visitor manage-
ment is not given as part of the field management of Göreme National Park. In the
presentation of cultural assets for tourism purposes, the increase in the number
of tourists over time creates significant conservation problems in these sites and
reduces the resilience of these sites. The action developed to resolve this problem is
“visitor management.” The object of the visitor management is to ensure sustain-
able tourism development in the site, to introduce the site effectively to the visitors,
to disclose its potentials, and to conserve the current assets of the site from the
demands of the visitors. In this context, it is aimed to prevent the visitors from
degrading the site, as well as to determine the layout in which the visitors perceive
the site in the best way and to direct them toward the site in this orientation. In
the site, visitor management shall be carried out based on the defined criteria
for heritage administration in the International Council of Monuments and Sites
(ICOMOS), International Cultural Tourism Regulation.
Within the scope of the visitor management plan, it is recommended to make
improvements on existing plans, to determine hiking routes, opening facilities

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Settlements Potentials Common potentials

Göreme • The presence of the intangible cultural • Having an outstanding universal

heritage cultural landscape
• The focus of tourism routes • Being included in the UNESCO World
Heritage List
• The local investor is occupied
• The presence of cultural memory
Uçhisar • The existence of cultural and natural
heritage
• Having a monumental structure

Ortahisar • The presence of tangible and intangible

cultural heritage
• Having a monumental structure

Mustafapaşa • The presence of tangible and intangible

cultural heritage

Ürgüp • The focus of tourism routes

• The presence of intangible and tangible
cultural heritage

Avanos • The local investor is occupied

• The presence of the intangible cultural
heritage
• Having a monumental structure

Table 2.
Potentials of settlements in the Core Cappadocia Site.

to inform tourist, and to organize promotional actions that attract to the future
tourists in the site. Applications should be performed in Göreme National Park on
a small scale and in the short term, in the sites to be protected in the Cultural and
Tourism Development Zone in the medium term, and in the whole of the Core
Cappadocia Site in the long term to carry out these activities. Projects planned
within the extent of visitor management are:

• Increasing inspection actions in risky fields against wear and tear in heritage
assets,

• Planning of valleys and determination of hiking routes, and

• Opening of facilities for informing the tourists and the promotional actions for
attracting future tourists in the site.

There are some “restrictive” actions to ensure the sustainability of the

cultural landscape of the site (fairy chimneys, valleys, churches, and rock-cut
structures). The first is the prohibition of the use of motor vehicles in the val-
leys and the requirement of administration to ensure the applicability of these
restrictions in the site. Secondly, it is crucial to restrict the number of daily
visitors in these particular spaces to minimize the effects of humidity generated
by visitors on mural paintings in churches. To ensure that visitors can accurately
perceive the site;

• Acknowledging the number of visitors and the visitor profile in detail and
following them regularly, to determine the demands and satisfaction of visitors
and users through surveys to be conducted,

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Figure 3.
Planning approach for the settlements in the Core Cappadocia Site in the context of the spatial strategic
planning process [9].

• Directing visitors within site; plotting routes, mapping, and placing the direc-
tion and informative signs,

• Opening of information centers and related service facilities to inform future

visitors,

• Setting station points (passenger transport point) for the tours to be organized
in the site and for the transportation of those who desire to visit the national
park, giving publicity services as well as providing control at the entrance of
intensive visitor routes, and

• Making regulations to inform the visitors within the extent of open land design
and landscape project to be prepared, considering the original geomorphologi-
cal and cultural texture of the region are crucial.

The authority required for the implementation of the applications has been
determined as the Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism. The institu-
tions to be associated are the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Ministry of

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Figure 4.
Core Cappadocia Site zoning studies [9].

Culture and Tourism, Nevşehir Municipality, General Directorate of Monuments

and Museums, Tourism Agencies, relevant non-governmental organizations, and
universities in Nevşehir.

3.5.2 The relationship between cultural landscape and built environment

One of the main problems identified in the area of study regarding the built
environment is the functional standardization and degradation of the built envi-
ronment. The proposed projects in the context of the conservation of functional
standardization and the effective implementation of conservation-restoration
applications which are formed by the transformation of many houses into tourism
facilities in the site can be listed as follows:

• To maintain housing by conservation and to develop programs and projects to

redress the balance between housing and tourism functions,

• To design, implement, and monitor conservation and development projects to

improve the quality of life, and

• To prevent the sale of buildings to nonlocal persons and institutions for tour-
ism purposes by encouraging the usage.

The balance between housing and tourism functions is essential. On the other
hand, it is crucial to provide property owners who wish to make a change in their
property functions to apply the mixed-use as a residence-hotel. To make the local
people aware of tourism activities, the regulation of education programs will also
prevent the abandonment of these sites. The institutions responsible for designing
and implementing the programs to be created for public awareness and education

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are expected to be the Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism and the
Governorship of Nevşehir. The Center, Göreme, Uçhisar, Ortahisar, Mustafapaşa,
Ürgüp, and Avanos municipalities, the Ahiler Development Agency, the Ahi Evran
Association (AHDER) planned to be established, and the relevant non-governmental
organizations, banks, and exchanges are the institutions responsible for providing
information, evaluation, and coordination.
In the process of planning and implementing the project, when the staging is
performed, the process has been defined as determining priority action zones for
conservation and restoration in the short term, and in the medium term, creating
programs, projects, and financial resources in the designated action fields. In a short
time, applications will be performed in Göreme, Uçhisar, Ortahisar, Mustafapaşa,
Ürgüp, and Avanos. The anticipated impact of the project is that the city centers
become continuously used areas, both socially and physically, again.
Another reason for physical decay in the built environment is natural disas-
ters. In the area afflicted with a natural disaster, first, the risk identification will
be made to identify the geological risk. The aim of the action plan prepared for
cultural landscape and built environment degradation arising from disasters is
to make efficient risk management. Two types of problems are defined as human
and natural resources in disaster-prone physical decay areas. It is planned to solve
human-induced issues with the method of strengthening the community. Rock
falls, erosion (soil, water, and wind), and climatic factors (humidity, temperature,
and precipitation) that occur due to natural reasons constitute a hazard in terms
of conservation of cultural landscape area. With risk management, it is aimed to
minimize the impact of rock fall in the site. In this context, the planned actions are;

• For risky areas in the field of study (erosion, climatic factors, rock fall), creat-
ing a 1/10,000 scaled zoning map,

• Preparation of detailed geological maps of 1/2000 and 1/1000 scale, and

• Systematic monitoring of disaster areas by hand and automatic system

(through decision support systems and geographical information system).

With the realization of these actions, both the zones of rock fall will be deter-
mined, and the gradient of rock fall will be determined. Using Decision Support
Systems (GIPEA) and geographic information system (GIS), modeling and moni-
toring of rock fall in 3D will be provided. These systems will give early warning and
forecast. Thus, an integrated system will be set against the danger of falling rock in
the zone, and the damage will be reduced to a minimum. Besides, the identification
of the cultural heritage sites at risk and the installation of the necessary conserva-
tion practices in the settlements will be ensured according to the situation of the
risk. The intended risk management in the site will be implemented first in the
disaster area, Ortahisar.
The institutions responsible for the realization of these projects are the Site
Management Presidency, Special Provincial Administration, Nevşehir Municipality,
Ortahisar Municipality, Governorship Provincial Disaster, and Emergency
Directorate, Disaster Coordination Center, and Non-governmental organizations.

3.5.3 Impact of tourism on local community and local values

Among the policies of sustainable development of the Rio Declaration, which

preserves the integrity of the global, environmental, and developmental system are
as follows: “Indigenous people and their communities, and other local communities,

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have a vital role in environmental management and development because of their

knowledge and traditional practices. States should recognize and duly support
their identity, culture and interests and enable their effective participation in the
achievement of sustainable development” [10]. The most significant impact of the
development of tourism is on the local community. The two main reasons for this
are that they are steering away from their own culture through communication and
interaction with the visitors and leave their locality to tourism; thus, they are unable
to transfer intangible cultural values to future generations. Therefore, it is seen as a
necessity to integrate the local community into the work of sustainability and even
adopt policies that center the local community.
In addition to minimizing the negative impacts of tourism on the site, pro-
posals have been developed in order to avail a sustainable economic benefit from
tourism. First of all, concerning the development of local capacity and labor
and skills, it is aimed to ensure awareness about the potentials of local people
through widespread tourism and cultural education activities. In this context,
personal development seminars, cooperation seminars, certificate programs,
grant schemes, and credit aid programs for the support of women entrepre-
neurs are essential to prepare and implement. In order to transform cultural
values into economic values, it is recommended to implement home-staying,
consciousness raising, and on-the-job certification programs and to ensure
quality improvement for the sector that implements these programs in the
current situation. Also, the provision of kitchen and sanitation training for local
food production and the organization of local tour guide education programs
will contribute to the economic income of the local community from tourism.
Actions designated in this context are listed below:

• Ensuring the sustainability of the model by ensuring the employment of the

educated young population,

• Integrating rural populations into the organization through “indigenous” and

trust relationship,

• Redefining/introducing/marketing the identity of the site with active

conservation,

• Disseminating tourism culture by ensuring sectoral sustainability,

• Sustaining cultural heritage and ensuring local development, and

• Preventing physical decaying and ensuring the sustainability of the values

owned by the physically decayed built environment.

Natural values and agricultural production in the site allow rural tourism
activities. In this context, it is planned to set a database for determining suitable
areas for rural tourism by collaborating with the Cappadocia Rural Development
Cooperative (3K-KOOP) which is planned to be established. In these sites, it is
aimed to provide support to the regional investor who meets the grant and credit
facility requirements in line with the database. In this process, it is of considerable
significance to reintroduce the site by participating in national and international
fair assembly and symposiums. In order to effectuate these actions, tourism coop-
eratives can be established in Uçhisar, Mustafapaşa, Ürgüp, Avanos, and Ortahisar
settlements and facilitated with Nevşehir Center, which is determined as marketing
and information center between each other. This coordination can be established

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with the “Association of Tourism Cooperatives,” which will be carried out under the
administration of the Ahiler Development Agency. Thus, it can contribute to the
maximum level of information flow at the local level.
The development of social carrying capacity has been identified as the first
stage of Education-Supervision-Coordination Centers, both because of the rural
tourism potential and the conformity of infrastructure in order to proceed forward
with local development. Thus, it is planned to regulate rural tourism actions in the
Ürgüp sub-region by a local organization. The Mustafapaşa settlement was identi-
fied as a rural sub-center, and the İbrahimpaşa village was identified as a rural
coordinating center. Avanos and Hacıbektaş, one of the other sub-regions, were
considered as the second level of the Education-Supervision-Coordination Centre.
The institutions responsible for the realization of the projects are the Provincial
Directorate of Culture and Tourism, the Governorship of Nevşehir, the District
Governorship of Nevşehir, and the Development Agency of Ahiler. The institutions
and organizations to cooperate with are the Provincial Cooperative of Nevşehir,
non-governmental organizations (NGOs), Municipalities and the Chamber of
Merchants, and Artisans of Nevşehir.
In the area, the integration of cultural heritage and rural tourism is vital in terms
of the fact that the local people do not abandon the area and that the benefits of
tourism are degraded to the local scale. In this context, first of all, the improvement
of transportation, electricity, and water infrastructure in rural areas will contribute
to the enhancement of the quality of life of the local community and the provision
of more qualified tourism service. Another proposed project for the integration of
the local population into tourism is the dissemination of the home-staying model
in rural settlements and the dwellings currently being implemented; education
is carried out to increase the quality. With the project, first of all, tangible and
intangible cultural heritage sites will be determined, and technical infrastructure
opportunities will be developed in these sites. Also, restoration and conservation
of monumental structures and civil architecture models in rural areas will provide
the sustainability of these sites. Within the scope of the project, the proposed rural
tourism axle and rural areas with cultural heritage structures will be interrelated.
In this context, “rural service center”, which has potential in terms of technical and
social infrastructure, has been determined at a distance of about 20 km from each
other. The contents of the rural service centers are fictionalized as accommodation
units, home-staying, health service, crafts shops, and commercial units. On this
route, trekking, horse safari, and bicycle sports are planned. All these activities are
intended to be coordinated at the Ürgüp Center on a local scale. The other settle-
ments that are subject to the rural tourism proposal are the Central Districts of
Nevşehir province and the districts of Gülşehir and Avanos. In the context of the
projects, the institutions to be cooperated will be the Ministry of Agriculture and
Forestry, Ministry of Environment and Urbanization, Ministry of Culture and
Tourism, the European Union (EU), the United Nations (UN), Provincial Private
Administrations, Local Governments, Non-governmental Organizations, and
EuroGites-European Federation of Rural Tourism (Figure 5).
As a result of the synthesis study, it was concluded that the problem of “local
people moving away from the heritage site” was caused by the following reasons:

• Economic deficiencies,

• Gaining economic accretion by entering the site on the UNESCO World

Heritage List,

• Projects and plans in the heritage areas of physical decay, and

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Figure 5.
The association between cultural and natural heritage and local development.

• In the settlements of Mustafapaşa and Uçhisar, planning decisions provide

opportunities for tourism purposes that distort the cultural landscape and the
identity of the area.

In order to meet the needs and expectations of the people living in the site
in line with national and international criteria and to increase the efficiency
of the service delivery, it is necessary to investigate the sufficiency of existing
municipal services and facilities. Also, in order to improve the quality of the urban
environment, researches need to be done on the balance of conservation with
socioeconomic and vital needs. In order for cultural assets to be conserved with
their physical, social, and economic dimensions, physically decayed areas need to
be mentioned in rehabilitation projects. In order to carry out the original restora-
tion and conservation practices, it is essential to establish restoration specialist
trainee programs. The development of programs aimed at training mentor and
protege in the work of restoration will ensure that cultural values are conserved
with indigenous understanding. The institutions and organizations respon-
sible for these projects are as follows: Field Management Presidency, Nevşehir
Governorship, Ortahisar Municipality, Avanos Municipality, Ürgüp Municipality,
Uçhisar Municipality, and universities as well as Nevşehir Regional Council for the
Conservation of Cultural Property, neighborhood mukhtars, trade associations,
and related NGOs.

3.5.4 The resilience of cultural heritage structures to the visitors

The rapid increase in the number of tourism facilities in the site, by changing
hands over time, the increase in dwelling function buildings that turn into hotels,
and the increase in the tendency toward boutique hotel construction during this
transformation process hinder the conservation and perception of the present values
of the site. The projects to prevent these changes and solve the problems encountered
are as follows:

• Making accommodation facilities mandatory for the maximum amount of

urban fabric with both local and upper scale planning decisions/plan notes, and

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• Preventing tourism facilities from going beyond the local architectural scale by
introducing a total area of construction restrictions to accommodation facilities

Especially in Avanos and Uçhisar, it is observed that with the increasing growth
of hotel masses, the perceptibility of the area is disappearing and large mass hotels
do not conform to the texture of the area, although they are applicable as materi-
als. In order to prevent hotels that do not reflect the original structure of the site,
it is envisaged that the planning notes and decisions will determine the maximum
dimension of the hotels and that implementations will be blocked out of a specific
scale and thus, integrity will be provided in the area.
Within the scope of the projects, the proposal for the restrictions to be executed
was determined as “tourism-oriented conservation facility” projects. In deter-
mining these restrictions, firstly, existing typologies have been identified. Later,
typologies were determined following the texture of the site. While the existing
size of the hostel has a bed capacity of 10–15 rooms and 20–30 beds, in order to
support the facilities for home-staying in rural areas, proposal boarding typography
has a capacity of 2–3 rooms and 4–6 beds, building coverage ratio: 0.50, floor area
ratio: 1.00, and the number of employees has been determined as three people.
As the existing boutique hotel typology varies between 15–80 rooms and 30–160
beds capacity in the site, the proposed boutique hotel typology has a maximum of
15 rooms and 30 beds, the average lot size 500 m2, floor area ratio: 0.80, and the
number of employees have been determined as six people. Hotels that address mass
tourism in the site are incompatible with the natural texture of the site. For this
reason, for mass tourism, accommodation facilities with 50 rooms and 100 beds,
the average lot size was determined as 1000 m2 in the resort structure. During the
planning and implementation of the projects, applications will be performed in
Avanos, Uçhisar, Ürgüp, Göreme, Ortahisar, and Mustafapaşa in the short term.

4. Spiral sensitivity development and governance model within the

spatial strategic planning process in Core Cappadocia

“Spiral Sensitivity Development and Governance Model” which focused on

sustainable cultural and natural heritage (SCNH) was designed by taking into
account the sensitivities in the context of UNESCO World Heritage Areas and Turkey
2010–2023 Integrated Urban Development Strategy and Action Plan (Table 3,
Figure 6). The model is of great importance for the creation of integrated administra-
tion, strategies, and policies to ensure the resilience of cultural heritage to time. When
examining 1/25,000 scaled environmental plan, 1/1,000 scaled conservation plans,
and the 2023 Turkish Tourism Strategy Report, it was determined that there was no
consensus on tangible and intangible cultural heritage approaches. It has been recog-
nized that these plans do not have both an integrated planning strategy and a neces-
sary governance model. Furthermore, the lack of an upper scale spatial plan based
on the environmental plan also leads to the determination of the main principles on
a lower scale. Based on the insufficiencies identified, a sustainable “Spiral Sensitivity
Development and Governance Model” was proposed. It is important to note that the
model developed at the theoretical level can be implemented in project packages.
Sustainable administration of cultural and natural heritage sites is a model of
sustainable relationships network and communication-oriented development that
strengthens risk perception and increases participation capacity at individual,
social, and institutional levels. The relationship networks of stakeholders, constitu-
encies, target groups, and concerned parties have an approach where individual,
social, and institutional sensitivities are discussed at different levels, rather than

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ISBS 2019 - 4th International Sustainable Buildings Symposium

Main problem areas Sustainability Holistic approach Reconciliation and Visionary Principles
participation

SCNH increasing individual, Sustainability

social and institutional
sensitivity

Contribution to participatory Sustainability

processes in the administration
of SCNH to increase the capacity
Transparency and accountability Integrity

Municipal project production Participation

and implementation
Local councils Visionary

Regulation of participation at Participation

national level

Regional participation Participation

Strategic management Visionary

Spatial strategic planning Integrity

Inspection Sustainability
General strategies Learning from Giving importance to Participation incentive and Effective and Improving knowledge, giving
experience, ensuring education, capacity and communication-oriented sustainable projects attention to information
local development sensitivity development reconciliation administration with transparency and network and communication
accountability

Table 3.
Sustainable cultural and natural heritage (SCNH) policies, general strategies and main problem areas.
Sustainable Cultural and Natural Heritage-Oriented Spatial Strategic Planning Process…
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.87836

Figure 6.
“SCNH” focused BTK sensitivity: sustainable relationships network local development model.

a centralized approach. The participation model in the Spiral Sensitivity consid-

ers the general structure and transformation trends of the public administration.
Participation in the model is considered as a concept that complements and
improves the insufficiencies of the representative system. In short, it can be stated
that an approach that improves existing mechanisms and tries to define new mecha-
nisms according to new needs has been adopted.
From the perspective of the dimension of the participation, it is possible to state
that an approach that avoids the point-to-point technique is adopted. However, in
existing practices, participation in the conduct of business and operations of local
administrations can only be perceived as point-by-point [11]. For example, while
developing plans for conservation of protected areas are being executed, at least
two participatory meetings are required following the legislation; however, it is
observed that these meetings are being carried out for the sake of the procedure.
However, participation and jointly administration should be perceived as a focus,
not as part of the process.
The cooperation of local administrations within the extent of the working
area, higher education institutions such as Hacibektaş University and Cappadocia
University, Non-Governmental Organizations, Ahiler Development Agency, profes-
sional organizations, and other organized establishments is of great importance to
ensure deployment of resources and accelerated operation of institutional decision-
making processes. It is a key to the evaluation of the current potentials of the local
people through the mentioned institutions and organizations and to play an active
and productive role in the development process.
In line with the central approaches mentioned above, the model is exemplified
in the Core Cappadocia Site, which aims to convey cultural and natural heritage to
future generations with the least loss. It is possible to state that the settlements of
Göreme, Uçhisar, Ortahisar, Mustafapaşa, Ürgüp, and Avanos, which constitute the
study field, have various layers at individual, social, and corporate levels, and this
situation is anticipated to contribute to the solution of the existing problems.
On the other hand, in the field of work, it has been observed that the local
people cannot transform their accumulation of knowledge and experience, about
the tangible and intangible cultural heritage into a sustainable economic benefit
at the local level. The proposal of a settlement that provides the local people the

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opportunity to market their products in both local and national and international
markets also reflect the corporate culture that is already existing in our culture.

5. Conclusion

The conservation approach has emerged as a result of the administration’s desire

to “naturally” inherit a diverse and “productive” world for future generations [12].
Climate change, propensity to consume, urbanization and the desire to generate
economic income create pressure on cultural and natural values, which is regarded
as the main reason for this outcome [12]. Core Cappadocia Site, consisting of the
synthesis of cultural, natural and economic values, has socioeconomic reflections
both in Nevşehir province and all over the country. However, the original natural
structure of the site and its tangible and intangible cultural values are threatened by
inadequate tourism policies.
In this study, fieldwork which was concluded with analysis, synthesis and zoning
approach was carried out, and all the sensitivity of the site was determined, and the
sensitivities were tried to interfere with the planning approach. As the work area is
a World Heritage Site, the planning approach and actions have been prepared based
on management plans, in which UNESCO sets a precondition for the preparation
concerning World Heritage Sites. To develop the phenomenon of being organized in
community, which is found to be inadequate in the site, participation and gover-
nance were taken into consideration in the model; it was also aimed to stimulate the
self-assessment mechanism of community.
The “Spiral Sensitivity Model” proposed within the scope of the study empha-
sizes an approach in which the future use of cultural and natural tourism values
consumed today is conserved with “governance”. Thus, in decision-making
processes in the tourism sector, it will be possible to ensure that mechanisms for
center-local-civil participants operate jointly. It must be determined which budget
the responsible institutions and organizations will use to implement the actions
and projects identified. Also, the determination of funding institutions makes the
spatial strategic plan applicable.
In this study, the “Spatial Strategic Plan” approach, which was successful in
building the relationship of organizational form with physical space, was taken into
consideration. In the current situation, a spatial strategy plan is preliminarily pro-
vided at the country scale, but there are no approved examples of a spatial strategy
plan. Therefore, it is envisaged that the work will contribute to the future work of
the planning authorities and it is also the innovative aspect of the work.

Acknowledgements

This study is derived from the individual study conducted at the Planning-8 stu-
dio carried out by the Urban and Regional Planning Department of Yıldız Technical
University in the spring semester of 2012–2013. The authors are indebted to partici-
pants of the Planning-8 studio for their valuable comments and contributions.

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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.87836

Author details

Özlem Köşker1, Arzuhan Burcu Gültekin1*, Gizem Hayrullahoğlu2 and Enis Yeter1

1 Department of Real Estate Development and Management, Ankara University,

Ankara, Turkey

2 Independent Researcher, Ankara, Turkey

*Address all correspondence to: abgultekin@ankara.edu.tr

© 2019 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms
of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/
by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is properly cited.

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ISBS 2019 - 4th International Sustainable Buildings Symposium

References

[1] Lynch K. The Image of the City.
Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT
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[2] What kind of city? What kind of
local government? Union of Chambers
of Turkish Engineers and Architects
[Internet]. 2009. Available from: http://
kentvedemiryolu.com/nasil-bir-kent-
nasil-bir-yerel-yonetim/ [Accessed:
March 15, 2019] (In Turkish)
[3] Akyol D. Basic characteristics of
the strategic spatial planning approach
and directions from the other planning
approaches. The Journal of International
Social Research. 2018;11(58):588-593.
DOI: 10.17719/jisr.2018.2573 (In
Turkish)
[4] World heritage concept and
convention of UNESCO. Kilsan Blog
[Internet]. 2016. Available from: https://
www.kilsanblog.com/unesco-dunya-
mirasi-mimari/dunya-mirasi-kavrami-
sozlesmesi/ [Accessed: April 2, 2019] (In
Turkish)
Urban and Regional Planning. İstanbul;
2012 (In Turkish)
[10] Rio Declaration on Environment
and Development. UNCED (United
Nations Conference on Environment
and Development) [Internet]. 1992.
Available from: http://www.unesco.org/
education/pdf/RIO_E.PDF [Accessed:
February 25, 2019]
[11] Urbanization Council Commission
Reports. The Ministry of Public Works
and Settlement (Former) [Internet].
2009. Available from: https://webdosya.
csb.gov.tr/db/kentges/editordosya/
komisyon_raporlari.pdf [Accessed:
April 5, 2019] (In Turkish)
[12] Phillips A. Mining and Protected
Areas. London: International Institute
for Environment and Development;
2001. p. 6. Available from: https://pubs.
iied.org/pdfs/G00554.pdf? [Accessed:
2019-02-12]

[5] Albrechts L. Shifts in strategic

spatial planning? Some evidence from
Europe and Australia. Environment and
Planning A. 2006;38(6):1149-1170

[6] Sub-Saharan Africa: From Crisis

to Sustainable Growth. World Bank
[Internet]. 1989. Available from:
http://documents.worldbank.org/
curated/en/498241468742846138/pdf/
multi0page.pdf [Accessed: March 20,
2019]

[7] Köşker Ö. Cappadocia Photograph

Archive of Özlem Köşker. Ankara; 2012

[8] Explanatory Report of 1/25,000

Scaled Plan of Cappadocia Region.
Nevşehir: Uçhisar Municipality
Planning Archive. 2012 (In Turkish)

[9] Planning-8 Studio Studies of Yıldız

Technical University Department of

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Chapter 31

Rural Vernacular Architecture

and Ancient Settlements: The
Case of Aphendrika in the Karpas
Peninsula of Cyprus
Marko Kiessel, Ahmet M. Saymanlier and Yasemin Mesda

Abstract

This paper introduces the heritage of rural vernacular architecture in the sur-
roundings of Aphendrika in the northern coastal plain of the Karpas Peninsula.
Forty-six dilapidated stone buildings are grouped into two hamlets within a protected
zone, in between remains ranging from the Neolithic to the post-Byzantine periods.
Dating possibly back to the nineteenth century and still used in the twentieth century,
their orientation probably reflects an ancient cadastral system. The use of spolia is
indicated by the standardized ancient measurements of ashlars. The buildings were
documented by standard and advanced methods and analyzed in accordance with the
existing scholarship on Cypriot vernacular architecture and landscape. The detached,
one-story, and flat-roofed buildings with one or two rooms represent a basic house
type in contrast to courtyard houses in traditional villages. Widespread on the north-
ern coastal plains, they served seasonal agricultural activities of the inhabitants from
nearby villages. Additions of a second room may indicate the separation of living
space from animal shelter, besides attesting to different levels of occupation or wealth.
The area of Aphendrika displays a continuity of rural settlement from antiquity to the
twentieth century. The endangered recent stratigraphy of heritage lacks conservation
projects and hence the importance of documentation and analysis.

Keywords: Cyprus, historical site, rural architecture, vernacular architecture,

heritage recording

1. Introduction

This research investigates the endangered heritage of rural vernacular architec-

ture in the surroundings of Aphendrika and Exarkhos Bay in the northeast of the
Karpas Peninsula of Cyprus—a map of the latter being displayed in [1]— where the
authors have been conducting a survey of cultural heritage since 2016. It deals with
46 abandoned and dilapidated stone buildings (Figure 1).
The site Aphendrika, east of the inland village Rizokarpaso/Dipkarpaz, is situ-
ated in a narrow alluvial plain between the northern coast and a low southern ridge
which is the continuation of the mountain range Pentadaktylos which runs east-
west parallel to the northern coastline about 80 miles from the Kyrenia area into the
Karpas Peninsula, as shown in [1, 2].

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Aphendrika can possibly be identified with the ancient coastal settlement Urania
[3, 4] and is part of a protected archeological area. In its surroundings remains of
harbor structures and tombs, of the Byzantine Panayia Chrysiotissa, Asomatos, and
other churches, of oil mills and small artifacts range from the Neolithic period to at
least the post-Byzantine era (Figure 2). These attest to busy ancient and medieval
rural settlements of which only some of the church buildings and one ancient
coastal cemetery have been investigated prior to 2016 [5, 6]. A few kilometers to
the west, as shown in [7], north of Rizokarpaso/Dipkarpaz, another ancient coastal
town, Carpasia, and its Byzantine Ayios Philon church can be encountered [8].
The land use in the area of Aphendrika corresponded possibly to the prevalent
system of “smallholding peasantry” during the Ottoman rule in Cyprus in the

Figure 1.
Distribution of rural seasonal settlements and other remains in the area of Aphendrika (Google Earth, edited
by authors).

Figure 2.
Aphendrika (area C). Distribution of rural buildings, close to the Panayia Chrysiotissa (1), Asomatos (2), and
Agios Georgios (3) churches (Google Earth, edited by authors).

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nineteenth century, which in most cases did not mean ownership but right of occu-
pancy as most of the land belonged to the sultan (Miri land) [9–11]. However, the
reforms of the empire in the nineteenth century led to a slow process of conversion
from landholding into private landowning [10].
Of large agricultural estates, çiftliks, typical in the Ottoman world, about 70
existed in Cyprus in 1863, ranging from 700 to 7000 acres. They produced mainly
for export and were based on tenant farmers or dependant agricultural laborers
[10, 11] and are evidence of a “Cypriot-Ottoman elite” [12] (p. 47). As to architec-
tural remains, the best-preserved examples of estates are the (multiple) courtyard
complexes of Kouklia and Potamia in southwestern Cyprus [12, 13]. Apart from
these large estates, farmsteads are unknown in Cyprus [1]. Instead, landholders
from the villages would cultivate dispersed plots on different types of soil.
The majority of Cypriot villages are based on agriculture, and it appears that the
origins of a majority of these villages go back to the Middle Ages, at least. All are
located in a considerable distance to the coast, probably due to the danger of piracy,
like the closest village to Aphendrika, Rizokarpaso/Dipkarpaz. The history of
settlements suggests that upon arrival, the Turks, first and foremost, settled in the
central plain, the Mesaoria, and in the coastal plains [1].
Seasonal settlements have hardly been investigated. They are associated with
“cereal production as well as pastoralism” [13]. Often, they can be found close to
the villages [1]. Characteristically, during the Ottoman and early British colonial
periods, they consisted of smaller detached buildings in contrast to the densely
agglutinated villages and typically lack communal institutions such as churches,
although exceptions due to historical reasons do exist [13].
Most of the 46 buildings in the plain are grouped into 2 small hamlets which
can be addressed as seasonal settlements. They are built close to and partially on
top of older remains and might date back to the nineteenth century, according to
cartographic data [14]. The buildings, which—due to few traces of concrete—must
have been in use well into the twentieth century, must have been deserted for some
time when we consider the buildings’ present state of preservation. Due to the latter
28 buildings, 12 in area C and 16 in area E have been chosen for a more detailed
documentation through standard techniques, 3D scanner and/or aerial photography
(Figure 1).

2. The rural buildings and the area of Aphendrika

2.1 Sources

The site (and its surroundings) was settled by Turks after the conquest of
Cyprus in 1571 and named “Efendiler” (“lords”) from which the name Aphendirga/
Aphendrika/Afentrika derives. It belonged to one of about 70 çiftliks which were
established in Cyprus during the Turkish era according to [15], who refers to old
documents (for the number of 70 estates also, see [10, 11]).
The origins of the visible remains of the settlements date back to at least
the nineteenth century, according to the cartographic survey of the Karpas by
Kitchener in 1882 which clearly shows several detached buildings at Aphendrika
(area C) and Exarkhos Bay (area E) [14]. However, it remains unclear if the map of
Kitchener displays the present buildings or an older phase of the settlements as can
be observed, for example, below building C1 (Figure 3a).
Enlart, however, noticed nothing at Aphendrika at the end of the nineteenth
century except the fourteenth-century chapel, built into the remains of the early-
to-mid Byzantine Panayia Chrysiotissa (Figure 2), and two huts for temporary

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Figure 3.
Aphendrika (area C) (photos by authors). (a) Building C1, from east. (b) Ancient structures next to the old
harbor. Aerial survey, from east.

occupation, one for the keeper of the chapel and another for shepherds during
the summer [16]. It can be questioned if this rough description of the site in a text
which focuses on church architecture is helpful for dating the remains of the exist-
ing rural buildings. Hogarth’s description of the site in 1888 mentions “a cluster of
huts” [3] (p. 85) in sector C but leaves it to one’s imagination if this meant “in use.”
Considering that he had traveled westward from Cape Dinaretum on the north
coast and must have passed the location of sector E, his description may be a sign
of complete disinterest of a nineteenth-century scholar of antiquity and medieval
heritage, or it may be a proof of the temporary or permanent abandonment of the
settlements on Kitchener’s map.
Archimandrite Kyprianos describes Famagusta and the Karpas in 1788 as
vakıf, a pious foundation, the income being dedicated to Medine Mosque in
Constantinopolis, Istanbul [10]. At some point the vakıf had changed because,
according to oral information from the Evkaf, the administration of vakıf property,
before 1974 the land around Aphendrika was vakıf dedicated to Lala Mustafa Pasha
Mosque in Famagusta, while the land and the settlements were used by Greek and
Turkish Cypriots [9]. The latter information may confirm the type of “smallholding
peasantry,” as mentioned above, in the area. And it confirms that at least some of
the buildings were in use (if not built) in the twentieth century.

2.2 The orientation of the buildings within the landscape

The buildings in the coastal plain of the Aphendrika area are built close to and
partially on top of older remains (Figure 3a). The present orientation of the fields,
field boundaries (bushes), and rural buildings displays the same pattern: they are
obviously arranged parallel or perpendicular to the coastline and to the course of the
southern ridge, the eastern extension of the Pentadaktylos Mountains of the Kyrenia
area (Figures 1 and 2). The nearly linear course of the Roman road, leading from
the southwest to the northeast, is estimated just at the bottom of the ridge, passing
through the settlement at Aphendrika [4], so that the present field boundaries would
also be parallel or perpendicular to the Roman road, corresponding to the Roman
Decumanus and Cardo, respectively. The Panayia Chrysiotissa and Asomatos churches
deviate slightly further from the general southwest/northeast orientation (and
therefore from the course of the coastline and the ridge) as a more precise east-west
orientation of their naves was required. As the fields of the plain on top of the south-
ern ridge and several ancient, partially unexcavated wall structures close to the old
harbor, which have been recorded also by aerial surveys, display the same orientation
(Figures 1 and 3b), we may suggest that the present parcellation reflects an ancient
system of cadastres, as outlined, for example, for England and Libya [17, 18].

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2.3 Typology, plan, space, and domestic facilities

The detached, single-story, and formerly flat-roofed stone buildings consist

of one or two rooms which are oriented on the (sometimes only slightly) longer
southwest/northeast axis (Figures 4 and 5).
Traces of roof support such as wooden posts or stone arches on this longer axis
(Ionas types B–C) [1] have not been observed, but due to debris and vegetation in
the interiors, the existence of two wooden posts (Ionas, type B) cannot be ruled out
(Figure 6). On the contrary, the width of the buildings between 5.20 and 6.20 m
suggests the former existence of a wooden roof support as in Ionas type B. The exte-
rior length of individual rooms varies from 4.80 to 10.50 m. The original heights of
the walls are often not preserved, but the value 2.20–30 m can be estimated on the
basis of three confirmed examples (Figure 7a).
The entrances are placed centrally on the longer sides of the buildings
(Figures 4, 5, and 7b). In cases of a single entrance, the buildings are always
equipped with the door on the south side, and they are typical for area C as is the
single-room building (11–12 of 14). The south door reflects the climatic role of
the outer hall (portico) of village buildings which are typically oriented toward
the south in order to make use of the sun, according to [19]. The interior activity
of single-door buildings may be divided into either space flanking the central
entrance or into a front and rear space.

Figure 4.
Aphendrika (area C). Schematic plans of traditional buildings. Not to scale: wall thickness and distance of
exterior facilities to the buildings (drawing by authors).

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Figure 5.
Exarkhos Bay (area E). Schematic plans of traditional buildings. Not to scale: wall thickness and distance of
exterior facilities to the buildings (drawing by authors).

The detached single-door buildings of the Aphendrika area can be classified as

dichoro which displays a spatial division between the front and rear (Ionas type B
with wooden roof support on the longer axis). The dichoro is typical in the Cypriot
village tradition, being one of the two local near-eastern types of breitraum.
The other, without wooden roof support on the longer axis, is called macrinari
which allows spatial activities on the right and left of the central entrance [1, 20].
Dinçyürek classifies these types as “single-unit” house; however, he includes also
buildings with two opposite doors [21].
The existence of two opposite doors, however, rather excludes the typical spatial
division of the dichoro, between the front and rear: instead, this system is the simple
version of an “inner hall,” flanked by rooms on either side—which occurs typically
again in village buildings. Ionas and Dinçyürek missed this typological relation

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Figure 6.
Exarkhos Bay (area E). Building E8. View onto the collapsed north wall (photo by authors).

Figure 7.
Exarkhos Bay (area E) (photos by authors). (a) Building E1. South side, from southeast. (b) Building E1. The
enclosed space on the east side is not a room. Note the collapsed wall of the western room in comparison to the
earlier situation in (a). Aerial survey, from south.

[1, 19], in our opinion. The house type with two opposite doors, without and with
roof support on the longer axis, is typical for the Karpas, according to [1], who clas-
sifies it as macrinari and dichoro, respectively. In terms of space, the term macrinari
is also appropriate for buildings with opposite doors because of the evident division
of spatial activity right and left of the central entrance(s).
Two opposite doors are confirmed for only three buildings of area C, whereas
three cases are unclear. In contrast, opposite doors have been recorded in 13 of 16
buildings of sector E (Figures 4 and 5). Similarly, with eight examples the two-
room type occurs most frequently there (Figures 5, 7a and b). It always displays
two building phases, the younger room being added to the west or east and its
stone material not being interlocked with the walls of phase 1. In area C two of the
possibly three two-room buildings were built most probably in one phase, like C4
(Figure 4).
Windows are generally scarce. In sector C none were documented, but in sector
E, they occur in the second-phase rooms of buildings E1, E2, E7, and E9 and in the
first-phase rooms of E3, E11, and E16 (Figure 8a).
The chimney shafts of all seven inner fireplaces in area C were built on top of
two corbels, simple stone blocks protruding out of the wall, and the only trace
of the chimneys preserved (Figure 4), whereas in area E, 9 of 16 chimney shafts
are inserted into the wall in a form of a niche between partially decorated corbels
(chimney type B [1]) (Figure 8b). Additional seven corner chimneys on corbels
have been observed (Figure 9a), while two-room building E9 is the only one
equipped with both types. All fireplaces and their chimneys in area E have been
built at the southern side of the rooms, whereas in area C, four of the seven occur
at the east wall (Figures 4 and 5). Apart from the fireplaces, not much can be said

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Figure 8.
Exarkhos Bay (area E) (photos by authors). (a) Building E3. West wall. (b) Building E7. Chimney niche,
decorated corbels, remains of plaster, and shelves in the corner. View into southeast corner of room 1.

Figure 9.
Exarkhos Bay (area E) (photos by authors). (a) Building E1. East room. Southwest corner. Remains of a
corner fireplace with chimney. (b) Building E15. Exterior oven, from west.

about the interior facilities due to debris and vegetation. Seven of the eight two-
phase buildings were built “winter-fit” already in the first phase, whereas building
E13 was equipped with an additional winter room in a second phase.
With only two cases, exterior ovens are scarce in area C, while private wells have
not been found at all. Probably water sources like the (certainly ancient) cistern
west of and the well southeast of building C1 were communally used. Ovens exist
on the north side of the buildings, whereas the 10 examples of area E are placed in
the first building phases at the southeast or southwest corners (7/2 times) and once
in front of the south door (Figures 4, 5, 7b, and 9b). In contrast to area C, private
wells, usually at the southwest corner, are more frequent in area E with 11 examples.
The obviously standardized position of ovens and wells may help in finding these
facilities in case they have not been discovered yet. To date, latrines have not been
discovered.
The enlargement to a two-room building, as observed frequently in area E, may
indicate the separation of living space from animal shelter. Additionally, it may
attest—like the frequently recorded exterior ovens, wells, and inner fireplaces with
chimney—to a different level of wealth compared to area C. However, possibly these
data simply prove a lower level of occupation in area C, considering the report of
Enlart about the site Aphendrika, mentioned above.

2.4 Material and technique

In the Cypriot vernacular tradition, walls are usually built in a “shell technique”
and are 40–60 cm wide [1]. The walls of the investigated buildings, however, do
not display this technique. Instead they typically consist of limestone, sandstone,
and calcarenite ashlar (and rubble) blocks of approximately 45 cm width which
constitutes the complete width of the walls (Figures 6 and 9a). In our opinion,
this fact is a clue for the reuse of ancient building material. Another clue is the

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obviously standardized recurring measurements of these ashlars (values 40, 45/50,

85, 90/95/100 cm length; 35, 40, 45/50 cm width; 16/17, 23/25, 33/35, 50 cm
height). The measurements can also be observed in ancient remains on the eastern
side of the old harbor (45/50, 90/95 cm length; 45/50 cm width; 23, 33 cm height)
(Figure 10) and in the vaulted phases of the Panayia Chrysiotissa church (45/55,
90/95/100 cm length; 45 cm width; 23, 45 cm height) and of the Asomatos church
(50, 75/80 cm length; 40, 50 cm width; 23 cm height) for which the blocks were
either reused or newly hewn. The two churches have been recently reinvestigated,
and their vaulted phases were dated to the eighth century [6]. The ashlars in the
harbor are difficult to date; however, stratigraphically they are older than the
rubblestone quay on the southern side of the harbor (Figure 3b) which we can
safely attribute to the fifth to seventh centuries thanks to ceramic evidence.
Finally, the measurements occur in several hardly datable nearby soft-
stone quarries (of limestone, sandstone, calcarenite), although additional
values (70, 110/115/120 cm length; 55/58, 60/62/65 cm width) can be observed
(Figures 1, 11a and b). In defunct quarries elsewhere on the island which are said to
be of relatively recent date, again similar values can be observed: vertical channels
were recorded, 120 cm distant, 7 cm wide, and 90 cm deep, hewn on three sides
of the to-be-extracted blocks while undercutting them horizontally from the open
quarry face [1].
The technique of quarrying, as visible in the area of Aphendrika, is therefore not
necessarily ancient. But the cases of Egyptian quarries, for example, have shown
that the hardstone and softstone quarrying techniques, which had been developed
by the time of the Roman period (using iron chisels, picks, and wedges), had not
essentially changed before the twentieth century [22]. Considering the data dis-
cussed, we may assume that the use of ancient measurements in the eastern part of
the Karpas Peninsula (and possibly beyond) continued beyond antiquity, possibly
until the twentieth century.

2.5 Agricultural facilities

Traces of animal shelters such as originally built-in mangers or basins for animal
fodder exist in the single-room/single-door buildings C3, C6, C7, C8, C9, C10, and
E6, usually at the northern wall. Four of these buildings are also equipped with a
fireplace with a chimney at the south or east wall, a fact that proves that a fireplace
is not a certain sign for a purely domestically used building. In all other buildings,
the debris and vegetation do not allow further observations. Remarkable is the
circumstance that almost all traces of mangers derive from area C.

Figure 10.
Aphendrika (area C). East side of the old harbor. Remains of the ancient wall, from north (photo by authors).

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Figure 11.
Aphendrika (area C) (photos by authors). (a) Quarry west of the old harbor. Aerial survey, from north. (b)
Quarry west of the old harbor. The extracted blocks on the left measure about 120 cm in length, from north.

Threshing floors as a safe indicator of agricultural activity [13] have not been
observed, but they may have been destroyed by contemporary agricultural prac-
tices. Indicators of an agricultural intensification such as water mills [12] did not
exist in the area.

3. Type of settlement, land use, and possible traces of an estate

The detached character of the coastal buildings in the Aphendrika area can
be also observed in the villages of the Karpas, just as in Rizokarpaso/Dipkarpaz
where the detached houses are situated within gardens as the Kitchener survey of
1882 demonstrates [14]. This stands in contrast to the densely agglutinated vil-
lage buildings elsewhere on the island [1]. The differences between the hamlets at
Aphendrika/Exarkhos Bay and the Karpas villages are the coastal/inland location,
the number of buildings, and the missing communal institutions although the
fourteenth-century chapel of the Panayia Chrysiotissa at Aphendrika was, accord-
ing to Enlart [16], used from time to time in the nineteenth century.
The building type discussed above is widespread on the northeastern coastal
plains (isolated or in little hamlets) and served seasonal pastoral and/or agricultural
activities, possibly of “smallholding peasants” from nearby villages. Probably due to
the increasing motorization of the island [23], the seasonal occupation of the land
and therefore the buildings were abandoned from the 1950s onward.
According to [15] the area of Aphendrika belonged to a çiftlik after the Ottoman
conquest of the island (see also [11]). The early type of çiftliks in Cyprus, of large
agricultural estates, was vakıf, while the Karpas in general and the Aphendrika area
specifically were reported to be vakıf in the eighteenth century and before 1974,
respectively [9, 10]. These circumstances suggest that the area of Aphendrika/
Exarkhos Bay may have been part of a vakıf çiftlik [11] for most of the time, until
the twentieth century.
Traces of architectural remains of an estate to which Aphendrika might have
belonged can possibly be seen in parts of the restored tourism complex called
“Arch House” in Rizokarpaso/Dipkarpaz about which no historical information
could be retrieved so far. Dinçyürek and Olgaç Türker [24] inform only about its
restoration and adaptive reuse. Its prominent feature is a two-story gateway, built
with stone and joined with lateral single-story stone buildings which might have
constituted the southern side of a courtyard (Figure 12). It is reminiscent of the
representative two-story gateway of the estate of Kouklia that leads to an irregular
central square enclosed by buildings on four sides. It is one of the few better-
known examples of the generally hardly studied architectural remains of estates
[12, 13]. The two-story gateway, however, is a common element in the Cypriot

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Figure 12.
Rizokarpaso/Dipkarpaz. Southern gateway of the touristic “Arch House” complex, from north (photo by
authors).

vernacular (adobe) tradition: it occurs frequently with agglutinated courtyard

complexes where the courts and the individual buildings are accessible only via
this “vestibule” [1] (p. 53). This element alone, therefore, is not an indication
for the architectural design of an estate unless other diagnostic elements can be
observed, such as elaborate material (predominantly ashlar instead of rubble-
stone and mudbrick can be verified), decorativeness (molded frames of arches,
doors, windows, and corbels can also be verified), and “a manor house or konak,
residential spaces for laborers, stables, storage buildings, water mills, bakeries and
smithies” [13]. A manor house, laborer’s accommodation, and some of the other
functions might be identifiable by vernacular buildings in the close environment
next and north of the gateway. The possible manor house, equipped with another
gateway, is situated opposite of the southern gateway, on the northern side of a
possibly former square which might never have been fully enclosed. However,
the Karpas survey of Kitchener in 1882 does not show an ensemble of apparently
closely associated buildings in Rizokarpaso/Dipkarpaz as existing on site [14].
Therefore, these architectural traces might go back to the end of the nineteenth or
beginning of the twentieth centuries, regardless of whether they were part of one
complex and if this complex was an estate. The details require more historical and
architectural research before the hypothetical assumptions made can be verified
or falsified, considering also that some of the “vernacular” buildings of the touris-
tic complex might actually not be original as photos of the site before and after
“renovation” [24] indicate (Figure 12).

4. Conclusion

After the Ottoman conquest of the island, the area of Aphendrika belonged
to a çiftlik, commonly understood as a large agricultural estate. The early type
of these çiftliks in Cyprus was vakıf. Moreover, the Karpas in general and the
Aphendrika area specifically were reported to be vakıf in the eighteenth century
and before 1974, respectively. These data suggest that the area may have been part
of a vakıf çiftlik for most of the time. For the time being, traces of architectural
remains of an estate to which Aphendrika might have belonged cannot safely be
identified.

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The architecture of the seasonal settlements in the Aphendrika area—which

possibly dates back to the nineteenth century and which represents a widespread
architectural type—attests to a local continuity of rural settlement, economy, and
land use from antiquity to the twentieth century. Probably due to the increasing
motorization, the land use in a form of seasonal settlements was abandoned from
the 1950s onward. A rudimentary protection is provided for this most recent layer
of heritage as the buildings are situated within a protected archeological area.
Unfortunately, deterioration will continue due to a lack of conservation projects,
hence the urgency of documentation.
The individual buildings, on the one hand, and the groups of buildings in areas
C and E, on the other, show a remarkable variety in detail despite appearing to be
identical at the first sight. It became obvious that area E provided more sophis-
ticated house architecture than area C, evidenced by the number of two-room
buildings, windows, interior fireplaces with chimney, and exterior ovens and
wells. Typologically, the orientation of the entrances of the buildings to the south
and north reveals the simple versions of elements of village architecture, of the
“outer hall” and the “inner hall.” Likewise, the detachment of the buildings can be
observed in the vernacular architecture of the Karpas villages, in contrast to the
densely agglutinated villages in other parts of Cyprus.
On the basis of findings, it is not possible to provide an exact explanation
of whether the settlements were pastoral or agricultural or a mixture of both.
Moreover, the number of six recorded mangers in area C compared to only one in
area E raises questions as to where animals in area E were held, whether related to
pastoralism or agriculture. Threshing floors as a safe indicator of agricultural activ-
ity have not been observed at all, neither by ground nor by aerial survey. Possibly
they were destroyed by contemporary agricultural practices.
Because the present orientation of the fields, field boundaries (bushes), and
rural buildings, in the coastal plain and on top of the southern ridge, displays the
same pattern, as do several ancient wall structures and the presumed course of
the Roman road, we may suggest that the present parcellation reflects an ancient
cadastral system.
The buildings display a construction technique using large amounts of ashlars
which constitute the complete walls’ thickness. This and the ashlars’ standardized
measurements which we have traced back to remains of several ancient buildings
and nearby quarries demonstrate that spolia were used abundantly. Thanks to clues
gathered from the quarries, we may assume that the use of ancient measurements in
the eastern part of the Karpas Peninsula continued beyond antiquity, possibly until
the twentieth century.

Acknowledgements

We would like to express our gratitude to the Department of Antiquities of

Northern Cyprus, especially to Dr. Figen Caner, Dr. Elif Karaca, and Mr. Bilal
Kızılkaya, for their continuous support of the Aphendrika survey project. Likewise,
we would like to thank Mr. Mustafa Kemal Kasapoğlu of the Evkaf in Nicosia for
providing valuable information. Last but not least, we thank Mr. Uğur Karagözlü of
Arkin University of Creative Arts and Design, for proofreading this article.

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Author details

Marko Kiessel1*, Ahmet M. Saymanlier2 and Yasemin Mesda2

1 Department of Industrial Design, Arkin University of Creative Arts and Design,

Kyrenia, North Cyprus

2 Department of Interior Design, Cyprus International University, Nicosia,

North Cyprus

*Address all correspondence to: marko.kiessel@arucad.edu.tr

© 2019 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms
of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/
by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is properly cited.

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Learning from traditional
built environment of Cyprus:

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Chapter 32

Eco-villages as a Sustainable
Settlement Type: A Model
Proposal for Turkey
Murat Kuruoğlu, Selin Başcan Yüce, Kahraman Eskidemir,
Gözde İrem Cebir, Funda Yirmibeşoğlu and Nurkan Baykara

Abstract

The search for creating a sustainable living environment throughout the world
is increasing day by day. Eco-villages are a type of intelligent settlements with
ecological characteristics such as natural agriculture and livestock activities, thus
producing their own nutrients, utilizing renewable energy systems, transforming
their wastes, and having a self-sufficient and collective social life. With the migra-
tion from rural areas to cities, eco-villages constitute a solution for the redevelop-
ment of rural areas where the population is lost and investments decrease. This
paper underlines the necessity of eco-village’s contribution to cities and human
species and points out the lack of eco-village implementations in Turkey. First,
this article identifies eco-village movement and the development of eco-villages
in various countries, discussing from the beginning how they emerged and were
shaped through needs. Second, this paper aims to find answers of eco-village
indicators in Turkey with the help of a survey study. The survey consists of
different questions which are related to village economy, social structure, usage,
transportation, construction materials, etc. Based on the survey results, the paper
examines which criteria are important and how they could be improved and inte-
grated to an eco-village model. It is aimed to obtain an eco-village model based
mainly on the outputs of the survey, literature review, and various examples from
around the world.

Keywords: eco-village, smart eco-village, sustainable settlement,

ecological settlement, eco-village model

1. Introduction

Eco-villages are ecologically, socioculturally, and spiritually sustainable settle-

ment models. They aim to reduce the amount of negative effects of human beings
on nature through eco-friendly design practices and through voluntary participa-
tion. Eco-villages project a living style in which people form communities that are in
touch with nature and which makes it a priority that all living creatures healthfully
continue to exist in the future. What lies beneath the concept of eco-village is the
root idea that a person should take the responsibility for his/her own life. In addi-
tion, eco-villages were mentioned at the United Nations’ Sustainable Development
Programme for perfect sustainable living models [1].

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Eco-villages have recently become prominent settlements both in Turkey and

throughout the world. In this regard it is known that universities have also been
trying to build eco-village settlements using their own resources. Istanbul Technical
University (ITU) also is aiming to build an eco-village settlement which is suitable
to the sociocultural and spatial structure considering the expectations and needs of
the community in order to ensure sustainable development.
The present study focuses on the strategies about the projected eco-village model
design. Regarding this, after a review of the eco-village settlements in the world
and in Turkey, a survey study was conducted in order to find out the expectations
of potential users of the projected eco-village model. The survey questionnaire,
which comprises of 23 question items, consists of multiple-choice and open-ended
questions intended to inquire about user profiles and physical and socioeconomic
expectations and preferences of users. The sampling of the survey consists of
academic staff working in ITU Faculty of Architecture with a total of 109 individu-
als who participated in the survey.

2. Literature review

The concept of eco-village emerged as a new approach in history with the

“back to the land” movement in 1960, with a desire to build societies or com-
munities. Emphasizing concepts such as self-sufficiency, autonomy, and local
community rather than the dominating industrial or postindustrial living style,
which became prominent especially after World War II, that movement is seen
as a call for people to claim lands and to grow food in those lands. Although the
movement is considered to be the beginning of eco-villages, there are examples of
similar applications in different parts of the world which date back to earlier times,
such as the Solheimar settlement built in Iceland in 1920. The movement which
survived through 1970 and continued to become more and more popular gave way
to a new movement which was called “cohousing.” With this so-called “cohous-
ing” movement, communities within settlements were encouraged to use shared
places for certain functions1. The communal kitchens, resting, and working areas
in eco-villages today basically take their roots from that movement which emerged
in 1980. When especially through the 1990s the concept of sustainability became
more and more prominent, a search for new settlement models started. The word
“eco-village” gained acceptance with Robert and Diane Gilman’s study in 1991,
which brought together the themes of sustainability, ecology, and community,
and after that, many communities began to refer to themselves as “eco-villages.”
As a result of the Congress organized in Findhorn in 1995, a “Global Network for
Eco-villages” was formed to bring these communities together, and the mission
was to promote and support sustainable living models. The fact that eco-villages
were named among sustainable settlement models of the United Nations in 1998
and that the formed Global Eco-village Network have members and eco-villages
from each continent today is proof that the mission has been successfully operating
to date [2].
Jackson and Svensson describe the main goal of eco-villages as follows: “Creating
a future, as opposed to the energy consumption of the mechanical world ruled
by organized monsters, a productive future for individuals and for the nature.

1
There were also various movements in history such as socialist utopias for communal living. One of the
notable utopian communities, the Fourierist community, was based on a communal approach in every-
day life to make production more efficient. Owenite communities are another example for prototypes of
cooperated villages.

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To create a future for the children where they can grow up as balanced and healthy
individuals” [3]. Considering that goal, several studies have been conducted about
what the criteria regarding the goal should be. According to Demir, one of the
important criteria for eco-villages is culture [4]. All eco-villages embody a cultural
aspect. According to the Integrated Urban Development Strategy and Action Plan,
the criteria for ecoculture are:

• Prioritizing the ecological balance in the use of natural resources

• Protecting, sustaining, and developing cultural assets

• Establishing healthy, safe, and quality living environments, sterilized from

natural and technological hazards and risks

• Providing equal opportunities in utilizing public services

• Increasing economic, social, and cultural development at the local level

• Developing cultural and social solidarity and integration

• Protecting and developing local cultural values and traditions

• Developing and institutionalizing participation methods for a culture of coop-

eration and solidarity [5]

Eco-villages are divided into different types according to their characteristics.

When the literature is examined, it is seen that the population and distance, design
concept, and community type are classified by taking into consideration three dif-
ferent criteria (e.g., Table 1).
The size of eco-villages formed by the population and the distance rises to
100 ha, and the population and area of the settlement located on the urban fringe
are larger than those of the other two settlement types. Due to its proximity to the
city, it interacts directly with the city. Hobby gardens are of great importance for the
business and interaction between newcomers and villagers. While such businesses
and interactions revive agricultural land, additional income can be obtained from
land leases and peasants, and social interaction is established with the knowledge
of the villagers. The most important feature of eco-villages in rural areas is the
creation of an ecological network with rural land resources. Eco-villages in natural
areas have the least number of inhabitants and the least number of settlements. In

Eco-villages by population Eco-villages according to the Eco-villages by

and distance understanding of design community type

Eco-village located in urban Ecological-oriented eco-village Religious eco-village

areas
Eco-village located in rural Social-oriented eco-village Ecological eco-village
areas

Eco-village located in natural Cultural eco-village Communal eco-village

areas
Spiritual eco-village Practical eco-village

Table 1.
Classification of eco-villages [3, 6, 7].

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these eco-villages, peasants and newcomers make up half the total population, and
the long-term stay of the newcomers becomes important [8].
According to Jackson and Svensson, eco-villages which are formed based on the
understanding of design are designed and constructed according to four differ-
ent focuses: ecological, social, cultural, and spiritual. The main parameter of the
ecological-oriented eco-village is to give the least damage to the environment.
Through studies on landscaping and sustainable agriculture, it has been aimed to
develop future eco-villages compatible with nature. While designing eco-villages,
sustainable agriculture, solar and wind energy utilization, rainwater usage, and
water capacity are taken into consideration. The settlement plan and architecture
are decided by considering ecological principles and the abovementioned factors.
Social-oriented eco-villages are defined as housing cooperatives with central com-
mon areas. The habitats are formed by clustering around each other, around a street
or common area. While forming the housing clusters in which one or two-storey
houses are located, attention is paid to the interaction and socialization between
the clusters. Public car park is located at the entrance of the eco-village so that
motor vehicles are not included in the eco-village. The most important feature of
the cultural-oriented eco-village is that there is a space for theater, dance, music,
celebrations, meetings, and gatherings. While the meeting space can be under a
tree or a statue, stories transmitted through generations are retold in these meet-
ing areas, and celebrations are held here. What distinguishes spiritual-oriented
eco-villages from others is that there is a meditation area that is easily accessible to
everyone. When all different focus points are considered, there is no right or wrong
focus regarding eco-design. What is important is to ensure healthy development
in the long run while designing and to proceed in a sustainable manner as much as
possible. In the past, eco-villages were a marginal dream for small communities but
now have become remarkable and accepted all over the world [3, 6, 7].
The eco-villages by community type are composed of a common ideology and
voluntary communities formed by individuals who have decided to share time and
space. Meijering et al. [9] divided volunteer communities into four as religious,
ecological, communal, and practical communities [10]. The most important
distinguishing feature of religious communities is that there is a strong ideological
commitment to the same religion and a corresponding lifestyle adopted by all mem-
bers of the community. Ecological communities, on the other hand, migrate to rural
areas, where they can meet their needs of ecological lifestyles. Considering food
and energy production, they try to achieve minimum consumption and maximum
self-sufficiency. The use of local materials is important when building houses. In
communal societies, the aim is to create strong ties among members. Some com-
mon areas (kitchen, laundry, dining room, office, library, playroom) or the whole
community space is shared, and these areas are used by all members in their daily
rituals (meals, activity planning, parties, etc.). The reason for the combination of
practical communities is to share the practical way of saving. All materials, from
tools to kitchen and laundry equipment, and facilities are shared, in such a way to
make their lives easier and more economical. Since the ideology is practicality, they
are usually located on the urban fringes [9, 10].
Around the world, eco-villages of different populations, functions, geographies,
and features have been created and successfully sustained. However, as far as
the eco-village initiatives in Turkey are concerned, it is seen that they are usually
realized in the form of small-scale enterprises. Those eco-villages are generally
built to function as agriculture- and tourism-oriented farms delivering their
produce throughout the country rather than as tourist destinations with guest
houses or other accommodation facilities. In the past, there had been attempts to
build eco-villages that were planned to be large-scale enterprises, but they failed to

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be successful. The foremost reasons for that were the lack of equipment and the
inability of the newcomers to adapt to rural life. For example, Eko-Foça Village,
established in Izmir in the past, was considered unsuccessful because it was far
from the city center and was abandoned first by families with children due to lack of
schools in the eco-village and eventually by all others [11]. In addition, it is observed
that eco-village examples that do not have an orderly settlement pattern are likely to
disappear in time.

3. Properties of eco-villages and model proposal

By examining successful examples of eco-villages around the world, which has

been done regarding the issue of energy, the most important characteristic that
distinguishes the economic, social, and physical structures and ecocultures from
other village settlements has been determined. In the light of survey results and
information obtained from the examples, suggestions were made for a model.

3.1 Socioeconomic structure

The key elements of the economic structure in eco-villages are trust, transpar-
ency, and mutual support. In most eco-villages, regular meetings are held to make
decisions about income and expenses, and the members are informed about the
economic activities. For example, in Munksøgård eco-village in Denmark, consulta-
tion meetings open to all members are held every 2 months [12]. In the Auroville
eco-village in India, all income and expenses of the community’s economy are
shared via a bulletin published on their website at the beginning of each month [13].
The distribution of income from eco-villages can vary in some eco-villages; mem-
bers earn income from their own products independently, while others share com-
mon income from their crops. In another model, the members sustain their lives
with the income they earn by working in jobs outside the eco-village. For example,
the Damanhur eco-village in Italy defines its members as economically independent
individuals and gives its members the opportunity to work in or out of the com-
munity [13]. Tamera eco-village in Portugal makes three different budget defini-
tions for the settlement. The first of these is the basic household budget, financed
by donations and revenues covering basic service, maintenance, and procurement
costs; the second is the loan budget to finance the first investment; and the third is
investment budget covering the donated funds for individual project groups [14].

3.1.1 Initiative and management forms

Eco-villages are usually established as cooperatives. The International

Cooperatives Association (ICA) defines the cooperative initiative as follows [15]:
Cooperatives, not only as profit, but as business enterprises motivated by
values, share internationally accepted principles and work together to build a better
world through cooperation. The collaborative economic development, defined by
the search for collaborative production and the means of active change, exists to
improve people's lives and to look after nature.
The cooperative approach based on protecting and sustaining the environment
is very similar to the goals and objectives of the eco-villages. For this reason, coop-
erative-led eco-villages have the potential to become long-lasting and successful.
It was seen that most of the successful examples of eco-villages in the world were
formed through cooperatives. For example, the Oekodorf Sieben Linden eco-village
in Germany was established with the cooperative method. The housing cooperative

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of the eco-village provides a legal and financial framework for some of the proj-
ects, and all the future residents of the houses in the project are to devote a part of
their shares and labor to the cooperative [16]. The cost of the installation phase of
eco-villages is the highest cost. In the Sieben Linden eco-village, one of the success-
ful examples of eco-villages, in case the cooperative is not financially sufficient,
loans are taken from banks or persons. For this reason, residents of the settlement
have to pay a certain amount of rent determined according to their participation
in labor or financing the village [16]. In Denmark, the Dyssekilde eco-village has a
participation fee and an annual rent payment [14]. There is no participation fee in
Torri Superiore eco-village in Italy to be a new member. However, those who want
to become a member must rent or buy a property or live nearby. It is also obligatory
that he/she should visit the eco-village several times, work with the members, and
live there for at least 6 months before becoming a member [10].

3.1.2 Employment opportunities and income sources

The most important sources of income of eco-villages are revenues from the
sale of natural agriculture and livestock products, from various workshops, from
the sale of the surplus energy produced by the eco-village, and from ecotourism
revenues. For example, one of the main goals of the Dyssekilde eco-village in
Denmark is to generate surplus energy and generate revenue by creating systems
that generate more energy than consumption [14]. The most common employ-
ment opportunities in eco-villages are workshops, natural agriculture and animal
husbandry sectors, bakery, and sectors such as cafes, restaurants, and accommo-
dation that serve ecotourism. For example, the Solheimar eco-village in Iceland
offers a wide range of business opportunities because of its diverse business
fields and companies. These include job opportunities in various arts and crafts
workshops, bakery, organic vegetable nursery, and forestry, as well as kitchen,
cafeteria, shop, gallery, maintenance team work, or guesthouse work [16]. In
some eco-villages, a specific currency for the eco-village is accepted, and only
that currency is used within the boundaries of the eco-village. For example, the
Findhorn eco-village in Scotland has a special currency called “eko.” Although
the use of that currency supports the circulation of money within the settlement,
the fact that it still requires donations from outside the settlement shows that the
economy is not yet fully self-sufficient [16].

3.2 Physical structure

When the examples of settlements in the world and in Turkey are examined in
terms of settlement scales, it has been determined that there are similar applications
that can be used as a reference while creating the physical structure of the model.
In addition, it is seen that the eco-villages where there are no settlements disappear
over time; therefore, the physical structure is important in proposed models. As
seen in Figure 1, the housing in eco-villages with a regular settlement pattern is
in the form of clusters. The housing clusters, each of which generally consists of
10–30 housing units, are designed around a common courtyard. At the center of the
courtyards are children’s playgrounds or terraces, and the courtyards of different
clusters are connected by pedestrian paths to increase interaction. The public house,
which is usually available in each cluster, is situated in different locations such as in
the middle, at the entrance, or at the very end [4, 11, 13, 14, 16–21].
Different methods are used while forming housing clusters. For example, in the
Ithaca eco-village, housing clusters were built according to years [22]. In another

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Figure 1.
Examples of eco-village settlement chart.

eco-village, Hjortshoj eco-village, houses are clustered based on ownership, with

separate sets of houses as houses for rent, houses for sale, houses for timeshare, and
municipal property [21]. In Munksogard, residential areas are clustered according
to social status of residents such as the elderly, families with children, youth, and
singles [20]. The aim of such clustering practices is to increase interaction and
to provide that groups of individuals from different socioeconomic groups live
together in similar houses.
A general evaluation can be made based on the examples examined: the gen-
eral approach to architectural design in the eco-village examples is in the form of
vernacular and innovative design based on local architectural techniques. In eco-
villages where local construction materials are used, straw bale, wood, and adobe
are the main materials. It can be said that using recyclable materials make it possible
that functions, materials, and construction techniques support each other. It is seen
in the examined examples that the use of renewable energy systems and effective
building designs considering environmental sustainability are carried out with a
participatory approach.
As for the land use in eco-villages, the most outstanding areas are agricultural
areas, houses, common areas, car parks, and other areas that may vary depend-
ing on the characteristics of the eco-village. These areas are shaped according to
usage rights. Within the scope of the present study, three different fields were
defined according to usage rights: areas where one individual or one household is
entitled to usage rights are “individual areas,” areas that allow the usage of more
than one household are “common areas,” and areas that entitle different usage
rights from individual and common areas are defined as “other areas.” Public
houses, pedestrian roads, courtyards, and agricultural areas are common areas
in all eco-villages that have been studied. Public houses are structures which
embody functions such as a library, a dining hall, a large kitchen, and a laundry
and which are commonly used by more than one household. These spaces are

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effective in building community awareness and developing social relations.

Pedestrian paths and also bicycle lanes are considered important because they
allow that the inhabitants of eco-villages meet each other in daily life and can
develop their communications. In addition, the floor plan shows bathrooms and
kitchens designated as common areas in eco-villages where shared dwellings are
located [4, 11, 14, 16–21].
The areas that provide different usage rights from the individual and com-
mon areas mentioned above are defined as “other areas.” They differ depending
on activities taking place in the eco-village. There are guest houses for incoming
guests such as in Torri Superiore and Auroville, where there is tourism. In addition,
spaces to support different functions are also created such as a tourist center, etc.
[10, 13]. In eco-villages that host such activities as seminars, courses, and so on, like
Solheimar, there are guest houses where these trainings take place and where the
attendees of trainings are accommodated [16]. In the eco-villages such as Damanhur
and Auroville, which stand out with their spiritual characteristics, there are spaces
such as temples and meditation areas [11, 13, 14]. Public spaces such as schools
and medical units are also important for the continuity of eco-villages. Studies on
failed eco-village examples in Turkey mention the lack of public services [11, 23].
Therefore, it is necessary to design public spaces to serve the needs of the popula-
tion in eco-villages.
It is important to provide public transportation in eco-villages. In an eco-
friendly environment, transportation options such as bicycles or environmentally
friendly vehicles that do not leave carbon footprints are preferred. In this regard,
there are car parks at the entrances of eco-villages or residential clusters, and some
examples show that there are vehicles that can be used daily within the eco-village
boundaries [4, 11, 14, 16–21].

3.3 Energy

The increase in energy consumption worldwide, the trend toward the depletion
of energy resources, the difficulties in supplying energy, and the damage to the
environment for more energy production in this process have increased concerns
about energy [24]. Since avoiding energy use decreases energy consumption and
CO2 emissions, energy issue within the scope of sustainable urbanization emerges
as a very important factor for that reason. Studying eco-villages in various countries
with different policies for energy production and use within the scope of sustain-
ability will be more efficient due to the variety and different approaches in energy
strategies to be developed.
In 2014, Haslenda Hashim’s eco-village concept study conducted in Iskandar,
Malaysia, a model in which biomass and solar energy are integrated, has been pro-
posed. In this example, it is observed that highly competitive power costs occur. In
addition, it is seen how important the storage of the generated energy is and that a
system for energy storage should definitely be included in the designed eco-villages
[27]. In 2000, Richard Sanders studied the economy of ecological agriculture
through seven separate Chinese eco-villages and mentioned the role of energy in
this context [28]. In this context, an integrated mechanism has been formed with
the inclusion of solar energy in the biogas digesting coal. The integrated use of
these two energies has reduced the demand for electricity for lighting and cooking,
prevented the use of harmful sources, and improved the environment and health.
Bringing together the results of the studies on energy production in selected eco-
villages from different regions in Turkey and around the world, analyzing them,
and generating outputs accordingly will help reveal new energy efficiency strategies
(e.g. Table 2).

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Eco-villages as a Sustainable Settlement Type: A Model Proposal for Turkey
Eco-villages Solar Wind Biogas Gray and Natural Compost Additional information
energy energy energy, rainwater treatment production
systems systems geothermal

Guneskoy X X X A greenhouse system using solar energy called Günsera

Camtepe A central system established by distributing water
heated by wood to radiators

Marmaric X X X X With solar panels, only homes are heated. In order to

heat the spaces, the Bulgarian production stove system
Prity is used. Heat generated by radiators is distributed
Dutlar X There is an energy system created by solar panels and
Collective bicycles

Ithaca X X Photovoltaic panels, solar paneled, and solar hot water

(America) houses are included. There is no obligation to supply
electricity locally. Solar, wind, and water power are the
most used sources

Solheimar X X X X There are innovative concepts such as energy-saving

(Iceland) lighting, soil-cooled and geothermal-heated air
circulation, photovoltaic and geothermal electricity
usage

Tamera X X X It has a 20 kW photovoltaic system that produces its

(Portugal) own energy. Jürgen Kleinwächter’s solar technology
inventions, Scheffler mirrors, biogas digesters, and solar
dryers have been tested and integrated into daily life

BO01 X X X X X With rainwater and gray water supply, an efficient

(Switzerland) waste management system, biogas production from
organic wastes, and a waste recycling system that
provides annual 290 kWh energy per person have been
established

Table 2.
Information on energy production and waste management in sample eco-villages [11, 14, 16, 23, 25, 26].
ISBS 2019 - 4th International Sustainable Buildings Symposium

4. ITU eco-village model

As can be seen from the examples reviewed, the economic, social, and physical
characteristics of eco-villages can vary according to the functions of eco-villages,
user characteristics, and preferences. Within this framework, the results of the
questionnaire answered by 109 people who are potential participants to live in the
eco-village will gain importance. The survey study was conducted among ITU
members in December 2018 and consisted of 23 questions that reveal the basic
components of the settlement, such as economic structure, social structure, physi-
cal structure, transportation, and building materials. Below are the results of the
survey:
“Agriculture,” which is one of the most basic sectors of eco-villages, is planned
to also be the main sector of ITU eco-village. According to the survey, 56% of the
participants chose agriculture as an answer to the question about the determination
of the economic sector of the village settlement. In accordance with permaculture
principles of agricultural production, it is accepted that natural farming methods
without agricultural drugs and chemical additives will be used.
As an answer to the question about the basic livelihood of the eco-village, in
which the participants selected from multiple options, 63% of the participants
opted for “working in a job other than/independent from the eco-village,” while
54% selected “working in a job in the settlement.” Therefore, it is expected that the
participants of the ITU eco-village will be able to choose from various options such
as to continue their work outside the village or to have the opportunity to work in
the village workshops, in agriculture, in raising livestock, or in the production of
activities such as bakery or ecotourism.
As for the answer to the multiple-choice question regarding the sharing of
income obtained from the various products of the eco-village, 67% of the par-
ticipants suggested that the income should be used for the development of the
eco-village. In line with this most popular option, which promotes collective
consciousness, it is envisaged that a portion of the future income of the village will
be determined by the users for the development of the settlement and the rest will
be shared among the users as was preferred by 50% of the participants.
As an answer to the question about the ownership status of the housing in the
eco-village, 44% of the participants chose homeownership, 20% were in favor
of cooperatives, 9% chose to be tenants, and 9% were in favor of lodging; others
chose “timeshare properties,” “free of charge,” and “social facility with payment” as
answers. In accordance with the different preferences of users, the ITU cooperative-
based eco-village is planned to have a property model that offers its members the
options of being a landlord or a tenant.
According to the results of the survey, the most popular preference of the
participants as to the location of the eco-village is a rural area 1 hour away from the
city, and the next choice is on the urban fringe. The natural area more than 1 hour
away from the city was the least preferred settlement type. In this respect, it can be
concluded that the majority of the participants do not want to break away from the
city. Therefore, transportation between the city and the eco-village is important.
It is expected that transportation in the eco-village will be provided with bicycles,
public transportation, and eco-vehicles.
As a must of an eco-village, participants chose “awareness of collective living.”
For this reason, agricultural areas, public houses, courtyards, and other areas that
will create an awareness of collective living are important. The kitchen is used both
individually and as a common area. For this reason, it is thought that it will be ben-
eficial to have kitchens in both living units and public houses. Agricultural activities

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are the most desired activity. Therefore, it is important to establish common agri-
cultural areas. The areas that the participants want to be included in the eco-village,
the activities they want to participate in, and the other areas depending on the
demands of the basic economic sector are workshops, hobby gardens, the library,
health facility, sports facility, school, festival area, art center, education center, and
meditation center. When the results of the questionnaires are evaluated in terms of
life unit scale, it is seen that the housing preferences of the participants are mainly
one- or two-storey houses. They are expected to be designed as 2 + 1 residential
unit, the sizes of which range from 40 to 80 m2. Moreover, it is expected by the
participants that the most important common space of kitchens, where everyday
life takes place, is to be used both individually and as common areas. Considering
the sociocultural characteristics, all results should be taken into account in order to
address the preferences of everyone.
In the eco-villages, the kitchen, bathroom, and toilet, which can be both public
and individual areas, are chosen by the participants to be individual areas. Some
of the participants also demand that the use of the kitchen be shared. According
to housing choices of participants; 1–2-storied, 80–120–40 m2; 2 + 1, 3 + 1, 1 + 1,
studio options are, respectively, preferred. It is important to create all the options to
address everyone.
The guiding strategies in creating the model of the eco-village based on the
results of overseas examples, and the survey results are listed below:

4.1 Strategies related to social structure

• The economy is based on trust, transparency, and mutual support.

• There is a cooperative organization giving an equal say to all members.

• The eco-village produces its own food and sells its natural agricultural and
livestock products.

• The eco-village produces its own energy and sells the remaining part of energy.

• The residents of the eco-village are provided with business opportunities

(agriculture, animal husbandry, workshops).

• The eco-village is economically self-sufficient and a sustainable settlement.

4.2 Strategies related to physical structure

• The settlement model is determined to comprise of urban fringe (5000–15,000

people), rural area (2000–500 people, 1 hour away from the city), and natural
area (more than 1 hour away from 100 to 500 cities), and a systematic organic
bond is established between this population structure and distance system and
the village and city (e.g., Figure 2, Table 3).

• Modular size of the housing in individual areas is determined as 40 m2, allow-

ing units to grow side by side (80, 120, 160 m2) (e.g., Figure 3).

• The number of rooms in a single-storey unit are designed in such a way to allow
different uses, but predominantly as 2 + 1, in this context, to create a model
that includes all the options to ensure full participation in the eco-village.

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• The cluster of housing units in the model is to be built according to size

(80–120–40 m2) or ownership (homeowner, cooperative, lodging, tenant, and
circuit property).

• Courtyards that nurture neighborhood life are established while creating

clusters.

• Residential areas or detached houses with kitchen, bathroom, and toilet as

individual areas are preferred

• The kitchen and library, which has been required to be in common use, are
included in housing clusters for the sake of collective life consciousness, which
was stated as a must for the eco-village.

• Agricultural areas which are important in terms of collective life and produc-
tion consciousness are another common area that should be taken into consid-
eration regarding that participants want to engage in agricultural activities and
prefer agriculture as the basic economic sector.

• The workshops, hobby gardens, health facilities, sports facilities, school,

festival area, art centers, training centers, spiritual education unit, and spatial
plans construction regulation, demanded by the participants, as well as other
necessary equipment, are to be included according to the needs of the popula-
tion to be included in the eco-village according to the needs of the population
(e.g., Table 3)

• A transportation model of bicycles, non-motorized vehicles, and public trans-

portation is developed, parallel to the examples of the world, analyzing the car
park at the entrance of the eco-village or the housing clusters.

Figure 2.
The settlement model.

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Eco-villages as a Sustainable Settlement Type: A Model Proposal for Turkey
Types of eco-villages according to the recommended model

Urban fringe Rural area Natural area

Population group 0–75,000 5000 2000 500

Infrastructure area Minimum unit area m2/ Total Per Total Per Total Per
(m2) person m2 unit m2 unit m2 unit
Education facilities Kindergarten 1500–3000 0.5 2500 3 1000 2 250 1

Primary school 4000–7000 1.5 7500 1 3000 1 750 1

Middle school 5000–9000 1.5 7500 1 3000 1 750

High school 6000–10,000 1.75 8750 1 3500 875

Boarding school 10,000–15,000

Vocational high school, multi-program high 10,000–25,000

school
Special education, guidance, rehabilitation 2000–4000
center

Public education center and technical high 3000–5000 1 1

school
Health facilities Family health center 750–2.000 1.5 7500 1 3000 1 750 1

Stepped care health facility 3000 1 1

2
Oral and dental health center Per unit (110) m
Birth and child care homes Per bed (130) m2 1

Public hospitals

Specialized/education and research

hospitals
Physical therapy and rehabilitation hospitals

Health campuses Per bed (220) m2

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ISBS 2019 - 4th International Sustainable Buildings Symposium

Types of eco-villages according to the recommended model

Urban fringe Rural area Natural area

Place of worship Small place of worship 1000 0.5 2500 1000 1 250 1

Medium place of worship 2500 1

Big worship place and complex 10,000

Social open and green areas Playpen 10 50,000 20,000 5000

Park

Botanical park
Zoo

Promenade area

Recreation area
Social and cultural facility 0.5 2500 1000 250
area

Trade 1 5000 2000 500

Table 3.
Facilities required to be found in echoes in the proposed model according to the Turkey construction regulation of spatial plans [29].
Eco-villages as a Sustainable Settlement Type: A Model Proposal for Turkey
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.87836

Figure 3.
The housing unit models.

4.3 Strategies related to energy

• Considering the solar energy as the main energy source of the eco-village.

• Also providing diversity with wind energy and other renewable energy sources
(thermal energy, bio energy, etc.).

• Relating the solar energy to each building in the settlements by means of solar
panels.

• Planning buildings during the design phase of the system as ready for the
solar system to be installed, as the cost of the solar system added later will be
higher.

• Making the necessary arrangements about the orientation of the structures,

material use with orientation, insulation and ventilation systems, and on the
windows in fronts.

• Recycled steel-insulated concrete forms, straw bales, soil, and local materials
are the recommended materials in terms of energy saving.

• Using low-E windows, depending on temperature in both summer and winter.

• Designing applications considering both summer and winter for the roofs
(hard concrete tile, green roof applications, etc.).

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• Storing of the produced surplus energy so that it could be ready to be reused in

case production stops and ready for reuse if production is to be used later.

• In order to reduce energy use, the functions in the eco-village should be as much
as possible for common use, so that the energy use of the structures designed for
common use is kept to a minimum and that individual use is kept under control.

• Producing biogas from organic wastes by means of regulations in waste man-

agement and supplying energy in that way.

• Storing gray water, storm water, and solid waste and generating alternative
energy through green roof applications and individual or community green
space applications.

5. Conclusion and review

Today, eco-villages have gained importance as ecological, economic, and sociocul-

turally sustainable human settlements. Eco-villages create environments where local
and natural resources are used, sociocultural structure is diversified, and healthy,
safe, and qualified living environments are created. They also provide a potential for
economic, social, and cultural development. Designed for the members of Istanbul
Technical University, the eco-village model, which is expected to extend to other sites
across Turkey after its construction, is an intelligent and self-sufficient ecological
settlement type which makes use of natural farming and animal husbandry, thus
producing its own nutrients, utilizing renewable energy systems, transforming
waste, and promoting a collective social life. With this application, it is aimed to
revive the economic, social, and cultural relations between the city and the village
and to bring together the knowledge of the university and the wisdom of the local.
Sustainable use of local resources, protection of local cultural values and tradi-
tions, and ensuring social solidarity are the basic principles. Adoption of local and
agricultural production and permaculture principles is envisaged in the settlement. As
a business model, a cooperative-based structure is adopted, and property ownership
is diversified offering different property options such as home ownership, rental, and
housing; rural areas and the urban fringe options are the primary settlement areas,
and by establishing a relationship between the village and the city, the eco-village is
ensured to be connected to the city in terms of circulation of products and cooperation.
As for housing preference, 40–80 m2, one- or two-storey residences offering develop-
ment opportunities are preferred, and a settlement layout including individual areas
such as kitchens and bathrooms, as well as shared public areas, prioritizing energy-
friendly means of transportation and using intelligent technologies is established.
The present eco-village model proposed within the scope of the study which
investigates in detail the eco-village models applied around the world and in Turkey
differs from other eco-villages in that it establishes a system based on population and
distance. In doing so, solutions to facilities brought by population are found within
the framework of Spatial Plans Building Regulations in Turkey. In the eco-village
system with different population sizes, different reinforcements are offered to the
population shrinking from the urban perimeter to the rural area and to the natural
area; it is projected that the current population of villagers will also benefit from the
reinforcements in the settlements in order to ensure sustainability by building bridges
between production experiences of villagers and the settlements. Another difference
is presented in housing types. Different flexible plan types make it possible for users
through a modular system to expand by adding areas from 40 to 160 m2 at any time

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according to their preferences. This brings along a dynamic understanding of plan-

ning in the eco-village, allowing all kinds of users to settle in the village. One-storey
and two-storey buildings are important in establishing a disabled-friendly settlement.
The projected use of common public spaces (shared kitchen, meeting area, agri-
cultural area, etc.) as well as of individual areas (separate kitchen and bathroom)
in the eco-village reflects a synthesis of the traditional structure of Turkish society
and eco-village collective life design, which stands out as another different feature.
Yet another difference is related to the diversification of energy sources of the
eco-village. Although the main source of energy in the settlements is solar energy,
it is important to use local alternative energy sources depending on the physical and
natural structure of the application area and to bring the settlement and smart tech-
nologies together. Finally, the eco-village model is different from other eco-villages
in the world in that the operating system can offer options such as home ownership,
tenantship, cooperative, lodging, and timeshare properties.
As has been explained in detail above, in this model, social structure, physical
structure, and energy-related strategies are determined for the eco-village, and it is
aimed to reorganize the spatial, sociocultural, and productive structures between
the city and the village with a three-stage settlement system to be established
according to these strategies. Our main priorities with the eco-village model are the
systematization of the urban-rural relationship, contributing to the economy of
the country and the region, ensuring sustainable development, and continuing the
success stories of eco-villages from around the world in our country.

Acknowledgements

This paper was developed from the findings of a research project in Istanbul
Technical University, Housing Research and Education Center.

Author details

Murat Kuruoğlu1*, Selin Başcan Yüce2, Kahraman Eskidemir3, Gözde İrem Cebir4,

Funda Yirmibeşoğlu3 and Nurkan Baykara1

1 Department of Civil Engineering, İstanbul Technical University, İstanbul, Turkey

2 Department of Political Science and Public Administration, Sakarya University,

Sakarya, Turkey

3 Department of Urban and Regional Planning, İstanbul Technical University,

İstanbul, Turkey

4 Department of Architecture, İstanbul Technical University, İstanbul, Turkey

*Address all correspondence to: kuruoglu@itu.edu.tr

© 2019 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms
of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/
by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is properly cited.

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ISBS 2019 - 4th International Sustainable Buildings Symposium
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Chapter 33

Solar Cities as a Model in the

Utilization of Renewable Energy
Sources: The Case of Manisa
Ece Özmen, Tugberk Özmen and Funda Yirmibeşoğlu

Abstract

Population growth and a growing number of activities on sectoral basis increase

the need for electricity. The use of non-renewable energy sources and the increase
in greenhouse gas emissions cause global warming. Solar cities can be defined as
a strategic planning and management model for dynamic cities and communities
with the utilization of renewable energy sources, targets, and designs which reduce
the greenhouse gas emissions, especially in the use of solar energy systems. In
addition, published mainly in the tenth development plan and revealed policies for
the use of energy resources in many reports will be enhanced the quality of life and
greenhouse gas producing policies on climate change to reduce emissions of Turkey.
In this chapter, a model for the selected city of Manisa has been prepared to create
the solar city, and suggestions are given to different sectors about how to utilize it.
On the other hand, mathematical calculations were made for three building blocks
with different population densities in the central districts of Manisa. As a result, the
solar city model for Manisa will contribute to the development of Manisa and this
model, which will be locally utilized, will contribute to the reduction of negative
impacts caused by global climate change.

Keywords: energy, renewable energy, solar energy, solar city, Manisa,

solar application

1. Introduction

Energy is one of the basic sources that human beings need to sustain their
existence. The demand for energy is increasing day by day due to the increase in
population in the world. Increasing demand for energy brings about an increase
in energy production. Many countries in the world like Turkey use non-renewable
energy sources to meet most of their energy needs. Generation of electricity by
using non-renewable energy sources causes environmental problems. Long-term
environmental problems such as dependence on non-renewable energy sources,
global climate change, and increasing urbanization have become important issues to
be addressed worldwide [1]. It has been accepted all over the world that the need for
transition to the utilization of renewable energy is an undeniable reality.
Utilizing from renewable energy sources has become the intersection of energy
planning and urban planning as a more reliable solution for cities in the world [2].
Governments and municipalities have started to change their energy policies with

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the expansion of the use of solar energy, which is one of the renewable energy
sources. Cities are the places where energy consumption is high, mostly non-
renewable energy sources are used and thus greenhouse gases are emitted in large
quantities. Nevertheless, cities can address these problems through better design
and planning, improve the quality of life, and strengthen the local and regional
economies through the use of renewable energy resources and offer opportunities
for solutions [1].
The concept of solar city basically means integration of renewable energy
sources into cities. Solar cities need planning and management arrangements to
deal with large-scale environmental changes such as the use of energy resources
and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. The main objective is to encourage
local governments to use renewable energy technologies and implement energy effi-
ciency practices. However, the contribution of local governments, entrepreneurs,

Components Considerations

The Government, provincial directorates, local administrations, universities, development

Stakeholders agencies, local communities, non-governmental organizations, private sector investors
and employees
Policy To make legal arrangements to be made in order to provide the solar city criteria.
Providing internationally recognized standards for programs such as LEED and energy
star
Planning To prepare and implement plans such as development plans, regional plans, solar city
master plans, strategic plans, land use planning

Technology Integration of technological systems and renewable energy systems into solar cities

Finance Public and private sector budgets, incentives, investments

Table 1.
Components of solar city model.

Targets Considerations

Renewable energy targets
(RE targets)
Carbon dioxide emission
targets (CO2 targets)
This objective specifies the situation for the future share of the use of
renewable energy sources. The aim is to increase the use of renewable
energy sources depending on the target years
The objectives of future CO2 emissions usually indicate the targets
determined by years, taking the entire city or a per capita value. The goal is
to reduce CO2 emissions

Solar thermal energy It refers to policies and incentives for the use of heat energy from the sun,
(SHW) which is in force or intended to take effect. Thus, the use of solar energy in
heat will be increased

Obtaining electricity from It refers to policies and incentives for the use of electrical energy from the
the sun (solar PV) sun, which is in force or intended to take effect
Transportation It refers to policies and/or urban planning approaches adopted for
sustainable transport

Buildings This objective consists of codes to be given to energy efficient buildings,

standards to be set for buildings and incentives for them
Planning It is the holistic strategic city planning approaches to be taken into
consideration by considering future energy consumptions and resources

Demo projects The existing public or private sectors support sample projects in the scope
of solar city models

Table 2.
Common basic targets of all solar cities.

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and even people living in the city has an important role in implementing and
sustaining solar cities [3]. When creating a solar city model, there are some compo-
nents to consider and they are listed in Table 1.
Solar cities include various initiatives, activities, and technologies like renewable
energy, energy efficiency, sustainable transportation options, and architectural
innovations. The first step to create a solar city is to set goals for the program. If a
government and/or a local government aims to create a solar city, they may vary the
policies to be applied. Many cities around the world continue to produce policies in
order to get the title of the solar city at different target values. But there is a com-
mon basic target of all solar cities (Table 2). These main objectives are reducing
greenhouse gas emissions and ecological footprints, protecting and renewing water
and food sources, reducing the effects of exposure to unexpected weather events,
and eliminating other features of climate change. Another basic goal is to provide a
more sustainable environment for the development and management of buildings,
infrastructures and land-use arrangements [4].

2. Turkey’s approach to renewable energy

Turkey is among the developing countries of growing economic structure, and

its growing population leads to increase in energy requirement. As being one of
the countries dependent on imported energy sources, Turkey is working on how to
diversify energy sources and improve energy efficiency to meet the growing need
for energy [5]. Turkey has signed the Kyoto Protocol in 1997 in order to reduce
their greenhouse gas emissions to prevent global climate change in the world in
accordance with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
Countries that have signed the Kyoto protocol are obliged to reduce their green-
house gas emissions by considering their targets.
Turkey has a great potential in terms of renewable energy sources. To promote
energy efficiency and thus to be a country offering a high quality of life, Turkey
aims to increase the utilization of clean and renewable energy sources and to
integrate climate change policies with development policies. Producing policies
on climate change to reduce carbon emissions and to improve the quality of life in
Turkey, published mainly in the tenth development plan, has revealed the impor-
tance of the issue in several reports. Turkey is among the goals thanks to renewable
energy sources by 2023, there are at least 30% of the total electrical energy to
meet the demand. However, it is aimed that 10% of the needs in the transporta-
tion sector will be covered by renewable energy sources [5]. At the same time, it
encourages energy production based on renewable energy as an alternative solu-
tion for a better evaluation of its potential, for preventing risks arising from energy
dependence and for sustainability in energy [5]. Turkey has increased its installed
capacity in renewable energy sources with the support of the laws and regulations
issued in recent years has been almost non-renewable energy sources closer to the
share of this share (Figure 1).
The main renewable energy source is solar energy. And the potential of solar
energy varies by location. Turkey has a great solar energy potential in terms of its
location compared with many European countries (Figure 2). This potential, as
well as in terms of the potential of solar energy in Manisa is situated in the aver-
age in Turkey. This situation plays an important role in renewable energy source
preferences.
The main reasons for the investments made in the field of renewable energies
in our country are the laws and regulations. In this way, the number and installed
capacity of power plants which produce electricity from solar energy is increasing

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ISBS 2019 - 4th International Sustainable Buildings Symposium

Figure 1.
Total installed capacity (MW), Turkey [6].

Figure 2.
Solar energy potential of Turkey and Manisa [7, 8].

day by day. One of the factors in this increase is incentives and the grant systems in
Turkey. Investments in the field of renewable energies in our country have provided
a 10-year energy purchase guarantee. In this regard, investors are making money by
selling the electricity they produce to the grid. In addition, additional incentives are
provided if the elements used in power plants are domestic products. On the other
hand, some ministries and development agencies in our country also provide various
grants to individuals and organizations who want to invest in renewable energies.
Turkey is followed by supportive policies on energy efficiency in buildings.
In particular, it supports the production of building materials that contribute
to energy efficiency together with industry collaborations. In addition, Energy
Identity Certificate is working for the application in existing buildings in Turkey.
In this way, both energy and heat efficiency are encouraged in buildings [9].
Considering all these approaches, Turkey has demonstrated a supportive attitude
towards the solar city model. Thanks to the policies implemented in Manisa of
Turkey, it becomes more possible to accomplish a solar city model in the city.

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3. A solar city model for Manisa

Manisa is located in the TR33 region in Turkey. Manisa is a city which has both
disadvantages and advantages with it being located in İzmir hinterland and it can
develop itself with its agricultural qualities and advanced technology (Figure 3).
According to the population projections prepared for Manisa, the population size
of Manisa is estimated to be approximately 2,334,237 in 2025 in İzmir-Manisa
Environmental Plan with 1/100,000 scale [10]. Approximately 69% of the popula-
tion envisaged in 2025 will live in urban areas and 31% of the population will live in
rural areas [9]. When the population projections are analyzed, Manisa is one of the
cities where there is an increase in energy demand.
Considering agricultural production, productivity, and value rankings in
Turkey, Manisa is in the first place and it is an important agricultural city. It is in the
5th rank in the country in terms of animal production, the 3rd rank in fruit produc-
tion, and in the 6th rank in agricultural production value. When data from 2017 are
analyzed, Manisa is in the 1st rank in producing dried seedless grapes in Turkey.
Also Manisa is in the 3rd place in the ranking of organic agricultural production in
Turkey [11]. The agricultural sector in Manisa continues to have a high added value.
Access to healthy food is possible in Manisa, where agriculture is carried out in all
districts. Although irrigation practices in the agricultural sector bring about the
need for energy, it is possible to get the drip irrigation by means of solar energy by
applying technological methods.
The reasons for choosing Manisa as a solar city are:

• The city has a wide variety and high potential in terms of renewable energy
sources

• The need for energy will increase due to the increasing momentum of its
population

Figure 3.
Map of Manisa.

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ISBS 2019 - 4th International Sustainable Buildings Symposium

• The support of the 10th Development Plan for the use of renewable energy in
cities [12]

• The policies put forward by the Ministry of Energy to reduce the greenhouse
gas emissions mentioned in the national energy efficiency plan

• The industrial sector mentioned in the regional plan prepared for the TR33
region will be further developed and the added value will be increased in the
agricultural sector [13]

• In the strategic plan of Manisa Metropolitan Municipality, the policies such

as making Manisa an environmentally friendly city, developing a planned
urbanization, developing local economy dynamics, maintaining participatory
governance, and diversifying urban transportation should be the basis for
Manisa to be the solar city

• It has a growth potential due to its intense connections and relations with İzmir

3.1 Solar city Manisa

The implementation of different investment and support systems in the National

Regional Development Strategy and the rates of support varying according to the
income levels in the region have been identified [13]. The TR33 region, where Manisa
is located, is also defined as the middle high income region. Increasing sectoral
diversity, creating new employment areas, and developing an entrepreneurship
environment and culture will be ensured in middle high income regions. With the
improvement of the infrastructure of the cities, the attractiveness of these regions
in terms of living and investment conditions will be increased. When it is examined
in terms of energy sources, it is seen that the potential of different renewable energy
sources is high. Manisa province is examined in terms of its natural resources and is
located on fertile agricultural lands. In addition, the industry is developing year by

City RE CO2 SHW Solar Transportation Buildings Planning Demo

targets targets PV projects
Manisa, √ √ — √ √ √ √ √
Türkiye

Table 3.
Evaluations for Manisa in terms of compatibility with solar city common criteria.

Figure 4.
Components of solar city model of Manisa.

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year. Considering these situations, it is foreseen that the population will increase in
Manisa, the energy demand will increase and the air, water, and soil pollution will
increase depending on the population, industry and even agriculture.
Solar cities are possible with planning and management of planned environ-
ments. Planning studies such as planning the use of renewable energy sources and
integrating land use should be carried out. As in other solar cities, Manisa will be
able to fulfill the solar city criteria as a result of its local features. Manisa is evalu-
ated in Table 3 in terms of the compatibility with the solar city common criteria.
Accordingly, it has an application strategy for all criteria except for the production
of heated water with solar energy.
Many of the steps will be taken in support of creating healthier environments
such as low-carbon emissions and energy-efficient buildings. Solar cities, which
address issues such as healthier food access, technological infrastructure, advanced
industry, and sustainable employment, also include guiding targets and strategic
steps for Manisa. Considering all these reasons, the solar city model was created
by combining clean energy, smart industry, planned environment, and ecological
agriculture components in Manisa (Figure 4). In order for these important sectors
to work together, the criteria of the solar city must be taken into consideration.
The use of renewable energy sources and technological and environmentally
sensitive industrial infrastructure are supported. The importance of agriculture
in Manisa is an undeniable fact. In addition to ecological agriculture, eco-cultural
agriculture should be supported and a planned environment should be established
by planning for a clean and sustainable environment. Energy efficient buildings
and sustainable transportation solutions are also included in the solar city model lit-
erature. Besides the objectives required by the literature in Manisa, carbon dioxide
emissions will decrease as a result of the projects to be implemented. Manisa solar
city model that will set an example for other residential areas in Turkey will bring
global impacts occur in the long term with the local strategies (Table 4).

Sectors Key strategies Application projects

Clean energy • Extension of the use of solar
energy systems
• Creation of energy efficiency
• Increasing and controlling diver-
sity in renewable energy use
• All public buildings will be put into use
in solar energy systems by considering
urban esthetics
• Smart meters will be used in every
building

Smart industry • Promotion of advanced technology • Production will be done considering

and innovative industries
• Increasing the quality with smart
production
Planned • Reduction of CO2 emissions from
environment transport
• Preparing strategic plans in accor-
dance with solar city strategies
• Creation of renewable
environment
energy saving
• Waste will be reused without polluting
the environment
• Emissions will be reduced by increasing
accessibility by public transport in new
development areas
• Use of low or zero carbon vehicles will be
supported

Ecological • Increasing accessibility to healthy • The continuity of employment will be

agriculture food ensured
• Improving the quality of local
products

Table 4.
Key strategies and application projects of solar city model of Manisa.

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3.2 Application on the basis of building blocks

In this chapter, three sample building blocks are selected according to Manisa
solar city model. The areas of the building blocks are approximately equal and 1
hectares. These three building blocks, which are different in terms of population
density, are classified as less dense, medium dense, and high dense. The electricity
consumption of Manisa province in the commercial and residential buildings in
2017 was 2,103,304,070 kWh. Annual electricity consumption per capita is calcu-
lated as 1488.49 kWh/person by dividing the amount of electricity consumption by
1,413,041 people, which is the total of commercial and residential population.
The number of flats in the selected three building blocks and then the number
of flats on the floors were determined and the number of flats with the average
household size taken from the TUIK data was multiplied. Thus, the total number
of people for the dwellings in the building blocks was found. The total amount of
annual electricity consumption per capita and the total number of people in the
building block have been multiplied and the total annual electricity demand for that
building block is determined.
The roof surface areas of the houses located on the building blocks were calcu-
lated by NETCAD program. Since the structures such as antenna, chimney, and
elevator room on the roofs are constraints for the installation of a photovoltaic
panel, an approximation was made in the calculation of the roof usage area. When
this approximation was made, the surface areas of the roofs were multiplied by a
factor of 39% to obtain the available roof surface area [14].
In this study, a 260 W photovoltaic panel was taken as a reference. The surface
area of this selected panel is approximately 1626 mm2. It is assumed that the roofs
are suitable for the panel placement slope and that the photovoltaic panels will be
mounted directly to the floor. The total roof usage surface area is/was divided into
the surface area of a photovoltaic panel to calculate the number of photovoltaic
panels to be installed on each roof. Based on the installed capacity of the photovol-
taic panels on the roofs of the houses, the simulation of electricity generation in the
PVsyst program was made.

Figure 5.
First building block which has less density.

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The building block given in Figure 5 is less dense in terms of population, and
the available roof surface area is 1013 m2. It is estimated that a total of 162,042 kW
photovoltaic system will be installed on this area. The annual electricity generation
amount to be obtained from the first building block is calculated as 242,000 kWh.
It is assumed that approximately 110 people live on this building block, and the
annual energy consumption is estimated to be 16,3734.41 kWh. When the estimated
amount of electricity consumption due to the population in the building block
compared with the amount of electricity generation by photovoltaic system, it is
seen that the entire consumption can be met by the photovoltaic system.
The same process was carried out for the second and third building blocks. The
population of the second building block which is given in Figure 6 was calculated
as 215 people and the annual estimated electricity consumption was calculated
as 32,0026.36 kWh. The available roof surface area of these buildings is 1179 m2
and the annual electricity generation by the photovoltaic system is calculated as
282,000 kWh. Accordingly, 88% of the annual electricity demand can be met by
the photovoltaic system to be installed on the roofs of the houses on the second
building block.

Figure 6.
Second building block which has medium density.

Figure 7.
Third building block which has high density.

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The available roof surface area on the third building block, which is meticu-
lously chosen in terms of population density, is 1331 m2 and its annual electricity
consumption is estimated to be 732,339,40 kWh (Figure 7). The annual electricity
generation that can be obtained with the photovoltaic system to be installed on
1331 m2 of available roof surface is calculated as 318,000 kWh. The amount of
annual electricity generated by the photovoltaic system meets the 45% of the total
electricity consumption per year.

4. Conclusion and evaluation

Urbanization and economic development are reasons for the rapid increase in
energy demand in urban areas as in the world. Due to the greenhouse gases emitted
by the non-renewable energy sources and their limited life span, energy systems
are transformed. Transformation in energy systems is possible with the increase
in the utilization of renewable energy sources. The total installed capacity of the
facilities, which are connected to renewable energy sources, especially to solar
and wind energy, is increasing every year. Solar energy is one of the renewable
energy sources. One of the ways to achieve transformation in energy systems can
be the more widespread use of solar energy and the transformation of more cities
into solar cities. As a result of all these approaches, it is preparing the ground for
the application of solar city model in our country. The concept of solar city can be
defined as a new strategic planning process and a management model for urban
communities, with renewable energy use at the forefront, targets, and designs that
reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
In the solar city model, there are some criteria applied according to the targets.
Although the target criteria are different from country to country, the criteria evalu-
ated to achieve the goals are similar. Utilization of renewable energy sources, reduction
of carbon dioxide emissions to certain levels or to zero, thermal and electrical utiliza-
tion of sunlight, sustainability in transportation, whether energy efficiency in build-
ings are the main criteria for creating solar city. Solar cities are possible with planning
and management of planned environments. Planning studies such as planning the use
of renewable energy resources and integrating land use should be done. Many of the
steps will be taken support the creation of healthier environments such as low-carbon
emissions and energy-efficient buildings. Solar cities, which address issues such as
healthier food access, technological infrastructure, advanced industry, and sustainable
employment, also include guiding targets and strategic steps for Manisa.
Manisa is located in the Aegean Coast in the western part of Turkey. In Manisa,
where both the industry and the agricultural sector are at the forefront, the popu-
lation and energy needs are increasing every year. In addition to existing energy
resources, Manisa has a high potential in terms of renewable energy sources and
tries to produce solutions for environmental pollution. Manisa is one of the main
cities to which Turkey’s 2023 target to meet 30% of energy consumption from
renewable energy sources will contribute. In Manisa, which is annually invested
in to generate electricity from geothermal and wind energy as well as from solar
energy, the dissemination of renewable energy is also encouraged.
Turkey’s policy on the form as well as the Department of Energy’s energy
efficiency and climate change policy leads to creating a potential to transform many
cities of Turkey into solar cities. In addition, the fact that Manisa has high-potential
renewable energy sources and the population is increasing indicates the necessity of
energy and urban planning.
While creating a solar city model in Manisa, solar city models created in
the world have been considered. However, Manisa has developed important

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transportation axes due to its current situation in terms of agriculture and indus-
trial sector. In a multi-dimensional approach, according the solar city model; the
existence of fertile agricultural lands in Manisa made it necessary to emphasize the
issue of agriculture. Clean energy, intelligent industry, ecological agriculture, and
planned environment are based on the basics of Manisa solar city model.
The use of solar energy in solar cities is among the main targets. The amount of
electricity per capita in Manisa is calculated and it can be determined how much
electricity the population living in each building block may need. In this context,
the benefits of the use of solar energy have been tested on the blocks of three
different densities selected from the districts of the central districts of Manisa,
Yunusemre, and Şehzadeler. According to these simulations:

• It is foreseen that the annual electricity need will be covered from solar energy
in the less-dense building blocks.

• It is expected that 88% of the annual electricity needs will be met from solar
energy in another building block with medium density.

• It was concluded that 45% of the energy need in the high-dense building block
could be met by the photovoltaic systems to be installed.

Finally, the solar city model for Manisa will contribute to the development of
Manisa. Moreover, this movement, locally started, will contribute to the reduction
of negative impacts caused by global climate change. If the model is applied in
Turkey, it is expected to be the first. The amount of solar energy produced based on
the building blocks will be an example for the use of electricity generated from solar
energy in urban areas in order to meet the electricity demand per capita in Manisa.

Author details

Ece Özmen1, Tugberk Özmen2* and Funda Yirmibeşoğlu1

1 Department of Urban and Regional Planning, İstanbul Technical University,

İstanbul, Turkey

2 Vocational School of Manisa Technical Sciences, Manisa Celal Bayar University,

Manisa, Turkey

*Address all correspondence to: tugberk.ozmen@cbu.edu.tr

© 2019 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms
of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/
by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is properly cited.

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ISBS 2019 - 4th International Sustainable Buildings Symposium

References

[1] Beatley T. Envisioning solar [10] Ministry of Environment and

cities: Urban futures powered by Urbanization General Directorate
sustainable energy. Journal of Urban of Spatial Planning. Izmir-Manisa
Technology. 2007;14(2):31-46. DOI: Planning Region 1/100.000 scale
10.1080/10630730701531682 Environmental Plan, Ankara; 2014

[2] Park H, Andrews C. City planning [11] Metropolitan Municipality

and energy use. In: Encyclopedia of the
Anthropocence. Vol. 1. USA: Elsevier;
2018. pp. 385-396. DOI: 10.1016/
B978-0-12-809665-9.09113-8
[3] Droege P. The renewable city:
A comprehensive guide to an
urban revolution. In: Handbook of
Photovoltaic Science and Engineering.
2nd ed. Great Britain: Wiley; 2007.
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of Manisa. Manisa Metropolitan
Municipality Strategic Plan 2015-2019,
Manisa; 2015
[12] Ministry of Development. 10th
Development Plan (2014-2018),
Ankara; 2013
[13] Zafer Development Agency. TR33
Region 2014-2023 Regional Plan,
Ankara; 2016

[4] Renewable Energy Information [14] Peng J, Lu L. Investigation on the

on Markets, Policy, Investment and development potential of rooftop
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Available from: http://www.martinot. environmental benefits. Renewable
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rser.2013.06.030
[5] Ministry of Energy and Natural
Resources Directorate General of
Renewable Energy. 2000-2016 National
Renewable Energy Action Plan 2013-
2023 Period; Ankara. 2015

[6] Total Installed Capacitiy (MW),

Turkey [Internet]. 2018. Available
from: https://www.teias.gov.tr/tr/
turkiye-elektrik-uretim-iletim-2017-yili-
istatistikleri [Accessed: October 16, 2018]

[7] Solar Energy Poteantial of Europe

[Internet]. 2018. Available from: http://
re.jrc.ec.europa.eu [Accessed: October
21, 2018]

[8] Solar Energy Poteantial of Turkey and

Manisa [Internet]. 2018. Available from:
http://www.yegm.gov.tr/MyCalculator/
[Accessed: October 21, 2018]

[9] Ministry of Environment and

Urbanization. Climate Change National
Action Plan (2011-2023), Ankara; 2011

416
Chapter 34

Resettlement of Slum Dwellers

and Its Impact on Their
Livelihood: A Study of the
Mandertola Housing in Gopalganj
Municipality, Bangladesh
Md. Sohel Sardar and Md. Moynul Ahsan

Abstract

Various push and pull factors trigger poor community to live in slums and squat-
ters in the city area. However, resettlement in these slum areas is sometimes form-
ing without assuring basic livelihood facilities. In 2008, almost 1935 poor people of
349 households in Gopalganj Municipality of Bangladesh were evicted from South
Moulovipara slum and relocated to Mandertola area with semi-constructed build-
ings and other service facilities. The main aim of the study is to explore the loca-
tional and livelihood suitability and its impact on its residents by using a number
of livelihood indicators of Mandertola housing people. This study used question-
naire survey and observation survey. The study found that Mandertola housing is
positively favorable (70.91%) for livelihood than the previous South Moulovipara
slum although some service facilities and income-generating activities are found
insufficient. It has been found that all families could not be allocated to Mandertola
housing; therefore some families migrated to different cities and towns. Finally, this
study recommends that resettlement of slum will be successful if it is well adorned
with adequate service facilities and income-generating and earning activities.

Keywords: slum, eviction, relocation, sustainable livelihood, Gopalganj Municipality

1. Introduction

Bangladesh is a densely populated country of which 24.3% of the population

live under poverty [1]. These low-income poor people have right to live in a safe,
affordable, hygienic, and standard housing with all the amenities of living. But they
are negligible in terms of affordable housing. However, low-income people are often
forced to live illegally in different cities and towns, causing the growth and expan-
sion of slums and squatter settlements [2–4]. The government is acquiring land
for various development projects which are displacing a large number of people
to foster economic growth and development [5]. Evictions are occurring one after
another, destroying the easiest livelihood facility ground. Sometime resettlements
after evictions are being formed without arranging the general livelihood facility
arrangement [4]. In this study, 1935 people from 387 households who had lived on

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the South Moulovipara slum for more than 35 years are rehabilitated to Mandertola
in Gopalganj Municipality jurisdiction [6]. In 2009, the government initiated a
project to construct the Sheik Kamal Cricket Stadium where the South Moulovipara
slum was located [7]. Because of the national development perspective as directed
by the government, the slum dwellers of the South Moulovipara were evicted
with a very short notice. Thus problem has arisen on where these people will go.
After dozens of meeting, procession, and discussion with bureaucrats and policy-
makers, finally the government took the decision to resettle the present Mandertola
location with housing and other service facilities through Urban Partnership for
Poverty Reduction (UPPR) project of UNDP with the partial financial help of
Comprehensive Disaster Management Program (CDMP) [7]. But 387 families
were not accommodated in that housing project. Only 139 families received shelter
facility [6]. For continuing the livelihood of a community, many facilities were
found absent initially. The accommodated new place has no adequate transporta-
tion, health, job, schools, markets and other facilities. Therefore, this study tried
to explore the facts about whether the slum dwellers were facilitated with essential
facilities or not. Can their livelihoods be considered and assured as sustainable?

2. Location of the study area

Mandertola housing is a part of the long-term development solution for the shelter
of the evicted communities of South Moulovipara slum located under Gopalganj
Municipality which is around 124 km far from the capital city Dhaka, Bangladesh.
In this study, South Moulovipara slum and the Mandertola housing are located in
two separate areas within the Gopalganj Municipality. South Moulovipara belongs
to the jurisdiction of ward no. 01 and the Mandertola under ward no. 8 of Gopalganj
Municipality. The Mandertola Housing is named as Dream Address: Mandertola
housing. The area of the Mandertola housing is 4.16 acres and 138 families are living
in this housing settlement. The Comprehensive Disaster Management Program of
UNDP agreed to donate 260 housing unit, and among them 138 families have been
allotted and the remaining is in process. Each of the housing units is designed with
two rooms and one veranda, one kitchen, and one bathroom including toilet. Each
housing unit consists of an area of 370 sq. ft. The houses are semi-pucca building
(roof is made of corrugated sheet but wall is made of materials like burnt bricks,

Figure 1.
Satellite image of relocated slum in Gopalganj Municipality.

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cement, and concrete) and the environment of the settlement is nice with open space.
It has a well-landscaped design with mosque and temple for religious activities. There
are provisions for elementary school community center, etc. At present, there are
tube facilities but no water supply line is available (Figure 1).

3. Methods and techniques

This study has followed both questionnaire survey and observation method. In
terms of questionnaire survey, 50 households (out of 138 households) were sur-
veyed by using “systematic random sampling.” In this type of probability sampling
method, households are selected according to a starting point, and every third
(periodic interval 2) household has been surveyed. By this way more than one third
of the total household has been surveyed. Situations of the slum dwellers at new
location have been observed through observation survey. Various qualitative infor-
mation that directly or indirectly influenced the livelihood of Mandertola housing
people have been observed. Table 1 shows the parameters of data collection of both
observation and questionnaire surveys.

Data collection Field of data

method

Observation Type of houses, number of rooms, Community services, infrastructural

survey housing environment, floor space facilities, road and drain network, water and
sanitation facilities

Household • Household expenditure for food, • Land information such as ownership of

questionnaire health, fuel, education, clothing, land, condition of payment against living,
survey housing, transport, and loan and amount of monthly payment for living
payment
• Land use (within site) such as availability
• Housing condition such as type of of land for courtyard, availability of land
house, number of rooms, area of for vegetation, availability of land for
the house, kitchen use, condition elementary school, availability of land for
of kitchen, distance of kitchen, religious place/institution, and availability
air circulation, availability of sun- of land for other facilities
light, surrounding environment,
• Social affairs such as relationship with
existence of storm water logging,
neighbor, insecurity problem, membership
and existence of legal electricity
of social organization and possibility of
availability
eviction
• Water facilities such as available
• Service availability (in distance) such
source of drinking water, quality
as distance of job location, educational
of drinking water, purification of
institution, hospital, dispensary, market,
water, distance of water source,
graveyard/cremation ground and bus
frequent waterborne disease, and
stand, available mode of transport, and
satisfaction on drinking water
time of availability of transport mode
source
• Latrine such as type of latrine use
and latrine, distance of latrine,
and distance of latrine from water
sources
• Drainage and garbage disposal
such as existence of drain,
distance of drain, capacity of
rainwater discharging, location of
garbage disposal site, and type
of management of garbage

Table 1.
Data collection method and criteria.

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Criterion under parameter South Moulovipara slum Mandertola housing

A 0 1
B 1 0

C 0 1

D 1 1
Sum 1 2

Percentage 33 66

Rejected Accepted
NB: If any criterion requires the same number, then it has been deducted from total criterion

Table 2.
Example of weight calculation of livelihood impact for better living.

Figure 2.
Acceptance calculation of the location.

Again, a technique was applied to justify whether the relocated slum dwellers
are happy or not in the new location. A set of criteria under some socioeconomic
parameter was selected, and data was collected under these criteria. It was in the
way that when each of the answer of the criteria was counted, then it is marked as
“1.” The average positive response scored the number “1,” and the negative response
scored as “0.” Finally, the highest average of the total score has been accepted as a
suitable housing. From starting to end, the result of each criterion was identified in
the input undergoing method/system and output or resulted form. Table 2 repre-
sents an example of weight calculation of livelihood impact for better living.
Finally, the greater sum of the scores has been accepted as suitable location in
this study. The formula is presented in Figure 2.

4. Findings and analysis

Fifty-six indicators under nine components are used to analyze locational suitability
and livelihood in South Moulovipara slum and Mandertola housing. The nine compo-
nents are (a) household expenditure, (b) housing condition, (c) water facilities, (d)
latrine, (e) drainage and garbage disposal, (f) land information, (g) land use (within
site), (h) social affairs, and (i) service availability (distance calculation). Each of these
components consists of a number of indicators for calculating the weightage score.

4.1 Household expenditure

A total of eight indicators have been studied under household expenditure in

this research. The average monthly expenditure for food purpose of a five-member
family in South Moulovipara was a little higher than Mandertola housing as the
local market was located very close to the South Moulovipara slum. But residents
in Mandertola slum have little scope of shopping and marketing facilities. Vendors
were frequently available in South Moulovipara slum, while vendors are not inter-
ested to go to Mandertola housing because it is far from the town center. Another

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Figure 3.
Monthly household expenditure of South Moulovipara slum and Mandertola housing.

major cause is that the expenditure of daily necessaries is high in the South
Moulovipara slum because they bought their necessaries regularly; therefore,
product increase rate was clearly observed. But dwellers in Mandertola housing
do weekly market; therefore prices seem quite cheap than South Moulovipara
slum. From the questionnaire survey, it has been found that around 3500
taka (84 taka = 1 dollar) was spent for food per month in South Moulovipara slum,
while 3338 taka was spent for food in Mandertola housing. Again, monthly expen-
diture for health purpose at South Moulovipara was higher than the Mandertola
slum. It has also observed that Mandertola is much more hygienic and has good
exterior environment than South Moulovipara slum. Even Mandertola dwellers are
enjoying favorable livelihood activities because the average monthly expenditure
for the education of relocated families is higher than that in South Moulovipara.
The slum dwellers mentioned that the educational institution was near to their
house while this facility was far from Mandertola housing. Another fact is that
private tutors are not interested to go to Mandertola due to lack of transport and
far location from the town center.
Another important indicator is transportation mode and cost. It represents that
the monthly expenditure of transportation for Mandertola housing is higher than
that of South Moulovipara. The major cause behind this high expenditure is due to
long distance. South Moulovipara was close to the workplace and the educational
institutions also. In this respect, South Moulovipara is positive for livelihood in
terms of transportation. Figure 3 represents the monthly household expenditure in
South Moulovipara slum and Mandertola housing.
Among the eight indicators, the average monthly expenditure for education
and expenditure for transportation is better than Mandertola housing, while other
indicators such as expenditure for food, health, fuel, clothing, housing purpose,
and loan payment services are better in Mandertola housing. Finally, it has been
calculated that Mandertola housing scored 6 (out of 8), while South Moulovipara
scored 2 (out of 8).

4.2 Housing condition

Eleven indicators such as type of house, number of room, area of house, use
of kitchen, kitchen environment, distance to kitchen, existence of air circulation,
availability of sunlight, surrounding environment, existence of storm water log-
ging/stagnation, and existence of legal electricity facility have been studied under

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housing condition in this research. From the questionnaire survey, it has been found
that around 58% of South Moulovipara slum dwellers were living in the kutcha
tin-shaded houses (houses built of mud brick and tin shade), while in Mandertola
housing all people are living in the semi-pucca houses especially on houses built
with burnt bricks in the walls and tin in the roofs. In terms of living space, 58% of
South Moulovipara slum dwellers had only a room in the house, while all houses in
Mandertola have two rooms and two balconies including a bathroom and kitchen. In
terms of area use (in sq. ft), the minimum space at the South Moulovipara was 80 sq
ft. in average, whereas Mandertola houses are holding the minimum space of 370 sq
ft. In South In Moulovipara slum, around 90% people were using shared kitchen;
however, families in Mandertola housing are using individual kitchen. Again, it
has been found from field survey that around 90% of the kitchen environment is
bad at South Moulovipara, whereas all kitchen environments are found good in
Mandertola housing.
Considering the surrounding environment indicator, it has been found that 78% of
the South Moulovipara inhabitants argued that the surrounding environment is bad.
However, all houses seem to have good environment condition at Mandertola housing
because the houses are designed in a planned way and keep scope to maintain sus-
tainable environment. In terms of water stagnation situation of the two settlements,
around 74% of the families at South Moulovipara mentioned that water stagnation was
a part of their life, whereas families in Mandertola housing mentioned that there is no
water stagnation happening after land development of the area. Even plinth level of
the houses are high that makes a favorable livelihood for them. In terms of availability
of legal electricity in field survey, it has been found that there is no legal electricity at
the South Moulovipara slum. Though there is no electricity distributed to Mandertola
housing till now, there will be access to electricity in the near future. Finally, it has been
found from the weight calculation that South Moulovipara slum has not achieved any
score (out of 11), while Mandertola housing has scored 11 (out of 11).

4.3 Water facilities

Around 60% of people used pipe water as the main source of water in South
Moulovipara slum. However in Mandertola housing, all people are dependent on the
tube-well water though they will get the water supply from Gopalganj Municipality
within the shortest possible time. Again, in terms of distance of water source at
South Moulovipara and Mandertola, it has been found that 40% of the people
collect pipe water from a distance of 101 to 200 ft, and 34% collect the water from a
distance of more than 200 ft far from their houses. But at the Mandertola housing,
68% of the people collect their water from a distance of 101– 200 ft, and only 4%
of the people collect from a distance of about 200 ft. Therefore, with respect to the
distance of water collection point, Mandertola is better than South Moulovipara.
Again, it has been observed that the most frequent waterborne disease is diarrhea,
but 80% of the families at Mandertola housing responded that no waterborne
diseases exist there. The major cause they replied is that South Moulovipara slum
was frequently affected by water logging, but at Mandertola slum there is no water
logging condition identified. Thus, Mandertola housing is found to be better than
South Moulovipara. Again, the level of satisfaction on drinking water of the slum
dwellers at South Moulovipara and the Mandertola housing has been observed in
that 70% of the families were not satisfied at the South Moulovipara, but at the
Mandertola housing, around 94% are satisfied. As per the five indicators (available
source of drinking water, quality of drinking water, purification of water, distance
of water source, frequent waterborne disease, and satisfaction on drinking water
source), it has been found from weight calculation that South Moulovipara slum

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achieved a score from availability of the source of drinking water, while Mandertola
housing scored from the other indicators, i.e., 5 out of 6.

4.4 Latrine

From field survey, it has been found that 90% of the families at South
Moulovipara used common latrine, while at the Mandertola housing, residents
are using individual latrine in every family. Seventy-eight percent of the people at
South Moulovipara had the semi-pucca latrine, and in Mandertola slum all families
are using pucca latrine. The South Moulovipara slum people respond that their
latrine was 21–30 ft far from their house, but at the Mandertola every family uses
attached latrine. Again, in Mandertola, the distance of water source from the latrine
is closer, but it was a little far at the South Moulovipara slum. Mandertola housing
dwellers are collecting tap water in their house; thus distance is not a factor. But safe
drinking water source is a little far in South Moulovipara slum where dwellers could
collect within their proximity. Thus South Moulovipara is positive in this respect.
From weight calculation it has been found that South Moulovipara slum scored 1
(out of 4), while Mandertola housing has scored 3 (out of 4).

4.5 Drainage and garbage disposal

There was no drainage system close to the South Moulovipara slum; however
a small and narrow drain exists around 31 m far from the households. However,
a well-planned drain exists in Mandertola housing which is only 10 m far from
the housing complex. Slum people at South Moulovipara managed their garbage
individually, but at the Mandertola housing, it is managed by the community. It
indicates that families at Mandertola housing are practicing community-based
garbage management which represents environmental healthy living condition
in Mandertola housing. As per the five indicators (existence of drain, distance
of drain, capacity of rainwater discharge, location of garbage disposal site, and
type of management of garbage), it has been found from the weight calculation
that South Moulovipara slum did not get any score, while Mandertola housing has
scored 5 (out of 5).

4.6 Land information

At South Moulovipara, 80% of the people responded that they lived in govern-
ment khas land on a rental basis, and the remaining were living on a lease basis
provided by the local leaders and landlord. But families at the Mandertola housing
have received these houses through a formal leasing system from the government
for 100 years. All household are paid by loan to live in Mandertola housing which
represents that families of Mandertola will be the landowner in a certain period of
time. Around 36% of the families at South Moulovipara paid 1000 Taka for house
rent and 26% paid 1500 Taka. But at Mandertola housing 100% families pay 400
Taka as installment. It indicates that Mandertola housing is economically feasible.
From weight calculation, it has been found that South Moulovipara slum did not get
any score, while Mandertola housing scored 3 (out of 4).

4.7 Land use (within site)

In this study, the indicator of availability of courtyard at the South

Moulovipara and the Mandertola housing has been observed. It is observed that
there was no courtyard at South Moulovipara slum, but at Mandertola housing

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there is courtyard for children playing, gossiping, and so on. As per the indicator
of availability of land for homestead vegetation at South Moulovipara and the
Mandertola housing, it has been observed that there were no lands for homestead
vegetation at South Moulovipara, but it is available at Mandertola housing where
families can prepare vegetable garden. Thus Mandertola housing conveys the
positive livelihood at Mandertola housing. As per the five indicators (availability
of land for courtyard, availability of land for vegetation, availability of land for
elementary school, availability of land for religious place/institution, availability
of land for other facilities), it has been found from weight calculation that South
Moulovipara slum did not get any score, while Mandertola housing has scored 5
(out of 5).

4.8 Social affairs

Though South Moulovipara slum was an old slum in Gopalganj Municipality,

around 50% of the respondents replied that there were strong relationships among
the dwellers. On the other hand, 86% of the families replied that there are good
relationships prevailing at Mandertola housing. From the questionnaire survey, it
has been found that there were social insecurity at the South Moulovipara, but at
the Mandertola housing, there is no insecurity due to strong community bondage,
and even there is no possibility of eviction. At Mandertola, there are options for
elementary school, but at the South Moulovipara, there was no elementary school.
As per the four indicators such as relationship with neighbor, insecurity problem,
member with social organizations, and no possibility of eviction, it has been found
from weight calculation that South Moulovipara slum scored a point as slum people
have developed membership with various social organizations, whereas Mandertola
housing has gained other scores, i.e. 4 (out of 4).

4.9 Service availability (proximity)

Analysis shows that job location was close from the South Moulovipara slum,
whereas the job location is far from the Mandertola housing. Around 68% of the
people responded that the job location is within 1–2 km from South Moulovipara
slum, whereas it is more than 2 km far from the Mandertola housing. It has been
observed that 98% of the families from the South Moulovipara slum found easy
access to hospital services because hospitals are located around 1–2 km far from
the slum; however, all families from Mandertola housing responded that they
need to travel more than 2 km from their housing area. Again it represented that
South Moulovipara dwellers were getting much privilege from Mandertola dwell-
ers. Survey shows that 96% of the families replied that the general dispensary
locates at a distance of 1–2 km from the South Moulovipara and 60% of the
families replied that the nearest dispensary locates at a distance of 1–2 km from
Mandertola housing. Thus South Moulovipara is a better place in this respect. It
has been observed that the new market (shopping mall) is located at a walking
distance from the South Moulovipara slum, but it is far from the Mandertola
housing. Thus South Moulovipara is economically better to live in, in terms of
locational aspects. The available nearest mode of transport is rickshaw and van.
Seventy-four percent families replied that rickshaw and van were available always,
whereas Mandertola had no available mode of transport. Yet 34% families replied
that the nearest available mode of transport is rickshaw and van, and 66% replied
that there are also other modes of transport specially the auto rickshaw in which
the station is about 1 km far. Thus it can be pointed here that South Moulovipara is
better for living than Mandertola in this respect. At the South Moulovipara, 78%

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Sl no. Component Value of indicators

South
Moulovipara Mandertola housing
slum
1 Household expenditure 2 6
2 Housing condition 0 11

3 Water facilities 1 5

4 Latrine 1 3
5 Drainage and garbage 0 5
disposal

6 Land information 0 3
7 Land use (within site) 0 5

8 Social affairs 3 2

9 Service availability 10 0
(distance calculation)
Total criteria (56) 17 40

Note: There is a same response in a criterion. Thus, those criteria may be reduced or deducted from the
criteria; then the criteria will be 56, and the positive markings at the South Moulovipara and Mandertola slum
will be 16 and 39, respectively
Total criteria (55) 16 39

Table 3.
Livelihood weight index in South Moulovipara slum and Mandertola housing.

of families replied that transportation mode is available throughout the day, while
in Mandertola housing 54% replied that transport facilities are available from
the nearest Mandertola market. However, 46% replied that it is available within a
certain time. Thus South Moulovipara housing is better for living in this respect.
From livelihood weight index of South Moulovipara slum and Mandertola housing,
it has been found that in terms of distance calculation, South Moulovipara slum
scored 10 (out of 10), while Mandertola housing has not scored any point.
From the above discussion of indicators, and after compilation of values with
respect to indicators, the weight index result has been found as presented in
Table 3.
The livelihood weightage result has been presented in the Figure 4 below.
From the above formula and calculation, it is found that South Moulovipara
consists of 29.09% positive livelihood and Mandertola consists of 70.91% posi-
tive livelihood. In this case, it can be stated here that Mandertola housing is more
sustainable for livelihood although some criteria are absent.

Figure 4.
Calculation of livelihood weightage in South Moulovipara and Mandertola.

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5. Concluding remarks

The flow of urban migration is increasing day by day, and displacement or reloca-
tion creates impact on livelihood in accordance with previous settlements. Under
the Gopalganj Municipality of Bangladesh, 387 poor families lived in the South
Moulovipara who migrated from different parts of the rural areas to survive. But they
were evicted due to hindrance of the pace of national development initiatives, which
creates informal settlement and becomes an obstacle to the main goals and targets
of sustainable development. Resettlement through government housing project is a
solution, but effective management and adequate service delivery with good gover-
nance mechanism are highly necessary. In this study, resettlement of slum dwellers to a
planned housing complex is found positive, and it is identified that this governmental
resettlement will be successful if it is well adorned with service facilities and income-
generating facilities [8]. The different social, economic, and environmental indicators
are moderately available in the Mandertola housing. In this respect, both GOs and
NGOs should take necessary steps to create income and social welfare opportunities
to relocated families and those who are beyond. Again, construction of multistoried
building with elevated plinth and flourishing income-generating activities through
providing skill training program, providing family healthcare center within close
proximity, setting pure drinking water supply system and banking facilities, and
formation of a welfare organization can ensure Mandertola housing a sustainable
resettlement program in Gopalganj Municipality. From physical design perspective,
three- or four-storied building could be constructed instead of the existing semi-pucca
building, as it is cost effective and has service delivery facilities, because it would
require less land and the remaining land would be used for farming and cultivation
small workshops for product making, bakeries, product depot, animal husbandry,
etc., and in this way the dwellers could earn on a cooperative basis. This strategy could
make them self-employed and entrepreneurs also. Again, elevated plinth could provide
protection from flood, water log, etc. Setting water and sanitation point in the water-
logged free area and providing green technology such as piping systems for biogas
and solar electricity system could be used in combination. Finally, maintaining social
cohesion as well as initiating priority-based projects can make Mandertola a sustain-
able settlement for relocated people in a southern district like Gopalganj in Bangladesh.

Author details

Md. Sohel Sardar1 and Md. Moynul Ahsan2*

1 Gopalganj Municipality, Gopalganj, Bangladesh

2 Department of Real Estate Development and Management, Ankara University,

Ankara, Turkey

*Address all correspondence to: moynulurp01@gmail.com

© 2019 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms
of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/
by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is properly cited.

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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.87836

References

[1] BBS (Bangladesh Bureau of

Statistics). Household Income
and Expenditure Survey. Dhaka,
Bangladesh: BBS; 2016

[2] Ahsan MM, Rahman MH. In:

Jahan S, Abul Kalam AKM, editors.
Environmental Impact of Rapid Urban
Growth in Dhaka Megacity: A Case
Study of Bhatara Union in Dhaka
Metropolitan Development Area and Its
Planning Problems, Issues and Policies.
Bangladesh Institute of Planners; 2013.
pp. 99-109

[3] Viratkapan V, Perera R, Watanabe S. 

Factors contributing to the development
performance of slum relocation projects
in Bangkok, Thailand. International
Development Planning Review.
2004;26(3):231-260

[4] Wood G, Salway S. Policy arena,

introduction: Securing livelihoods in
Dhaka slums. Journal of International
Development. 2000;12:669-688

[5] Atahar AS. Development project,

land acquisition and resettlement in
Bangladesh; well formulated National
Resettlement and Rehabilitation Policy.
International Journal of Humanities and
Social Science. 2013;3(7):306-307

[6] UNDP (United Nations Development

Programme). Urban Poverty Reduction
in Bangladesh: The UPPR Experience,
Documentation of UPPR Learning and
Good Practices. Dhaka, Bangladesh:
UNDP; 2013

[7] Juhasz A, Rahman A. The Gopalganj

Housing Model—A Way Forward for
Community Driven Affordable Urban
Housing. Dhaka, Bangladesh; 2013

[8] Hasan M. Creating new economic

opportunities for displaced people:
Approaches to income restoration.
Social Change. 2006;36(1):87-108

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Chapter 35

Investigation of the Bayrampaşa

Old Penitentiary Area-Urban
Transformation Project in Terms
of Sustainability
Mert Tolon, Andaç Erdem Çakır and Hasan Hüseyin Okur

Abstract

In its narrowest sense, a city is defined as a settlement area where most of the
population is engaged in trade, industry, or management, without agricultural
activities. As a result of population movements, changes in city vision, economic
collapse zones, and squatter house and sometimes due to natural or urban risks and
disasters, cities are developing, growing, or especially starting to deteriorate. To
increase the quality of life of the city and to be prepared for all kinds of urban risks
immediately after the significant Marmara earthquakes in 1999, many studies were
realized in İstanbul by İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality in order to obtain data
from districts of Zeytinburnu, Fatih, Kucukcekmece, Bahçelievler, Bayrampasa,
and Gungoren for urban transformation planning. In this study, the urban trans-
formation project carried out in the Bayrampaşa district of İstanbul is discussed,
and the process and objectives of the regional urban transformation project have
been examined based on the principle of utilizing the environmental values and
natural resources rationally. In the preparation phase of the sustainability focus of
the Old Penitentiary Area-Urban Transformation Project in Bayrampaşa district,
a sustainable environmental concept approach was used to shed light on different
transformation models, methods, principles, and other projects.

Keywords: sustainability, sustainable project management, urban transformation,

transformation project, İstanbul

1. Introduction

Cities are in a life cycle due to changing living conditions, a rapid growth of
population and migration, uncontrolled and unplanned growth in cities’ industri-
alization movement, economic distribution among regions/cities, social develop-
ment, community awareness, disaster risk, artificial risks, public security, and
administrative political and bureaucratic problems. For this reason, cities also wear
out and die like living organisms [1]. So, urban transformation studies are carried
out by the public to be prepared for these urban risks and hazards and to have
minimal damage.

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In this sense, in order to guide spatial decisions and to form a basis for plans,
in 2001–2002, together with Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA),
Basic Plan of Disaster Prevention Reduction, İstanbul Technical University, the
Middle East İstanbul Technical University, Bosphorus University, Yildiz Technical
University, İstanbul Earthquake Master Plan in 2003, Microzonation Projects in
İstanbul in 2010, priorities and seismicity, urban geology in 2011 and previous
studies in 2012, and the correct strategies of decision-makers and managers, the
Megaşehir Indicator System (MegaIST) for Disaster Risk Management, which is a
decision support mechanism for developing and taking appropriate risk reduction
decisions, has been completed by the municipality [2].
In the literature, it is seen that the integration of these worn-out and dying
urban elements and the societies is possible with an urban development focusing
on the concept of sustainability. Sustainability is defined as the environmentalist
worldview for aiming at ensuring economic development without sacrificing the
principle that environmental values and natural resources should be used rationally
without waste, taking into account the rights and benefits of present and future
generations [3]. On the other hand, sustainable development is defined by the
World Environment and Development Commission as meeting the needs of today’s
economic, environmental, and social aspects of development in a way that will not
fail to meet the needs of future generations [4].
Furthermore, it can be said that sustainable urban development is associated
with economic prosperity, social justice, joint thinking and participation, environ-
mental protection awareness, and local and central government/governance. In
this study, the urban transformation which is one of the most essential means of
sustainable urban development is examined. Also, the urban transformation project
carried out in the Bayrampaşa district of İstanbul is examined based on the concept
of sustainability.

2. Urban transformation

Urban regeneration is a planning and application tool that aims to re-urbanize

by projecting with people-oriented technical-economic-social-demographic and
environmental dimensions by taking into account the historical and cultural values
of the society with a multidisciplinary approach, which does not comply with the
urban standards over time due to different reasons; the physical structure is deterio-
rating or abandoned, and the urban areas are unprepared for possible disasters.
If the general meaning should be expressed, the urban transformation/urban
regeneration, according to the terms in the dictionary, is the removal of poor
neighborhoods, improvement of structures, protection, and better accommodation
and working and resting conditions, making all or part of the cities and urban areas
a better environment for the changing conditions of the day with the help of public
initiative or assistance [5].
The urban transformation is the central concept with many urban tools. Within
this framework, there are application tools such as regeneration, renewal, revival/
revitalization, redevelopment, rehabilitation, conservation, clearance, etc. In an
urban transformation study, all or a few of these tools can be used, or just one of
them can be used. This selection is determined by taking into account the cur-
rent situation of the project area, the transformation model (physical, social, and
economic), implementation, and public sensitivities.
These application tools are implemented in many areas of urban transformation.
Considering the studies in many cities, especially in İstanbul, the main areas where
urban transformation is applied are the areas under disaster risk mitigation studies.

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As is known, Turkey is a country at an earthquake activity zone, and many of these

structures are under threat. The 2011 Van Earthquake, the 1999 Düzce and Gölcük
Earthquakes, and the 1992 Erzincan earthquakes have shown that the priority areas
where urban transformation has to be implemented are those that are at risk of
disaster. In addition to these areas, the industrial areas which were abandoned or
not used in the city in time, the urban transformation works that were carried out
after the 1950s led to the immigration wave coming to the city and the integration
of the economic decay areas where the quality of life has declined gradually to the
urban fabric.
Currently, many laws and regulations are used directly and indirectly in the real-
ization of urban transformation studies. It is understood that Turkey is also under
development and implementation of urban transformation projects within the Law
No. 6306 on the transformation of areas under disaster risk, Law No. 5393 munici-
pal law, Law No. 3194 development law, Law No. 2942 expropriation law, Law No.
775 squatter house law, Law No. 5216 metropolitan municipality law, and also Law
No. 5366 the protection and protection of historical and cultural immovable assets.

2.1 Urban transformation in İstanbul

İstanbul metropolitan area size is 5,345 km2. When the areas not permitted for
construction at this area are not considered (forest areas, agricultural areas, basin
areas, stream protection bands, airports, lakes, and rivers), it is observed that there
are approximately 1,302 km2 of reconstruction or uncontrolled areas. According
to the Urban Inventory Study conducted by İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality in
2015, there are about 1,208,741 buildings in these areas, and it has a construction
area of 721.73 km2 (721,730,000 m2) [6].
According to the studies carried out, it is revealed that approximately 302,000
buildings should be handled with urban transformation as industrial structures that
need to be renewed and have an intermediate or low risk or disrupt the urban fabric.
Considering that the cost of this transformation is 125 billion TL and the consoli-
dated budget of the İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality together with the affiliated
companies of 2019 is about 23.8 billion TL, it is evident that this transformation
cannot be realized only with the budget of a single municipality or organization [6].
Also, the municipality has a motto of “Urban transformation is an important appli-
cation and solution tool to prepare İstanbul for the future and disaster, to anticipate
the potential risks and to take them into consideration.” In 2015, with the coopera-
tion of İstanbul Technical University, the strategy and actions for the 39 districts in
İstanbul were established to form a base for urban transformation.
Therefore, İstanbul Urban Transformation Strategic Plan was developed in 2018
with a holistic and inclusive approach covering 39 districts including first-degree
risk regions while improving the quality of life of urban residents and develop-
ing a model that responds to the needs of disaster-resistant, long-term economic
growth and also population growth. With the vision of achieving a safe, prosperous,
and accessible İstanbul target with the implementation of this integrated urban
transformation model, the İstanbul Urban Transformation Master Plan study was
completed.
In this context, in order to support and transform urban transformation efforts,
considering the roles and responsibilities of İstanbul in 2018 and its opportunities
and resources to be a well-protected, fast-recovered, safe, livable, and sustainable
city, it is observed that there is a need for “urban resistance and resilience” work
to be started. Also, for the ”Historical Peninsula“ that is the historical and cultural
heritage site of İstanbul, works that reexamine the existing silhouette decisions
and spatial transformation that would refer to the spatial plans and the urban

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transformation practices in the scale of 1/5000 and 1/1000 are required. With this
aim, it is known that analytical studies on developing urban transformation plan-
ning approach in historical and cultural heritage areas are initiated to develop a
holistic approach to urban transformation by considering cultural and historical
sensitivities [7].

2.2 Urban transformation project of Bayrampaşa Old Penitentiary Area

Looking at the general outlook of Bayrampaşa district, it is thought that 30%

of the public building stock is risky, the average age of the buildings is between 30
and 35 years, and many buildings are unlicensed in contradiction with the exist-
ing zoning conditions and city norms. It is known by the İstanbul Metropolitan
Municipality that it is one of the priority districts in the urban transformation of
the region due to the increasing unqualified environment and gradually decreasing
quality of life [8].
It is understood that due to the lack of green space, environmental problems,
lack of evacuation and assembly areas, 80% of buildings being unlicensed, most
of the buildings with an expired economic life, parking problems for vehicles,
gradually decreasing socialization among citizens, and also this region suffering
significant damage in case of a potential earthquake or disaster, it has been selected
as a pilot region by the municipality. In this context, physical, social, and economic
transformation strategies have been developed by the İstanbul Metropolitan
Municipality for the transformation of the whole district. Thus, it is understood
that sustainable transformation paved the way.
For the urban transformation project, it is known that the needs of the region
have been determined between the years 2012 and 2014, the current potential has
been examined, studies have been started with a master plan where environmental
impact analysis and urban integration are made, and three different scenarios are
developed [8].
In the pilot area, the urban developments in the immediate vicinity, the public
and private sector investments around the region, the analysis of the area’s plan,
and the reinforcement depending on the current situation, accessibility, infrastruc-
ture adequacy, building analyses (age, floor, license, etc.), three different main
scenarios, and sub-scenarios with human and habitat fiction are obtained. These
scenarios were critical in terms of what functions the project area could be trans-
formed into urban transformation and in what ways they are possible (Figure 1).

Figure 1.
Functional study of the region according to the master plan.

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Figure 2.
The matrix of project baseline features.

In the direction of the strategic road map for the urban transformation of the
region between 2014 and 2016, physical, economic, and social transformation steps,
urban design studies, and projects are prepared by the holistic and inclusive prin-
ciples with the help of citizens, academicians, and nongovernmental organizations.
As a result of the studies carried out, the way to emphasize eight basic features
(Figure 2) was followed, and the main characteristics were measured as high,
medium, and low in the spider graph method. The higher ones are deployed on the
graphics boundary [9].

3. The relationship between sustainable project management and urban

transformation project

The targets below the sustainable development goals, which emerged at

the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development in 2012 in Rio de
Janeiro and replaced the Millennium Development Goals, which launched global
mobilization in 2000, have been taken into consideration by the municipality
within the scope of the pilot project work. In this context, within the scope of the
project, detailed information on these goals are given below.

3.1 Goal 3: to provide a healthy life for all ages and to promote peace of mind

To ensure a healthy life and to provide welfare for all ages and aim to reach
health services for everyone in line to reach 1 million people per year within the
project capacity to serve a hospital with 350 beds.

3.2 Goal 4: providing an inclusive and fair education for all and encouraging
life-long learning opportunities

In order to increase the quality of education, to improve access to education at

all levels, to increase the enrollment rate, and to reach universal targets, the primary
school and nursery building will be constructed in a place with an area of 7,518 m2
within the project area.

3.3 Goal 7: sell everyone receivable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy
access

Electrical stations, photovoltaic solar panels, new electrical substation with high
technical capacity, and training activities for energy efficiency are planned to reach
energy and use clean energy.

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3.4 Goal 9: building durable infrastructure, supporting inclusive and sustainable

industrialization, and strengthening innovation

In order to increase the living standards of the citizens, the necessary infrastruc-
ture for the health, education, commerce, housing, social life, and parking areas
is established, and the existing transformer capacity outside the infrastructure
network is increased and transported to a safer area.

3.5 Goal 11: making cities and settlements inclusive, safe, durable, and sustainable

In the face of the urban risks including the earthquake, 2,277 houses and 170
workplaces will be an essential step for sustainable urbanization by using urban
transformation. This step is also supported by the sustainable environmental
approach and smart urbanism approaches.

3.6 Goal 13: acting urgently to combat climate change and its effects

Many applications, such as smart containers, intelligent recycling systems, solar

panels, and electrical station stations, are taking part in the project to increase social
awareness for climate change and to be applicable in existing projects.

4. Implementation model developed in sustainable urban

transformation project

Bayrampaşa Old Penitentiary Area argues that urban transformation is an accessi-

ble, safe, and sustainable urban texture. In line with this vision, right holders without
having to rent with the principle of on-site transformation or moving and renting and
staying in the neighborhood relations will continue to live in the same neighborhood.
The project is designed to provide a minimum level of horizontal architecture
and human/life scale to ensure the transformation of the cost and the right holder.
Within the scope of sustainable environmental sensitivity, many applications that
are not seen or implemented in urban transformation projects of this scale have
taken place in this project.
On the other hand, in 23 building blocks, which have a safe living area (includ-
ing earthquakes) of 10,000 people, there are 2,277 residences of 33 different types.
In addition, comprehensive solutions such as hospitals, cultural centers, under-
ground parking, parking centers and workshops, commercial spaces/shops, training
building, sports fields, hotel and office building, metro station, and city square are
also included in the project (Figure 3).
In line with these objectives, the production-transfer-empty method, which is
an innovative application model that does not bring the extra population to the city
and provides the transformation in the place, has been used (Figure 4).
In the scope of sustainability, it is aimed to implement a project that includes the
use of intelligent emergency systems and intelligent security solutions, photovoltaic
solar panels, ÇEDBİK best housing certificate structures which are designed, intelli-
gent collection systems which are integrated into the city, intelligent lighting systems
which are used, smart water meters and electric charging stations which are formed,
and central heating systems which are preferred for the prevention of heat loss.

4.1 Examination of each goal in terms of sustainability

İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality is responsible for the use of sustainable and

renewable energy sources to produce 1.3 mkw energy from solar energy for use in

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Figure 3.
Bayrampaşa Old Penitentiary Area-Urban Regeneration Project model [6].

Figure 4.
Produce-transfer-empty schematic representation of the used method model.

the common areas of the buildings to be constructed in the project area; for this
reason, photovoltaic solar panels are applied in the project. In this way, 2,670 tons
of carbon emissions will be prevented annually, and 6,491 trees will be contributed
to planting trees annually, and it is envisaged that the project will be built to reduce
electricity generation, reduce carbon footprint, and create awareness.
The urban transformation project for obtaining the ÇEDBİK certificate: the designs
have been carried out according to related parameters in terms of integrated project
management, land use, energy use, health and comfort, materials and resource utiliza-
tion, operation and maintenance, and innovation at residential areas.
In the scope of the project with the participation of İSTAÇ, intelligent waste
collection and recycling systems ensure work/time efficiency, prevent energy loss,
reduce carbon dioxide emission, and reduce cost of garbage collection targeted
via the sensors of underground and surface trash containers, which transfer the
occupancy status of the units by wireless connection.
Also for energy efficiency, working with light-sensitive detectors in the
building common areas, parking areas, and landscaping areas is planned to
be used. Using 60–70% energy-saving LED bulbs compared to regular bulbs

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will help to lower production costs, decrease long service life, and increase the
durability of bulbs.
Also, to minimize the emission of carbon, to contribute to the dissemination
of electric vehicles, to prevent air pollution, and to create awareness, in urban
transformation project and in the housing of each block of the house, a total of 23
vehicles, motorcycles, and bicycle stations were taken into consideration. Again,
according to the Energy Efficiency Law No. 5627, a central heating system was
established, and in this scope, heat and shared meter application was made for
each unit, and thus, energy saving was planned to reach approximately 25%. On
the other hand, a new metro stop was built on the existing metro line to create an
accessible living space.
In addition to integrating the use of bicycles not only for sports and hobby pur-
poses but also for urban transport, smart bike rental system has been incorporated
into the urban transformation project to reduce traffic intensity, reduce energy
consumption, and reduce carbon emissions. In the project area, the use of plant
waste oil collection machines, old medicine collection boxes, toy clothes donation
boxes, and recycling boxes for electrical and electronic materials in order to meet
the recycling criteria for sustainability is planned. Also, with the use of smart water
meters, the units in the project are aimed to be measured by the wireless connec-
tion. This method will prevent leakage losses and lower the cost of meter readings,
and also the work and time efficiency will succeed not to be based on personnel.
Finally, smoke-heat-gas detectors, intelligent fire alarm repeater panel, smart
fire alarm mimic panel, smart smoke detector, smart temperature detector, intel-
ligent multisensor, intelligent gas detectors, intelligent short circuit isolator fire
alarm with the fire alarm system, carbon monoxide alarm system, and announce-
ment systems are used in the project area to aim for protecting people and environ-
ment health while seeking to evacuate the building owners in case of fire, alarm, or
emergency.

5. Conclusion

İstanbul Bayrampaşa Old Penitentiary Area-Urban Transformation Project

started in 2012. To accelerate the transformation of the district and to disseminate
the transformation throughout the region in the stages, ordinary mind meetings
were held with beneficiaries, academicians, nongovernmental organizations, and
relevant public institutions. With the plans developed, it is seen that the social
and technical infrastructure areas needed by the region can be created to obtain
a healthy and sustainable urban fabric that eliminates the risk of disaster. In this
sense, it is considered that the criteria discussed in the current project will guide
future plans in terms of both implementation and legislation in terms of megacities.
As a result, this project aims to be an excellent example in terms of sustainability
criteria in order to increase social awareness with environmental sustainability,
nature conservation, the use of renewable alternative sources, environmentally
friendly practices, and smart urban studies with these contributions to the litera-
ture and also give a meaningful example to have such practices in urban transforma-
tion projects.

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Author details

Mert Tolon1*, Andaç Erdem Çakır2 and Hasan Hüseyin Okur3

1 Civil Engineering Department, İstanbul Gedik University, İstanbul, Turkey

2 Directorate of Urban Transformation, İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality,

İstanbul, Turkey

3 Directorate of Bayrampaşa Old Penitentiary Area Urban Transformation Project,

İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality, İstanbul, Turkey

*Address all correspondence to: mert.tolon@gedik.edu.tr

© 2019 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms
of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/
by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is properly cited.

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ISBS 2019 - 4th International Sustainable Buildings Symposium

References

[1] Dictionary. Turkish Language and Publicity Works within the Scope
Association; 2007 of the Old Transformation Area
Urban Transformation Project in the
[2] İstanbul Directorate of Urbanism Bayrampaşa District of İstanbul, 2016.
Workshop. İl Bayrampasa-Gungoren- İstanbul, Turkey: İstanbul Metropolitan
Bahçelievler District Buildings with Municipality; 2016
Buildings in the Pre-Engineering Survey
of Buildings Estimated Earthquake
Risk Performance Analysis of the
Project Report; İstanbul Metropolitan
Municipality; 2008

[3] Keleş R. Urban Science Glossary.

Ankara, Turkey: İmge Publications;
1998. p. 112

[4] Brundtland Report [Internet].

2019, Available from: http://www.
un-documents.net/wced-ocf.htm
[Accessed: April 8, 2019]

[5] Ünal E, Duyguluer F, Bolat E.

Reconstruction of Terms. Ankara,
Turkey; 1998. p. 103

[6] Earthquake Risk Management and

Urban Improvement Department.
İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality
Urban Inventory Research Report.
İstanbul, Turkey: İstanbul Metropolitan
Municipality; 2015

[7] Directorate of Urban Regeneration.

Urban Transformation Directorate
Research & Development Report.
İstanbul, Turkey: İstanbul Metropolitan
Municipality; 2019

[8] İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality.

İstanbul Province, Bayrampasa
District, Ismetpasa District Reserve
Transformation Urban Area
Transformation Project Protocol,
2016-2019. İstanbul, Turkey: İstanbul
Metropolitan Municipality; 2019

[9] İstanbul Metropolitan

Municipality. Joint Service Protocol
for the Preparation of Research, Study,
Feasibility, Valuation, Reconciliation

438
Chapter 36

Importance of Planning and

Process Management Methodology
in Sustainable Construction
Projects
Hayati Küçük and Hayati Yıldırım

Abstract

One of the most important factors to complete a construction project success-

fully and achieve a sustainable construction is to create a detailed business plan and
to progress in accordance with this plan. To realize the long-term and multiple input
construction projects successfully from business development phase to conceptual
development, engineering solutions, site organization, construction phase, and
pre-commissioning phase, there should be a right business plan. Business plan is a
roadmap for construction phase. As planning, all the details related to the project
must be considered separately (investment strategy, feasibility, zoning status of
land, land properties, optimal usage analysis, region housing analysis, conceptual
design, engineering projects of all disciplines, construction methodology, work
schedule, team organization, selecting the right sustainable construction materials,
etc.), and a process management methodology must be created. This process man-
agement methodology should include steps to help sustainable real estate develop-
ment and management, possibly promoting adoption of sustainable management
approaches for future green building projects. In this study, the following subjects
are explained: what kind of planning must be performed to carry a construction
project successfully in accordance with sustainability, and which steps are encoun-
tered in this process.

Keywords: project management, planning, sustainable projects, business plan,

process management

1. Introduction

The project management is a dynamic process that starts with the preparation
and utilizes the four principles of the management, planning, organizing, leading,
and controlling, which are standard across industries. By taking advantages of
these principles, it should be aimed to develop the sustainability, habitability, and
durability of the project.
To manage and automate the projects and businesses and transfer them to the
digital platform, enterprise resource planning (ERP) applications can be used as a
solution. ERP is used:

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• To provide standardization.

• To plan the business with detailed data comparison and analyses.

• To measure and control performance.

• To have an archive for future projects.

• To have an efficient management and operational cost reduction.

2. Project management phases

After preparation (initiation), planning is the first step for a successful project
management. After executing step (leading), controlling follows planning which
are tracking each other to make the project successful, and the process finalizes with
closing shown in Figure 1.
In process management methodology, all works must be described step by step,
all authorizations must be performed, and work flow charts must be created. In
planning phase, the boarders of the project and resource allocations are defined,
budgets are calculated according to the BOQ , and how the project will go is decided.
Executing step involves collecting, allocating, and coordinating the activities and
resources. As a result, planning and executing should be performed, to carry out
the functions of controlling (monitoring, comparing, measuring, and correcting)
effectively. And at the end of the project, project closure can be performed with the
documentation of the work and lessons learned.
For a successful project management, initiation, planning, executing, control-
ling, and closing cannot be underestimated. In most of the construction projects,
making an effort for planning is 5%. However, the impact of planning is more than
construction, almost 65% which is shown in Figure 2. Unfortunately, planning does
not take its deserved importance generally.
After planning, success parameters of the project (quality, timing, cost, consis-
tency, efficiency factors) should be measured to control throughout the project.
Leading may rely on the manager performance and ability, but if there is no reliable
data/report, nobody can understand the real situation to manage the project. So
defining a system, whether ERP or not, should be the first step for a successful
project management.
ERP software automates core corporate businesses like purchasing, tender man-
agement, planning, accounting, cost control, contract management, etc. These core
businesses should be defined in conceptual design and then can be implemented
into a system to make the resource usage more efficient and provide cost reduction.

Figure 1.
Process of the project management [1].

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Figure 2.
Impact and effort chart.

For customer satisfaction, quality, cost, and timing parameters (performance

parameters) should be under control and be reported. Because of the customer
requirements, project manager should control and lead the project by measuring
cost and time values with the specified quality. If there is no limited time, no limited
resource, and no limited quality requirements, the project would be perfect without
any stress. But in real, there will be always a limitation for time, resources, and qual-
ity expectations to adjust the baseline. According to the conditions, project manager
should lead the project in terms of three parameters to take an action for success.
It is necessary to control the cost, time, and quality parameters while the project is
ongoing. Maybe it can be possible to control everything manually for some of the
projects. But for the complex construction projects, it cannot be possible to control
all the items without a system help. Although if it can be possible, it takes too much
time, energy, and cost.
The method of construction Know-How is having priority, but it is not enough
without real-time controlling in the case of taking an immediate action. The chal-
lenge in project management is not only Know-How knowledge, but also Do-How
knowledge. The company should develop its Do-How aspects with a system require-
ment. By controlling and reporting, you can take actions for the conditions and
develop the Do-How ability.
ERP brings the management approach of the construction sector “Do-How”
perspective instead of “Know-How” perspective [2]. At the end, if a company
decides to implement any ERP system, it should decide requirements for a continual
action. These requirements should not be changed year to year. Making a decision
about which ERP system will be selected, there should be decision factors to be
considered:

• Long-term and short-term requirements of the company.

• Up-to-date and future needs should be met by the service provider.

• The product should be supported by maintenance and improvement.

• After sales support quality and pricing.

• Customer satisfaction and communication.

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3. Construction process phases

YPU is a not a contractor, it is a consultancy service provider. The company has a

role of consulting in construction sector for planning, designing, tender management,
project management, and construction site operations. For managing and controlling
all these different services with different work flows, LOOP® has been developed,
specialized in construction project management to digitalize the services of the
construction phases. It gives some advantages to the company such as planning and
monitoring the project forecasting. The construction works start with defining the
investment strategy to the end of commissioning phase, as presented in the Figure 3.

Figure 3.
Construction process phases.

4. Sustainable ERP systems

Sustainability creates new opportunities through innovation to achieve com-

petitive advantage and enhance cost reduction programs. Besides the obvious cost
savings resulting from the use of less energy, additional benefits include changing
behaviors that increase productivity and improve morale, streamline business
processes, creative innovations, and better use of technology [3]. Companies that
recognize and adopt key driving forces for sustainability will eventually receive
market opportunities and effective commercial activities. For this reason, many
companies integrate sustainability initiatives into their corporate strategies. They
are aware that they are responsible for increased environmental impacts and that

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Figure 4.
Sustainability-ERP relation [6].

the company customers expect them to provide sustainable products and services
[4]. Sustainability requires the development of sustainable projects. To do this,
information systems play an important role in the companies’ evolution toward
sustainability initiatives as presented in Figure 4. Sustainability information system
is seen as an opportunity for companies to increase productivity, reduce costs, and
increase profitability [5].

5. Construction process in LOOP®

The ability of the software is given in Figure 5. As it is shown, planning, budget-

ing, tender, purchase, contract, progress payment, site management, project scope,
documentation, all the module reports, weather reports, daily reports, and user
authorizations are the services related to the construction process in the system
which is developed in-house. A skeleton version of the software can be imple-
mented and in the case of necessity extra functionality can be added while operat-
ing the system according to the customer requests.

5.1 Design works and BOQ operations

The software is developed in project-based approach. Every project starts with

defining BOQ structure. Instead of “BOQ ,” the word “activity,” which does not
mean task of the work schedule, is used. As it is shown in Figure 6, the function of
the software starts just after the design works with BOQ study.
Activity structure shows the scope of the project by defining BOQ details and
their amounts. The system has a standard activity skeleton related to cost codes that
corresponds accounting system directly. Every company (customer) has a different
uniform chart of accounting system. While implementing a project, the standard
activity skeleton can be matched with the investors’ accounting system. It provides
planning and actual data comparison based on the same level, in activity base. An
ability to check the cost variation in activity base strengthens the company competi-
tiveness and provides advantage to the company for the future projects.

5.2 Tender management

BOQ amounts and tender-related documents (technical specifications, land

surveys, draft contract, LC forms, site delivery protocol) are formed manually

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Figure 5.
LOOP® module abilities.

Figure 6.
LOOP® functional flow chart.

and then input to the system via tender management module. Tender management
module consists of tender evaluation, cost analysis, publish of tenders, collection
of quotations, optimization, short lists, black lists, comparison tables, tender result
announcement, contract signing, and site delivery preparations. The flow can be
seen in Figure 7.
By the help of the system, a tender management process is easy to operate.
Firstly, the tender company data and tender activities with amounts are defined in

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the system. Secondly, tender specifications like start and finish dates, LC require-
ment, special conditions, site visit documents, projects, material lists, etc. are
defined. After the companies send their quotations, their quotations are input into
the system easily and very fast by the software team. The notes can be written to the
quotation details of the specific company. Comparison table forms automatically
with its graphics. According to the comparison table, the max. and min. prices can
be seen. The last phase of tender management is announcement. In the module, all
the details of the tender closure are shown.

5.3 Scheduling

Most of the professionals prefer to do scheduling with popular planning pro-

grams. Also, sometimes project provider may force the contractor to use a specific
program with specific version. This may cause the planners work twice both with
software and planning program. For standard structure of the system, making
scheduling for progress input and activity tracking is not preferred and managed in
the system.
Scheduling module is used for progress following, reporting, and cost distribu-
tion; however, integration with other planning programs can be applied which is
not a standard feature. While using scheduling module, activity structure should be
used so that BOQ (activity), scheduling activity (task), and accounting structure
(cost codes) are in the same level.

5.4 Contract management

After the tender announcements, contract sign and site delivery steps come. As
it is shown in Figure 6, the final contract document is formed from the draft one
and sent to the company after tender announcement. At the end of document sign-
ing, the contract document is installed to the system, and contract details are input
to the system.

Figure 7.
LOOP® system process analysis.

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This module eases the work while increasing controlling ability. System remind-
ers, holds, and warnings are defined according to the customer needs. All the
contract issues like contract dates, LC dates, subcontracts, activity amounts, etc.
can be input and followed in the system. Contract module prepares a platform to
form non-mistake progress payment.

5.5 Progress management

BOQ details like unit price or a specific amount of contract information are
selected while creating a contract. This selection affects the flow of progress man-
agement. According to the information given, the system checks the BOQ progress.
There are more than 10 warnings about the progress input which warns the user
not to make a mistake. While forming progress payment, BOQ amount limitations
do not hold the system. If there is an increase in amounts or new activity input,
the system automatically forms dummy subcontract for the additional progress
and warns the user. The user can change dummy subcontracts into an additional
contract if it is approved. Otherwise, it can stay until the end of final progress pay-
ment. This process does not stop the progress payments in the system. Until the end
of final progress payment stage, the additional activity or amounts of data can be
changed. This control mechanism strengthens the progress payment controlling.
Additionally, after progress payment is saved, the cover for payment which con-
siders necessary regulatory and legal accountant policy payments will be automati-
cally calculated. It shows how much money will be paid in the case of deduction.
Before making out an invoice, it prevents and decreases the accounting mistakes. In
some cases, the project may have governmental stimulations. The charges and other
accounting details are updated by the team.

5.6 Invoice

Invoice and related reports are formed and controlled in the system. Customer’s
accounting chart is linked to the system’s activity structure. It provides not only
control of all the details from tender to the invoice, but also it is used for the month-
ending processes. This step depends on customer information sharing. Detailed
reports cannot be generated without data input.

5.7 Daily and other reports

Reports are the results of the data inputs. Progress payment reports, invoice
reports, payment reports, cash reports, contract reports, cash flow, LC reports,
deduction reports, budget reports, tender reports, purchase reports, daily reports,
and others are some of them.
Daily reports are generated for following the subcontractor works, labor point
scoring, material input/outputs, weather information, site photos, etc. Additionally,
reports (daily reports Inc.) can be translated into English and Arabic automati-
cally as default. For the other languages, it may be easy to translate and make it
automatic.

5.8 Meteorological report

The meteorological weather reports (daily, weekly, hourly) are prepared by the
meteorological engineers to plan the work. It is used especially for tower crane works,
concrete works, and other related works. If the project manager needs more detailed
weather condition reports, it can be formed by the YPU’s meteorological engineers.

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6. Conclusion

ERP systems can help an organization to manage its own business by collecting,
analyzing, reporting, and presenting data in an appropriate form. Construction
companies may standardize and automate their business processes and improve the
efficiency of their operations with the help of the system.
Companies also need an integrated sustainability information system solutions
to collect, integrate, automate, and monitor sustainability information such as
sustainable ERP systems. They are trying to design and reengineer their project pro-
cesses so that their activities, products, and services are environmentally friendly.
These ERP systems assist a company to provide complete sustainability data and
integrate all sustainability information and processes across business functions. It
can be seen as a holistic, integrative, and complete solution for the industry to solve
sustainability business issues. In this study, the software which is developed by YPU
is explained. The advantages and opinions of the ERP system are presented.

Author details

Hayati Küçük1* and Hayati Yildırım2

1 Member of the Executive Committee, YPU Yapi Proje Uygulama, İstanbul, Turkey

2 Department of Project Management, YPU Yapi Proje Uygulama, İstanbul, Turkey

*Address all correspondence to: hkucuk@ypu.com.tr

© 2019 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms
of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/
by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is properly cited.

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ISBS 2019 - 4th International Sustainable Buildings Symposium

References

[1] Kanabar V, Warburton RDH. MBA

Fundamentals Project Management.
New York, N.Y: Kaplan Publishing; 2008

[2] Avinal A. Selections of ERP Systems

in Construction Project Management,
What Should be Discussed and
What Kind of a Structure Would
be Appropriate. Available from:
http://avinal.com/index.php/tr/
insaat-yoenetiminde-erp-nin-oenemi

[3] Hutchins G. Sustainability Is Good

for Business, According to Business
Leaders. London, UK: Atos; 2009

[4] Chofreh AG, Goni FA, Shaharoun

AM, Ismail S, Klemes JJ. Sustainable
enterprise resource planning:
Imperatives and research directions.
Journal of Cleaner Production.
2014;71:139-147. DOI: 10.1016/j.
jclepro.2014.01.010

[5] Hopkins MS. How SAP Made the

Business Case for Sustainability. MIT
Sloan Management; 2010

[6] Boudreau MC, Chen A, Huber M. 

Green IS: Building Sustainable Business
Practices; 2008. pp. 1-17

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Chapter 37

Building Infrastructure Through

Programming and English
Education in Rural Japan
Mary Frances Agnello, Naoko Araki and Florent Domenach

Abstract

As Japanese Ministry of Education educational mandates for implementation

by 2020 press on public school administrators, teachers, students, and communi-
ties, the sustainable programming education proposes strategies for addressing
English and programming education curricula in the elementary and middle
schools. Sustainability resides in retraining of teachers, working with university
undergraduates who can be technologically savvy as they network in the rural com-
munity, and using existing resources wisely. Over a period of 2 years, the sustain-
able programming education (SPE) model has emerged based on a community
action model with university administration support in the northern rural Japanese
prefecture of Akita.

Keywords: sustainable, programming, education, professional development,

rural infrastructure

1. Introduction

As Japanese Ministry of Education (MEXT) educational mandates for imple-

mentation by 2020 pressure public school administrators, teachers, students, and
communities, the sustainable programming education (SPE) proposes strategies
for addressing English and programming education curricula in the elementary
and middle schools. Sustainability resides in retraining of teachers, working with
university undergraduates who network as they work in the rural community,
and using existing resources wisely. Over a period of 2 years (2017–2019), the
(SPE) model has emerged based on a community action model with university
administration support in the northern rural Japanese prefecture of Akita.
Initially, the project impediments were traced to the over-busy schedule of public
school teachers, administrator fears to disrupt the routines of the school week, as
well as teacher insecurities with concepts of computer programming and English
education. As the ideas for teacher, parent, and student training were disseminated
in the community, parents and students became very interested in the potential of
students learning English while mastering computer programming, concepts, lan-
guage, and skills. As teachers understood that they already teach logical thinking,
creativity, and problem-solving, they became more relaxed. Finally, administrators
realized that university students can provide much needed technical knowledge in
the community.

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1.1 Purpose

Sustainable programming education (SPE) in Akita, in rural northern

Japan, will collaboratively develop sustainable pedagogical approaches multi-
generationally, particularly regarding instructional technology expertise and inte-
grated studies based on teacher knowledge, skills, and needs. Teachers will disrupt
current practices by repositioning themselves with pedagogical and programming
strengths through SPE to ensure their compliance with MEXT 2020 mandates.

1.2 Objectives

The objective of this project and the action research model implemented is to
both document and improve the professional educator private sector and public
school effort to build information systems through the sustainable programming
education (SPE), an initiative that integrates multi-generational English and
programming education through teacher professional development. This collabora-
tive model will strengthen professional relationships among individual teachers, as
well as train university students to become scientific communicators while engaging
parents with a public school and private business sector to contribute to local rural
educational and economic strength. Relying on free-use web-based programs,
“unplugged activities,” private sector technology, and teacher expertise to teach
logical thinking, problem-solving, and creativity, as well as providing experiences
for Akita International University students to teach peers, professional teachers,
and public school students, a sustainable programming education program is being
developed.

1.3 Background

Why SPE? As public school administration face the challenges of depopulation

of small towns and the countryside, stagnant economic conditions, and the need
to adapt locally, nationally, and internationally to a globalizing world, the MEXT
has high expectations for Japanese schools. Further professional pressure on public
educators by MEXT 2020 curriculum reform ensues from the need to prepare digital
“natives” to become proficient in computer programming. Increasing Japanese stu-
dents’ English language abilities has also been the main focus by MEXT. Rural areas
of Japan such as Akita are examples of many communities facing these challenges.
Teachers are the social and educational connection between educational
mandates and student learning. Yet, over the years, teachers find themselves at a
crossroad of personal language development need. Additionally, their knowledge
and skills in IT will be put to the test from 2020. Working with educators to develop
professional proficiencies in both English and computer programming through SPE
will help address the heavy burden that teachers face during the preparation and the
initiation of MEXT 2020 reform. By tapping the talents of university students and
training them to work in schools with teachers and public school students in col-
laboration, a digital and linguistic inequality gap problem will begin to be lessened.
Additionally, university students’ expertise will be engaged to address the needs of
local rural communities.
Through a series of progressive steps, we are providing an ongoing support to
school teachers and students in rural areas in northern Japan for the 2020 require-
ments of the new educational policies in programming and English. This support
will help collaboratively developing pedagogical approaches with local communities
and teachers that are sustainable, particularly regarding instructional technology
(IT) expertise and integrated studies based on their knowledge, skills, and needs.

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Through teachers repositioning themselves with confidence in their expertise and

revisiting their pedagogical strengths through the SPE project, their art and science
of teaching both programming and English will increase.
This collaborative model will strengthen professional relationships among
individual teachers, as well as train university students to become scientific com-
municators. Original in concept, no other projects in Japan have tackled such issues.
Anticipated results and effects of two workshops delivered in November 2017 and
January 2019 have led to communication networks developing in rural settings
where linguistic and technology expertise are in demand.

2. Sustainability literature

Wiek, Withycomb, and Redman conducted an extensive literature review across

disciplines in order to identify competencies necessary for solving sustainability prob-
lems particularly in urban settings [1]. They found transformational action connections
in participatory, deliberative, and adaptive settings identified by many researchers
across disciplines [2]. In educational literature, there is an extensive body of problem-
solving literature perhaps made most well-known by John Dewey’s pragmatism of
education through schooling as an integral part of society, rather than separate from it.
In his most famous treatise on education, democracy and education [3], he illustrates
vividly the need for collaborative problem-solving to be achieved in communities.
The precepts of sustainability reside in collaborative, problem-solving, and
transformative models of education and goal achievement. Many angles of sus-
tainability have been and will continue to be studied—for we know that water
will sustain the planet, as will agriculture—yet, we also recognize that we need
technological knowledge and the ability to communicate globally in order to solve
some of humankind’s most pressing issues, including how best to educate the young
to become the problem-solvers of tomorrow. Thus, we cannot separate the “hard
sciences” from the social and behavioral realm of teaching and learning in order to
tap our most precious human resources in the effort to sustain social systems within
sustainable environments.
Building from years of sustainability research and curriculum innovation efforts
informed by Dewey, the researchers have considered the green built environment
[4], water as the key to survival of the planet as a curricular mainstay [5], as well
as the use of a participatory action model of research for problem-solving [6–9].
Participatory action research models along with professional development work-
shops helped educators in Japan in particular when English as a foreign language
education was introduced to elementary school curricula for the first time [10–13].
Another aspect developed by researchers through the years is university stu-
dents’ involvement and training, especially in research development [14] or as links
to industry [15–16]. Such academic knowledge building became the backdrop of
the current research focused on a participatory action research model, as well as the
focus on environmental and social sustainability.
In rapidly expanding fields of sustainability wherein international educational
programs have been founded and curricular focus at such institutions of higher
learning as Akita International University have been established, the groundswell
of emphasis on educating current and future generations to solve sustainability
problems warrants the need for the SPE. We see the need for the foundations of
a sustainable computer programming education, as well as more and improved
English skills in the northern rural prefecture of Akita, Japan, where human
resources are dwindling due to rural flight of the young and the paucity of economic
alternatives to the once highly successful agricultural economic sector in the area.

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The overarching framework posited by [1] provides problem-solving capacity

supported by analysis leading to sustainability solutions, anticipation, and prepara-
tion for future challenges of sustainability. Addressing the need for more and better
English skills in rural Akita, as well as competencies leading to computer science
expertise, the teachers, AIU students, and existing IT resources provide a linchpin
for future development and growth as described by [1] who articulate five key
competencies in sustainability that can be applied in university curriculum in urban
settings, although they are also highly relevant to rural university sustainability
curriculum as well.
They include systems thinking competence, interpersonal competence, anticipa-
tory competence, strategic competence, and normative competence. Such acumen
allows for in-depth understanding of present systems, generating several alterna-
tives for future sustainable visions—both interventionist and non-interventionist—
in addition to group dynamics fueled by collaborative and cooperative individuals’
intent on goal achievement that depends on acquired normative knowledge reliant
on concepts of justice, equity, social and ecological integrity, and ethics [1, 4]. Wiek
and fellow researchers, as do all researchers cited here, emphasize that sustainabil-
ity efforts link knowledge to action, depending on the co-construction of knowl-
edge and practical solutions.

3. Methodology

The first trial SPE workshop was held in Akita on a Saturday to encourage
educator participation in November 2017. A second trial workshop was held in
early January 2019 on a Saturday similarly so that regular work and school sched-
ules would not interfere. The local Ministry of Education in the Akita prefecture
provided their continuous support for these trials, along with that of Akita
International University administration.
Based on the findings from the trials, a participatory action research (problem,
actions/solutions, assessment) will be incorporated for planning and implementing
the full SPE project beginning in January 2019. The project will engage an action
research model combining pre-assessment, intervention preparations, intervention,
and ongoing assessment, as well as project evaluation. The objectives of the three-
part professional development initiative includes three phases (research, education,
and social impact) illustrated in Figure 1.

Figure 1.
The implementation of sustainable programming education (SPE).

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Figure 2.
Objectives of the sustainable programming education (SPE) effort.

Figure 3.
Outcomes of the sustainable programming education (SPE) implementation in Akita, Japan.

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The training and implementation period will be tailored to school commission-

ers’ and teachers’ needs to adapt their views of teaching two required curricular
subjects in an integrated manner—English and programming (see Figure 2).
University students will develop and improve their skills to deliver the instruc-
tion. In turn, the PI and co-Is, with students, will deliver more workshops in
schools of Akita, as well as disseminate the findings of their project work as
depicted in Figure 3.

4. Findings: three facets of building sustainability

4.1 University students

Since the focus of computer programming is taught in the university, and

the English curriculum is the instructional medium at AIU, the students are well
positioned to become experts and teachers. As demonstrated in both the December
2017 and January 2019 teacher workshops, the university students were both neces-
sary and integral to the three-partite program in development. The participating
students are personable, know programming techniques, and speak English, and
perhaps even more remarkable is that they are collaborative problem-solvers. They
were able to ensure that all participants in the simultaneous adult/student and
teacher workshops were able to follow and engage in the activities—instructing,
demonstrating, redirecting, correcting, and trouble-shooting when they were
needed to oversee the unplugged, computer, and robotic activities. Further, they
were logistical assets—directing participants where they needed to be, making
signs for clarity, and getting the participants from the greater community familiar
with the university campus environment. The president of the participating private
sector instructional technology company, EK Japan, remarked both in person and
in post-workshop email communications how much knowledge that the students
have of English, computers, and pedagogy to connect the public school students,
teachers, and parents from the community with the desired learning outcomes of
each activity. In many ways, the young adults are the foundations of the proposed
sustainability effort.

4.2 Public school teachers

The teachers in attendance at both the 2017 and 2019 workshops expressed the
desire to know more about how to address the students’ and teachers’ needs in order
to be in compliance with the MEXT 2020 curriculum change mandates. They real-
ized after they started participating in the unplugged and computer-based learning
sessions that they already do much of what is being repurposed and reframed in
the name of computer programming, that is, they already impart logical thinking,
creativity, and problem-solving to their students every day in routine teaching. As
they began to comprehend how to reframe, redirect, and reestablish their knowl-
edge frameworks, they were able to see that there is not much new to consider as
necessary to the preparatory programming that they are responsible to teach. They
have much of what they need in their pedagogical repertoire. They just need to mas-
ter some new vocabulary, reimagine what they do in the various disciplines in the
contexts of the programming guidelines, and implement instruction that engages
all of their students. If they had doubts about the resources needed to achieve this
goal before the workshop, they were assured that they have some resources that
can be shared in effective teaching practices that they implement routinely with no
cause for panic.

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4.3 Resources: using and stretching what we have

Because many rural schools lack up-to-date hardware and software, administra-
tors and teachers expressed that they felt overly challenged to meet the computer
coding curriculum. Yet, as they saw the workshops being implemented, they wit-
nessed the kinds of turn-taking and rotations that they use in the classroom in order
to provide interest for the students, in order for all the students to be able to engage
in the activities, and in order to have the students take turns in various classroom
stations in rotation fashion. Although the computer labs in many of the rural schools
date back to the 1980s, there are many ways that an Internet connection can afford
the accessibility to the needed resources online. The hourofcode.com, for example,
provides many short computer programming lessons building from simple to more
complex concepts. Using pencil and paper can also achieve many of the goals of the
programming instruction detailed in the MEXT 2020 mandates. Thus sustainability
can be achieved by relying on existing resources without expending large sums of
money in order to accommodate elaborate computer laboratories. Also, the few exist-
ing computers in classrooms will be shared among the students in order to ensure that
all students will have opportunities to work hands-on with computer technologies.

5. Major conclusions

A three-phase educational and professional development effort will address the

needs of schools, teachers, and students to fulfill local and national directives of
ministries of education. We aim to support teachers to incorporate and upgrade the
technology and programming education for curricula in the elementary and junior high
schools. This will be achieved by introducing an interdisciplinary approach to program-
ming education with the emphasis on English language education since English is the
core language in programming. Such efforts are aimed at building the foundations for
information systems to enable future international communications and local prefec-
tural information systems infrastructure. Such knowledge foundations will contribute
to rural Japan’s participation in robotics and programming, as well as establish curricu-
lum to further technological goals with and for local teachers and their students.

Author details

Mary Frances Agnello*, Naoko Araki and Florent Domenach

Faculty of International Liberal Arts, Akita International University, Akita, Japan

*Address all correspondence to: maryfrancesagnello@aiu.ac.jp

© 2019 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms
of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/
by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is properly cited.

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Chapter 38

Miner’s Cities and Rehabilitation

of Industrial Areas: Comparing
Ruhr and Zonguldak Region
Nazlı Arslan and Funda Kerestecioğlu

Abstract

With the decrease in production, some of the industrial zones are closed and
lose their original function. In the case of Zonguldak, there is a Brownfield problem
in city center as a result of the loss of industrial function. Former industrial zones
have turned into abandoned areas, and rehabilitation or re-functioning approaches
have not yet been implemented. Like Zonguldak, many industrial facilities have lost
their original function in Ruhr region. However, rehabilitation and re-functioning
of the settlements became the main strategy of transformation of Ruhr. This
approach points out not only physical sustainability with adaptive reuse but also
social sustainability with new livelihood opportunities. In this study, the trans-
formation which offers new recreational solutions and economic options in Ruhr
region will be studied to understand rehabilitation process and reuse potential of
the Brownfield areas. General information about study will be given in first section.
In second section, as a former Industrial region Ruhr will be introduced in terms
of economic, social, and physical conditions. After explaining to transformation
approaches in Ruhr in third section, two examples, Ruhr and Zonguldak will be
compared according to differences and similarities in fourth section. In conclusion,
new transformation strategies of Zonguldak will be suggested for new livelihood
opportunities.

Keywords: brownfield rehabilitation, sustainability, adaptive reuse, Ruhr, Zonguldak

1. Introduction

Zonguldak is the only city with hard coal production in Turkey that the produc-
tion cycle is included in the urban life which depends on heavy industry. When the
production curve is examined, it is seen that the coal production of the city has
decreased over the years and accordingly, the number of mine workers decreased.
With the decrease in production, some of the industrial zones are abounded.
In addition, with the growth of the city and the increase of the population, the
industrial areas in the city centre are moved to the city boarders. It is important
that the old industrial zones in Zonguldak need to be transformed into recreational
activities and settlements that allow the creation of the city’s new economic options.
Because it reveals the new economic activity option and responds to the culture,
art, and sports activities, which are required by the locals. The future scenario for
Zonguldak is variable. There are three different scenarios in the future projection,

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such as the continuation, decrease, or termination of production. However, in all

scenarios, the sustainability of the industrial areas contributes economic and physi-
cal opportunities to the city.
As a mining region, The Ruhr basin is one of the best examples in which produc-
tion has decreased over the years. Although it has been an important heavy industry
region with its high production capacity until the 1960s, after 1960s production
has decreased due to different variables and it is almost ended. Many industrial
facilities have lost their function. However, rehabilitation and re-functioning of the
settlements have became the main strategy that transformed the Ruhr region. It is
observed that many industrial areas in the Ruhr basin are transformed into recre-
ational areas that these areas continue to live as breathing mixed-function settle-
ments of the city. Although large-scale industrial settlements Zollverein, Duisburg
Landschaftpark, Hansa Cooking Plant end their hard industrial activities, today they
are transformed in culture, sports, and entertainment-oriented campus. Therefore,
the transformation which offers new recreational solutions and economic options
to the Ruhr region should be researched as a successful example for Zonguldak.
Because, it has been beneficial to discover new livelihood strategies and reuse strate-
gies of former industrial areas after end of hard coal production in Zonguldak.

2. Introduction of Ruhr region

Ruhr region is known that it is third biggest metropol of Europe after Paris and
London. It has 53 city and towns and the biggest ones are Duisburg, Oberhausen,
Mülheim an der Ruhr, Bottrop, Essen, Gelsenkirchen, Herne, Bochum, Dortmund,
Hagen, and Hamm (Figure 1). With production coal and ironworks, it is the one
of the biggest industrial zone in Europe that chemical and textile industries are
located in region beside hard industrial production. The industrial complexes
along the Emscher use the river for transporting products and draining waste.
High labour and common railways contribute to the large volume of production.
Between 1930 and 1940, the region has shown a rapid development in order to
serve the German army and the basin is considered as the most important business
area of the country and Europe until the 1970s [1].
When the region is evaluated, it can be seen that Ruhr region is divided into five
periods according to economic situation. These five periods are examined as before and
after industrial revolution, First and Second World War, after Second World War, and
after 1960 until today (Table 1). Before 1840, small coal, steel, and textile companies

Figure 1.
A map of Ruhr region [2].

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Time Phase Characteristics

Before 1840 Pre-industrialization Small coal mines, iron and textile factories
Agricultural areas with low population density

From 1840 Industrialization with Large scale coal mining and development of cola
strongest growth phase chemistry
between 1894 and 1914
Introduction of mass production of iron and steel

Foundation of large enterprises

Strong immigration

1914–1945 First signs of crisis Economic depression, World Wars I and II, dismantling
of product lines after WW II

End of product cycle of coal mining

1945–end of 1950s Rapid growth Temporary demand pull due to reconstruction and
Korean war caused overcapacities
1960s–today Restructuring and Crisis of coal mining and closure of pits: international
transition competition and location disadvantages due to changed
technology
Absorption of workers in other sectors (1960s)
Steel crisis in 1974 with overall decline of the region

Table 1.
Phases of economic growth and decline in the Ruhr area [3].

are seen in pre-industrialisation period. In this period, there were agricultural areas
with low density population. Between 1814 and 1914, companies started to grow, coal
and steel take part in mass production and there is a strong immigration in region. After
the First World War, the first sign of economic crises can be seen. Production of coal
and steel decreases and product cycle of coal mining ends. After Second World War,
again there is a rapid growth because of temporary demand pull due to reconstruc-
tion and Korean War caused overcapacities. After 1960, coal and steel crises emerged.
Because of these crises, workers were absorbed by other sectors. Also, production of
coal and steel started to rise in Far East country because of cheap workforce [3].
After 1960, a transformation process was started. That transformation process
can be divided into five phases. Until 1970, employment of coal and steel industry
decreased. In this period, two milestones are important, which are 1957 and 1974
steel crises and Opel investment in Bochum. Between the end of 1970 and 1989, ser-
vice sector started to grow and new branches occurred. In that period, there was an
economic crisis of Hoesch and closure of steel plants in Rheinhausen and Hattingen.
Between 1990 and mid of 1990s, there was a productivity growth in traditional
sectors. Also, world economic crises 1992/93 were occurred. After all periods until
today, we can mention cluster approach and diversified industrial structure as a
development and indicator [3].

3. Transformation approaches and sustainability of mining identity in

Ruhr region

The mining and iron and steel industry, which had reduced its affect after 1960,
completely finished their activity for the Ruhr basin after 1990. With the shifting of
livelihood resources to other sectors, industrial structures serving mining and iron
steel were evacuated and the mining identity began to lose its influence. In addition
to the production of new livelihood strategies in the basin, which contains about 300

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mines, it is aimed to ensure the sustainability of the buildings and the mining iden-
tity. For this reason, physical, economical, and social sustainability of the Ruhr basin
has been supported by transformational projects and conceptual expansions of min-
ing identity. The potentials in the region were evaluated in physical and social context
and development strategies of the basin were determined after mining industry [4].
It is aimed to bring industrial areas together under a project and to ensure eco-
nomic transformation in this context (Table 2). Projects related to transformation
can be grouped into five main groups with 274 special projects [5, 6].
In the Ruhr basin, the industrial context of the past has been evaluated with
new meanings after ending hard industrial activities. The facilities belonging to the
industrial revolution have been re-interpreted in the axis of culture and art, and
urban transformation activities were carried out to increase social welfare. In the
transformation of former industrial areas, the keyword has been defined as “living
space”, and projects have been developed on human life-oriented transformation
rather than rent. Because mining and industrial complexes have been transformed
into science, art, sport, and recreation centre. With the industrial heritage route in
the region, 25 industrial and cultural places in the region are connected to each other
by a network (Figure 2). Fifty-two cultural monuments with different characters
within the framework of the industrial heritage route are located on this network [6].
The preservation of the industrial history as convincing for the future can be
achieved by reflecting this industrial reality and by seriously protecting the quality.
In this sense, the Ruhr region has shown a successful policy, the region has been
revitalized with different livelihood strategies at a time, when coal and steel pro-
duction have been reduced and turned into de-industrialization, and the region has
continued to migrate instead of emigrating.

3.1 From hard industry to urban park: the Emscher Park International Building
Exhibition (IBA)

After 1960, many industrial areas were abandoned with the decline of hard indus-
trial production. Within the scope of the environmental and urban rehabilitation of
the Ruhr region, the Emscherpark IBA project, which began in 1989, aims to transform
many industrial areas with new functions and change the conceptual structure of the
region. Landscape design and urban development have led to ecological, economi-
cal, and social renewal in an area of 800 km2 as a former industrial zone. The project

Principles Introduction
1. Development axis East-West development is the axis. Three of them represent the riverbed, and one of
formation them represents the roadway. By means of these axes, the settlements are aimed to be
connected to each other and to advance on a common ground of development

2. Development of It was aimed to improve the quality of city centres and regions, and to restore
urban areas modern and liveable features of cities in the late industrial period

3. Development of It is aimed to develop high-quality industrial and commercial settlements for all
building layout region, to link industry sectors and their open spaces to recreational and cultural
activities
4. Development of By creating favorable conditions for private investors in the development areas, it is
investments aimed to transform old industrial structures for large- or medium-sized companies
into attractive opportunity

5. Improvement of It is aimed to increase recognition in the international platform by changing the

life quality structure of the zone with high quality activities, large-scale stage activities

Table 2.
Five principles in the Ruhr region for transformation strategies [5].

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Figure 2.
Industrial heritage route in Ruhr [7].

carried out under the leadership of Prof. Karl Ganser, points to a regional approach
beyond housing and the city planning. After the mining identity, landscape design
and architecture has been accepted as the new element that constitutes the regional
identity. In the region, 117 projects were carried out in 17 cities and these projects
contributed to the restructuring of the region. Main concepts of IBA projects are:

• Working in the park

• New buildings and modernizing housing estates

• Ecological renewal of Emscher system

• Promotion of urban development

• Social stimuli for urban development

• Establishment of regional park structure (Emscher Landscape Park [8]).

The Emscher Park project is a 10-year project that serves 2.3 million people.
With the project, industrial lands have been accepted as nature reserves and seen as
opportunities to create new landscapes. Six different green corridors connected to
main green corridor on the Emscher river, which runs along the 120 km east-west
axis, is the main idea of the project (Figure 3). These green corridors, shaped on
industrial heritage, aim to complete the region’s ecological restoration. This restora-
tion process has planned together with the structural elements and the industrial
areas reunited with nature. At this point, the concept of industrial nature has been
created for the first time in the literature. According to this, the industrial areas
have surrendered to nature and have started to serve new functions with natural
elements. Former industrial areas and structures have turned into symbols. This
new understanding has created the concept of industrial landscape. The former
industrial structures have reinstated after the new functions and the industrial
landscape created the new identity of the region. The IBA Emscher Park project,
which has achieved worldwide success, has opened a different perspective in the
approach to the former industrial zones with its structural and cultural projects
and pioneered the European Capital of Culture Ruhr 2010. To finance this project,
more than 40 subsidy programs have been put together. The state of North Rhine-
Westphalia has launched the program, especially the German government, and the

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Figure 3.
IBA Emscher Park design principles with green corridors [10].

Figure 4.
Duisburg-Meiderich ironworks [12].

EU provides funding. Two of the most prominent projects are the Zollverein Coal
Mine Complex in the UNESCO World Heritage List and successful example of the
ecological restoration is Duisburg Nord Landscape Park [8, 9].

3.2 New approaches about adaptive reuse and ecological restoration: Duisburg
Nord Landscape Park

Duisburg-Meiderich ironwork, which ended its activities in 1985, is located in an

area of approximately 200 hectares (Figure 4). The company, which has been operat-
ing for 82 years, has left behind contaminated soils and rivers due to waste after the
withdrawal of the industry from the region. In addition, large scale buildings with
different functions were abandoned. Within the scope of IBA projects, it is aimed to
be transformed from a barren industrial land into a fertile landscape park by Peter
Latz and Partner. Due to the potentials and opportunities of places, former industrial
structures have been transformed into new functions focused on culture, art, and
sports. The facilities have been preserved as an industrial monument and accepted as
a heritage. However, these structures continue to serve new functions beyond being
only monument. Controlled and wild growth is proposed for polluted and barren
soil and the vegetation is spread spontaneously. Thus, the soil has been rehabilitated

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by natural elements. Channels have connected to the Emscher river cleaned with
mechanical and natural purification systems that the living space is provided for the
new water organisms in the rising water oxygen level. Examples of adaptive reuse of
industrial buildings in the park are given in Table 3. Accordingly, it is observed that

Original function Space opportunity New function

Former ore bunker Thick and high concrete walls Climbing park

The Gasometer Filled with 20,000 cubic Diving centre

metres of water

Blast furnace High ceiling, wide interior for Theatre, opera, and film hall
high number of spectators

Workshops Whole and high spaces with Exhibition and events

service units

Steel towers for production Durable steel structure and Observation points to all landscape
high towers

Brown fields Rehabilitation of soil with Fertile spaces for growing vegetables,
vegetation art gardens

Table 3.
Duisburg Nord Landscape Park original and new functions according to space opportunity.

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the magnitude values provided by the space can meet the needs of different functions.
Different transformation approaches can be seen: from former gasometer to diving
centre, from warehouses to climbing walls, from workshops to exhibitions and events
hall, from tower to observation points, from polluted soil to gardens filled with differ-
ent species (Table 3). Also, these gardens have influenced Europe’s landscape design
approach. The Duisburg Landscape Park project provides guidance on how to achieve
both physical and social sustainability of a former industrial area rather than just only
building [2, 11].

4. Similarities and differences between Ruhr and Zonguldak

Ruhr and Zonguldak region have similarities about production history. Although
in Ruhr region, production ended, in Zonguldak, coal production continues.
Although the coal production continues, it is seen that it decreases day by day.
When production and employment in Turkish Hardcoal Enterprises are examined,
it can be seen that unemployment comes out because of the reducing coal produc-
tion. According to data by Turkey Hard Coal Enterprises, which was established
in 1982, coal production fell from 4,108,382 to 948,537 tons in 2015. According to
the data of 2016, the number of employees, which is 10,598 at the end of the year,
has decreased to 9573 at the end of the year (Table 4). Thus, the region needs new
livelihood strategies and job opportunities. Like Ruhr, Zonguldak needs to transfor-
mation projects according to adaptive reuse principles [13].
In the Northwest of the Turkey, there is a hard industry region with three cities
named Zonguldak, Bartın, and Karabük. Today some colliery complexes are in
Bartın borders and one of the ironworks is in Karabük boarders. In this study, all
cities get together under the name Zonguldak Region.
All mining areas in the world have some common characteristics with regard to
building stock. When we study in Ruhr area and in local, for example Zonguldak, we
can see a lot of similarities. Railways, collieries, workshops, administration buildings,
and harbours are also recreational elements that show us mining cities have a special
design approach because of their work practices. When the similarities between Ruhr
and Zonguldak are pointed out, opportunities of Zonguldak region can be discovered.

4.1 Geography

Ruhr and Zonguldak regions have similar different geographic characteristics.

Both of them have oceanic climate. They have also stream and rivers but just only

Table 4.
Coal production amount and workers number according to years in Turkish Hardcoal Enterprises [13].

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Ruhr region’s rivers are available for transportation. In addition, they have different
land features. When Ruhr has a plain area, Zonguldak has much more rough area with
mountains. They have similar flora but Zonguldak has more areas covered by forests.

4.2 Industry

Coal mining and iron works are main industries in both regions. But today hard
industry activity is stopped in Ruhr but another sector’s activities have risen like
chemical, service, or technology. In contrast, hard industrial activity has continued
in Zonguldak but not as much as before 25 years. The production is declining in
every year and some collieries have been closed. Today beside the hard industry, for-
est industry (paper or furniture factory), textile, chemical, industry related to soil
(cement or ceramic factory), and shipping construction are operated in Zonguldak.

4.3 Transportation

Ruhr area has well developed railway system. Not only transportation of prod-
ucts but also passenger transportation can be provided by high speed or regional
train. Beside to railway, river way is also used for transportation because of suitable
depth of rivers. Although Zonguldak has a railway, it is not so effective for passen-
ger transportation. Generally, hard coal is transported by train to Karabük and by
seaway to Ereğli.

4.4 Tourism

Both of them have natural areas with nature tourism potential. Also, they have
some historical settlements for cultural tourism. Although they have similar tourism
opportunity, they have different potentials. Because of that Zonguldak has natural
shore sea tourism that is available for that region. However, both have industrial
heritage, Ruhr area is more successful about reusing them than Zonguldak. Thus,
industrial heritage tourism is mentioned only for Ruhr region (Figure 5).

4.5 Education

Both of them have universities and high schools. Ruhr region has five universi-
ties named Ruhr University, University of Duisburg-Essen, Technical University of

Figure 5.
Transportation of coal to ironworks and natural destinations in Zonguldak region.

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Dortmund, Folkwang University of the Arts, and Witten/Herdecke University. The

first university for Ruhr was established in 1961 named Ruhr University [3]. On the
other hand, Zonguldak Region has three universities today named as Bülent Ecevit
University, Karabük University, and Bartın University. Bülent Ecevit University was
established in 1992 as a first university for Zonguldak region.

4.6 Architectural elements

As hard industry regions, both of them have colliery complexes and iron works
with their facilities. In addition, their miner’s colonies near to industrial com-
plexes show characteristics of regions. Not only industrial buildings and miners’
colonies but also monuments, infrastructural and recreational elements show
identity of cities in both regions. Therefore, so many architectural similarities
can be found in these regions. In below, some similarities are shown in terms of
industrial heritage.
As it can be seen in Table 5, both regions have some similarities in point of
physical and social elements. These similarities can be a potential for new trans-
formation strategies in Zonguldak region. After reducing production of coal,
unemployment has risen in Zonguldak region. Reducing of coal production causes
not only unemployment but also to treat missing region identity. According to data
about coal production, 40 years later, Zonguldak shares a similar story with Ruhr.

Elements Ruhr region Zonguldak region

Physical elements
Geography Plain, 17.6% forests, rivers, oceanic Mountains, 56% forests, sea and streams,
climate, 4435 km2 oceanic climate, approx. 3100 km2
Industry Past: coal mining, ironworks Past: coal mining, ironworks
Today: chemical, textile, service, Today: coal mining, ironworks, shipping
technology construction, textile, forest industry, and
chemical
Architectural Colliery complex, ironworks, workers Colliery complex, ironworks, workers
elements housing settlements, monuments, housing settlements, monuments,
infrastructural elements, recreational infrastructural elements, recreational
parks parks
Tourism Nature, cultural, industrial heritage Nature, sea, cultural
Education Five university, high schools and primary Three university, high schools and
schools primary schools
Transportation Railway or river transportation Railway or seaway
of products
Recreational Viewpoints at the top of the hill (plain Parks in city centre (because of rugged
elements is available to create a panoramic view land it is hard to create panoramic view
point) point)
Social elements
Professional, Mining, ironwork (before) technology, Mining, ironwork
livelihood service sector
Population Get on immigration (after closing mines Emigration because of unemployment
and ironworks, peoples were employed in (there is not so much option to work than
other sectors) mining)
Economy Get better and stronger after changing Get worse because of noting have a new
with new sectors livelihood strategy

Table 5.
Similarities and Differences between Ruhr and Northwest of Turkey.

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Duisburg in 1900’s Zonguldak in 1900’s

Table 6.
Physical similarities in history between Zonguldak and Duisburg, Ruhr region.

Aims Principles Ruhr Zonguldak

Development East-west
axis formation development
is the axis.
Three of them
represent the
riverbed, and
one of them
represents
the roadway.
By means of
these axes, the
settlements
are aimed to
be connected
to each other
and to advance
on a common
ground of
development

Development of It was aimed

urban areas to improve
the quality of
city centres
and regions,
and to restore
modern and
liveable features Duisburg innerhafen Zonguldak city center
of cities in the
late industrial
period

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ISBS 2019 - 4th International Sustainable Buildings Symposium

Aims Principles Ruhr Zonguldak

Development of It is aimed
building layout to develop
high-quality
industrial and
commercial
settlements
for the entire
region, to Waltrop schiffshebewerk Zonguldak Harbourduck
link industry
sectors and their
open spaces to
recreational
and cultural
activities

Development of By creating
investments favourable
conditions
for private
investors in the
development
areas, it is aimed
Zollverein
to transform Zonguldak central colliery
old industrial
structures
for large or
medium-sized
companies
into attractive
opportunity

Improvement of It is aimed
life quality to increase
recognition
in the
international
platform by
changing the
structure of Duisburg Landschafts Asma and Çatalağzi Colliery
the zone with
high quality
activities,
large-scale stage
activities

Table 7.
Physical similarities between Zonguldak and Ruhr region today, potential of Zonguldak region.

Therefore, Ruhr region can be a guide for transformation of Zonguldak. After this
part of the study, Zonguldak industrial heritage potential will be studied and com-
pared with Ruhr. In Tables 6 and 7, potentials of Zonguldak have been summarized
according to Ruhr transformation process to point out the importance of industrial
identity of Zonguldak.

5. Conclusion

Changing economic and political approaches affect industrial cities in Turkey

as well as in many parts of the world. Zonguldak which has been working with high

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efficiency in the past has to look for new livelihood strategies nowadays because of
the closure of collieries and decrease in the number of workers. Mining which con-
stitutes the identity of the city is losing its effect day by day and job opportunities
are decreasing. The closed mines and factories cause not only the unemployment
but also abandoned industrial zones problem. Beside social and economic problems
such as unemployment, also abandoned industrial areas indicate the architectural
problems of the city.
The Ruhr region is one of the best examples of the world as a transformation
approach of former industrial areas. The region, which was the centre of the heavy
industry in the past, has now been transformed into a metropole which focuses on
culture and art. Because the industrial heritage serves to new functions and creates
new jobs. Livelihoods have shifted from heavy industry to service and technology
sector. In addition, like other industrial facilities, workers’ colonies are preserved
and continue their functions as housing. These residential areas are the most impor-
tant values reflecting the industrial identity of the region with their architectural
structures and social life. The strategy of transformation of Ruhr region is to main-
tain the life of the buildings within the framework of the needs in order to protect
the values. When Ruhr and Zonguldak regions are compared, many physical and
social similarities can be discovered. Because both regions have experienced similar
economic changes in different periods. Production in the Ruhr area has stopped,
and the former production facilities continue to serve with different functions.
Although Zonguldak is still a region where production continues, economic indica-
tors show that production will end in a short time. Thus, Ruhr sets an example
for the Zonguldak, which is likely to encounter the same scenario. If Zonguldak’s
industrial heritage and tourism potentials are discovered, new livelihood strategies
can be developed. Also, migration can be prevented. According to Ruhr example,
the following principles help to identify potentials and problems for Zonguldak;

• Collieries or ironworks whose activities have stopped or will soon be stopped

should be identified and transformed into mining museums, culture and art
oriented functions

• East-west and north-south development axes should be created between

Zonguldak, Eregli and Karabük where iron and steel plants are located

• Industrial heritage axes should be established between collieries and iron-

works. In this sense, infrastructure elements such as rail, bicycle and trekking
roads should be developed between Zonguldak-Ereğli-Karabük

• The relationship between production and architecture should be examined.

The effects of changing production capacity on the surface architecture of the
region should be investigated. Unqualified construction should be rehabili-
tated in city centre

• While working practices are common, the Ruhr and Zonguldak region have a
sociologic connection. Most of the families from Turkey who migrated to the
Ruhr region after World War II are from Zonguldak. For this reason, cultural
integration can be provided by developing joint projects focusing on culture
and education between Ruhr and Zonguldak

Heavy industry is decreasing in Zonguldak over time so new strategies should

be developed and different scenarios should be considered. It may be one of these
scenarios that the region has become a centre for mining education. With various

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training agreements with the Ruhr region, mining facilities can serve as practice
area for mining education. Education can be promoted, and local awareness may
be increased if the currently inactive part of these facilities is transformed into
culture-art-oriented. The potentials of Zonguldak should be explored and new
strategies should be developed. According to potentials the transformation proj-
ects should be created. Ereğli-Zonguldak-Karabük is an industrial heritage axis
extending along the iron-steel and coal line, the national parks in the south and the
coastline referring to sea tourism in the north, show new routes in different layers
and show that the region has a high potential in the intersection of culture, art and
tourism. For this reason, transformation projects should be implemented for new
livelihood strategies and the Ruhr basin should be considered as a successful guide.

Author details

Nazlı Arslan* and Funda Kerestecioğlu

Department of Architecture, Yıldız Technical University, İstanbul, Turkey

*Address all correspondence to: nazliarslan89@gmail.com

© 2019 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms
of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/
by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is properly cited.

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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.87836

References

[1] Föhl A. Architectural Guide Studies. 2002;10:77-97. DOI:

Ruhrgebeit. Delft: IHAAU, TU; 2010.
p. 300. ISBN 978-3496012931
[2] Regionalverband Ruhr editor.
Under the Open Sky. 1st ed. RVR,
Ruhr Regional Association Birkhäuser
Architecture; 2010. p. 232. ISBN
978-3-0346-1105-3
[3] Bross U, Walter G. Socio-Economic
Analysis of North Rhine Westphalia.
Institute System and Innovation
Research; 2000. p 58. ISSN 1438-9843
[4] GöttingA. Structural Change in the
Ruhr Region: Problems, potentials and
developments. In: IET Working Papers
Series; 2008. p. 25. ISBN 1646-8929
[5] Kurtay C, Sağlam H. Ruhr
metropolitan region devolopment
project. Serbest Mimar Dergisi.
2011;6:71-76. (in Turkish)
[6] A Transformation Story from Coal
and Steel to the Culture Industry: Ruhr
Region [Internet]. 2019. Available from:
http://www.arkitera.com/haber/5160/
komur-ve-celikten-kultur-endustrisine-
bir-donusum-hikayesi--ruhr-bolgesi-
[Accessed: 2019-01-10] (in Turkish)
[7] Die Karte des Emscher
Landschaftspark [Internet].
2019. Available from: http://
emscherlandschaftspark-blog.de/
emscher-landschaftspark_erleben/
karte/ [Accessed: February 12, 2018]
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[10] Master plan des Emscher
Landschaftsparks “Verbindungennach
Aussen und nach Innen” [Internet].
2019. Available from: http://www.
ruhrgebiet-regionalkunde.de/html/
erneuerung_der_infrastruktur/
freiraum_und_gruenflaechen_/
emscherpark.php%3Fp=2,4.html
[Accessed: February 12, 2019]
[11] Duisburg-Nord Landscape Park,
Duisburg a newtype of park and a part of
the Emscher Landscape Park [Internet].
2019. Available from: https://www.
open-iba.de/en/geschichte/1989-1999-
iba-emscher-park/landschaftspark-
duisburg-nord-duisburg/ [Accessed:
February 15, 2019]
[12] Zeitreise Landschaftspark Duisburg-
Nord Geschichteund Rekonstruktiondes
Industriearealsvon 1890 bis 2000
[Internet]. 2019. Available from: https://
www.landschaftspark.de/site/assets/
files/2738/zeitreise_landschaftspark_
duisburg-nord.pdf [Accessed:
November 20, 2018]
[13] Turkey Hardcoal Enterprises
Statistical Reports [Internet]. 2019.
Available from: http://www.taskomuru.
gov.tr/ [Accessed: October 23, 2018]

[8] 1989-1999 IBA Emscher Park

A future for an industrial region
[Internet]. 2019. Available from: https://
www.open-iba.de/en/geschichte/1989-
1999-iba-emscher-park/ [Accessed:
January 7, 2019]

[9] Shaw R. The International Building

Exhibition (IBA) Emscher Park,
Germany: A Model for sustainable
restructuring?. European Planning

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Chapter 39

Location Selection for Penitentiary

Institutions by VIKOR Method:
A Case Study
Mürsel Erdal, Coşkun Çakmak and Ahmet Eren Kaşak

Abstract

This paper presents a case study to decide an appropriate land acquisition in

Sivas city of Turkey for a penitentiary institution that has a high-cost public build-
ing. Criterions that may be effective in the location of the penitentiary institution
were determined and weighted according to expert opinions. In order to select the
most appropriate choice, the Vise Kriterijumska Optimizacija I Kompromisno
Resenje (VIKOR) method, one of the multi-criteria decision-making models, was
utilized. Alternative locations were ranked according to their suitability considering
VIKOR method. Therefore, it was decided to build the construction at Kılavuz
Street, 181st city block.

Keywords: penitentiary institutions, multi-criteria, decision methods,

VIKOR method, location selection

1. Introduction

Penitentiary institutions are public enterprises where convicts and detainees are
put in by the state. These institutions have determinant security criterions and
contain a number of opportunities such as health, education, rehabilitation, job, and
sports under determinant conditions [1]. Additionally, penitentiary institutions take
place in top positions of investment plan because of their high costs. Furthermore,
when it is taken all together to build construction in a nearly 2-year schedule and to
increase the number of convicts and detainees during construction time, it is a
serious operation that needs a significant plan.
Legislations, regimes, and even beliefs can change quickly. However, buildings
live for a longer time than the ideas that created them [2]. Indeed, constructions,
the result of opinions that exist at the design phase, serve the same way after the
changing of opinions. Badly designed and well-designed constructions have similar
final estimated costs. On the other hand, well-designed constructions need lower
operational costs [3, 4]. Existing penitentiary institutions in Turkey are shown in
Table 1. The capacity of these buildings is 210,682 persons.
Process of location selection is composed of identifying and analyzing of alter-
natives and making decisions [5]. While the most important criterion of location
selection for ordinary companies is a margin of profit, it is also rendering of services
safely for penitentiary institutions. It is clear to see in the literature that there are
many studies including Vise Kriterijumska Optimizacija I Kompromisno Resenje

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Sort Institution Number

1 Closed penitentiary institution 289

2 Independent open penitentiary institution 73

3 Child education center 3

4 Women closed penitentiary institution 10

5 Women open penitentiary institution 7

6 Child closed penitentiary institution 7

Total 389

Table 1.
Type and number information of existing penitentiary institutions.

(VIKOR) method. This is significant to show how much the method is useful and
has a wide usage of utilization. International studies have been conducted in order
to choose the most efficient option in many different fields related to VIKOR
method, in which one of the multi-criteria decisions is making methods [6–35].
Cristóbal determined the importance of contractor selection in the determination of
cost analysis by taking VIKOR method into account in increasing project expenses
[36]. Civic conducted a study to improve the energy efficiency of the structures by
using VIKOR method from a multi-criteria decision-making method [37].
Antucheviciene et al. used the VIKOR method to determine the rate of re-
evaluation of abandoned structures [38]. Onder and Yildirim [39] used VIKOR
method to categorize 11 logistic villages in Turkey based on 8 different criterions. In
this study, criterions such as land values of villages; distances to industrial areas,
airports, and railways; etc. were taken into consideration [39]. Uzun and Yildirim
used the VIKOR method to select the main machine and generator by using criteria
such as cycle volume, investment cost, fuel, and oil consumption in the shipbuilding
process [40]. Çelikbilek carried out a study on the selection of the hospital location
by VIKOR method using 10 different criterions weighted by the members of the
board of directors [41]. Uçakçıoğlu and Eren, using VIKOR method in their study,
tried to choose the most suitable alternative among alternative investment projects
in air defense industries by considering criteria such as project budget, duration,
dependency status, number of personnel, and contribution to economy [42]. In this
study, it was carried out to select the most appropriate location among the six
alternative lands proposed with the VIKOR method for the penitentiary institution,
which is one of the high-cost public enterprises.

2. Issues to be cared for location selection of penitentiary institutions

As defined by the law on the Execution of Penalties and Security Measures with
number 5275, penitentiary institutions are places where convicts are safely accom-
modated in accordance with the basic principles of the execution system, and the
main purpose is to ensure that the convicts are reintegrated and prevented from
committing a crime.
Penitentiary institutions have been constructed in 23 different types until today in
Turkey. However, today, seven different types are being constructed. These are high
security, L, S, T, R, open, child (Figure 1), and women penitentiary institutions.
Both the convict profile and the region conditions are considered in the regions
needed for the penitentiary institutions. In order to determine the suitability of the
parcels examined within the process to the construction of the penitentiary

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Location Selection for Penitentiary Institutions by VIKOR Method: A Case Study
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.87836

Figure 1.
Child closed penitentiary institution.

institutions, the evaluation criterions and the weight ratios of these criterions are
determined by the experts in this field. After this process, the main goal is to select the
most appropriate option among alternatives. In the following part of the study, infor-
mation about nine criterions, chosen as a result of a survey with experts, is given.

2.1 Expense required for infrastructure

Water, electricity, and sewage lines are the important components of an

infrastructure system. In case of a water cut in penitentiary institutions, it is highly
possible to cause a disorder. Based on this example, it is preferred, and it will be
beneficial to locate these facilities close to the water conveyance pipelines. In case of
decision for a location far away from these lines, it will both have a high investment
cost because of water conveyance pipes construction and extension of construction
time.

2.2 Surface slope

Minor elevation differences can lead to very large excavation and filling costs
because the penitentiary institutions are buildings with a large sitting area. The
balancing option of cut-fill of parcels depends if quality of the fill material is
adequate or not. High-security closed penitentiary institutions with a 492-person
capacity have 22,000 m2 sitting area approximately. To place the long side of the
structure over less inclined direction is highly effective for reducing excavation and
filling costs.

2.3 Premises’ width

In addition to main buildings, penitentiary institutions are composed of a heat

center, a gendarmerie building, main entrance building, reception office, and hous-
ings. In open penitentiary institutions, wide prison workshops are built additionally.
Furthermore, the area of existing land is very important in case a new penitentiary
institution is required. If the area is suitable and large enough, it can lead to a new
construction in it.

2.4 Suitability for prison workshop activities

If the prison workshops for the products to be produced in the region on the
parcel are built, both convicts will acquire a profession as a result of their work

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activities, and a source of income will be created for the state. Therefore, the
conditions of the region where the proposed premises are located are also taken into
consideration in the preliminary investigation stage for the construction of the
penitentiary institution.

2.5 Area to be demolished on land

In case of existing buildings in the proposed parcels for the construction of the
penitentiary structure, firstly it should be thought to preserve and be used
according to the needs of the institution. However, the structures will have to be
demolished if they are an obstacle to the construction of the penitentiary institution.
In this case, inevitable costs for demolition will be one of the determinants for land
selection.

2.6 Transportation to city/town center

Penitentiary institutions may need materials from outside at any time because
they work for 24 hours. Thus, distance is critical for requirements such as food,
cleaning, and maintenance-repair services. If the employees in the institution stay
in the district center, the problems they will have in transportation will also affect
their performance. For this reason, the penitentiary institutions are not constructed
far away from the regional centers.

2.7 Closest constructions

Security is at the forefront for penitentiary institutions, and construction activ-

ities around the land are perceived as a threat. The penitentiary institutions, which
were built many years ago and filled with buildings due to the development of the
region, always carry a risk in terms of their security vulnerabilities with the entry of
banned substances. This issue is taken into consideration when investigating the
land in order to avoid similar situations.

2.8 Ground reinforcement costs

Due to the weight of the building, the penitentiary institutions consisting

entirely of reinforced concrete walls for safety reasons are built on high-strength
grounds. Otherwise, it is possible to see cracks over construction materials such as
walls because of ground subsidence. It is also a vulnerability for security. Therefore,
ground investigations should be made strictly.

2.9 Suitability of season conditions

The penitentiary institutions are one of the institutions that have continuous
transfers due to their dynamic nature. Especially the transportation to the court-
house and to the hospital should be without any problem. The construction of a
penitentiary institution in a region, where transportation cannot be provided or can
be provided only at certain times of the year, may both cause security weakness and
lead to difficulties when considering the visitors of prisoners and convicts. For this
reason, it is necessary to obtain detailed information about the seasonal conditions
of the region and analyze that information well.

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3. VIKOR method

VIKOR method aims at selecting the most appropriate option likewise other
multi-criteria decision-making methods. VIKOR method was discovered by Serafim
Opricovic. This method is preferred for determining the solution among the alter-
natives with contradictory properties [43]. In order to use VIKOR method, a com-
parison is made with the features, which can be more moderate and have
alternative, rather than the essential criterions, and the result is achieved [44]. Steps
of VIKOR method are listed and explained with five subheadings [45].

3.1 Step 1: to constitute decision matrix (A) and to calculate the best and worst
criterion values

Decision matrix is the first and most important step of VIKOR method. In order
to constitute this matrix, data used must be correct. Otherwise, even if all calcula-
tion is true, correct alternative will not able to be selected. In the decision matrix,
the rows show alternatives and the columns show the criteria:

a11 a12 … a1p

2 3
6 a21 a22 … a2p7
6 7
6 : :
6 7
(1)
7
Aij ¼ 6
6 :
7
6 : 7
7
4 : : 5
6 7

am1 am2 … amp

After constituting the matrix, the best and worst values were detected by using
Eqs. (2) and (3). It does not mean that the highest value is the best and the lowest
one is the worst at this stage. The main objective is public welfare. The value that
enhances the public welfare will be accepted as the highest value independently of
high or low numerical values.

f i∗ ¼ maxxij (2)
f i ¼ minxij (3)

3.2 Step 2: to obtain normalized decision matrix (N)

In the second step, by normalization process performed in a problem including

m alternatives and n criterions, r normalization matrix is obtained. The elements of
r matrix are calculated with Eq. (4):

f i∗ xij
rij ¼ ∗ (4)
fi fj

3.3 Step 3: to obtain weighted normalized decision matrix (V)

In the third step, each of the rij values obtained in the previous step is multiplied
by the weight values (w_j). The elements of the new matrix obtained are called vij.
The vij value is calculated by using Eq. (5):

V ij ¼ rij :wj (5)

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ISBS 2019 - 4th International Sustainable Buildings Symposium

w1 r11 w2 r12 … wn r1p  v11 v12 … v1p

2 3  

 
6 w1 r21 w2 r22 … wn r2p 7  v21 v22 … v2p 
6 7  
6 : : 7  : : 
6 7  
V IJ_ ¼ 6
6 :
7 ! V IJ_ ¼   (6)
6 : 7 7  : : 
4 : : 5  : : 
6 7  
 
w1 rm1 w2 rm2 … wn rmp v
m1 vm2 … vmp 

3.4 Step 4: to obtain Si , Ri , Si∗ , Si values

After obtaining the weighted normalized matrix, the sum of the criteria for each
_
alternative is called Si , and the maximum value between the criteria is called RI.
These values are calculated with Eqs. (7) and (8):

n f i∗ xij
SI_ ¼ ∑ wj : (7)
j¼1 f i∗ fj
f i∗ xij
 
RI_ ¼ Max wj : ∗ (8)
fi fi

3.5 Step 5: to calculate Q i values, to find out the most appropriate alternative,
and to control stage

In VIKOR method, there are two different control mechanisms to determine the
consistency of the most appropriate alternative found as a result of the calculations.
In order to calculate the Q i value used in the control mechanisms, Eq. (9) is utilized.
The first audit condition is called the Acceptable Advantage. In this condition,
when the Q i values are sorted from small to large, the first alternative is called A1,
and the second one is called A2. In order to provide the acceptable advantage
condition, the operations specified in Eqs. (10) and (11) are made. The value of m in
Eq. (11) shows the alternative number. If equality is provided, the initial audit
condition is completed:

q:ð Si S ∗ Þ ð1 qÞ: RI_ R ∗

Q I_ ¼ þ (9)
S S∗ R R∗
Q A2 Q A1 ≥ DQ (10)

1
DQ ¼ (11)
m 1

The second audit condition is the Acceptable Stability Condition. At this stage, it
is desirable to have the minimum value of Sİ and Rİ of the most appropriate A
alternative. If the condition is provided, the alternative of Aİ is considered the most
appropriate choice.

4. Location selection for penitentiary institutions by VIKOR method in

Sivas city

The information regarding the six locations proposed for the construction of the
penitentiary institution in Sivas is given in Table 2, and the criterions to be used in
the application are given in Table 3.

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Location Selection for Penitentiary Institutions by VIKOR Method: A Case Study
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Alternative Abbreviation

Çayboyu street 5584 city block 304 parcels ALT-1

Kılavuz street 181 city block 12-14-15-16-17-43-44-45-46-64-203-204-205 parcels ALT-2

Kılavuz street 195 city block 8 parcels ALT-3

Budaklı street 576 parcel ALT-4

Şarkışla town Elmalı village 1576-1577-1578 parcels ALT-5

Hafik town Durulmuş village 104 city block 1 parcel ALT-6

Table 2.
Proposed parcels and abbreviations to be used in the application.

Criterion Name Weight coefficient (w)

Expenses required for infrastructure (₺) A 0.15

Surface slopes (%) B 0.23

2
Location area (m ) C 0.21

Eligibility for prison workshops (yearly profitability ₺) D 0.05

Area to be destroyed on location (m2) E 0.02

Transportation to city/town center (km) F 0.11

Closest constructions (m) G 0.03

Ground reinforcement costs (₺) H 0.13

Suitability of season conditions (0–100) K 0.07

Table 3.
Abbreviations to be used in the application and coefficient of weights.

The weight coefficients (w) given in Table 3 are arithmetical means of the
values determined as a result of the survey conducted with the persons who are
involved in the selection of places for the penitentiary institutions.

4.1 Step 1: to constitute decision matrix (A) and to calculate the best and worst
criterion values

Critical criterions for the selection of locations for penitentiary institutions and
technical data of alternative lands belonging to Sivas province were prepared by the
decision matrix. Since the errors in this process will cause the wrong alternative to
be selected, the technical data should be analyzed well while preparing the matrix.
The matrix is presented in Table 4.

A B C D E F G H K

ALT-1 1,250,000 15% 59,000 550,000 250 8.00 400 150,000 80

ALT-2 250,000 5% 250,000 2,500,000 1000 5.00 750 500,000 100

ALT-3 200,000 7% 80,000 800,000 0 4.00 500 1,000,000 100

ALT-4 2,000,000 6% 81,000 800,000 0 20.75 400 450,000 75

ALT-5 1,000,000 5% 150,000 1,500,000 0 75.00 850 1,000,000 50

ALT-6 2,000,000 3% 70,000 700,000 0 29.00 750 5,000,000 15

Table 4.
Decision matrix.

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A B C D E F G H K

ALT-1 1,250,000 15% 59,000 550,000 250 8.00 400 150,000 80

ALT-2 250,000 5% 250,000 2,500,000 1000 5.00 750 500,000 100

ALT-3 200,000 7% 80,000 800,000 0 4.00 500 1,000,000 100

ALT-4 2,000,000 6% 81,000 800,000 0 20.75 400 450,000 75

ALT-5 1,000,000 5% 150,000 1,500,000 0 75.00 850 1,000,000 50

ALT-6 2,000,000 3% 70,000 700,000 0 29.00 750 5,000,000 15

f i∗ 200,000 3% 250,000 2,500,000 0 4.00 850 150,000 100

fi 2,000,000 15% 59,000 550,000 1000 75.00 400 5,000,000 15

Table 5.
Decision matrix with f i∗ and f i values.

A B C D E F G H K

ALT-1 0.58333 1.00000 1.00000 1.00000 0.250 0.05634 1.00000 — 0.23529

ALT-2 0.02778 0.16667 — — 1.000 0.01408 0.22222 0.07216 —

ALT-3 — 0.33333 0.89005 0.87179 — — 0.77778 0.17526 —

ALT-4 1.00000 0.25000 0.88482 0.87179 — 0.23592 1.00000 0.06186 0.29412

ALT-5 0.44444 0.16667 0.52356 0.51282 — 1.00000 — 0.17526 0.58824

ALT-6 1.00000 — 0.94241 0.92308 — 0.35211 0.22222 1.00000 1.00000

Table 6.
Normalized decision matrix.

The first step is completed by adding the best (f i∗ Þ and the worst (f i ) criterion
values to end of the matrix. In determining these criterions, the ones close to the opti-
mum numerical value for each alternative are determined as the best value (Table 5).

4.2 Step 2: to obtain normalized decision matrix (N)

Equation (4) was applied to each criterion and normalized decision matrix was
obtained (Table 6).

4.3 Step 3: to obtain weighted normalized decision matrix (V)

At this stage, the weight coefficients (w) which show the effect of each criterion
in the construction of the penitentiary institution as a result of the institutional
experiences were determined by multiplying the data in Table 6. Weighted
normalize matrix is presented in Table 7.

4.4 Step 4: to obtain Si , Ri , Si∗ , and Si values

Si and Ri are calculated by using Eqs. (7) and (8), respectively. The lowest values
of calculated Si and Ri numbers are called as R and S ; the highest ones are also
called as R ∗ and S ∗ . The results obtained in this step are shown in Table 8.

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(w) 0.15 0.23 0.21 0.05 0.02 0.11 0.03 0.13 0.07

A B C D E F G H K

ALT-1 0.08750 0.23000 0.21000 0.05000 0.005 0.00620 0.03000 — 0.01647

ALT-2 0.00417 0.03833 — — 0.020 0.00155 0.00667 0.00938 —

ALT-3 — 0.07667 0.18691 0.04359 — — 0.02333 0.02278 —

ALT-4 0.15000 0.05750 0.18581 0.04359 — 0.02595 0.03000 0.00804 0.02059

ALT-5 0.06667 0.03833 0.10995 0.02564 — 0.11000 — 0.02278 0.04118

ALT-6 0.15000 — 0.19791 0.04615 — 0.03873 0.00667 0.13000 0.07000

Table 7.
Weighted normalize matrix.

Sİ Ri 0.00 0.25 0.50 0.75 1.00

Qİ Qİ Qİ Qİ Qİ
(q = 0.00) (q = 0.25) (q = 0.50) (q = 0.75) (q = 1.00)

ALT-1 0.635168 0.230000 1.000000 0.998082 0.996164 0.994247 0.992329

ALT-2 0.080097 0.038333 0 0 0 0 0

ALT-3 0.353284 0.186911 0.775188 0.703489 0.631789 0.560090 0.488391

ALT-4 0.521481 0.185812 0.769451 0.774360 0.779269 0.784177 0.789086

ALT-5 0.414549 0.110000 0.373913 0.429914 0.485915 0.541916 0.597916

ALT-6 0.639459 0.197906 0.832552 0.874414 0.916276 0.958138 1.000000

S∗ 0.080097

S 0.639459
∗
R 0.038333

R 0.230000

Table 8.
Si , Ri , Si∗ , and Si values.

4.5 Step 5: to calculate Q i values, to find out the most appropriate alternative,
and to control stage

Besides Si , Ri , Si∗ , and Si values obtained in the fourth step, the number of q
expressing the weight for the maximum group benefit is included in the calculations
as 0.00-0.25-0.50-0.75-1.00 which is used as a standard in the VIKOR method, and
Q i value was obtained by using Eq. (9). Results are presented in Table 8.
As a result of the calculations for each value of q, the most appropriate alterna-
tive was determined as ALT-2. The ALT-2 option, which provides two different
audit conditions to the VIKOR method, is the most appropriate location for the
construction of the penitentiary institution. The numerical data and results required
for the audit conditions are given in Table 9.

5. Conclusions

Public buildings are constructed with taxes from the citizens of the state. For this
reason, all citizens have a share in each public expenditure. In the constructions

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Ranking

Q İ (q = 0.00) Q İ (q = 0.25) Q İ (q = 0.50) Q İ (q = 0.75) Q İ (q = 1.00)

ALT-1 6 6 6 6 5

ALT-2 1 1 1 1 1

ALT-3 4 3 3 3 2

ALT-4 3 4 4 4 4

ALT-5 2 2 2 2 3

ALT-6 5 5 5 5 6

Q(A2) 0.373913 0.429914 0.485915 0.541916 0.4883907

1
Q(A ) 0 0 0 0 0

Q(A2) Q(A1) 0.373913 0.429914 0.485915 0.541916 0.488391

DQ 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2

Condition-1 Correct Correct Correct Correct Correct

Condition-2 Correct Correct Correct Correct Correct

Table 9.
Ranking.

built with the contributions of all citizens in Turkey, it is necessary to build the most
efficient structures with the least cost. Public employees are responsible for provid-
ing these criterions in investments. Due to their high costs and their positive and
negative impacts on the region, detailed studies need to be carried out for peniten-
tiary institutions. These institutions serve for approximately 50 years. In this study,
VIKOR method was used to make the best choice for the least amount of expenses
in both construction and usage phases. As a result of the study conducted, in order
to determine the most appropriate location for the construction of the penitentiary
institution, it was determined that the most suitable option was the second alterna-
tive. The VIKOR method used in the selection of places for penitentiary institutions
is considered to be beneficial in all investments, and it will be favorable in terms of
effective and efficient use of public resources.

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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.87836

Author details

Mürsel Erdal1, Coşkun Çakmak1* and Ahmet Eren Kaşak2

1 Department of Civil Engineering, Gazi University, Ankara, Turkey

2 General Directorate of Prisons and Detention Houses, Ministry of Justice, Ankara,

Turkey

*Address all correspondence to: coskuncakmak90@gmail.com

© 2019 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms
of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/
by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is properly cited.

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ISBS 2019 - 4th International Sustainable Buildings Symposium
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Chapter 40

Sustainable Urbanism: Plurality of

Spaces
M. Tawfique Rahman and Fauzia Rahman Mouri

Abstract

“Sustainability” revolves around 3Rs—Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. In urban-

ism, these three trails correlates and coexists in many forms but “Reuse” of space
is hardly one term that we use or think of. The mega cities of recently developing
Asian continent are bustling with people which grow every day. Such a city is the
capital of Bangladesh—Dhaka. The population of Dhaka city has reached 18 million
in 2016 marking it as the fastest growing mega city regarding density which is
45,000 people/km2. The city lacks minimum public open spaces and recreational
urban areas. Under the circumstances, it is time to think differently to lay a broad
and long-term programmatic responses to solve public spaces demand not only to
reach environmental stability but also to ensure sustainability. This chapter tries
to locate some sites in the city which are used for a period of time of the day and
left unused for a certain period and offers proposals to reuse those sites as public
recreational spaces. We call such proposal as “plurality of spaces”. Large datasets
were collected and ran through simulation showing the possible changes in the
urban areas which may create a sustainable urban pattern.

Keywords: sustainability, urban, multiplicity, plurality of spaces, simulation,

grasshopper

1. Introduction

While sustainable buildings are the units to attain sustainability, reaching

sustainable urbanism or cities, is the ultimate demand of the new era. Dhaka city
reached mile stone of density 45,000 people/km2 [1] but in 2009, for the first
time in history, world urban population has reached 51% [2]. Putting the rural
population behind and the trend is only uprising. At present, the ratio is 56:44%
with a prediction to reach 68:22% by 2050. Concerning though 90% of this growth
will take place in Asia and Africa alone [3]. The fastest growing mega cities are in
third world countries and on top of the list, according to density, consecutively
holding the first position for last three years is the capital of Bangladesh-Dhaka.
As it happens in any other densely populated city, the land value has launched to
a sky-rocketing price and devaoured any land that is left unused or could be used.
Unfortunately, the open spaces of the city has fallen under the embezzlement as
well. As the aim of future is to attain sustainability, the research looked closely
into the term of sustainability and of a thousand many varieties took the part
signifying “reuse”. This chapter suggested whether if there can be places to reuse in
a densely packed city like Dhaka and add extra to present condition of the public
spaces or not.

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1.1 The ideal density and the condition of Dhaka and multiplicity of spaces

Even though it is high time to understand urban settlements and cities from dif-
ferent perspective, there are certainly no proper method or mathematical equation
or deductive methods that with certainly can say what should be the ideal density of
a city. But in 2012, as suggested by Wendell Cox, Hong Kong was the “smart growth
ideal” for having the highest urban population density in the developed world [1].
However, if the third world countries like Bangladesh are taken into account, the
calculations fall apart. Dhaka, currently has a population of 18 million, making its
density 45,000 person/km2 [1]. Compared with Dhaka, Hong Kong has a density
of 7075 person/km2 [7]. Dhaka already has six times more density than Hong Kong.
Every day approximately 3000 people come to Dhaka [4]. Merges in for the promise
of better income of a megacity making the annual growth rate 4.2% [5], which is
more than five times of Hong Kong’s growth rate, that is 8% [4]. It is fairly obvious
that the situation of Dhaka city is anything but furthest to any ideal condition. An
ideal sustainable city should have 25% open space accessible and enjoyable for every
one, of which 25% should be green [4]. Contrary to the ideal situation Dhaka city
has 12% of open space areas. Of which only 3–4% is green [6]. The city tremen-
dously lacks public spaces. The term sustainability revolves around three Rs, which
are reduce, reuse, and recycle. In a city, it is understandable to reduce the consump-
tion of materials or energy or recycle the waste or power, but how to engage the city
inhabitants to reuse the basic urban amenities like—Space is space a reusable entity
at all? How to perceive space, is there anyway to change the notion and perspective
of the way a space is used and reuse it?
The existing places with their existing infrastructure and functions which ceases
to function for period of time and can be used for a different function for that par-
ticular period has the qualities of multiple use. This chapter identifies such spaces
with these attributes as-multiplicity of that space. These are the spaces, which are of
main consideration in the research, to see if these exist or not? If exist, is it possible
to use them for the time when these are not functioning as per original use, and if
these can be turned into public usable spaces.

1.2 Objective of the study

The objective of the study was to find out places those could be used as public
spaces for a certain period of the day and thus enhancing the living experiences
of the city. Also in doing so, certain spaces can be marked which later can become
models for the future expansion. Thus, the research hopes that the future smart
cities, from gathering big data and processing it, can self generate the expansion
keeping these sorts of spaces in between the urban areas, which will enhance the
living condition as well as by reusing spaces, will increase efficiency. Sustainability
is not only about reducing or recycling, the inhabitants and the policy-makers also
need to understand that it is about reusing spaces as well.

1.3 Scope of the study

As much as the inhabitants want more public open spaces in the city, the highly
dense Dhaka city is incapable of creating new urban open spaces because of the
sky rocketing price of land and the existing open spaces are also facing trouble to
remain so. We selected a small portion of Dhaka city, which is the “Shaat Rasta”
road. The site chosen starts from Mohakhali, Nabisco junction in the north and ends
at the “Shaat Rasta” junction in the south. We started to look for places that will give
us the following advantages

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• The spaces—already exist with a function.

• The spaces will cease to operate for a period of time, everyday of the week.

• The spaces will have its own infrastructure, which can be reused for a proposed
function.

By fulfilling the above conditions, these spaces/places can be used for multiple
functions and that can be called the “Multiplicity of spaces”.

2. Methodology

The research was conducted based on computer simulation, case studies as

literature review, and on intensive field data collection. Based on the findings, some
criteria for spaces, which can be used for multiple functions, have been established.
After selecting the criteria or parameters for multiply usable space, five sites were
marked suitable for the operation and simulation. Then a questioner-based research
was conducted among the people around the locality to find out their needs and
tried to fulfill those needs in small-scale contributions in the proposed sites. Case
studies were done to understand how other places are used as multiple functions
holding spaces during different time of the day and such attributes and observa-
tions were later implemented as strategies in the proposed areas. One of the such
case studies were on “Manek Chawk,” Ahmedabad, India.
As mentioned earlier, a certain portion of Dhaka city named the Shaat Rasta was
chosen for the experiment. It is a 2.5 km stretch starting from Mohakhali flyover till
the Sonargaon node and it is one of the most important roads of Dhaka city. The road
runs parallel with one of the main arterial roads of Dhaka city through an industrial
zone and it has residential blocks on both sides of it. Both the sides are sprawling
with legal and illegal commercial settlements. The whole area with a radius taken
of 3 km from the mid point of the stretch, has a population of ninety thousand
(90,000) people with 9.3% open space including the roads and pedestrian strips
dedicated for the inhabitants of the area [7]. However, there is a public park situated
at the corner of one of the residences but then again, it is so insignificant that taking
it in to account does not change much in the total sum of open spaces. Even though
the public park remains far away from most of the residential area and does not work
properly because of its location and mode of transportation unavailability.
The site was divided into blocks and through rigorous data collection all the
infrastructure and their uses were sorted out along with the urban amenities, infra-
structure, drainage system, users and function, how many stories are there, etc. The
primary criterion was that, the spaces should have some functions already instilled
to them. But physically without damaging or altering the present infrastructure and
function, if there are any opportunities laying to reuse the spaces for some other
functions in any of the time.
It is found through data collection that the whole stretch has 14 refueling
stations where compressed natural gas (CNG) is sold as fuel. As a decree from the
government, the CNG stations are not to run from 5 to 9 pm every day. Among the
14, there are 5 refueling stations which along with CNG sold gasoline, hence these
five were fully/partly operational every day of the week and year. Hence nine CNG
station were selected which cease to operate every day from 5 to 9 pm and those sites
during that period of time are left unused. These nine sites possibly can be used for
multiple functions and this attribute of the spaces were called the multiplicity of
space. Figure 1 shows the 2.5 km long stretch that has been selected for the research.

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ISBS 2019 - 4th International Sustainable Buildings Symposium

Figure 1.
Chosen area with types of use.

The color-coded buildings are shown according to their use and the legend is given.
All the data are collected on the site by authors with help of different means.

2.1 Space syntax

After selecting the sites, the whole area map was put in space syntax program.
Space syntax research attempts to find effects of spaces in a built form by directly
addressing the physical and spatial complexity in the built form. In space syntax,
the built environment is a complex system of spaces, which can be analyzed con-
figurationally and point out the under lying patterns and connectivity [6]. The
technique is simple where an axial map of the selected urban area and its context
is constructed and then the connectivity particular sites were analyzed. Based on
axial map of the area, imaginary grids were prepared which individually acted as
an urban island/urban block. Each block is surrounded by axial lines and street
intersections were marked as grid intersection points or meeting nodes of axial
lines. Thus, the blocks were selected as areas to check the connectivity with the local
people and fabric of the urban area. For research, the area of interest was the whole
stretch and connectivity of the nine selected CNG refueling hubs were tested in
relation to the existing residential area. Out of nine selected sites, five showed well
established connection with the neighborhood. That means those five CNG stations
were easily accessible for the inhabitants and further experiments were pursued on
these five sites. Table 1 shows the connectivity of the selected sites with the residen-
tial area around. The more the number of connectivity, it shows more connection
with the locality. Global and local integers were taken into account selecting a radius
of 3 km (n = 3) and was calculated using the space syntax program in a range of
0–5. The more the number, the better connected the site is. At the end, if the site
was selected or not is shown in the last column.

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Site number/reference number Connectivity with Global Local Selected

(starting from top) the stretch integers integers
Site 1 2 0.3 0.4 No

Site 2 17 2.8 3 Yes

Site 3 23 3.1 4.3 Yes

Site 4 2 0.08 1 No
Site 5 19 3 2.8 Yes

Site 6 3 0.21 0.38 No

Site 7 4 0.6 1.2 No

Site 8 19 2.6 4 Yes

Site 9 27 3.7 4.7 Yes

Table 1.
Connectivity of the nine refueling sites in the local and global perspective.

The given chart shows the connectivity, global integer, and local integer,
where connectivity means in how many ways the particular site chosen is con-
nected to the neighborhood, the global integer shows how well the site is con-
nected with the rest of the city and local integer shows how well connected it is
with the local neighborhoods. The higher the value from 1 to 5 scale, the better
connected it is. Once the five sites were selected, the selection went through the
next level of experiment which is computer simulation to see how these sites
may work under certain parameters. Figure 2 shows the selected and rejected
sites, which are marked according to their numbers. The images show the space
syntax find outs. With the red being most used and populated zone, marks the
main artery road. The green to blue shades show according to lesser used and less
connected roads. Figure 2a shows the overall connectivity of the roads with each
other and with the blocks of the selected area. Figure 2b shows the primarily
selected nine sites are situated in the mesh of connectivity both in terms of roads
and local area. Figure 2c shows the final selection of the sites. Most connected
roads also shows the nodes which are understood as joints. The more connected
the joints are in a block, the better they perform. Because the clear joints in a
city are mostly strategic moments of structures which should be highly percep-
tive [8]. The research wanted to find out the most perceptive joints to intervene.
Hence, selecting five points out of nine at the end.

2.2 Grasshopper simulation

After selecting the sites, computer simulation were run to understand the social
behavior pattern of the locals. In such a case, a cell is created, which will populate
itself in any given open space in the area selected. For an example, the road chosen
is the Shaat Rasta, Mohakhali. This road was assigned with point X on the north
and point Y on the south. Then programmed the cell to populate in any point which
is in the proximity to the local connection but only if the place is vacant. The cell
does not populate in any area since there are no vacant spaces. Then time parameter
was added to show the algorithm that from 5 to 9 pm there are some vacant spaces.
The cell then automatically started to generate at those selected points since they
recognized the spaces as vacant. Later some other parameters were attributed to the
cells, which attract people such as food, libraries, and ice cream parlors. The simula-
tion then shows that the cell already starts to attract people and the places/sites start

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to become urban hubs for the time being. The figures show the conditions of the
simulations. The pentagon shape denotes the cell that is programmed to generate
if the places are vacant or usable during the period. At first, the selected sites are
not populated by the pentagon cells, but later the cells are fully and spontaneously
generated in the sites.
The prime function of the cell was to populate space, when it can get favorable
condition. No function was assigned to any cell. The function of the cell is to be
decided according to demand manually later. For intervening with the functions
rather than a top-down system, the decisions were taken on a bottom-up system,
where the peoples choice was given priority. In cases where the closest neighbors
in their questionnaires felt the need of a restaurant or a library or snacks joints,
according to their need, later on, it was provided. But as the most of the need base
was food related, a simulation with food and human connection was ran. The simu-
lation parameters were pre-selected in the notion that human beings (shown as dots
in Figure 3) are attracted to food carts or food dispensing functions (shown as a red
pentagon) and when those pentagon cells occupied a vacant multiply usable space,
with time, more and more people start to come over and gather around. Below a site
blow up of a simulation ran is shown Figure 4.

2.3 Findings

The following outcomes were intended to achieve, if the strategies are

implemented:

• To create recreational space for urban people

• To enhance green space of the area

• To reduce traffic jam of the area

The study and the possible solutions focuses only on some chosen small-scale
spaces in an area of Dhaka city within its limited scope to find out whether multi-
plicity of spaces works to solve the issue, that is the current lacking of open urban
space in the broad area of the metropolis. Also as a theory whether multiplicity of
spaces is a solution for future sustainable development or not.
Since it was not possible for the team to implement the ideas in reality, we have
taken the liberty to run simulations and see what the possible outcomes could be
in reality. Softwares used for the simulations are Grasshopper and Rhyno based
on which works under certain parameters given and run through as such. That
is to say, under certain parameters given in to the computer codes, the result
shown are different accordingly. While running simulations on a city, the matrix
and parameters are much more complex and vast, hence we can assume that
the results may vary if more parameters are added. After the simulations results
shown the possible sites with potentials, the spaces were required to design and
may require to hold the potential function in the selected sites. The simulation
shows that adding the five sites, increases the open area percentage from 9.3 to
12.8%. More research and possibility of adding such multiply usable spaces shows
that the existing situations of the Dhaka city can be improved. Finding more of
such places surely enhances the present quality of living and also adds to the open
spaces of the city that a city needs. Such an experiment also shows that keeping
the existing infrastructure and reusing them, inevitably attenuate towards a more
sustainable city and mindset.

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Figure 2.
Connectivity of sites in space syntax. (a) Whole area connectivity in space syntax. (b) Sites with connectivity
map. (c) Selected sites after consideration.

Figure 3.
Simulations at different time periods. (a) Simulation 1/without time parameter. (b) Simulation 2/time
12 am–5 pm. (c) Simulation 3/time 5 pm–9 pm.

Figure 4.
Simulation results. (a) Blow up area in simulation. (b) Cell and population. (c) Population increase from 5 to
9 pm.

3. Conclusion

Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, is thriving under the pressure of popula-

tion and densely unorganized proliferation of amenities. It has limited number of
open spaces which are not enough for the inhabitants and more over the number
of people is growing every day. The urban spaces have become a need which is yet
not well understood or monitored. Even the existing condition of the open areas
where people can gather for certain refreshment is not user friendly. Therefore the

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research tried to look forward to some alternative solutions by changing the value
and the view point of how a space or a public space is seen. Henry Lefebvre in his
writings repeatedly said the production of space is a spontaneous matter which is
affected by the locality and the mindset [9]. In this chapter, it is tried to incorporate
thoughts that will bring change in the system where a place is presented with its
multiple use attribute and due to the lack of proper defined space, people of the
surroundings will take the spaces into their consideration and start enjoying. All
of these spaces are well integrated at local level. The study tried to look for spaces
which can be used for different functions at different period of the day and marked
as spaces that have the potentiality to be multiply used. This small intervention
is a certain step towards multiplicity in a metropolitan like Dhaka. The reuse of
such spaces can be introduced to people and by creating efficiency and access, it
is possible to present the inhabitants with a little breathing space in the cityscape
itself. Use of cellular automata and computer simulations were another side of the
experiment where, depending on the parameters, the results can vary from little or
no change to large scale differences. For such experiments, large quantity of data
sample is required and analyzing such large data set may give different answers-
during different iterations or conditions. It is therefore agreed that there are many
limitations of the study, even then we are much hopeful that such certain steps may
bring change to the living condition that is at present an unhealthy reality.

Acknowledgements

We thank the students of South East University, Architecture Department 20–21

batch for helping us gather and analyze the data on the urban area selected. We also
thank the student team to help us run the Grasshopper simulation and programing.

Author details

M. Tawfique Rahman1* and Fauzia Rahman Mouri2

1 Department of Architecture, South East University, Dhaka, Bangladesh

2 Department of Architecture, American International University, Dhaka,

Bangladesh

*Address all correspondence to: mirat147@gmail.com

© 2019 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms
of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/
by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is properly cited.

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References

[1] Cox W. Evolving Urban Form:

Dhaka [Internet]. 2012. Available
from: http://www.newgeography.com/
content/003004-evolving-urban-form-
dhaka [Accessed: December 19, 2018]

[2] UN Economic and Social Affairs

[Internet]. 2015. Available from: http://
www.undp.org [Accessed: December 21,
2018]

[3] Worldometers.worldometers.
com [Internet]. 2019. Available from:
http://www.worldometers.info/world-
population/china-hong-kong-sar-
population [Accessed: January 30, 2019]

[4] Nilufer F. Urban life and usable

public space in Dhaka [thesis report].
Dhaka: Buet; 2000

[5] Judy BL. Dhaka: Improving living

condition. Worldbank studies. Dhaka:
World Bank; 2007

[6] Hillier B. The Common Language

of Space: A Way of Looking at Social
Economic and Environmental
Functioning of Cities on a Common
Basis. Space Syntax Laboratory,
Common Language of Space. 2008.
pp. 23-46

[7] Statistics. Bangladesh Bureau of

Statistics Report. Dhaka: Bangladesh
Bureau of Statistics. 2019. Available
from: http://www.bbs.gov.bd/

[8] Lynch K. The Image of the City.

Massachusetts: MIT Press; 1960

[9] Lefebvre H. The Production of Space.

Oxford, OX, UK: Blackwell; 1991

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Chapter 41

The Investigation of the

Sustainability of the Existing Steel
Pedestrian Overpasses According to
the New Steel Structure Regulation:
The Sample of Ankara City
Gökhan Durmuş and Akın Ünal

Abstract

The current state of the steel pedestrian overpasses, which were selected from
different regions of Ankara, was designed in terms of engineering. Three pedestrian
overpasses, which are important in terms of loss of life and property of the city,
have been identified. In this study, it will be determined whether pedestrian over-
passes dimensioned according to linear analysis primarily meet the design criteria
according to the old steel structure regulation. In addition, the conformity of the
design rules in the regulation on principles of design, calculation, and construction
of steel structures entered into force in 2016 will be investigated. The conformity of
crosswalk that is the ductility level of the steel frame and high ductility steel frame
entered into force in 2016 will be investigated. As a result, internal forces of selected
column and beam elements are given in graphs and tables at the result of the study
comparatively.

Keywords: steel structure design, linear analysis, nonlinear analysis, overpass,

steel construction

1. Introduction

Turkey is located on an active earthquake zone and has recently entered a rapid
construction process. Especially in the recent years, there has been an increase in the
application area of steel structures. However, the design rules of steel structures are
particularly important. In this direction in Turkey, on September 1, 2016, Design,
Calculation and Construction Principles of Steel Structures (ÇYTHY), and on
January 1, 2019, Turkey Earthquake Building Regulation (TBDY) entered into force.
The ratio of steel structures to all structures is about 50% in Europe and
America. This ratio is a very small value, such as 0.3% in Turkey. Although the
exact values are not known, it is thought that steel structures are used in industrial
buildings by 6% and in residential buildings by 1–2%. In Turkey, most of the steel
structures are industrial-type structures [1, 2]. The remaining part consists of
towers, energy infrastructures, bridges, pedestrian overpasses, and commercial
structures. Application of multistory steel structures is very little. The reason of

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this situation is being high cost of steel structures. Even if this statement applies
to normally reinforced concrete structures, steel structures should be preferred in
earthquake-resistant construction designs and weak floors. The hard part of the
steel structures is the process of production, construction, and assembly. More
skilled workers, engineers, and architects are required in this process. Although
these stages are difficult, the advantages of steel structures should not be ignored.
Steel structures:

• Steel is a sustainable material and 100% recyclable. If recycling is done cor-

rectly, there will be no loss of quality.

• The manufacturing process takes place in the workshop, and, thus, it is not
affected by the weather conditions during the assembly phase.

• After the installation is complete, the structure runs at a full capacity.

• Steel structures are esthetic and allow for various designs. The sections are small
compared to the concrete, and the net usage area of the building increases.

• Repair and strengthening of steel structures is much easier than reinforced

concrete structures.

• Steel structures can be dismantled and transported to another location. It is envi-

ronmentally friendly and does not leave any waste after it has been dismantled.

As a whole, steel structures are more advantageous. The cost of the buildings is
usually taken as the unit area price and the unit price of the materials. But when we
look at this point of view, we ignore all the advantages of steel structures. When the
factors such as sustainability, earthquake effect, building net usage area, and basic
cost are added to the comparison, steel structures are more advantageous [3–6].

2. Comparison of regulations

When we look at the regulations regarding the steel structure design in

Turkey up to the present day, most known, which is TS648, which entered into
force in 1980, is the Regulation of Calculus and Construction Rules of Steel
Structures. In addition to this, TS 4561, which entered into force in 1985, was
used for calculation of steel structures according to the plastic theory. Then TS
4561 was repealed and replaced by the TS EN 1993-1-1 standard. TS 648 is out-
dated, and a new regulation has been published after 36 years. On September 1,
2016, the Regulation on Design, Calculation and Construction of Steel Structures
(ÇYTHYE) entered into force. The new steel structure regulation has been
developed based on the American Regulations AISC 360–10 and AISC 360–16
(draft), which are up to date and valid at the international level. Design of steel
structures is made according to boundary conditions. There are two boundary
conditions, one for strength limit and one for usability limit. The structures are
first dimensioned for the boundary condition based on external influences and
then checked for usability limit condition [7, 8]. The main approaches aiming
the design of the building systems as earthquake resistant are divided into two,
according to the strength and performance [7].
Design according to strength: there are three basic components in this
approach—resistance criterion, stiffness criteria, and system ductility.

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Design by performance: This design approach consists of three parts. First of

all, the structure is projected to design earthquake load. Second, service loads are
also included in the dimensioned depressant load. Finally, the largest earthquake
loads are applied to the structure. This approach is one of the most suitable methods
for evaluating the performance of high-rise buildings, floor-insulated buildings,
and other existing private buildings.

2.1 Design with TS 648

The TS 648 covers element designs in general. Safety stresses are based on the
calculation method. This regulation is only appropriate for buildings. Nonbuilding
structures are not covered [9].

2.1.1 Tensile force effect

The tensile safety stress (σ çem) is calculated with the following formula in the
useful section:

σ çem ≤ 0.6 σ a (1)

In addition, this value should not be more than half of the tensile strength (σ d):

σ çem ≤ 0.6 σ d (2)

Depending on the load situation, TS 648 suggests that the slenderness of the
steel profile according to tensile strength, the minimum, should not be less than 250
mm (λ ≤ 250).

2.1.2 Pressure force effect

In central pressure-driven bars, buckling calculation method is given in the

regulation. The bars under the effect of pressure outside the conditions in the regu-
lation are determined according to the rules required by that situation. The slender-
ness of the bars under pressure must not be more than 250. The safety stresses are
calculated by the following formula:

S≤σ
ω ∗ __ (3)
çem
F

2.1.3 Bending moment effect

If three or more support continuous roof beams and purlins can be calculated
with other methods, the load and support openings can be calculated with the fol-
lowing bending moment formulas:

Edge spans for distributed load : M = q ∙ l 2 / 11 (4)

Inside spans : M = q ∙ l 2 / 18 (5)

2.1.4 Axial pressure and bending moment effect

The buckling verification and the non-buckling stress determination in the bars
running Mx and/or My bending moments with a central pressure force or eccentric
pressure force are calculated by the related formulas.

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2.1.5 Buckling effect

If the loads causing the bending in addition to torsional loads do not pass
through the slip center of the cross section of the element, the bar is subjected to
torsional loads. Normal stresses and shear stresses occur due to torsional loads.
These stresses are added to the stresses of the other effects, and the maximum stress
values are calculated.

2.2 Design with ÇYTHYE

There are two methods of design according to the strength limit condition in
ÇYTHYE. One of them is load and resistance factor design (LRDF). The other
is allowable strength design (ASD) method, which is similar to the safety stress
method [10, 11].
Load and resistance factor design: LRFD is based on the principle that the
design strength ∅ R n is equal to or greater than the value R u, calculated by the load
combinations to be used in this design method. According to this design method,
the equation is expressed as follows:

Ru ≤ ∅ Rn (6)

Allowable strength design: ASD is based on the principle of safe strength,

and R n / Ω value is equal to or greater than the value of Ra, calculated by the load
combinations to be used in this design method (Figure 1). According to this design
method, the equation is expressed as follows:

Ra ≤ R n / Ω (7)

Design strength must be equal to or greater than the required strength value for
the building to remain in the safe zone. In both methods, the loads on the structure
are multiplied by the load coefficients, and the required strength is determined. But
the load combinations of the two methods are different from each other. In ASD
method, load coefficients are generally considered to be 1.0. By adjusting the safety
coefficients, the same results are achieved in both methods.

Figure 1.
Design strengths.

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2.2.1 Axial tensile force effect

The slenderness ratio in the elements subjected to tensile force should be less
than 300 ( Lc / i ≤ 300). However, this condition is invalid for steel cables and shafts.
The tensile force strength; the design tensile force strength for LRFD; the tensile
force strength of ∅ t / Tn, or ASD; the minimum strength value calculated according
to Tn / Ω t; axial tensile force element; yield boundary status; and breaking boundary
conditions shall be taken.

2.2.2 Axial pressure force effect

These elements are classified according to cross-sectional conditions as delicate and

non-delicate cross sections. The slenderness rate calculated according to the rules in the
regulation should be less than 200 (Lc/i ≤ 200). Pn shall be taken as the smallest of the
resistances to be calculated from the bending, torsional buckling and/or torsional bend-
ing boundary conditions around any of the cross-sectional axes of the element under
axial pressure force, with characteristic axial compressive force strength.

2.2.3 Bending moment effect

In the case of a simple bending effect, the loads must be in the plane parallel to
the main axis passing through the shear center, or the load on the element must be
supported against torsion at the action points and supports. Cross-sectional parts of
the bending moment effect elements shall be classified as compact, non-compact,
and delicate, determined from the relevant table in the regulation. The character-
istic bending moment strength of the element under bending, Mn, the smallest of
the strengths for each boundary condition to be calculated, will be selected. For
bending elements,

∅ b = 0.90 (LRFD) or Ω b = 1.67 (ASD) (8)

admissible, the design bending moment strength for LRFD, the bending
moment strength for ∅ b Mn or ASD, Mn / Ω b, will be determined according to the
required conditions.

2.2.4 Shear force effect

In the shear force effect elements, shear force affected elements, LRFD method
for the design of the shear force strength ϕv Vn, or ASD method for safe shear force
strength Vn/Ωv. All elements exposed to shear force other than special cases in
ÇYTHYE,

∅ v = 0.90 (YDKT) or Ω v = 1.67 (GKT) (9)

admissible, will be calculated according to the rules given in the regulation. The
characteristic shear force resistance Vn will be determined as shown in the regulation.

2.2.5 Compound effects

The elements under bending (compound oblique bending) and axial force and
without torsion or torsion will be designed according to the rules in the relevant
chapter.

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3. Material and methods

In this study, Ufuk University pedestrian overpass on Mevlana boulevard in

Çankaya district of Ankara was investigated. Measurements of pedestrian overpass
were taken with the help of meter and laser meter. The system is modeled in the
SAP2000 program. Loads have been added to the system using TS 498 (Design
loads for buildings), TS EN 1991-1-3 (Eurocode 1 – Actions on structures—Part 1–3:
General actions – Snow loads), and TS EN 1991-1-4 (Eurocode 1 – Actions on struc-
tures—Part 1–4: General actions – Wind actions) regulations. Load combinations
were first entered according to TS 648. In the program, the system was analyzed by
selecting AISC-ASD89 regulation. Then, according to ÇYTHYE, which entered into
force in 2016, analysis was made. For the new regulation, analysis was carried out by
selecting AISC 360–10 regulation (Figures 2–4). Load and resistance factor design
was chosen as the method of calculation and load combinations to be used for this
calculation method which are defined in the program. Finally, according to the two
regulations, the results are compared in terms of performance. All properties are
given in Tables 1–3.

Figure 2.
Location of pedestrian overpass (Google Earth).

Figure 3.
General view and bottom and internal views of pedestrian overpass.

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Figure 4.
3D and X-Y axis views of pedestrian overpass [12].

Properties of Ufuk University pedestrian overpass

Material Steel
Distance 48 m (24 m + 24 m)
Height 4.8–8.3 m
Width 3.8 m
Highest point 11.05 m
System weight 61.777 kg (calculated by Tekla structures)
Material property S275 (S235JR)
Connection type Weld and Bolt
Number of frames 899 frames
Number of joints 571 joints
Number of restrains 12 fixed supports

Table 1.
Properties of Ufuk University pedestrian overpass [13–16].

Load patterns Abbreviations Values

DEAD G 200 kg/m2
SNOW S 1036 kN/m2
WINDx Wx 1 N/mm (distributed)
WINDy Wy 1 N/mm (distributed)
WIND-x W-x 0.5 N/mm (distributed)
WIND-y W-y 0.5 N/mm (distributed)
TEMPERATURE+ T+ +10 °C (by element)

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Load patterns Abbreviations Values

TEMPERATURE- T- −10 °C (by element)
LIVE Q 500 kg/m2
QUAKEx Ex Response spectrum
QUAKEy Ey Response spectrum

Table 2.
Load patterns.

TS 648/AISC-ASD89 ÇYTHYE/AISC 360–10 (LRFD)

1 G 1 1.4G
2 G + Q 2 1.2G + 1.6S
3 G + S 3 1.2G + 1.6S + Q
4 G + (±T) 4 1.2G + 1.6S + 0.8Wx
5 G + Q + (±T) 5 1.2G + 1.6S + 0.8Wy
6 G + Q + S 6 1.2G + 1.6S + 0.8 W-x
7 G + Q ± Ex ±0.3Ey 7 1.2G + 1.6S + 0.8 W-y
8 G + Q ± Ey ± 0.3Ex 8 1.2G + Q + 0.5S + Wx
9 G + Wx + 0.5S 9 1.2G + Q + 0.5S + Wy
10 G + Wy + 0.5S 10 1.2G + Q + 0.5S + W-x
11 G + Q + Wx + 0.5S 11 1.2G + Q + 0.5S + W-y
12 G + Q + Wy + 0.5S 12 1.2G + Q + 0.2S ± Ex ±0.3Ey
13 G + W-x + 0.5S 13 1.2G + Q + 0.2S ± Ey ± 0.3Ex
14 G + W-y + 0.5S 14 1.4G + (±T)
15 G ± Ex ±0.3Ey 15 0.9G + 1.6Wx
16 G ± Ey ± 0.3Ex 16 0.9G + 1.6Wy
17 G + S ± Ex ±0.3Ey 17 0.9G + 1.6 W-x
18 G + S ± Ey ± 0.3Ex 18 0.9G + 1.6 W-y
19 G + Q + W-x + 0.5S 19 0.9G ± Ex ±0.3Ey
20 G + Q + W-y + 0.5S 20 0.9G ± Ey ± 0.3Ex

Table 3.
Load combinations.

4. Results and suggestions

After the system was modeled with SAP2000, it was analyzed by two regula-
tions, and the sections were checked for performance.

4.1 Analysis with AISC-ASD89 (TS 648)

In the system analyzed by the old regulation, all the sections provided the neces-
sary conditions, and the system was confirmed to be in the safe zone. However,
although the system is in a safe zone, the degree of safety is very close to the limit.
The most stressed sections were determined to be the L profiles in the middle of the
slab. The most stressed L90 × 90 × 9 mm steel profile uses 98% percent of its capac-
ity (Figures 5 and 6). The combination that caused the most stress was the “G + Q +
Wy + 0.5S” load combination.

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Figure 5.
Check of structure (AISC-ASD89/TS 648).

Figure 6.
Highest stress check information (AISC-ASD89/TS 648).

4.2 Analysis with AISC 360-10/LRFD (ÇYTHYE)

In the system which is analyzed with the new regulation, errors were detected in
almost all sections. Sections are insufficient in terms of slenderness. The Lb value
should not exceed 0.095 r y ∗ E / (Ry ∗ Fy), and the slenderness ratio kl/r should not
exceed 200 [11, 17, 18]. The “Lb” means “length between points which are either
braced against lateral displacement of compression flange or braced against twist of
the cross section,” “r” means “radius of gyration,” and the “kl” value expressed here
is “effective length of member.” In the old regulation, the limit of slenderness ratio
was 250, but in the new regulation, this value was reduced to 200. Therefore, errors
in the system can be eliminated by changing these values of the sections. These
errors in the system can be eliminated by using the relevant tables in the regulation.
These design errors in the system can be resolved by using the relevant tables in the
new regulation. Errors are shown in Figures 7 and 8.

4.3 Comparison

As a result, while the system is appropriate according to the old regulation, it is

insufficient according to the new regulation. These and similar systems should
be reinforced or rebuilt in order not to endanger the safety of life and
property (Figure 9).

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Figure 7.
Check of structure (AISC 360-10/ÇYTHYE).

Figure 8.
Design errors.

Figure 9.
Shear, moment, and axial force graphics on AISC-ASD89 (TS 648) and AISC 360-10 (ÇYTHYE).

At the same time, structural deteriorations were detected in the pedestrian

overpass. In some areas, the paints were flaked off and corrosion occurred. In these
rusty areas, the necessary precautions should be taken before the corrosion pro-
ceeds further (Figures 10 and 11).

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Figure 10.
Structural deteriorations.

Figure 11.
Ufuk University pedestrian overpass (Google Earth, date: September 2017).

Ufuk University overpass is located in one of the most crowded boulevards of

Ankara. In those cities with traffic and pedestrian crowd, pedestrian overpasses
have great importance. In this respect, pedestrian overpasses should not be forgot-
ten for both pedestrian safety and traffic safety.

Author details

Gökhan Durmuş* and Akın Ünal

Department of Civil Engineering, Gazi University, Ankara, Turkey

*Address all correspondence to: gdurmus@gazi.edu.tr

© 2019 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms
of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/
by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is properly cited.

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ISBS 2019 - 4th International Sustainable Buildings Symposium
References
[1] Yapı. Steel Structures Should
Widespread Use in Turkey. [Internet]
2015. Available from: http://www.
yapi.com.tr/haberler/turkiyede-celik-
yapi-kullanimi-yayginlasmali_133407.
html [Accessed: 2019-02-23] (In
Turkish)
[2] Yapı Magazin. Tiryakioğlu NY;
The biggest advantage of the steel
construction sector is that the steel
sector, on the one hand, and the
construction sector on the other
hand, take place in the common
area where the intersects. [Internet]
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yapimagazin.com/Haber/4528/
prof-dr-nesrin-yardimci-tiryakioglu-
%E2%80%9Ccelik-yapi-sektorunun-
en-buyuk-avantaji-bir-taraftan-celik-
sektorunun-diger-taraftan-insaat-
sektorunun-kesistigi-ortak-alanda-
yer-almasidir [Accessed: 2019-02-23]
(In Turkish)
[3] Yardımcı N. Steel structures in
Turkey. Türkiye Mühendislik Haberleri.
2005;435:22-24 In Turkish
[4] Yardımcı N. Design and design of
steel structures. Türkiye Mühendislik
Haberleri. 2005;435:46-50 In Turkish
[5] Altay G, Güneyisi EM. Structural
steel sector in Turkey and new
developments. In: Antalya Region Civil
Engineering Problems Congress, 22-24
September, Antalya, 2005. pp. 27-35 In
Turkish
[6] Özer E. Developments in steel
building design and new turkish
earthquake regulation. Türkiye
Mühendislik Haberleri. 2016;492:
41-46 in Turkish
[7] Özer E. Basic principles of
earthquake resistant steel building
design and new turkish earthquake
regulation. In: 6. Steel Structures
Symposium. Eskişehir;  in Turkish
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[8] Özer E. Under earthquake
effect design of steel buildings
[Internet]. 2018. Available from:
http://www.imo.org.tr/resimler/
dosya_ekler/894fd882ceb0011_
ek.pdf?tipi=79&turu=X&sube=15
[Accessed: 2019-02-23] (in Turkish)
[9] Turkish Standards Institution.
Building Code for Steel Structures
(TS 648:1980). Turkish Standards
Institution; 1980 (in Turkish)
[10] Öz D. Steel structures design
according to design, calculation and
construction requirements of steel
structures code and Turkish Building
Earthquake Code [MSc thesis].
Eskişehir: Eskişehir Osmangazi
University; 2018 (in Turkish)
[11] Ministry of Environment and Urban
Republic of Turkey. Design, Calculation
and Construction Principles of Steel
Structures. Ministry of Environment
and Urban Republic of Turkey; 2016 (in
Turkish)
[12] SAP2000. Structural Software for
Analysis and Design. Computers and
Structures Inc
[13] Tekla Structures, Trimble Solutions
Corporation
[14] Turkish Standards Institution.
Design Loads for Buildings (TS
498:1987). Turkish Standards
Institution; 1987 (in Turkish)
[15] Turkish Standards Institution.
Eurocode 1—Actions on Structures—
Part 1-3: General Actions—Snow
Loads (TS EN 1991-1-3:2007). Turkish
Standards Institution; 2007 (in Turkish)
[16] Turkish Standards Institution.
Eurocode 1—Actions on Structures—
Part 1-4: General Actions—Wind
Loads (TS EN 1991-1-4:2007). Turkish
Standards Institution; 2007 (in Turkish)
The Investigation of the Sustainability of the Existing Steel Pedestrian Overpasses…
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.87836

[17] AISC. Seismic Provisions for

Structural Steel Buildings (ANSI/AISC
341-16). American Institute of Steel
Construction; 2016

[18] AISC. Specification for Structural

Steel Buildings (ANSI/AISC 360-16).
American Institute of Steel Construction;
2016

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Chapter 42

A Non-Conventional Spatial
Intervention: Bamboo in a Modern
Architecture Campus
Paula Cano Vergara and Caori Takeuchi

Abstract

The increase of fast building development and the need of restructuring heritage
complexes have unleashed as much in strong environmental consequences as set
concepts of life expectancy and conservation policies, hence the need to prioritize
and drive sustainable development such as constructions of bamboo in configured
environments made of concrete and brick as in Universidad Nacional de Colombia
(UNAL), a heritage architecture campus which several studies and projects have
started to focus on environmental issues and the lack of public space. The Wood
and Bamboo Structures Research Group (SEMBU) from the UNAL, Bogota, campus
has proposed a Guadua bamboo (Guadua angustifolia) bus stop with a green roof
system, as a partial solution to these problems and a chance to research. The project
is a visible structure, which is daily used by a large part of the university community,
therefore, making it easier to publicize the effectiveness of the construction with
non-conventional materials. This proposal will mark the beginning of a path toward
sustainability in building a complex made of architectural language, through the
assistance of the transfer of technology and sustainable development in the campus.

Keywords: Guadua bamboo structure, sustainable heritage, ephemeral architecture,

fast construction and campus

1. Introduction

A spatial intervention is an interaction between nature, geography, and culture,

which exhibits temporary and permanent dynamics. Both dynamics mark territo-
rial identity. For instance, urban space and buildings emphasize customs and are the
first step toward identifying basic needs related to living.
Our context, the UNAL, Bogota, campus, is an architectural heritage campus
created by the architect Leopold Rother (1936). It was established as a modern
architecture paradigm (Figure 1a and b), divorced from the Spanish colonial and
republican design and construction common in Colombia at that time.
The campus is located on a 3025-acre area (355,000 sq. meters) (Figure 2) in
the center of the city, and it is one of the main green areas in Bogota. It has 127
buildings, of which half present serious structural damage, and 17 are registered as
historical buildings [1].
In order to keep the design language and urban configuration, present in
our campus’ context, spatial interventions are conceived in the following ways:
First, there are long bureaucratic processes related to heritage and construction

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Figure 1.
Universidad Nacional de Colombia. (a) Universidad Nacional de Colombia Bogota. 1939. Proa. 1980.
(b) Engineer building. Arq. Bruno Violi. 1943–1945.

Figure 2.
Top view of Universidad Nacional Bogota, Instituto de Estudios Urbanos (IEU) on August 18, 2018.

management in an attempt to maintain the Rother project. Second, in response to

the insufficiency of infrastructure, pop-up stands and other types of ephemeral
and “nonofficial” spaces characterize the students’ life dynamics; lastly, there are
invisible places and meeting points such as bus stops. For example, architecture and
art students must travel by bus to their classes, which are 1 mile and a half from the
campus due to the demolition and delayed construction of their building. While
waiting for the bus, they and their supplies and models are subject to inclement
weather and other inconveniences.
The student research group SEMBU identified the problem of the university
community well-being at bus stops, which included the lack of protection against
weather and minimal seat and space availability for the handicapped. SEMBU made
a Passenger Frequency Analysis and concluded that an intervention, regarding the
campus in environment and building terms, was imperative. Also, environmental
threats to the campus are a big concern. Almost all buildings in the campus are
more than 50 years old, which translates into a lack of any sustainable system or
a sustainable urban drainage system (SUDS). Just a couple of new buildings have
implemented sun panels or LED technology.

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This circumstance provided an opportunity for SEMBU to construct an efficient

solution with a local material that offers a simple and fast assemblage: A Guadua
bamboo (Guadua angustifolia) structure topped by a green roof and solar panel. The
proposal, a bus stop pilot project, pursued an active spatial intervention, and it can
be either a permanent or temporary project. This project was developed through
a collaboration between architecture and engineer students. SEMBU’s proposal
focused mainly on the users rather than the architectural campus language, in which
the design was contemplated in every structural aspect (foundation, mechanical
properties, and junctions) with architectural elements. More than an academic
exercise, the bus stop design and construction processes are a seed to promote
sustainable and suitable architecture into a heritage context, to share this knowledge
by a bamboo building manual and to get the acceptance by the university community
of new types of buildings into an established green building complex.
SEMBU is aware that this bus stop and future ones will not represent the modern
campus language, but they are sure that these kinds of non-conventional interven-
tions with non-conventional materials are a great alternative for solving conven-
tional problems. Projects like this are important because they promote research into
structural bamboo studies and wooden/bamboo architecture interventions.
This kind of student project is not only sustainable but also affordable considering all
the infrastructure problems found in public universities. Problems can be solved without
long processes with this ecological, cheap, strong, and local material: Guadua bamboo.

2. A hybrid landscape

The UNAL was established as a modern architecture paradigm in 1936; it shows

one of the best Colombian modern architecture of the twentieth century. Buildings
are located as pavilions, most of them far from each other, surrounded by green
areas offering several landscapes and paths. With the objective of keeping this
context, the urban planning and heritage office has set a master plan despite insuf-
ficient infrastructure and the state of the bureaucratic process. This situation has
caused many unofficial interventions in the campus. Everyday new market stands,
removable insecure structures, and so forth are being built beside sidewalks and
squares, among other places without any urban regulation. Additionally, meet-
ing points and open spaces create other types of non-configured architecture, for
instance, bus stops. There is no structure nor a cover; there is no seating space for
regular students or space availability for the handicapped. Students are subject to
inclement weather conditions and other inconveniences.

2.1 Architecture: a bus stop

Considering the infrastructure issue of the lack of complimentary spaces to aca-

demic ones, and environmental threats present in the UNAL campus, the research
group decided to implement a project as a possible solution to them. After a series of
analysis and tests, SEMBU designed and implemented a bus stop made of Guadua
bamboo. The concept is easy and comfortable; it focuses on efficiency and possibil-
ity of being disassembled (Figure 3), therefore making it easier for this project to be
replicated in different urban spots. This model pursues the lowest visual impact on
the architecture of the UNAL campus and represents a small but complete sample
of green and elemental building. SEMBU worked on three aspects in this project:
Architecture, material and structure, and sustainable drainage systems.
This pilot project was the first one designed and built completely from scratch by
SEMBU; its members (students) brought theory to practice, presented a proposal

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Figure 3.
Isometric cutting plane and connection details. Own elaboration 2019.

based on regulation, and applied the tests never tried before. At the end, to guarantee
the safest structure, and following Normas Sismo Resistente Colombiana (NSR-10)
(Resistant Construction Building Colombian Regulation), the result was an oversized
structure but not aggressive to campus language thanks to the proportions, the color of
the Guadua, and the green roof; in fact, the structure becomes part of the green area.
SEMBU’s commitment is to optimize the structure and building process keeping
in mind integration, visual connection, and the use in the most respectful way with
campus environment.

3. Material and structure

3.1 Material

Bamboo is a material used since antique times in small and crafted construc-
tions such as dwellings, bridges, and stands, among others, with fast and accurate
results to inhabit [2]. Nowadays, there are several studies about Bamboo’s physical

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properties, and thanks to these, there are many applications in several big projects,
offering a positive impact in users and the environment. Due to its mechanical
properties, Guadua bamboo is called “green steel” [3, 4]. It has great resistance to
tensile stress, bending, and compression. It is not a thermal conductor, it does not
suffer a significant expansion, and it is flexible which allows the exploration of its
use in different architectural designs. Additionally, it is an anisotropic material: its
transverse dimension is heterogenic, and its properties can be affected by weather,
light, and soil, among other external stimuli; therefore, before any intervention, it
is important to make a sorting process of physical aspects and mechanical proce-
dures, to aim to get the higher resistance to natural effects as degradation. Bamboo
increases its useful life for at least 3 years more, depending on the treatment, with
accurate maintenance; Guadua bamboo can keep its structural function for a longer
time [5]. Advantages of Guadua bamboo projects can be stated as in the following:

• The most relevant aspect of Guadua bamboo is its ability to grow fast. It can
take from 2 to 6 years to grow enough to be used, pretty significant compared
to other wood species that can take up to 40 years.

• Guadua production can be controlled by managing its roots. This species grows
in considerable parcels, extending its roots through the soil, blocking other
plants. Likewise, it can be controlled by cutting the roots, which means that
there is a possibility to create sustainable forest avoiding exogenous species.

• There is no waste left after it completes its cycle of life. After its useful life, it
suffers biological degradation and can be used as fertilizer.

• Natural materials present a new structural process based on cyclic systems and
help to reduce wastes and pollutant procedures

• Accessible and cheap: It is a reliable solution as emergency shelters and low-

cost dwelling.

• Replicable: Remote or needy places have the possibility to build small projects
following a construction manual (Figures 4 and 5a).

• It improves life quality through infrastructure and civil buildings made of an

efficient material (Figure 5b).

Figure 4.
Construction of bus stop following a construction manual made by SEMBU. Own elaboration 2018.

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Figure 5.
Views from bamboo (own elaboration 2018): (a) hand bamboo-structures and (b) bus stop as civil
infrastructure and meeting point.

Figure 6.
Views from bamboo: (a) compounded connections and (b) joinery.

3.2 Structure

This project faced three challenges: A significant load due to the green roof
(1200 pounds m2), a building method easy to replicate, and a clean design
with less visual impact, which translated into an assembled structure with few
elements, simple but rigid. Structure designers determined that compounded
connections (Figure 6a) were better than joinery (Figure 6b). Joinery increases
slits in streaks, reducing load properties up to 40% and exposing the structure to
imminent failure [6]. Moreover, joinery technique needs more steps and a quali-
fied assemblage to make it.
Structural numerical analysis was made on SAP 2000 (Figure 7), simulating
Guadua as circular pipes of 3/8 or 1/2 inches diameter and 3/8 inches thickness with
some divisions along its length to simulate nodes and internodes and showing the
most stressed element, lateral beams. Mechanical values were taken from Normas
Sismo Resistente Colombiana (NSR10) chapter G, toward the allowed stress design
(G.12.8.9, NSR10).
Estimated values for analysis are in the following:

• Green roof = 1200 pounds

• Structure weight = 0.725 psi

• Roof = 55 pounds

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Figure 7.
SAP model showing the most stressed element, lateral beams (marked in red).

Maximum allowable structural stresses Fi (MPa)

Humidity = 12% PSI vs SAP model structural efforts

Allowed Deflection Moment max Tension ‖ Compression ‖ Shear

(m2) (psi) (psi) (psi) (psi)
0.32 0.020 2610.67 2030.52 188.54

SAP Deflection Tension ‖ Compression ‖ Shear

(m2) (psi) (psi) (psi)
0.1 29.78 29.78 183.03
(G.12.8.9, NSR10) vs. SAP model structural efforts applied to the most critical element, lateral beams
‖ = Parallel compression to longitudinal axis

Table 1.
Allowed stress of Guadua, applied to bus stop structure model.

• Solar panel = 300 pounds

• Maximum deflection (from total weigh and SAP model) = 0.023 inches

Due to size and location, wind load was not considered; however two struts were
installed to increase rigidity.
SEMBU considered to apply allowed stresses from Table 1 for structural pro-
pose, because SAP model results were lower than the minimum required in Table 1.
That allowed them the optimization of the structure by using thinner elements and
less compounded connections.

4. Green roof

This system promotes a sustainable environment; it is an effective strategy for

beautifying the extant environment and balancing hydrologic cycle disturbance
impact caused by housing development around the campus, waterproof areas, and the
excessive use of the concrete. It retains water helping to balance point temperature.
To apply the sustainable urban drainage systems, it was necessary to study the
weather and surrounding flora to achieve the best match with the context and
ensure its durability. With the help of Semillero de Investigación en Hidrología
Urbana (SIHU) (Urban Hydrology research group), a research group from UNAL,
Bogota, campus, an extensive green roof (Figure 8) was chosen as the best option
because it has low-maintenance requirements and does not usually require artificial
irrigation. Based on thin soil or substrate layers, planting styles are naturalistic

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Figure 8.
Multilayer system of extensive green roof.

with the object of establishing a self-sustaining plant community, such as sedums

or hardy wild flower mixtures [7]. Also, the best option as green layer was Sedums
reflexum Angelina, due to its resistance to temperature and humidity changes in
short winters and dry periods and its ability to survive in arid-dry substrates [8].
To block torsion, green roof load varies and balances the structure. The soil load is
0.0019-inch-thick in the back and 0.0007-inch-thick in the front.
Green roof basic aspects in a Guadua bamboo structure can be classified as in
the following:

• Drilling on the waterproof surface of the green roof and the metal base, which
retains water and works as a base, should be avoided. This base is the closest
element to Guadua. A water filtration means that the material can be exposed
to humidity and cause decomposition and reduce structural capacity.

• When attaching the green roof base to the structure, it is better to weld the
metal assemblies. In the case of drilling the surface, use a thick gauge metal for
the base because it needs to be welded to avoid filtrations.

• The substrate needs to retain water in order to get the right humidity for green
layer; it means that the structure needs to support the load, so the design must
set stronger or extra elements to guarantee stability and hold the maximum
water level possible.

• To guarantee the right water level in substrate, the green roof needs to drive
and drain the water to pipes or a sink. Gutters need to be checked after the rain
to keep them clean and to avoid the Guadua from getting wet.

• To keep a healthy and working green roof, maintenance needs to be done every
5 months. Sedums reflexum Angelina can get dry and, because of microclimate
from vehicle, industry, and campus activity, temperature and humidity can
change drastically among hours and affect substrate.

5. Conclusion

City, heritage, and ephemeral architecture coexist in a hybrid landscape follow-

ing social dynamics which are evident through its historical appropriation. Thus,

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some aspects are more accepted and closer to inhabitants than others regardless of
these situations being or not socially and environmentally sustainable, for instance,
in Universidad Nacional de Colombia, the imaginary is more highly linked to
modern architecture rather than other aspects as a green campus or daily active
student dynamics. On the other hand, UNAL shows an additional conflict, a lack
of infrastructure that, despite triggering many academic issues as the demolition
of architecture and design building and moving their students out of campus, has
boosted research and applications of alternatives that can help to mitigate the lack
of complimentary spaces to academic activities, put hands on climate changes, and
promote awareness about the environment and good habits to keep it.
It is important that these projects be understood by users, in this case, the
university community, not as a problem but as a challenge and opportunity to work
collectively. Projects such as this bus stop come from basic living needs, as shelter
and protection, and come against many efforts that have tried to get rid of these
small interventions in spite of them coming from student dynamics and are habit-
ability solutions. In parallel they suggest non-conventional building methods, new
space-user relations, and better urban regulations.
Research of such non-conventional materials projects is still a challenge. It gives
the opportunity and the tools to young professionals to reach a significant impact,
to get a healthy, green, and friendly campus. It is our chance to propose projects in
which the main values are sustainability and respect for the environment and heri-
tage. It is important to observe and work on immediate context using local materials
and systems that give people inclusive urban spaces, better weather conditions, and
technical facilities.

Acknowledgements

We thank all members from SEMBU and Semillero de Investigación en

Hidrología Urbana (SIHU) who provided insight and expertise that greatly assisted
the research, design, and build of UNAL bus stop. We thank Juan Felipe Agudelo for
comments that greatly improved the manuscript.
This research was supported and funded by Arme, SIBguadua, ASIAC, J.A.M,
Yusumi Ingeniería, and the Department of Civil and Agriculture Engineering of
Universidad Nacional de Colombia.
Any errors are our own and should not tarnish the reputations of these esteemed
persons.

Conflict of interest

All authors have participated in (a) conception and design or analysis and
interpretation of the data, (b) drafting the article or revising it critically for impor-
tant intellectual content, and (c) approval of the final version. This manuscript has
not been submitted to, nor is under review at, another journal or other publish-
ing venue. The authors have no affiliation with any organization with a direct or
indirect financial interest in the subject matter discussed in the manuscript.

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Author details

Paula Cano Vergara1* and Caori Takeuchi2

1 Wood and Bamboo Structures Research Group (SEMBU), Universidad Nacional

de Colombia, Bogota, Colombia

2 Department of Civil Engineering, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogota,

Colombia

*Address all correspondence to: pncanov@unal.edu.co

© 2019 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms
of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/
by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is properly cited.

522
A Non-Conventional Spatial Intervention: Bamboo in a Modern Architecture Campus
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.87836

References

[1] Universidad Nacional de Colombia.

Situación física de algunos edificios de la
Ciudad Universitaria [Internet]. Bogotá:
Universidad Nacional de Colombia;
p. 121. [Internet]. 2012. Available from:
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j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved
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D4MQFjAAegQIAxAC&url=http%3A%
2F%2Fwww.unal.edu.co%2FPostmaster
%2F2012%2FPlanta%2520fisica%2520s
ede%2520Bogota.pdf&usg=AOvVaw07
9b1zdeFtvmHvfzcvtpxd

[2] Harries K, Sharma B. 

Nonconventional and Vernacular
Construction Materials. 2016. p. 37-61

[3] Javadian A, Smith I, Saeidi N,

Hebel D. Mechanical properties of bamboo
through measurement of culm physical
properties for composite fabrication
of structural concrete reinforcement.
Frontiers in Materials. 2019;6

[4] Takeuchi C. Comportamiento

estructural de la guadua angustifolia.
Uniones en guadua. Ingeniería e
Investigación. Bogota: Facultad de
Ingeniería, Universidad Nacional
Bogota; 2019. pp. 3-7

[5] Trujillo D. La madera como material

constructivo. Presentation presented
at Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad
Nacional; 2018

[6] Ayala E, Castillo C. Comportamiento

estructural. Vivienda de dos pisos
elaborada con pórticos rigidizados
con paneles prefabricsdos en guadua.
Presentation presented at SibGuadia;
2017

[7] Butler D, Davies J. Urban Drainage.

3rd ed. Hoboken: CRC Press; 2010

[8] Fandiño L. Evaluación de una

cubierta verde Como sistema de
drenaje urbano sostenible [MSc thesis].
Universidad Nacional de Colombia; 2019

523
Chapter 43

Effects of Local Dynamics on City

Branding: The Case of Gaziantep
Province
Ali Acet

Abstract

Cities, with globalization, broke their local crust and attempted to prove them-
selves on international ground and to exist. In order to remain in a strong competi-
tion environment, they need sustainable branding policies with various strategies.
The main objectives in the process of competition with other cities are to become a
center of attraction in tourism and culture with the help of city branding, to increase
its growth and development, to be revived economically, and to market the city in
general. To achieve these goals, cities need to create an identity and image of the city
by using their own values in the process of branding. In the process of creating city
identity and city image, local dynamics have a critical role. When the local dynamics
covering the history, culture, and economic activities of the city are used with the right
strategies, it is expected to make significant contributions to the city branding. In this
study, the branding process of Gaziantep Province was examined, and the examples of
how the local dynamics are used in this process are shown with sample applications.

Keywords: city branding, city identity and city image, local dynamics,
Gaziantep City branding

1. Introduction

City branding, in its simplest definition, is the application of product branding

strategies on cities. However, the city branding process is a more comprehensive
and complex process than the process of marketing a product. Before looking at
the process of city branding, it is necessary to look at the concept of globalization,
which contributes to this process. Globalization describes a process that precedes
both in local and universal directions, pointing to an extremely dynamic and chang-
ing concept rather than a static structure. Globalization continues to influence the
different areas of the world with each passing day, and in this way, it continuously
adapts its existing structure with its new initiatives and movements.
On the basis of the globalization process and the concept of inter-city competi-
tion, the desire is to increase its power in the global environment by attracting
national and international capital and investors. City branding aims not only to
provide a competitive advantage among the cities but also to provide advanced
investment, to develop tourism, and to achieve social development. Also, any
national and international capital that leads to the city is not only in the economic
sense of the city; social, cultural, political, managerial in many dimensions both on
a global scale and at the national and local scale.

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Lovering states that the process of reconstruction of cities requires ideological

and cultural manipulations [1]. At this point, to enable cities to show their presence
in a competitive environment and to increase the performances and competitive-
ness of cities, one of the concepts taken from business jargon to planning agenda
was “branding of cities.” In order to exist in a global market, such as any product
consumed, cities should become a brand by developing strategies that stand out in
terms of differentiation of the city.
Cities cannot suddenly become a brand with the marketing strategies they have
developed to explore their original values. At this point, city identity and city image
concepts should be analyzed in order to create a city brand. When determining the
identity and image of the city, the local dynamics of the city should be used. A city’s
economy, industry, culture, and tourism item, covering all kinds of local dynamics,
should be considered separately. After analyzing how each local dynamic element
will contribute to the process, the elements deemed appropriate should be included
in the process. In this study, the use of local dynamic elements in the process of
branding in the province of Gaziantep has been shown through sample practices,
and their contribution to urban branding has been examined.

2. City branding

2.1 The concept of city branding

City branding is a multidisciplinary field that includes local actors, tourism

sector, marketers, and investors. Due to its multidisciplinary nature, different
approaches have emerged within the framework of specific values. Based on these
approaches, some studies have been conducted on city marketing including cities,
regions, and similar geographical formations.
In the competitive environment brought by globalization, cities have become
an object of consumption, and the idea that cities can be marketed as a commercial
product or service has emerged. With the emergence of the idea that the marketing
concept used for businesses can also be used for cities, the concept of city market-
ing has been widely accepted throughout the world. In this sense, city marketing
is thought to be a commercial product or service, but the city marketing concept
is much more than that: the potentials of the city and the effective use of these
potentials.
The potential of a city to become a brand has become the most effective tool
in determining the competitiveness of that city in the global market. Today, more
than half of the world’s population lives in cities. UN Habitat projects that the city
population in 2030 will grow up to 61% and the number of people living in city
areas estimated as 5 billion people will increase [2]. For this reason, a significant
number of cities, towns, or even small towns have attempted to renew their existing
brand or create a new brand.
According to Lucarelli and Berg, city branding is a symbolic way of shaping
all information about a city for a purpose [3]. Balakrishnan mentioned that city
branding can be used as a political, economic, and cultural strategic tool [4]. Also,
Björner argued that this concept was a tool to explain the city’s competitiveness,
spatial quality, history, lifestyle, and culture [5].
Professional-level city branding requires a combination of planning and market-
ing disciplines with expertise (Figure 1) [6]. The process of creating a city brand is
a process that is considered together with the specific characteristics of the city, the
structure of the city administration and the marketing strategies it provides, and the
city development strategies that constitute the spatial planning process of the city.

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Figure 1.
City branding [6].

The process of implementation of the branding strategy is also seen as an impor-

tant tool in defining an identity and image of the city. All the applications of the city
branding are part of the city marketing process to create a strong image for the city.
Image of the city transforms into a tool that is to be considered as a product of the
city itself and to be more prominent than other products.

2.2 Determining strategies in city branding

The activities of cities in the process of being a brand city include the long-term
development strategy of that city. In the process of city branding, a road map of the
cities in the future refers to the vision of the cities. The vision of the city at the stage
of marketing is based on predicting and understanding the position of the city in
the long term in the global market. At this stage, the mission is defined as the defini-
tion of the highest level that the place can reach. In the process of city branding, it
is possible to determine the policies for the development of the city and to be able
to focus on the future to carry out these policies by having a city vision [7]. The stra-
tegic analysis of the process can be defined as a detailed evaluation of the strategic
information used in the fulfillment of the main tasks defined by the organization.
In order to determine which characteristics of the cities can be used for brand-
ing, it is important to know what the elements of the city branding first are. Besides
the knowledge that city branding elements will benefit the city at the point of
branding, the current situation analysis of the city should be done well.
In the process of city branding, strategic situation analysis of the city should be
done first. It is necessary to determine which characteristics of the city are strong or
weak in terms of branding and what might be the opportunity or threat to the city
for branding in the external environment. This analysis is also a tool for the city to
develop strategies for the future. Although there are many methods used for strate-
gic situation analysis in the process of organizational strategy formation, the most
commonly used method is strength, weakness, opportunity, and threat (SWOT)
analysis method. However, in analyzing the role of local dynamics in city branding
process, mostly its strengths and opportunities should be highlighted.
In order to examine the status of the strategic management process in cit-
ies, it would be beneficial to look at the city management stakeholders. These
stakeholders can be listed as central government, local government, private
sector organizations, nongovernmental organizations, professional chambers,
universities, development agencies, local associations, and media. Local adminis-
trations have undertaken a great task like city infrastructure and superstructure,

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environmental and environmental health, cleaning of solid waste, afforestation

and green areas, culture and art, tourism and publicity, youth and sports, social
services, and help areas.
Even though local governments have the highest responsibility among stake-
holders, city management stakeholders should not be perceived only as local
governments. The strategic planning process works with the joint responsibility
and contribution of all stakeholders in the city. It is of vital importance that stake-
holders, who come together for the purpose of branding the cities, work together
for a common purpose and act together. It should be known by all actors who will
contribute to city branding that branding is not a process that has only economic
benefits. Therefore, this process should be adopted as a cultural phenomenon by
all the stakeholders of the city, and it should be felt that the branding of the city is
more than a final target.

2.3 The significance of city identity and city image in the process of branding

The concepts of city identity and city image have a strategic importance in the
process of city branding. The city branding process has three stages as understand-
ing the identity of the city, transforming the identity of the city into the image, and
applying the publication of the city image. These processes, which are in a continu-
ous and continuous interaction, cannot be separated by definite lines [6]. City
identity refers to the definition of how the city’s stakeholders should be perceived
by the city brand. In other words, city identity can be expressed as the face of the
city. City identity can be composed of sociocultural, demographic, geographic,
climatic, and folkloric features of the city as well as the city’s history, monumental
structures, city squares, streets, and even human behaviors.
The local dynamics that make up the source of city identity should be considered
as a whole and synthesized accordingly. After identifying the city identity, only the
city image can be mentioned. In order to create a successful city brand, the local
dynamics of the city should be selected among the easily revived elements in the
minds of the city users (Figure 2). Place images represent a simplification of a large
number of associations related to the earth and parts of place-related information.
The construction, communication, and management of the city image constitute
a large part of the city’s branding process. The reason for this is that the interac-
tion between the city and the users of the city takes place through perceptions and
images [8].

Figure 2.
City identity, city image, and branding relationship.

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Local dynamics Contribution to branding process Sample country/

city
Tourism According to other dynamics, this dynamic element has Paris, France
the biggest role. It indirectly covers others: cultural travel, Antalya, Turkey
gastronomy, and faith tourism
Congress, fairs, and Local themed or innovative creative festivals contribute The Rio Carnival
festivals to city branding as well as to the city’s economy
Natural beauties and Protected areas, national parks, zoos, wildlife trips to Arizona Grand
geological structures natural environments, trips in rural areas, adventure Canyon
sports activities and agriculture, and farm and wildlife Fairy Chimneys of
activities play a major role in the city branding Cappadocia
Historical and All cities with historical backgrounds and cultural İzmir Antique City
cultural heritage heritage use these features frequently in the city’s Machu Picchu
promotion and branding Ancient City
Symbolic structures The cities can be branded thanks to the historical Eiffel Tower
structures they have, and they can bring themselves Galata Tower
to the forefront in the competitive environment with
the construction of modern and original architectural
structures
Arts and culture The support of cities to cultural events and art provides Examples of
important opportunities for the city to gain brand value European capital of
culture
Sport events The European Union-sponsored training programs Erasmus Program
such as Erasmus+ or Olympics Games organized by the European Summer
International Olympic Committee have an active role in Olympics
the city branding process
Gastronomy In recent years, gastronomy has become a developed city Hatay, Turkey
branding element that can be enough for tourists to come Lyon, France
to the city
Investment While the investors coming from outside the city Real estate preferred
and finance contribute to the branding of the city, a branded city is a countries for
organizations potential investment center in the eyes of investors investment

Table 1.
Local dynamics in city branding.

2.4 The effects of local dynamics on city branding

A city has major dynamics that contribute to the process of branding. These
dynamics, which contribute both materially and spiritually, do not separate from
each other with sharp lines and even interact with each other. Some elements in the
city branding can be directly mentioned in the name of the city or with any activity
of that city (Table 1). However, the most common elements of city branding can
be listed as tourism, congresses, fairs, festivals, natural beauties, climate, flora and
topography, historical and cultural heritage, city architecture and symbol struc-
tures, infrastructure, transportation and distance, education and sports, culture
and art, investment and business areas, human, and gastronomy.

3. City branding in Gaziantep Province

3.1 History of Gaziantep Province and general features

Gaziantep, one of Turkey’s southern provinces, is located as Turkey’s sixth

largest city and also the biggest city in the Southeastern Anatolia Region. Gaziantep

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is a metropolitan city with its population, economic potential, cultural richness,

historical texture, and metropolitan status. Located at the intersection of the
Mesopotamia, one of the first settlements of Anatolia and the Mediterranean
Region, the city has hosted many civilizations and has maintained its importance
throughout the history. The diversity of historical artifacts found in Gaziantep is an
indicator of the city’s cultural richness. Gaziantep, selected as one of the seven most
competitive cities in the world within the scope of the World Bank Competitive
Cities Knowledge Base Project (CCKB), seems to be considered a successful and
interesting city in economic terms [9]. Gaziantep, modeled on the developing world
cities, is an important province that provides economic integration between the
Middle East and the west, which also includes the dynamics of economic and social
development in our country’s sustainable development process and also serves as a
cultural bridge.

3.2 Branding process of Gaziantep Province

The Gaziantep City branding project has been implemented in order to make the
city a center of attraction in the country and abroad by highlighting some of the self-
branding values of the province of Gaziantep and to invite investors to Gaziantep.
Gaziantep has a promising future potential due to its strategic location, young
and dynamic population, strong economic structure, and high tourism potential.
Gaziantep is a very important bridge that has connected the Mediterranean Basin
and Mesopotamia throughout the history and has been the main production and
trade center on the Silk Road for centuries. With Yesemek, Tilmen, unique histori-
cal heritage as Rumkale and Zeugma, world famous rich kitchen culture, a sample
for the Anatolia industrialization showing industrialization model, and most
importantly entrepreneur human profile, Gaziantep has become a brand in Turkey.
With the brand city Gaziantep Project, first of all, it was asked to start an integrated
branding process, by highlighting the values that differentiate Gaziantep from other
cities. In the next step, it is planned to place brand awareness in the city and to imple-
ment a planned development process in this direction [10]:

• Firstly, all the key stakeholders of the city were included in the project and
created a comprehensive process.

• As Gaziantep is a big city and it has many cultures in it, the branding process
has been positioned as a chat for everyone who wants to be interested, since
the issues that are prioritized by each stakeholder are different.

• Taking important decisions, from Metropolitan Municipality to Governorship

and from Chamber of Industry to Provincial Tourism Directorate including all
stakeholders, was provided. In addition, experts from universities and non-
governmental organizations were providing in participation.

• Face-to-face interviews were conducted with the city’s opinion leaders and
decision-makers.

• By positive questioning technique, it was focused not on the problems of the

city but on its potential, possibilities, and dreams.

According to the World Bank, Gaziantep is the seventh most competitive city in
the world [9], has a very rich food culture, hosts the most spectacular museums and
historical sites of the Mesopotamia, and has prepared the ground for the process as

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the main theme. Therefore, three goals were determined for Gaziantep branding
project. These objectives are determined as follows:

• Locating Gaziantep as a city that should be seen by local and foreign tourists

• Making Gaziantep a more livable city

• To give inspiration and encouragement to the business people of Gaziantep, for

entrepreneurs to come up with global brands from Gaziantep

3.3 Use of local dynamics

Throughout history, the people of Gaziantep have always stood out with their
mastery. For example, the most important masters of Middle Eastern cuisine came
from Gaziantep. In addition, the world’s best baklava is undoubtedly made in
Gaziantep. The city was notorious for its coppersmiths. The city has always been
one of the centers of weaving in the world. The most beautiful mosaic examples of
human history are found in Gaziantep, because Gaziantep is not just a city; it was a
masterly state of mind. Based on these ideas, Gaziantep’s unique spirit was branded
a tagline as “Turkey’s Masterly People” (Figure 3) [11]. This logo is designed with
inspiration from geometric patterns. This design is considered as a metaphor
representing the productivity, the harmony, and the culture of living and working
together.
This “G” logo is also designed to be used in different strategic categories of
the brand as well as in various template themes. The pictograms applied in the
Gaziantep City Corporate Identity Guide symbolize the values of the city of
Gaziantep in the international language. It can be used as an auxiliary element in
the printed works of Gaziantep City and its promotional materials. It is also pos-
sible to use these icons with different color transitions. The use of local dynamics in
different categories with pictograms is shown in Table 2.
The fact that brand cities are able to market themselves in every field depends on
the strategies made in this process. Therefore, the continuation of the city brand-
ing in a sustainable structure is possible with the local dynamics of the city. The
choice of local dynamics, each with a distinctive advertising face, is very important
in terms of being sustainable both nationally and internationally. For example, it
is seen that each local dynamic element chosen for Gaziantep Province in Table 2
has a sustainable contribution to the city in different areas. However, different
local dynamic elements may emerge in the course of time, which are thought to
have contributed more or less. For this reason, national brand cities such as Izmir,
Eskişehir, or international brand cities such as Madrid, Paris, and New York should
be examined in order to include new elements in the process, and the values specific

Figure 3.
Gaziantep Province “G Gaziantep” logo [11].

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Local dynamics Using in the branding process Advertisement tool/activity

Tourism Use of the relevant logo in

all kinds of activities for the
purpose of introducing the
city for the local and foreign
tourists who want to see the
city of Gaziantep. Gastronomy
tourism, cultural excursions,
and green field trips

Congress, fairs, The festivals organized in the

and festivals name of the values integrated
with the city contribute to the
city branding and contribute to
the city’s economy. The event
and the brand values mentioned
under the name of the festival
gain a special importance.
International Pistachio Culture
and Art Festival, Gaziantep
Book Fair, Liberation of
Gaziantep
Historical and Antique cities, historical stone
cultural heritage houses, mosques, baths, inns,
bedestens, and castles belonging
to Gaziantep region attracted
attention with the use of
related logo in protection and
promotion programs

Arts and culture All kinds of cultural and artistic

activities that promote Gaziantep
in the national and international
arena. For example, GastroAntep
International Gastronomy
Festival held in September 2018
[12]

Sports events Open water swimming races

and offshore competitions
are organized in Rumkale
international water sports
events organized by Gaziantep
Metropolitan Municipality and
Turkish Sports Foundation. In
this context, the ancient cities of
Zeugma, Halfeti, and Rumkale
were visited by local and foreign
tourists [13]

Gastronomy Gaziantep, the gastronomy

and local tastes branch in 2015, the United
Nations Educational, Scientific,
and Cultural Organization’s
(UNESCO) “Creative Cities
Network (UCCN),” which
included the first city in Turkey
Peanut and olives, which are of
regional taste, are also included
in organic agricultural products

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Local dynamics Using in the branding process Advertisement tool/activity

Geographical Products with geographical

marked indication are differentiated, and
products their reputation of this difference
is owed to the region where they
earn high value-added products,
in this context, Gaziantep City by
Turkish Patent and Trademark
Authority. There are 16 products
registered to the City of
Gaziantep. Antep Baklava, Antep
Pistachio, Antep Lahmacunu,
and Gaziantep Sedef Handwork
are some of these.
Handicrafts Traditional Gaziantep
handicrafts have combined a
rich mosaic with the cultural
heritage of various civilizations
coming from the thousands of
years of Anatolia. Traditional
Gaziantep handicrafts,
Sedefçilik, copper, the kutnu
fabric, abe weaving, yemeni
shoes, silver carving, antep
rugs and carpet weaving,
jewelry making, and musical
instruments can be listed as a
producer

Introducing the In some campaigns or events

city by posters planned for the city, the related
and media logo was selected according
to the activity and changed
according to its purpose and
used in posters and a voucher.
In addition, a documentary
series has been prepared for
the promotion of the city to
be shown in national and
international organizations,
congresses, and fairs

Product Using labels for Gaziantep-

promotion originated products, especially
labels exported products such as
copper works and organic
products, will contribute
a significant value to the
production as well as providing
confidence

City font Under the project, the first in

Turkey’s custom font “Gaziantep
Regular” is used. The font is
inspired by the mathematical
grid plane. The text content
of all the introductions to be
made for the city with this font
type has also contributed to the
branding process

Table 2.
Local dynamics in the city of Gaziantep on branding.

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to these cities should be analyzed. Based on the local dynamics of other brand cities,
appropriate elements should be selected, and the sustainability of city branding
should be ensured by making necessary updates.

4. Conclusions and recommendations

With the effect of globalization, cities have entered into a process of change/
transformation and have started to compete with each other at the level of both
local and international cities. As a natural consequence of competition, cities
have developed various strategies to differentiate from others. At the beginning
of these strategies, the idea is that the cities can be marketed as commercial
products.
It is inevitable for cities to need a vehicle to be marketed globally, like all
kinds of consumer goods. Therefore, the promotion and marketing of the city
have become possible only with a strong brand. Today, since city branding is
an important goal for cities, city administrations have started to implement
various action plans that will bring cities to the forefront. Branding strategies
using a number of features of the city have enabled individuals to position the
city as a brand in their minds. These strategies are also based on values that
make up the identity of the city and transform this identity into a city image.
City-specific values are the local dynamic elements that make the city self-brand.
Local dynamics, an important tool for city identity and image, cover the history,
cultural structure, socioeconomic structure, industrial and commercial activi-
ties, and tourism activities of the city.
At this point, Gaziantep Province has been selected as an example, and the
effects of local dynamics on branding process have been examined. Looking at the
process of branding in Gaziantep, the reason why the city needs to be branded is
explained as follows: “Bringing the city into an attraction by emphasizing the self-
branding values of the city.” The fact that Gaziantep was included in the Creative
Cities Network of UNESCO’s gastronomy branch and was selected by the World
Bank as one of the seven most competitive cities in the world was due to the local
dynamics of the city.
The richness of local flavors (antep cuisine, baklava, pistachio, etc.), handi-
craft (kutnu fabric, copper processing, mother of pearl embroidery, rug and
carpet weaving, etc.) diversity, and being an expert in all areas of the business
people of the city have contributed separately to the branding process. As a
result of using these features of the city, Gaziantep is a brand city with the slogan
“Turkey’s Masterly People.” The “G” logo, inspired by the initials of the province of
Gaziantep, has also been put into use in the areas of different versions that address
all the local dynamic elements.
As a result, local dynamics which play an important role in introducing the city
and becoming a center of attraction should be dealt with separately in the process
of branding. The contribution of each element to this process must be revealed.
In addition, the elements that are thought to contribute should be monitored in
terms of sustainable positive effect. City branding should not only design a logo
for the city; the sustainability of the city branding project in social, cultural, and
socioeconomic terms should be ensured. The city’s management of these process
stakeholders as local administrations, non-civil society organizations, members
of the city council, the relevant professional associations, and business people has
important duties. For sustainable city branding, positive and negative feedback
about the process should be taken into account, and new policies should be defined
by reviewing existing policies when necessary.

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• Zoo

• Safari Park

• Forest

• Natural areas

• Education

• Stone house

• Bedestens, castles

• Castle

• Museums

• Ancient cities

• Cheese

• Peanut butter

• Lahmacun

• Handicraft

• Weaving

• Copper works

• Promotional posters: the zoo, transportation

• Veterans of the city

Author details

Ali Acet
Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipality, Gaziantep, Turkey

*Address all correspondence to: aliacet@gantep.bel.tr

© 2019 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms
of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/
by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is properly cited.

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ISBS 2019 - 4th International Sustainable Buildings Symposium

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all/files/pdf/am6_city_platma.pdf
[Accessed: 2019-05-02]
[3] Lucarelli A, Berg PO. City branding:
A state of the art review of the research
domain. Journal of Place Management
and Development. 2011;4(1):9-27. DOI:
10.1108/17538331111117133
[4] Balakrishnan MS. Strategic
branding of destinations: A
framework. European Journal of
Marketing. 2009;43(5/6):611-629. DOI:
10.1108/03090560910946954
[5] Björner E. International positioning
through online city branding: The
case of Chengdu. Journal of Place
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2013;6(3):203-226. DOI: 10.1108/
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[10] Gaziantep City Branding [nternet].
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com/portfolio/gaziantep-city-branding/
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[11] Gaziantep corporate identity use. In:
Gaziantep Municipality Metropolitian
Archive. 2016
[12] Gaziantep International
Gastronomy Festival [Internet].
Available from http://gastroantepfest.
com/en [Accessed: 2019-05-06]
[13] Rumkale International Water Sports
Festival [Internet]. Available from:
https://gantep.bel.tr/haber/rumkale-
su-sporlari-festivaline-hazir-6229.html
[Accessed: 2019-05-06]

[6] Seisdedos G, Vaggione P. The city

of branding processes: The case of
Madrid. In: International Society of City
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Bilbao; 2005. pp. 1-10

[7] Peker AE. The role of contemporary

art museums in the branding process
of the city: Urban branding and global
landmark [MSc thesis]. Istanbul:
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[8] Kotler P, Rein I, Haider D. Marketing

Places: Attracting Investment, Industry,
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[9] Competitive Cities Econoic Growth-

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Chapter 44

Relation Between the Planning

Decisions and Sustainability:
Mersin Case
Kadriye Burcu Yavuz Kumlu and Şule Tüdeş

Abstract

Urban space is where significant socioeconomic processes are going on and

maintenance of the socioeconomic processes is important in the sense of providing
continuance of the daily life. Therefore, sustainability issues, nowadays, are highly
popular in the sense of urban planning. In this study, the relation between the con-
sequences of the planning decisions which shape the built environment and social
and environmental sustainability is examined in Mersin case. For this purpose, the
existing situation of the built environment is analyzed numerically in the context of
land use, density, and neighborhood unit design, and a spatial index is developed in
that sense, which indicates the existing situation of the built environment compo-
nents of the study areas. Therefore, maps including spatial indexes are produced
for each study area. Within this context, the first study area is CBD of the city; the
others, namely, Pozcu and Mezitli, show the characteristics of subcentral places.
Accordingly, questionnaires are conducted with the inhabitants of the study areas to
determine their decisions related with the social and environmental sustainability.
Then, whether there is a relation between the developed spatial index values and
the results of the questionnaires is examined.

Keywords: sustainability, spatial index, central places, density, neighborhood unit

1. Introduction

Urban planning is significant in the sense of maintaining the daily activities, by

providing the continuance of physical, social, and environmental processes, which
are going on in the urban sphere. The words “maintenance” and “continuance” are
important in the context of sustainability, due to the fact that its main concern is
focusing on maintaining or continuing these processes [1].
In this context, planning decisions related with land use, density, and neigh-
borhood unit design have a vital role in shaping the urban environment, and it
is significant in the sense of sustainability, both in the social and environmental
contexts. Within this regard, in this study, the effects of the consequences of the
planning decisions related with land use, density, and neighborhood unit design
on social and environmental sustainability are examined. Therefore, planning
decisions with regard to land use are considered in two dimensions as horizontal
uses and vertical uses. Horizontal uses indicate the decisions which are shown in
the urban plans. On the other hand, vertical uses indicate different urban usages as
residential, commercial, etc. usages existing on a single building. Density-related

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ISBS 2019 - 4th International Sustainable Buildings Symposium

decisions are also conceived in two dimensions as residential and population

density. Decisions related with the neighborhood unit design, on the other hand,
consisted of five fundamental criteria as the existence of defined border and center,
walkability, mixed urban uses and residential types, connected and walkable urban
street layout, and the existence of various public urban usages.
In this regard, first, how land use, density, and neighborhood unit design-
related decisions are measured on the urban built environment will be explained.
Second, the consequences of this measurement will be demonstrated by produced
spatial index maps for central business district (CBD), Pozcu and Mezitli sub-
centers. Lastly, whether there is a significant relation between spatial indexes and
the social and environmental sustainability will be clarified, based on the results
obtained from the questionnaires.

2. Measurement of planning decisions

As described in the introduction section, the measurement process of planning

decisions involves three main stages as measurement of land use, density, and
neighborhood unit design. In the end of this process, spatial index maps indicating
land use mix, density, and neighborhood unit design indexes are produced for each
study area.

2.1 Land use measurement

The consequences of land use decisions on the built environment are measured
by using dissimilarity and vertical mix indexes. Dissimilarity index is used to calcu-
late the horizontal use mix; on the other hand, vertical mix index is used to calculate
the vertical use mix. Both indexes are used in the way they are used by Cervero and
Kockelman [2].
The main logic of the dissimilarity index is indicated in Figure 1 [3]. In general,
the study area is divided into equal squares. Let us say there is commercial use in
a particular square. Apart from this usage, the usages on the other surrounding
squares are listed as industrial, commercial, residential, residential, commercial,
commercial, industrial, and industrial, respectively. The initial square including
commercial usage takes the value of 5/8 (0.625). The logic is the same for the other
squares (Figure 1).
The calculation of vertical mix index is different from the dissimilarity index
and has different logic [3]. It indicates the degree of mix use in a particular building.
Let us say there is a commercial use on the ground floor and the remaining floors
contain residential usages. Then, it could be stated that this particular building

Figure 1.
Measurement of dissimilarity index [3].

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has mixed use, since it involves different usages. For a study area including a large
number of buildings, each building is identified as whether it is vertically mixed or
not. Then, an agglomeration process is applied to determine how many buildings
are vertically mixed in a particular square, as explained in Figure 1. It gives overall
numbers, and then those numbers could be normalized to 0–1 or 0–100 range. In
this study, the numbers are normalized to 0–1 range, due to the fact that dissimilar-
ity index is ranged between 0 and 1. Then, the numbers obtained from the calcula-
tion processes of dissimilarity and vertical mix indexes are summed, and derived
new numbers are again normalized to 0–1, in order to produce mixed use index.

2.2 Density measurement

The calculation of density involves two steps as the calculation of residential and
population densities. Residential density indicates the total construction area, and it
is measured by floor area ratio (FAR). Besides, population density shows how dense
a specific area is, considering the total population living in this area. In this regard,
population density is calculated as total population in a particular place divided by
the total area of that place. In this example, measurement unit of population density
is determined as person/hectare. As explained in the land use measurement section,
the same logic is followed to determine the density index. First, FAR and popula-
tion density are calculated. Then, obtained numbers are normalized to 0–1 range.
Therefore, two different spatial index maps are produced which show residential
and population densities. In the end, these two maps are brought together; in other
words the numbers are summed and then normalized, and a single density index
map is produced.

2.3 Neighborhood unit design measurement

There are various criteria explained by different researchers to determine which

criteria should be used to create ideal neighborhood units, and those related criteria
have evolved along the planning history. In this sense, initial definition of an ideal
neighborhood unit design was made by Clarence Perry in 1929. Perry emphasizes
on six fundamental factors to create an ideal neighborhood unit as size, boundaries,
open spaces, institutional areas, local shops, and inner street layout. In this context,
first, he states that the size of the neighborhood unit should be determined by
considering the population who uses the primary school, and the boundaries should
be designed, evaluating the place and the users of the school. Second, the main arte-
rial roads should not be located in the boundaries of the neighborhood, and those
roads should surround the neighborhood. Third, open spaces should be designed
as a system of small parks, and those parks have the characteristics of enabling
entertainment and leisure purposes. Fourth, public institutional usages as schools,
libraries, etc. should be located on the center of the neighborhood, so that people
living in the periphery could also benefit from those areas. Fifth, local shops should
be located on the nodes or near the periphery to provide the needs of the people
living in the neighborhood or close neighborhoods. Sixth, inner street layout should
not contain high volumes of traffic that endangers the pedestrians [4].
In 1994, the ideal neighborhood unit approach developed by Perry was updated
by Duany and Plater-Zyberk. As it was in the Perry’s approach, Duany and Plater-
Zyberk have focused on the significance of the existence of primary school. The
boundaries of the neighborhood should be designed considering the location of the
primary school, and the ideal distance was identified as 400 m. Different from this,
Duany and Plater-Zyberk have identified five fundamental criteria which an ideal
neighborhood should have [5]:

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• It should have a defined center and boundary.

• Its size should not exceed 400 m, considering the distance between the center
and the boundary.

• Different urban usages should be located on the neighborhood. The balance

between residential and commercial usages, workplaces, schools, worship
places, and recreational areas is significant.

• Streets should intersect and there should not be blind streets.

• In the site selection, processes of the usages different from the residential uses
and public usages should be prioritized.

Reaching today, one of the researchers who anticipate the New Urbanism
approach, Farr has updated the criteria of ideal neighborhood unit design devel-
oped by Perry and Duany and Plater-Zyberk. The proposed neighborhood unit by
Farr has 4000 m2 (approx. 0.4 ha). Similarly, the radius of the unit is between 400
and 500 m. However, different from the ideal neighborhood unit proposals, Farr
has not focused on the existence of a primary school as an absolute must. In this
sense, Farr has identified three main criteria as [6]:

• A multipurpose open/green space system should be designed.

• Infrastructural systems related with the management of storm water should be

integrated with the road infrastructure.

• Open/green space system should be a part of the pedestrian transportation

layout, and it should serve the recreational areas.

Along with these criteria, Farr has identified five fundamental characteristics
which an ideal neighborhood unit should have. The first of these characteristics is
the existence of the defined center and the boundaries. According to Farr, a person
should perceive that he is in the boundaries of the neighborhood. Similarly, the
center of the neighborhood should be perceived with the central usages. The other
characteristic is the walkable size. Instead of using automobile or bike, one might
prefer to walk in case the radius of the neighborhood does not exceed 400 m. The
third characteristic is the existence of mixed land use and residential types, where
there are various shopping alternatives and workplaces near the residential usages.
Existence of different urban usages allows inhabitants to use different entertain-
ment, sports, shopping, etc. activities in the neighborhood where they are living
in. Besides, existence of different types of housing alternatives allows people with
different sociocultural backgrounds to live together and supports social sustainabil-
ity. The fourth characteristic is the interconnected and walkable street layout. The
length of a building block should not exceed the walkable distance that a pedestrian
easily goes through. Therefore, the presence of the small building blocks and
frequently located nodes is significant to create a walkable environment. The last
characteristic is the availability of different urban usages. Those usages should be
located on the neighborhood as to provide equal access to each person living in the
neighborhood. Explained five characteristics are illustrated in Figure 2 [6].
Also, ideal neighborhood units proposed by three different researchers could be
seen in Figure 3. As it is seen in Figure 3, the main characteristics which an ideal
neighborhood unit should have are almost the same. These could be summarized as:

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• The walkable distance in general is defined between 400 and 500 m, depend-
ing on the topographical situation of the area. A 400 m distance is significant
in the sense of easy access to different urban usages and the recognition of the
neighborhood boundaries.

• Neighborhood units should have mixed uses. It is important in the context of

easy access to daily usages and services.

• Street layout should be interconnected and there should not be blind streets in
the neighborhood.

In this study, five fundamental characteristics proposed by Farr have been evalu-
ated for the calculation of design index. Among these characteristics, some of them
are nonmeasurable. Therefore, measurable ones are selected to calculate the design
index. In this regard, these could be listed as a walkable distance (approx. 400 m
away from the primary schools), the existence of small building blocks (not exceed
180 m), and the existence of public urban usages (as count). Therefore, three
maps indicating these measures are produced. For the following stage, these maps
are brought together by summing the values, and a single map is produced. Then,
obtained values are normalized to 0–1 range to demonstrate the design index. In
this context, all of the spatial indexes could be seen in Figure 4 for each study area.
In the figure, dark-toned red indicates higher index values.
As it is seen in Figure 4, CBD has higher mixed use index values, and the higher
values are spreading over the surface in a homogeneous way. The reason behind this
result is the fact that CBD shows central business district characteristics, which is
the most lively place in the city with its different options for commercial, public,
and other urban-related services. It is similar in Pozcu case, since it shows subcenter
characteristics. Especially, the existence of forum shopping center has been growing

Figure 2.
Five characteristics which an ideal neighborhood has, developed by Farr [6].

Figure 3.
Ideal neighborhood unit designs proposed by Perry, Duany and Plater-Zyberk, and Farr, respectively [6].

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Figure 4.
Calculated spatial indexes for the study areas.

the commercial importance of the area, with its nearby environs. The situation is
different in Mezitli case, because Mezitli shows the characteristics of single urban
usage. They also could be stated as a subcenter; however, subcentral features of the
area are weaker than in Pozcu. Therefore, the mixed uses are seen along the main
roads which are frequently used by the inhabitants of the city.
For the density index, CBD has low values. The higher density index values are
grouped together at the peripheries, since the central areas in CBD involve higher
volumes of commercial usages. Besides, the south of the area includes large public
institutions. In Pozcu, there is more homogeneous spread of index values over the
area. It is because Pozcu study area shows the characteristics of subcenter places.
Namely, the area covers more residential usages than CBD. On the other hand, in
Mezitli, density index values spread over the surface are more homogeneous than
CBD and Pozcu, since the settlement pattern of Mezitli consisted of high-rise build-
ings with enormous vacant land between those structures.
In the last, neighborhood unit design index is similar in the way it is spreading over
the surface in both CBD and Pozcu subcenters, since they both could be considered
as old settlement areas. On the other hand, index values are low in Mezitli subcenter,
since it is a brand new settlement compared with the other study areas. Dominating
settlement pattern in Mezitli includes high-rise buildings in gated communities.
In the view of such information, for the following section, the significant relation
determined between the spatial indexes and social and environmental sustainability,
depending on the results of the conducted questionnaires, will be discussed.

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3. Relation between spatial indexes and social and environmental

sustainability

One thousand one-hundred and eighty-seven questionnaires are conducted

(398 in CBD, 463 in Pozcu, and 326 in Mezitli) to determine the decisions of the
inhabitants, who are living in the study areas, about social and environmental sus-
tainability. In this regard, ordinal and multinomial logistic regression analyses were
applied in order to specify whether there is a significant relation between the spatial
indexes and social and environmental sustainability. The results of the regression
analyses indicate that:

• Mixed use and density indexes have positive significant relation with social
sustainability in the sense of sustainable communities. On the other hand,
design index has negative significant relation.

• There is no relation between density index and relative distance in regard to

social sustainability related with social equity. Besides, as mixed use index
increases, then relative distance decreases, and as design index increases, rela-
tive distance also increases.

• There is positive significant relation between density and mixed use indexes
and the preference of walking. On the other hand, there is a negative signifi-
cant relation between design index and walking within the context of environ-
mental sustainability related with carbon emission approach.

• There is positive significant relation between density and mixed use indexes
and living in the clean environment. However, as design index decreases, living
in the clean environment increases in regard to environmental sustainability
related with the pollution approach.

In the following section, depending on these results obtained from the regres-
sion analyses and the produced spatial index maps, conclusions will be discussed.

4. Conclusion

In this study, spatial indexes are produced to determine whether there is an

impact of built environment characteristics with regard to planning decisions
related with land use, density, and neighborhood unit design-related urban plan-
ning decisions on social and environmental sustainability. In this sense, the follow-
ing results are obtained:

• There is little impact of built environment characteristics (related with land

use, density, and neighborhood unit design-related urban planning decision)
on both social and environmental sustainability.

• The main impact on social sustainability is originated from the differences

among inhabitants. The inhabitants of the study areas indicate that neighbor-
hood relations, place attachment, satisfaction to the living place, etc. are the
significant features that support social sustainability. Besides, individual char-
acteristics have also played an important role in the continuation of the social
sustainability. These could be listed as age, gender, educational background,
and average household income.

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• Inhabitants of the study areas also state that the main impact on environmental
sustainability is originated from pollution and the amount of carbon emission
produced depending on the travel mode choice of the inhabitants as well as the
distance between home and the workplace.

In the light of this information, this study is significant in the sense of produc-
ing urban policies related with social and environmental sustainability issues.
Depending on the results of the study, required policies could be developed to
maintain the processes of the urban areas.

Author details

Kadriye Burcu Yavuz Kumlu* and Şule Tüdeş

Department of City and Regional Planning, Gazi University, Ankara, Turkey

*Address all correspondence to: kburcuyavuz@gazi.edu.tr

© 2019 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms
of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/
by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is properly cited.

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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.87836

References

[1] Yavuz Kumlu KB, Tüdeş Ş, Keleş R. 

Proposal of a multivariate method
to measure the results of planning
decisions which shape the built
environment on the neighborhood unit
scale. Planning. 2018;28(3):328-347

[2] Cervero R, Kockelman K. Travel

demand and the 3ds: Density, design
and diversity. Transportation Research
Part D: Transport and Environment.
1997;2(3):199-219. DOI: 10.1016/
S1361-9209(97)00009-6

[3] Kockelman K. Travel behavior

as function of accessibility, land
use mixing, and land use balance:
Evidence from San Francisco Bay
Area. Transportation Research Record.
1997;1607(1):116-125

[4] Perry CA. The neighborhood unit: A

scheme of arrangement for the family
life community. In: A Regional Plan for
New York and Its Environs. Vol. Vii.
New York; 1929

[5] Duany A, Plater-Zyberk E. The

neighborhood, the district and the
corridor. In: The New Urbanism: Toward
an Architecture of Community. 1994.
pp. 17-20

[6] Farr D. Sustainable Urbanism: Urban

Design with Nature. Hoboken, New
Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc; 2008

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Chapter 45

Adaptation Options for Tropical

Rural Communities: A Case Study
of Kanshio, Benue State, Nigeria
Becky M. Ohiaeri

Abstract

This chapter reviews how the built environments in the rural tropical communi-
ties of Sub-Saharan Africa are adapting to climate change. The research conducted
an extensive study on present constraints to adapting the traditional huts in the
“Kanshio” community of Benue State, Nigeria. It aims to understand the percep-
tion and sustainable adaptation strategies of Kanshio rural households toward
the adverse effects of climate change impacts. Through survey, questionnaire,
interviews, focus group discussion, and informal discussion, this study examines
“perceived impacts of climate change on the current method of building” and
“the adaptation strategies of households to the events of climate change impacts.”
Although the built environment in the tropical rural community is particularly
vulnerable to climate change impacts, such as extreme temperature, droughts,
desertification, flooding, and cyclones, they are the most poorly adapted and
researched. The study finds that economic reasons were the most responsible for
the lack of preparedness and adaptation. An additional finding was that consider-
ing and preserving the culture of ancient traditional architecture as an approach to
improve building energy performance, room temperatures, and flood impacts are
a worthwhile effort and creating awareness locally can help improve the building
performance as part of public response.

Keywords: adaptation, cost, climate change, impact, communities, flood,

temperature

1. Introduction

Although climate change is fundamentally a global issue, its impacts are not
projected to be felt equally across the planet. Prospects and constraints are unevenly
distributed among global regions, communities, sectors, ecological systems,
species, as well as across different time periods [1]. There remains substantial
uncertainty on the rate and behavior of these changes [2]. For instance, [3] reports
that climate change impacts are likely to result in extreme heat waves, droughts,
desertification, floods, cyclones, wildfires, etc. in the tropical regions of the world.
The Environmental Protection Agency [4] further suggests that, in addition to
the regional variability of impacts, the scenario is likely to be further complicated
by the sectorial variability of climate change (CC) impact even in contiguous
climatic regions.

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Figure 1.
Uneven distribution of climate change [4].

Parenti argues that many developing countries do not have the ability, such as
social infrastructure in place, to withstand the anticipated burden on the natural
environment that could occur as a result of climate change [5]. Even worse, abrupt
climate change could make adaptation extremely difficult, even for the most devel-
oped regions of the world (Figure 1).
The IPCC’s Third Assessment [3] evaluated the capacity of the world to cope
with and adapt to the inevitable impacts that climate change will bring. It also
found that the impacts of climate change are not evenly distributed. Research and
speculation on people’s exposure ratio and how they are coping has been growing
at a rapid rate. According to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change (UNFCCC) [6], the people who will be exposed to the worst impacts are
the ones least able to cope with the associated risks. This aspect of coping ability
has not been given much attention. Conway points out that, given that over 70% of
people in sub-Saharan Africa live in rural areas, their livelihoods will be most at risk
from CC impacts [7]. This situation becomes even worse given that about a third of
the African population already experience severe periodic famines caused by civil
unrest, poor governance, and production capacity inadequacies. The limitation of
all these interpretations is that specific and sustainable adaptation approaches will
need to be developed specifically for communities, taking into considerations their
adaptive capacity, economic status, and cultural preservation while adapting.
Nigeria is among the most vulnerable to the confrontational effects of climate
change. It is poverty-stricken, and weak infrastructure has been a long-standing issue
in Nigeria, which has made her capacity to adapt to climate change and disasters very
low. Olurunmi reports that Nigeria and their people are expected to be most affected
by climate change through sea-level rise along its coastline, increased desertification,
erosion, flood disasters, and general land degradation [8]. Although Nigeria has
engaged with the UNFCCC, much still needs to be done to develop local responsive-
ness in a sustainable fashion, developing data availability and coping ability. Studies
of community adaptation in Nigeria are rare based on availability of literature.
Considering the uneven growth of sustainability services across the world,
and recognizing the expected growth in sustainability of the built environment in
developing countries, this paper aims to understand the perception and sustainable
adaptation strategies of Kanshio rural households to the adverse effects of climate
change impacts. Through survey, questionnaire, interviews, focus group discussion,
and informal discussion, this study examines:

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• Perceived impacts of climate change on the current method of building

• The adaptation strategies of households to the events of climate change impacts

The findings of the study could provide context-specific inputs for policy-
makers and generate useful insights for comprehending the underlying factors
for effective and sustainable adaptation for the community. The study is divided
into four parts: the introduction, which states the purpose and relevance of study,
the second part of the paper which will explore the material and methods used
in the study, and the third part which will discuss results and findings on strate-
gies and constraints of climate change adaptation in the study area. Finally, the
conclusion will give an overview of the key findings of the research and possible
recommendation.

2. Materials and methods

2.1 Description of the study area

Benue State was created in 1976 and is located within the lower Benue River in
the Middle Belt region of Nigeria. The National Population Commission Nigeria
2006 census reported its population as 4,253,641. Its geographic coordinates are
longitude 7° 47′ and 10° 0′ East and latitude 6° 25′ and 8° 8’ North [9]. Based
on Köppen’s Scheme of Classification, Benue State lies within the “Aw” climate
category and experiences two distinct seasons: the wet/rainy season and the dry/
summer season. The rainy season lasts from April to October with annual rainfall in
the range of 100–200 mm. The dry season begins in November and ends in March.
Temperatures fluctuate between 23 and 37°C in the year.
Ravindran reports that generally, research studies on the impact of climate
change in the tropics are relatively few in number [10]. He further states that
previously, specialists reasoned that since climate change was sudden at the poles,
arctic and alpine species in those areas would be hit first and hardest before regions
further away. However, in recent years, an increasing number of researchers have
recognized the urgent need to assess the damage that is already underway in the
Amazon, the cloud forests of Costa Rica, and the tropical regions.

2.2 Data collection and analysis

Data was collected from 250 respondents in the community of 1214 dwellers.
Respondents were chosen based on their hut ownership and hut building skills.
Based on the type of variables measured, in order to analyze the data collected
through the survey, both descriptive and inferential statistics were employed
accordingly, to measure perception of climate variability, the perceived conse-
quences, and the obstacles to adaptation; percentages were primarily used to
summate data. Results from focus group discussion and the field observations were
transcribed and analyzed according to themes (coding).
To identify the determinants/constraints of adaptation strategies and priori-
tization, a multi-criteria analysis approach was employed. According to Haque
structure for prioritization of adaptation measures is lacking in decision-making in
the context which could greatly help in making informed and structured decisions,
through the planning process of adaptation strategies in developing countries [11].
The multi-criteria approach used in this research engages all stakeholders therefore
mostly arriving at a sustainability approach to adapting.

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3. Results and discussions

3.1 Perception of climate variability and climate change

The awareness of rural households of prevailing climate change is important as it

can significantly influence their readiness and capacity to develop appropriate and
sustainable adaptation strategies. Figure 2 shows features that are repaired, while
Figure 3 shows a pie chart summary of factors that lead to repairs. When asked
how often repairs were carried out, it was observed that the material’s quality had
a direct effect on the frequency followed by the use of experienced/inexperienced
builders. For instance, all 250 respondents used earth as a walling material, but wall
repairs were consistent with huts not skillfully built. One hundred and ninety-two
out of 250 reported to have repaired their external wall, 177 roof structure, 169 the
foundation, 146 roof straw, and 19 doors. In each repair category it was observed
that features that were not yet repaired had better quality materials and were built
by skilled individuals.

3.2 Renovated features

Table 1 and Figure 2 show features of the hut that were renovated and the num-
ber of people who had renovated these features. This information was meant to show
the features of the hut that needed the most improvement and investigate causes.
Repaired features are matched with materials used for those features; the fre-
quency of repairs to determine if the materials have a direct effect on the frequency

Figure 2.
Renovated features in percentages.

Figure 3.
Factors that prompted repairs.

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Renovated features Amount

Roof structures 117

External walls 192

Roof straws 146

Doors 19
Foundation wall 169

Room floor 79

Others 17

Table 1.
Renovated features in numbers.

Renovation prompts Amount

Flood 91
Cracks 146

Rain 117

Temperature 161

Others 3

Table 2.
Renovation prompts.

of repairs was noted that, for instance, all 250 respondents used earth as a walling
material, but wall repairs were consisted with huts not professionally built or built
with plain mud. One hundred and ninety-two out of 250 reported to have repaired
their external wall, 177 roof structure, 169 foundation, 146 roof straw, and 19 doors.

3.3 Causes of renovation

Table 2 shows a comparison of the sources of damages that caused repairs;

data on cause of repairs is acknowledged; these data weather events that prompted
repairs are collected. Figure 3 presents data on the reasons for repair, to aid proper
consideration of adaptation options and prioritization. The purpose of the ques-
tion was to find out sources of impact and how to better prevent or minimize the
impacts.
Questionnaires are studied to relate these events with the types of repair to
aid proper consideration of adaptation options and avoid clashing solutions.
Temperature is found to be the biggest source of impact with 31%, cracks commonly
due to material use with 28% and rain and flood with 23 and 17%, respectively.

3.4 Renovation frequency change

To find out about the impact of changing weather on the hut, data on changes in
frequency of maintenance was collected. Up to 55% of occupants reported that they
had changed from an every-2-years maintenance pattern to every year (Figure 4).
It was observed that all categories stepped up their maintenance by 50%, for
instance, 24% of people who previously renovated every 4 years now renovated
every 2 years, while 14% of those who renovated once in 8 years now had their
maintenance done every 4 years. When asked what weather condition affected

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Figure 4.
Renovation frequency change.

the hut most, 45% reported the cause of impact to come from rain, 36% reported
temperature as a factor, and 19% were affected by flooding.

3.5 Implementation of adaptive features to combat impacts of rain and

temperature

Table 3 shows problems identified with the existing method of constructing the
foundations and measures taken to improve the condition and prolong the life of
the foundations.
To reduce the speed of wear caused by running water and wind causing erosion,
the foundations were raised and made more resistant to water penetration and ero-
sion. Figure 5 shows the case study and model side by side, physical signs of wear
are shown in the case study foundation wall, and new adaptive measures for this are
shown in the model.
A survey in a rural community in Mexico by Eakin et al. [13] reported a similar
test, in which they found that, during the rainy season, 66% of the participants
said most times they experience flood impacts in their homes and particularly the
foundations were affected. They stated that to reduce/avoid flood impacts, raising
the foundation floor is an option [4]. In this research, 68% reported impact on their
homes due to rain and flood.
The reinforcement of the foundation base and elevation from ground level
as seen in [14, 15] is considered an adaptation option based on data gathered on
floods and rainfall. For example, the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s
(FEMA) step-by-step guidance in identifying flood risk and determining whether
a home is located within a Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA) and what Base Flood
Elevation (BFE) is to be used was applied. Data collected via survey, questionnaire,
and interview suggested that although flooding was minimal, the present methods
of constructing foundations in the case study area are unsatisfactory, with the
foundations usually needing regular maintenance especially after the rainy season
(Figure 6). Table 4 shows the problems identified with high indoor temperature

Identified problem Adaptation measures/options

Foundation damage due to surface water runoff/ Reinforcement of foundation base by using concrete
erosion and flood and aggregates

Raised foundation height from ground level by

300 mm

Table 3.
Adaptation options for foundations.

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Figure 5.
Case study foundation vs. prototype (adapted) [12].

Figure 6.
Temperature comparison of outdoor and indoor unmodified hut versus controlled project.

Identified problems Adaptation measures

High indoor temperatures Increase block size to reduce heat gain

Increase roof density to reduce heat gain

Table 4.
Adaptation measures for temperature.

and measures taken to reduce the indoor temperature for a cooler and more com-
fortable temperature.
In the hot regions, building thick houses and courtyards keeps hot, dusty
winds out. Thick walls serve as insulators against hot air. Wall thickness is
increased by increasing block size from 1.2 mm thickness/2.5 length to 1.8 thick-
nesses and 2.5 mm length. Roof density is also increased to keep out direct sun-
light (heat).

3.6 Monitoring and examination of temperature results

This step analyzes the results of temperature data of the model against the exist-
ing unmodified hut. The results of the multi-criteria analysis (MCA), used to create
a list of options prioritized according to the criteria and preferences identified,
are critically examined. The numerical weights in percentage assigned are used, to
derive the final score for each option. Based on weights assigned to each criterion,
MCA methods will result in a prioritized list of multiple options. Two-year observa-
tion data is used for comparison of the model with the existing unmodified hut, and
the following data gathered is presented in Table 5.

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Unit (°C) 2016 2017 2016 inside 2017 inside 2016 inside 2017 inside
monthly monthly existing existing adapted adapted
January 33.9 34.6 32.6 33.5 28.8 28.2

February 35.8 36.7 34.3 35.6 29.6 29.8

March 37.7 36.9 36.3 35.0 30.2 29.1

April 36.6 35.1 35.2 34.0 29.1 28.7

May 32.1 32.5 31.2 31.6 27.6 27.4

June 30.8 31.2 29.2 30.2 26.7 26.5

July 30.1 29.9 29.0 29.0 25.6 25.3

August 29.9 29.8 28.7 28.7 22.1 24.4

September 30.4 30.6 29.2 28.8 26.1 26.3

October 31.8 31.7 30.1 30.4 27.1 26.4

November 34.3 33.4 33.1 32.1 27.8 28.5

December 34.3 34.1 33.2 33.2 28.1 27.3

Table 5.
Temperature readings for outside and inside unmodified and controlled hut.

3.7 Results from focus group discussion

Findings on determinants of prioritization from focus group discussion are also

revealed, and Figure 8, simplified from Figure 7, shows the aspects of adaptation
criteria to be considered. It shows 41.25% in relation to economic reasons why there
has been no modification of the Tiv hut. Figure 8 shows a breakdown of those
reasons especially relating to cost. This means that in adapting the hut, consider-
ing the economic impact (cost, material availability, etc.) should take priority over
everything else.
The second most important aspect for stakeholders was social factors; this
typically pointed to the present design of the hut as a heritage artifact and therefore

Figure 7.
Features of importance based on focus group discussion.

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Figure 8.
Summarized features of importance.

part of the culture, specifically communal living. Thirty-five percent of responses

suggested that it was important to keep the style of the building intact and preserve
what they considered as their identity. Twenty-three percent of responses sug-
gested that environmental factors were responsible for the way they were built.
These included comforts, the natural feel of the building, the shape of the building
resembling the trees that hang over them, etc.

3.8 Barriers to sustainable adaptation strategies

Generally, people have more to gain if they act to solve local adaptation problems
and more to lose if they fail to act. As the number of actors increases, the impact
of individual action to adapt to a collective problem decreases. Thus, strategies
to motivate public action to tackle climate change need to focus on the local level
where individual fears, dependence, and effectiveness are highest. However, there
are constraints to this action.
The research found that one of the biggest constraints to sustainable climate
change adaptation on the local level, after cost, is the people’s need to preserve their
cultural heritage/identity. In countries like Nigeria where more than 300 languages
exist, cultural heritage will vary very widely across the society. It is therefore impor-
tant to reflect and preserve cultural identity in any adaptation procedures.
It is very clear from the focus group discussion that the occupants of the case study
community consider the preservation of cultural heritage as very important. This
is therefore seen as a barrier capable of impeding adaptation strategies that contrast
their identity and form. Understanding barriers can therefore increase the success of
adaptation responses to existing and possible imminent climatic changes and prioriti-
zation of adaptation strategies and can maximize decision-making efforts.
Based on a study by Seekamp, it was observed that barriers to cultural heritage
adaptation or historic preservation worldwide have not yet been well understood
[16]. It is commonplace in developed cities to issue weather hazard warnings and
prepare the community ahead of likely impacts. However, lack of technical skills
for making decisions about adaptation is a not an uncommon issue in developing
countries and especially poor communities, as well as having limited procedures
for gathering data. When coupled with climate change uncertainty, this knowledge
insufficiency may obstruct adaptation.
Adaptation and preservation contexts are primarily related to the lack of fund-
ing, especially in poor communities. The earnings of residents show that typically
the community is a low-income one. They will primarily be concerned with food,
clothing, and basic shelter. Incorporating measures of adaptation will therefore be
the least of their priorities especially combined with unawareness and an absence of
viable alternatives.

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ISBS 2019 - 4th International Sustainable Buildings Symposium

4. Conclusion and recommendations

The rate of climate change is increasing both in relation to extreme weather

events and slow changes in climate and brings consequent aggravation of the
impacts on the major occupations of the rural people and the other livelihood assets
they depend upon that are climate sensitive.

• The study shows that the rural households of Kanshio have developed a level
of awareness about the prevailing climate variability but remain largely
unprepared.

• Using skilled builders and quality local materials will promote sustainability
and decrease the frequency of repairs, thereby conserving natural local
materials.

• The research acknowledges that different values and interests affect adaptation
outcomes. Respondents had multiple and potentially conflicting criteria to
consider before deciding. In the researched community, social, economic, and
environmental criteria were measured. Results show that economic reasons
were the most responsible for the lack of adaptation in the area (41%) followed
by social at 35% and environmental at 23%.

• Building a defense against rising storm surges and more comfortable indoor
temperatures is identified as important. Results presented in Table 5 and
Figure 6 show that adaptive measures suggested in Table 4 will significantly
reduce indoor temperatures and provide a cooler and more comfortable
interior.

• Values and interests play an important yet rarely discussed role in climate
change responses, and they influence the adaptation strategies that are
prioritized by different groups. Recognizing potential value conflicts can
help to identify how adaptation responses taken by one group may affect the
vulnerability context of other groups. Strong vested interest stake within
particular adaptation strategies may act as an obstruction to sustainable types
of adaptation.

• Sustainable adaptation objectives should be combined with current govern-

ment programs and policies that have international components like agricul-
ture, trade policies, energy policy, transportation policy, international aid,
disaster relief, and national security.

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Adaptation Options for Tropical Rural Communities: A Case Study of Kanshio, Benue State…
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.87836

Author details

Becky M. Ohiaeri
Faculty of Sciences and Engineering, University of Wolverhampton,
Wolverhampton, UK

*Address all correspondence to: mvandejune25@yahoo.com

© 2019 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms
of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/
by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is properly cited.

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ISBS 2019 - 4th International Sustainable Buildings Symposium
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[1] Klein JTR, Midgley GF, Preston BL.
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and limits IPCC WGII AR5 Chapter 16
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[2] Christensen JH. A summary of the
prudence model projections of changes
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century [Internet]. 2007. Available
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[10] Ravindran S. The verge [Internet].
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[11] Haque AN. Application of
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adaptation assessment in the context
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2016;23:210-224. Available from: http://
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[12] Smith B, Pilifosova O. Adaptation
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Sustainable Development and Equity
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[Accessed: 2018-12-26]
[13] Eakin CM, Liu G, Gomez AM, De La
Cour JL, Heron SF, Skirving WJ. Global
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[14] FEMA. Designing for Flood
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[15] Lyamuya KP, Alam KN. Earth

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[16] Fatori’c S, Seekamp E. Securing

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Chapter 46

Entropy Value of Sustainable

Property Design Criteria: To Start
a Study on Turkish REICs
Ayşen Sanbur and Arzuhan Burcu Gültekin

Abstract

Nowadays, the World seems to concentrate around two main subjects: the
“Capital” and the “Environment”; in which the notions like the politics, finance,
society, culture, and ecology are condensed to in terms of adding value to the real
estate and to its genius logi. The main purpose of this study is to emphasize the
necessity of maintaining the real estate development and sustainability in a struc-
ture that aims to invest nowadays as well as to the future in a holistic and interdis-
ciplinary approach. For this purpose, the data flow required for a solid foundation
of future forecasting; the information reflected the real and legal entities, which
are the basic building blocks of investment/savings, is discussed over the capacity
of expressing the returns of the sustainable built environment. In this study, the
concept of design, construction, and valuation are discussed in the name of “value”
with the sustainability and capital theories, in the academic environment, in
international institutions, and in the asset markets. The liquidity of the real estate
projects, which are considered to be a high return on investment despite the low
liquidity, can be ensured through investment types.

Keywords: sustainable property, real estate market liquidity, REIT, REIC, ΣSoCulTΞ,
circular economy, capital, built capital, green capital, asset-backed securities,
green bond, sustainability bond

1. Introduction

Environmental performances have been started to be inspected, evaluated,

and certified by developing environmental and structural bi-directional impacts,
and the certification systems which were first developed for the certification of
the environmental impacts of industrial products were adopted in the develop-
ment process by the construction sector in time [1]. In addition to detailing a real
estate (RE) as space and asset, all the details that the strategic plan can be applied
should be taken into consideration in the coding required from building and
project typology to sustainable materials. If fair value can be determined for each
break-down, the value increase/decrease in sub-sectors may be observed in the
sectoral sense. There is no doubt that the market value will be examined by the
worth of sustainable factors while the perception increased.
According to Turkish data in March 2019 (Q1); the number of certified build-
ings and projects in the investment portfolio of Real Estate Investment Companies

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ISBS 2019 - 4th International Sustainable Buildings Symposium

(REICs) and number of REICs itself is not large enough to turn into quantitative
statistical models, descriptive statistical methods applied whose in many studies
have been, used in order to evaluate such information. The data obtained, certified
buildings, and projects have been compiled according to their physical (general)
and monetary (annual) performance levels. In the study, a matter of concern is the
debate on the sustainability of the existing structure stock by improving economic
and physical life.

2. Concept of sustainable investment

Real estate development (RED) and management (REDM) investments, one of

the leading sectors are importantly considered in sustainable development on the
main environment which is intertwined with natural, socio-cultural, and economic
sub-environments. Unfortunately, real estate produced by consuming these sub-
environments; in particular, in developing countries such as Turkey, resource
acquisition as well as producing the most suitable and efficient application solu-
tions, it is obliged to increase efficiency and effective use depends on the acquisition
of real estate [2]. The intertwining of real estate investments (REI) with money and
capital markets is expressed in many studies in terms of the importance of the issue.
In the twenty-first century, it is taken care to ensure that the financial formations
are primarily capable of ensuring their liquidity without divisions by protecting
them against inflation [3]. It is observed that these formations have a structure that
has importance to research and performance measurements with a management
approach that tends to create an institutional and central market. This structure
is listed by the market as banks and construction market, stock exchange, REITs
(REICs), overseas investors, private individuals, joint ventures, and government
support. The methods developed for the resource/development finance, are increas-
ing day by day as the shadow of the shadow capital extends.

• Corporate and forward funding (yield, rent, cost, developer profit/guarantees/

performance, letting, sales and leasing),

• Bank loans with interest rate options (corporate loans; investment, and syndi-
cated project loans), and

• Mortgages, corporate finance (new shares through equity, bonds, and debt
securities with unsecured credit stocks), merging, and securitization.

Within these investment methods, REITs place qualified and large-scale invest-
ments in their portfolios in accordance with their establishment principles. Because
of the concept of a “trust” does not exist in Turkey, REITs are established as Real
Estate Investment Companies (REICs) at 1995 with the Capital Markets Law no.
6362 is revised since then at 2014, 2017, and 2018, respectively [4]. REIC is the only
investment/production vehicle that has to make the investment in at least 51%
of its total assets to real estate, real estate development, and related rights based
on property, and must have the investment value which is assessed by appraisal
companies within the framework of legislation; and must has to announce the data
by the intermediary institutions. These investments, which are liquid in terms of
the method, are exempted from corporate tax at the same time with the purpose of
incentive.
After 2009, the portfolio of REITs in Turkey is observed that they began to give
place to invest certified buildings. In addition to the housing projects developed

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Entropy Value of Sustainable Property Design Criteria: To Start a Study on Turkish REICs
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.87836

Figure 1.
Amount of energy usage (kWh) per unit area (m2) according to functions in the real estate sector (RES) [6].

for sale, it is seen that Turkish-REICs mainly focus on investments in retail and
office sector in the income-generating portfolio [5]. The office investments with
the green building certification, as in which the profitability of energy savings in
terms of business is important, is effective in shaping portfolios in this direction
as proof (Figure 1).

2.1 Dimensions of capital

By the end of the nineteenth century, a new point of view was introduced by
Adam Smith (1776), who initiated the economic theories called classical econom-
ics. Smith categorized the difference between circulating and fixed assets by
specifying the necessity of evaluating goods and products as consumable and
non-consumable in separate classes. He stated that there has been a great deal
of progress when the common qualities of all kinds of labor (mass production,
commercial, agricultural, etc.) are dealt with by denying the individual creativity
of the assets [7]. This defined synergy and its significance were also emphasized
by Marx (1859) a century later. According to Marx, the mode of production is
transformed into productive forces, individual or united workers, fixed assets, and
production-based subjects. The relations of production are capitalized by assigning
value to transform the meaning of production into a product that will be the basis
for consumption and/or production [8].
In the last quarter of the nineteenth century, Pierre Bourdieu (1986) defined the
definition of capital by expanding beyond the scope of the economy and structured
with an understanding that included social content and brought it into the economy
in an economic, cultural, social, and symbolic way. According to Bourdieu (1986),
Capital (embodied or in its own integrated form) is labor that is accumulated or
currently produced in the reification of the appropriate social energies of personal
or production groups. This (labor) is defined as the natural determinant of the
order created by the sincerity of the social world in both static and static sense of
production groups [9].
In the twenty-first century, by adding natural, human source, and educational
capital definitions, the capital itself becomes as can be invested and based on the
discourses of the classical economy (the naturalness of the land, the physical ability
of the workforce subject to rent, intellectual and learnable-teachable skills and the

563
ISBS 2019 - 4th International Sustainable Buildings Symposium

capital based on interest income) formation of consecutive markets. After 2015,

the concept of capital formed by surplus value-based rent was expanded to include
community, empowerment, and networking, and therefore human development
theory, development indicators, and shadow capital.
The importance of sustainability of all these capitals which are defined at the
developments after the 1972 Brundtland Report [10] has adopted the Sustainable
Capital identity, which requires strategic planning of these concepts that are sensi-
tive to the natural environments, which tries to establish the economy of natural
resources. Now the capital, which is new and costing the whole world, is scrutinized
[11]. This capital concept is seen as a capital whose a world system and a process of
accumulation, which is independent of nation-state borders, can be recorded as a
monetary value at the point reached in the twenty-first century [11, 12]. All sub-
capitals created under the concept of capital have been assigned to serve as but-
tresses within the market which are main financial, individual/intellectual, natural,
political, social/cultural, and built capital [13].

2.2 Environmental factors within the built capital

The one of them which includes the buildings, sewer treatment plants, manu-
facturing and processing plants, energy, transportation, communications infra-
structure, technology, and other built assets; investment in physical capital is in
construction, renovation, and maintenance which are generated as the built capital.
This physical capital is depreciated with the usage and requires ongoing investment
to maintain its value as one of the fixed assets in finance, also called tangible assets.
“The income or earnings generated by physical capital exist only in relation to
its use. For example, sewer and water treatment plants contribute to human capital
(health). Schools contribute to human capital (skill development) and social
capital (if they are used as community gathering places) and may contribute to
natural capital (if they include natural areas that are maintained or protected by
the school)” [14].
If we operate the world built on the circulating assets, with the income/earnings
of tangible and intangible assets in a sustainable way, the success of main market
and securities traded in the derivative markets is achieved.

2.3 Benefits of circular economy in REDM

Considering the circular economy content at every step of the real estate devel-
opment and management (REDM), which uses the approximately half of the earth
resources, it is targeted for the effective operation of the project in all scales in RES
[15–17]. There are three principles in the drafting of the circular economy: preserve
and enhance natural capital, optimize resource yield with circulating products, and
foster system effectiveness by revealing and designing out negative externalities. In
order to operate these principles, it is stated that energy expenditures, which have
the largest share with 30% in operating expenses spent on production and con-
sumption, deserve to be attracted great attention by investment companies, banks,
and financial institutions, owners and O&M management [18–20]. By simulating
the previous and subsequent saving levels of a building that has been renewed, the
necessary variables have been calculated in order to make savings in line with the
LEED and BREEAM certifications such as annual energy consumption and CO2
emissions (Table 1). In the operating expenses, a very close value (30%) of energy
savings (5.4111/7.371 = 0.265907) was determined [19].
When the income-generating properties are analyzed, the net operating expenses/
revenues/income (NOI) of the continuously increasing energy prices increment the

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Entropy Value of Sustainable Property Design Criteria: To Start a Study on Turkish REICs
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.87836

Building Annual heating Air conditioners seasonal energy Annual energy

status and cooling (kWh) efficiency ratio (SEER) consumption (kWh)
Existing 47.910 6.5 7.371
building

Renewed 35.170 6.5 5.411

building

Table 1.
Annual electricity consumption comparison [19].

need to focus on the life cycle perspective of the real estate in the future. This back-
ground is taken as an action aimed at securing and intensifying the market impacts
of sustainable certification systems and lifecycle cost (LCC) approaches that will
strengthen the link between buildings' energy performance and real estate valuation
(REV) [18]. The various thesis' which are written after 2010 in Turkish, is mentioning
that the investment portfolio of REITs /approaches/risks is discussed issues [5]. Also,
in studies mentioned the construction sector in Turkey, sustainability, building costs,
and the sustainability of the study which integrated project management issues were
examined which are identified the positive performances.

3. Sustainable real estate development and management: Sustainable

property

At the institutional level worldwide, sustainable investments have low interest

expenses as a support to the sector and it is determined that through the increase of
investments with low rates, the available funds allocated to shareholders, increases.
In these calculations, studies on the inclusion of subsets of the environment were
accelerated. The important point here is to determine the fair value, to archive, and
to share with the market. Therefore, since 2010, participation in the Global Real
Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB) has been increasing.
Although the Paris Agreement for all subsections of sustainability was con-
firmed by most of the world countries in 2015, it seems that the sustainability
efforts of the REIT managers are primarily due to their financial concerns, naturally
about the monetary data. In this case, the profit due to low mortgage interest rates
on the certified assets is noteworthy [20]. In the studies conducted by European
Public Real Estate Association (EPRA); firstly, it is stated that the level of owner-
ship of sustainable practices is to clarify the relative value of the firms on the enter-
prise, institutional level, and financial situation and the performance effects, from
the point of view of the stakeholders. Secondly, it is emphasized that in the present
literature, mostly country-based studies are carried out, whereas real estate invest-
ment and environmental certification systems are now a global industry. It is stated
that EPRA contributes to filling this gap in the literature by comparing the effects
of value and performance on different international markets. Finally, for investors
and managers, it is clearly emphasized that sustainability plays a pioneering role
in clarifying the economic channels that contribute to firm value and performance
level, and that the importance of achieving accurate and transparent data at the
right time is the main bricks for the built sustainability. Thus, it is understood that
a strategic plan is needed for the transparency of the market and that a sustainable
plan is to be cultured for all derivative markets.
"Sustainability and Real Estate Valuation: A Risk-Based Approach"; was
conducted on behalf of the University of Zurich, the Center for Corporate
Responsibility (CCRS) as a study by Meins et al. (2010); it is emphasized that

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ISBS 2019 - 4th International Sustainable Buildings Symposium

the general definition of the value of a property is not included in the literature,
whereas in practice the concept is spreading as the market value. As a result of the
comparisons, it is stated that the experiences can be faulty in the rate of ± 20% to
30% of the real estate value and that this rate is more than ± 10% in Switzerland
by Tochtermann (2003). It is identified that the reasons for the high level of errors
are not the deficiencies of the method, but especially the lack of information, and
the new market trends and the fact that the developments are not included in the
valuation as a constraint [21].

3.1 Green building and certified built environment

The life cycle of the built environment for physical and financial aspects can be
scaled out of the as-builds’ and its recorded data; can present the fair value. Thus,
performance levels can be documented and certified and sustainability is presented.
In this context, environmental assessment and management certificates as savings;
like water, air, energy, and waste management, and carbon emissions and other
similar details are established in holistic approaches to sustainable values [1, 22, 23].
The built environment is examined/assessed/valuated by classifying according to the
intended purpose (function), structural characteristics, structural system, construc-
tion methods, and construction levels in project management [6].
Building Green (1985) was established to create an integrated approach and data-
base based on sustainable material, design monitoring, building information, build-
ing and project types, design stages, and codes [24]. In this type of certificates, the
environment and social and economic interaction are tried to be evaluated together.
In most green building certification systems, sustainable sites/land use and ecology
and innovation are also seemed considered [25]. In the building life cycle assessment,
operation, and maintenance of process after planning and construction of the build-
ing are also being considered as a separate approach in green building certification
systems. In fact, details such as materials and indoor air quality are directly related
to the building; with own footprints such as energy and water; indirectly covers all
resources and the built environment. When these certification systems are created to
stretch the effects of the time (Figure 2); inevitable variable, into a hedonic valuation
model; the cost of benefits of the life cycle can be translated in favor of the system.
The reliability of higher occupancy rates/preventing gap loss, higher rent/sale
value determined, relatively more lucrative operation and maintenance costs, as to
be the point of attraction of capital with support and incentives within the protec-
tion of the environment, increased energy efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions,
increasing productivity in workplaces (spaces); establishment of deterioration and
renewal cost balancing between other financial costs, having benefits of utilization
by exceeding the value of the actual real estate (as tangible asset).
In these models, every detail, from ethics and education to history and technol-
ogy, needs to be taken into consideration as well as sharing of uses such as water

Figure 2.
Life cycle modeling (adapted) [26].

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Entropy Value of Sustainable Property Design Criteria: To Start a Study on Turkish REICs
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.87836

ΣSoCulTΞ Scale Capital Level Value

Environment
Σ Eco-system Natural Decision Added
Economy making value
Ethics/education

SoCulT Social Human (intellectual Shared

Cultural entrepreneur creative) value
Legal

T Technology/practice Innovation Investment Future

value

Time Circular economy

Ξ History Heritage legacy Realization

Table 2.
The architecture of the sustainable environment design equation and dimensions of value-a(c)tion [27].

and energy, which requires resource management in a regional and global sense at
various scales. The architecture of reflected sustainable scaled values are willing to
be considered in such scales on a measured variable in certification systems meant
for capital in strategic planning to be translated into added, shared, and future
values (Table 2).
As stated in many studies, the data archiving and sharing of each building and
built environment certification systems are considered as the most important
predictive investment for the future in order to make the elements of the matrix
proposed for the model measurable.

3.2 Green capital

Sustainable investment instruments have established by the World Bank in

2008, such as green bonds, social bonds, and sustainable bonds after the European
Investment Bank (EIB) established a "climate awareness bond" in 2007 as a finan-
cial instrument structure. The bonds are indexed based on the green investment
have been taken into consideration of the development projects paid attention to
the natural and social environment with considering financial risks less. In 2014,
the market value of green bonds, structured by the International Capital Market
Association (ICMA), increased by 4.42 times from 37 billion dollars to 167.3 billion
dollars in 2018 [28, 29].
International Valuation Standards (IVS) and valuation institutes of various
countries also include content and method research to improve the valuation of
sustainability. In the context of the Valuation Conference held by RICS in 2011, it
is clearly shown by Lorenz that sustainability creates the expected positive effect
on time and values in terms of market mobility. The Appraisal Practices Board
(APB) describes the issues to be examined under the Basic Competency headings:
Sustainability, green building, integration, rating systems, scoring and certificates,
energy modeling, benchmarking and inspection, political initiatives and regula-
tions, financing incentives, and green leasing.
Also, the new challenges are discussed in real estate markets that appraisers
must analyze: the market share of green buildings, green building codes, bench-
marking and mandates for green space, prevalence of conventional buildings
upgraded with green features, potential for obsolescence also known as the brown
discount for existing buildings that do not green up, and new sources of revenue

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ISBS 2019 - 4th International Sustainable Buildings Symposium

and new encumbrances to the property. Also, these may be like "Property Assessed
Clean Energy (PACE)" or "On-Bill Repayment" which assigned with the property
rights to be transferred by the ownership.
The importance of reflecting the value of the green buildings (properties),
which is being described by WGBC is pointed out. The invested sustainable
characteristics have difficulty to attract any capital unless they turn into a finan-
cial value. With the diversification of revenue, the concept of a value that can
be recorded in the circular economy may become more definable by shaping the
approaches of valuation methods that will only come to a position that exceeds the
income of the asset.
After the recession in 2001, and the great economic crisis of 2008; Turkey's
economy seems to have gained speed. The hypothesis that the general economic
trend in the country reflects the construction sector even though it is delayed by
1–2 years has been supported by Granger causality analysis [30]. For this reason,
it is important to turn our direction into the future in order to reflect the value of
savings.

Type Proceeds raised Debt recourse Example

by bond sale are

“Use of Proceeds” Earmarked for Recourse (R.) to the Climate aware bonds, green
bond green projects issuer: same credit bonds
rating applies as issuer’s
other bonds

“Use of Proceeds” Earmarked for or Revenue streams from Backed by fee on electricity bills
revenue bond or refinances green the issuers though fees, of the utilities
ABS projects taxes etc. are collateral
for the debt

Project bond Ring-fenced R. is only to the Backed by wind farms

for the specific project’s assets and
underlying green balance sheet
project(s)

Securitization Refinance R. is to a group of Backed by residential/

(ABS) bond portfolios of projects that have been commercial solar leases, green
green projects grouped together (e.g. mortgages
or proceeds are solar leases or green
earmarked for mortgages)
green projects

Covered bond Earmarked for R. to the issuer and, if Green covered bonds
eligible projects the issuer is unable to
included in the repay the bond, to be
covered pool covered pool

Loan Earmarked for Full R. to the Climate bonds

eligible projects borrower(s) in the case
or secured on of unsecured loans.
eligible assets R. to the collateral in
the case of secured
loans but may also
feature limited R. to the
borrower(s).

Other debt Earmarked for Convertible bonds or notes,

instruments eligible projects commercial paper, Sukuk,
Debentures

Table 3.
Types of green bonds [28].

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3.2.1 Source of green finance in Turkey

In Turkey, green/sustainable bonds in the international market, Continental

Europe, USA, Asia, and Middle East countries, as well, investment by the UK up
to 44%, took place in 2016 by Industrial Development Bank of Turkey (TSKB).
Turkey's first loan agreement relating to the Green Project Finance, for energy
investments are structured in 2018. This agreement is one of the four agreements
in this structure within the scope of 41 green credit agreements that reached a total
volume of 28.4 billion Euros worldwide in the date of signature. Nevertheless, the
agreement is one of the four in this structure within the green credit agreement;
and the fifth in the world [31].
In addition to this multi-partner structure, the Regulation on the Credit
Transactions of Banks (max. 80% of the property value) has been amended
(25.01.2019) and the legal pathway for the energy performance, class (A) houses
upgraded the 90% and for Class (B) houses 85% the credit limit is opened.

3.2.2 Development of green finance [out of funds, loans, equity/depths (shares/

bonds)]

In the world, the debt capital markets to fund the green structures try to high-
light the benefits for the issuers outweigh costs for their green assets/business,
positive marketing story, diversify their investor base and joins up internal teams in
order to do the investor roadshow; in the end, the type proceeds raised by bond sale
is debt resources, which are clearly fitted into circular finance.
In finance, a convertible bond or convertible note or convertible debt (or a
convertible debenture if it has a maturity of greater than 10 years) is a type of bond
that the holder can convert into a specified number of shares of common stock in
the issuing company or cash of equal value. All these asset-backed securities (ABS)
are like green/residential/commercial mortgage-backed securities (green MBS/
RMBS/CMBS), and property assessed clean energy (PACE) receivables (Table 3).

4. REITs, Turkish REICs structure, and sustainable property case

Real estate investment trusts are placed when diversifying a long-term portfolio
for investment. REITs have structured as corporate, trusty or association types.
Sustainable investment and sustainable built environment (physical performance)
issues were first discussed in the construction sector, while green building invest-
ment portfolio studies (monetary performance) started to come up in the capital
and money markets both in the real estate sector and in the name of real estate
investment partnerships. In addition, within the scope of the REIT portfolio, green
building, and performance levels/green building returns / sustainability are paid
back, and the studies directly discussing the contents of the Green Real Estate/
Green REIT are just recently emerging [5].
The opportunities provided by the relationship between sustainable design and
risk management have been determined by the synergies of the implementation
of these sustainable criteria by investors. It is stated that sustainability criteria to
be added to classical valuation methods will constitute a more robust approach
in terms of value. According to the purpose of the valuation request, there has to
be a strategic planning scheme for design phases and life cycle stages in return.
Valuation methods are compared according to the newly designed building, existing
building, management quality, renovation, and adaptation designs and demolition/
waste planning stages. The importance of valuation during development/planning

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is emphasized both in this work and in value engineering since if a newly designed
structure is constructed as is planned, it is important that both the constructing of a
newly designed structure and its management cause the maximum profit.

4.1 Stages of sustainable properties as REITs/REICs

In the world, the real estate investments of REITs are trusted. REITs also have an
important role in ensuring the tangible and intangible markets flow into each other.
It is stated in the study called The Hybrid Nature of REITs that real estate and its
derivatives act like more than a bare real estate in the market [32]. REIT performance
can be supported by more loans/depts and equity resources, in part by the lower
yield of debt costs. Thus, a larger joint action can be demonstrated with the real
estate based on the securitization at the time of an economic crisis. DiPasquale and
Wheaton (1992) have discussed the value of real estate in a conceptual framework
in the market that depends on asset and space. They examined the relations between
stock and price and construction and rent in four regions of the two-dimensional
coordinate system. The authors have discussed these relations in terms of demand
changes in real estate and asset market; have determined that this simple framework
succeeded in demonstrating the new balance that emerged as the external environ-
ment changed [33].

4.2 A beneficial look at REITs/REICs

According to Damodaran, the investment valuation is designed with three

different approaches in 2002: DCF valuation, relative valuation, and option pricing
theory. Lorenz in 2006 and Ciora et al. in 2016, are expressing that the real estate
market value of the green property showed a growth rate can be measured with
capitalization rate (Equation 1) caused by savings mentioned whom by Lavasani in
2018, is meant to be the natural growth compare to net operating income. Capital
concepts and value are examined by valuation approaches with general financial
methods to scale up [5].

Current market value = net operating income (NOI)/capitalization rate (cap rate)(1)

The income capitalization approach uses discounted cash flow (DCF) analysis to
calculate the net present value of the gains from the real estate investments [2]. The
investment in real estate development, which can minimize the return on invest-
ment (discounted payback period) the cost of the current investment is mostly
accepted. Besides the net operating income approach, also on the cost approach,
the profitability of health and wellbeing in terms of workers in the life cycle assess-
ment of the building as a real estate should be taken into the consideration [34]. In
the original section, the income-generating properties in the ISGYO investment
portfolio are considered as certified and non-certified projects, and the potential
impacts of energy savings covering 30% of the operational costs in office buildings
have been determined based on international assumptions in the evaluation of the
fiction through the invisibility of green value.

4.3 Valuation of the entropy value of sustainable properties in REITs/REICs

The FTSE/EPRA NAREIT Global Real Estate Index created in the real estate sector
supports the sustainability of regional and global with developed and developing coun-
tries' indexes by making analyzes for the sector participants who produce and share
international data. The index, America, Asia, Europe-Middle East-Africa (EMEA)

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regionally and globally, are prepared separately for developed and developing countries.
In 2016, EPRA has started to develop an Advanced Green Index based on two types of
sustainable investments based on green building certificates and energy use data [35].
New building/project/design-built investment certifications are an important area in
the world with 60% share in exchange for 84% share in Turkey covers. Renovation of
existing buildings, despite 15% in the world, 6% in Turkey, can be said that the renewal
is ignored regardless of the depreciation of the new structure. Consumption is as to be
a dominant character in today's world, as in every sector. Due to the economic situation
in Turkey is preferred institutional investment, whereas the equivalent rate in the global
private sector investors to invest in certified projects is observed (Figure 3).
Turkey is considered with the Czech Republic, Greece, Russia, Qatar, Egypt,
South Africa, and other developing countries as located in EMEA index. In the Global
REIT index, 5 out of 25 REITs selected from the national 33 REITs which are traded
in Borsa Istanbul (BIST), are considered in 2018. In 2018, 33 REICs are traded within
the scope of Financial Institutions traded in BIST, one of the CMB investment trusts.
Thirty-one of these REITs are included in the index (XGMYO). It is stated that the
share of these five REITs traded in the index covers 0.9% (3.992 billion euros) in
the total. The fact that Emlak Konut, Torunlar, Akiş, and İş GYO in the index have
included green certified investments in their investment portfolios is also noteworthy.
According to the data bank, GBIG data at the end of the first quarter of 2019,
there is a total of 1107 (993 LEED + 100 BREEAM + 4 EDGE + 1 DGNB) green
building/built environment projects where transactions have been identified, in
Turkey. Forty-six of these activities (4.1%) (Table 4) were found to be within the
scope of 12 REITs. The distribution throughout the country is directly proportional
to the size of the cities.
The aim of this chapter, which is made by considering the more transparent
of the data flow and the development of sustainable investments with REIT, is
intended to be a base. For this chapter, all REICs were searched according to the
data and analyzes stated in the websites, investor presentations, annual reports,
financial statements, and valuation reports. In fact, the target was the research to
make a comparison of the value of the projects (Table 5) under the 12 REICs within
the scope of sustainability according to ΣSoCulTΞ, at the beginning.
Unfortunately, the search of comparable physical data such as available net
square meters and financial data of real estates’ such as net profit, as well as the
different names which are assigned to the same project; it was not able to have been
carried out even on a single REIC for the purpose of expanding its scope in the
future. Therefore, although it is not directly linked to the issue of transparency, the

Figure 3.
World Turkey, the comparison of certified investment approaches (%) [36].

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Program Activities Included by REIC portfolio

LEED (includes certifications and registrations) 872 35 (22+13)

LEED (certified projects) (540)

LEED (for homes) 121

BREEAM 100 9
LEED (for neighborhood development) 9 1

EDGE 4 -

DGNB 1 1

World GBC Leadership Awards 4

Table 4.
Tukey green building/certified built environment (inc. registrations) activites and REIC portfolio datum
(March 2019) [36].

REIT/REIC portfolio REIT/REIC investment

property portfolio

Ağırlıklı işlev seçimi Physical variables Function

Kurumsal sürdürülebilirlik • Leasable net area Certified/non-certified

yaklaşımları
• Independent spaces
• Occupancy rate

Green investment ratio (%) Registered only NOI/expenses

Market value Monetary (financial) variables Property market value
(each)

Share value
Assets Resources

Intangible/investment property Equity and liabilities

NOI of REIC NOI – provident in certified
properties

Table 5.
Classification of REIT/REICs’ physical and monetary data.

importance of coding as an important starting point for the clarity of the data is
also mentioned again which is required in this study. Back to what we have found,
besides the total certified projects, 24 registered projects at the end of 2018 can be
defined as an indicator of progress (Figure 4).
It should be noted that the valuation, which is obligatory by real estate appraisal
companies in order to define the projects in the portfolio of REITs, has to be done in
the valuation reports published annually and in quarterly periods. In the valuation
reports, it is seen in the literature that the methods defined for income-generating
investments are used for all properties and therefore the savings skills of the
certified properties cannot be reflected in the valuation and value. It is seen that
the only/unique examples valuation reports referring to the issue are the Kocaeli
Şekerpınar Operation Center Project owned by Halk GYO (2014–2018). In the
reports, it is underlined that A Block has superior technological features and equip-
ment; which has LEED certificate and TIER III standards; “It is very difficult to
estimate the costs of equipment that require this high technology, the like, and the
costs are not available on the market. In the cost calculation of the project, the costs
incurred by the firm are taken into consideration” [37].

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Figure 4.
Certification systems and the REIC's certified investment properties distribution in Turkey (2009–2018) [5].

5. Conclusions

The aim of this study is to mention the architecture of sustainable built envi-
ronment and/or green building design from financial design to the management,
as a result of sustainable real estate development to end up with the sustainable
property which is needed most nowadays. This integrated design supports the
mobility of tangible and intangible assets into each other as one of the contem-
porary dialectical approaches as mobility, which are defined as the investments
of sustainable properties through the REITs. By utilizing this momentum, this
chapter also, like the academic and institutional literature; while wish to add
a view for future studies; emphasizes the need for a sustainable built environ-
ment for the studying larger investments in REITs in different angles like the
architecture of design and finance. Although, the importance of the savings
that are turned into investment is being also clear. The perspectives detailed by
EPRA, like many other institutions, on sustainability, environment, energy, and
sustainable value in finance are determined for the fair market value of the real
estate investments which is the most trigger objective.

Conflict of interest

I declare that all the information in this article is correct and complete, that I act
in accordance with scientific ethics at the stage of producing the information, and
that I refer to all the resources that I use.

Nomenclature

kWh kilowatt-hour
m2 square meters
CO2 carbon dioxide
Q quarter

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Author details

Ayşen Sanbur* and Arzuhan Burcu Gültekin

Department of Real Estate Development and Management, Ankara University,
Ankara, Turkey

*Address all correspondence to: aysensanbur@gmail.com

© 2019 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms
of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/
by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is properly cited.

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Chapter 47

Urban Agriculture in the Context

of Sustainable Landscape: Case
of Historic Yedikule Vegetable
Gardens Agriculture Park
Landscape Project
Oktan Nalbantoğlu

Abstract

Urbanization is one of the greatest changes that humanity has experienced spa-
tially. This change has also led to a continuous transformation of land use patterns
in urban areas. In this paper, the conceptual and design approach decisions related
to the Historic Yedikule Vegetable Gardens Agricultural Park Project prepared
with the aim of sustaining the present urban agriculture identity of the historical
vegetable gardens cataloged in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1985 and bear-
ing the traces of the history of the city throughout the 1600-year history, located
around the “land walls” with a complex structure designed in different elevations
between two city walls and a ditch, will be discussed. Many countries around the
world have done and continue to do research on the potentials of urban agriculture.
Urban agriculture in developed countries is examined as part of the work capacity,
food safety, and green infrastructure. In underdeveloped and developing countries,
this subject is discussed under the titles of providing the basic foodstuffs of the
population, labor force, and food production methods. In this study, the cultural
landscape, which is the collective work of humanity and nature, will be traced, and
the contribution to the sustainable urban landscape will be explained by drawing
attention to the relationship between agriculture and the city.

Keywords: sustainable landscape, urban agriculture, cultural landscape, sustainable

urban development, ecology, vegetable garden

1. Introduction

During the cultural and historical development, human beings have established
various relationships with their environment. These relations are part of the landscape
structure and dynamics. These changes can be seen in short periods of time or in long
periods of time. In this context, in the landscape structures, there is a spatial order as
well as time order [1]. Urban agriculture, conceptualized as one of the most important
strategies for the creation of productive urban areas and the creation of self-feeding
cities within sustainable urban development policies [2], is becoming more important
in the rapidly urbanized world, in economically underdeveloped countries where

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hunger and malnutrition are seen and in developed and developing countries where
serious environmental and social problems are experienced [3]. Increased population
and pressure to rapid urbanization in cities, especially in metropolitan areas, cause
deterioration in ecosystem functions, a decrease in agricultural land, and many other
developments that threaten food security. All these developments trigger the deteriora-
tion of urban health. Urban agriculture means raising, processing, and distributing
food products that will provide the city’s needs in a partial manner, by using the city’s
social and economic resources again in urban areas [2]. Therefore, urban agriculture is
seen as an important tool in terms of achieving sustainable urban development [4].
The need for construction emerged due to the intense migration and the rapid
growth of the city of Istanbul, which has led to the loss of gardens and orchards.
In this context, the “vegetable garden” culture, which occupies an important place
in the social and cultural history of Istanbul and the preservation of the vegetable
gardens within the urban areas in the city, stands out as an important topic in terms
of keeping the cultural landscape alive [5]. In historical Yedikule vegetable gardens,
which has become a part of the land walls of Istanbul, vegetable gardeners of dif-
ferent ethnic groups have worked in the past. The cultural diversity and the transfer
of knowledge created by the gardeners of Byzantine, Greek, and Armenian origins
in this area have provided us with a great opportunity to trace cultural landscape.
The Greeks and Armenians, who had been engaged in vegetable gardening the first
time, have transferred their knowledge to the Albanian vegetable gardeners and the
Albanian vegetable gardeners to currently active vegetable gardeners coming from
Kastamonu Cide village. The records of 344 vegetable gardens within the land walls
are found relating with the Yedikule vegetable gardens and gardeners, and thus,
light was shed on the relationship between the city and agriculture [6].
In this paper, traces of cultural landscapes, which are the common works of
humanity and nature, will be traced. Attention will be drawn to agriculture, and
the city relationship and the contribution of urban agriculture to sustainable urban
development will be explained.

2. Historic Yedikule vegetable gardens

Urban cultivation or in local terms “vegetable gardening” has a deeply rooted

cultural background in Istanbul. Growing fruits and vegetables within the city with
traditional methods has always been a part of the daily life in Istanbul.
When we look at the agricultural texture of Istanbul, three types of urban agricul-
ture can be mentioned. The first is the “neighborhood vegetable gardens,” which are
operated in the form of cultivation of small lands between buildings. The second is
the “vegetable garden systems,” where the empty plots around the city’s natural water
systems (streams, artesian, alluvial fields, etc.) are planted. The third is the large-
scale agricultural areas around the agricultural villages in the transitional regions
of the urban-rural landscape, beyond the land walls [5, 7]. In this classification, the
Yedikule vegetable gardens, which can be evaluated within the second group, are the
last example of the garden system which has survived to the present day, so far as
their locations in the city around Ottoman land walls are concerned (Figure 1).

2.1 Location

The agricultural park, located between the Yedikule-Belgrade gate, covers

approximately 90,000 m2. It is located in between the walls of the area at the border
of Hacı Evhaddin Quarter of the Fatih district, surrounded by Hacı Hamza Mektebi
Sokağı and Küçük Efendi Sokak in the north, Hacı Piri Street and Hacı Ehvaddin

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Figure 1.
Historic Yedikule vegetable gardens aerial photos in 1946, 1966, 1970, and 2006.

Street along the east border, Yedikule street in the south, and Istanbul land walls’
Yedikule gate and Belgrade gate in the west (Figure 2).
In the project area, there are many vegetable gardens that have existed until
recently. These areas to the south of the project boundary are connected to Yedikule
street. There are buildings and parcels preserved along the Hacı Piri street on the
eastern border of the project area. Some of these buildings, which are usually in the
form of housing, could not actually survive. On the same route, there is the historical
Hacı Piri Mosque (Stork Nest) which is a small neighborhood mosque that reflects its
period. The site of the Greek Orthodox Church and Foundation is located between
Hacı Hamza Mektebi street and the project area. In the area between the east of the
church and the Belgrade gate, there is a business area currently used as an open storage
area. In the region close to the center of the project area, there are sports facilities
belonging to private enterprises. Preserved historical areas are in the middle of these
three building areas and in the south of this section continue to be operated until today.

2.2 Short history

Although there are various studies on the gardens and vineyards in and around
the city in Byzantine Istanbul, the Yedikule district is shown as a woodland and

Figure 2.
Location of the project site in Istanbul historical peninsula.

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ISBS 2019 - 4th International Sustainable Buildings Symposium

flowered in the miniature of Matrakçı Nasuh, which shows the city of Istanbul in
1535. Toward the end of the sixteenth century, with the continued increase in the
population, the agricultural production areas of Istanbul expanded to the Yedikule
walls, and these lands became agricultural lands [6].
The most comprehensive and detailed information about Yedikule vegetable
gardens has been reached in a 1735 dated title book. The book is an essay on the
vegetable gardens within the land walls and contains information on the vegetable
gardeners, tenants, and their hometowns. In the book, it has been recorded that
9 vegetable gardens out of the 344 existing in Istanbul were located within and
around the vicinity of the walls extending between the Yedikule gate and Silivri
gate and that 52 of the 1381 vegetable gardeners were working in this region. We are
able to verify it from the map of Kuffer and J.B. Le Chevalier dated 1786. The Ismail
Pasha garden, which is shown on the map in Yedikule, is referred to as İsmail Paşa
Palace vegetable garden in this book. The most concrete document showing the
existence of agricultural landscapes in the vicinity of Istanbul land walls is the map
of C. Stolpe dated 1863 [8]. The map of Stolpe gives very clear information about
the green areas and the productive landscapes of the period (Figure 3).
On the map, Çukur Bostanlar, which can enter the group of neighborhood veg-
etable gardens in the Historic Peninsula, and Vlanga vegetable garden in Yenikapı
are also marked. In the map drawn by Mühendishane-i Berri Hümayun, dated
1847, there are also a number of vegetable gardens in Yedikule. Also, in the map of
G. Ademetriades, published in 1881 and showing the existing areas around the land
walls, the areas planted around the land walls are expressed as “cultivated land” [8].
Based on these documents, it would not be wrong to say that the agricultural
activities around the land walls have existed since the sixteenth to the seventeenth

Figure 3.
C. Stolpe map (1863) with locations of agricultural landscape zones.

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centuries. After the proclamation of the republic, there is no new development in

Istanbul until 1945 due to reasons such as the reconstruction of the capital city and
the war economy [8].
In the recent history of Istanbul in the 1950s, Istanbul’s metropolization is a
breaking point where large-scale projects for the zoning of the city are realized [8].
In this period, new vehicle arteries were established (Vatan and Millet streets), and
new residential areas and commercial buildings were built in the Historic Peninsula
and its surroundings. With the introduction of industrial production forms to the
city, the industrial areas in and around the project area have been put into use.
In this context, the city’s vegetable gardens have also been in a process of partial
extinction and displacement.
As can be seen from the above findings, Yedikule vegetable gardens, as a part of
the agricultural ecosystem that provides food to Istanbul for many years, are highly
important both as a cultural landscape heritage site and also as a culture of urban
agriculture to be transferred to the next generations.

2.3 Present situation

Urban cultivation or “vegetable gardening” as reflected in local saying has a

deeply rooted cultural background in İstanbul. As in the most established European
cities such as Paris and London, which have undergone similar processes like
Istanbul, vegetable and fruit production has always been a part of daily life in
Istanbul within the city’s boundaries [9]. Commercial vegetable and fruit produc-
tion gardens, which are marked as “vegetable garden” in many historical maps and
document, are one of the main elements of the smallest residential area of the city,
until from the rapid urbanization process that began in the 1970s. Each neighbor-
hood has a vegetable garden that is named after the owner or neighborhood. During
the structuring of the city, many of these buildings were lost and left their places
to parking, buildings, schools, or parks. These agricultural landscapes along the
Yedikule walls, where the vegetable is produced both inside the land walls and
along the city walls, have managed to maintain their existence partially until today
despite all the changes and transformation processes that the city has undergone
(Figure 4). According to the information obtained from some producers cultivat-
ing the vegetable gardens in the area, the vegetable gardens are used for planting
purposes in return for the rent given to the municipality. Green leafy vegetables
such as purslane, arugula, lettuce, parsley, spinach, and cabbage are mainly grown
and served to be sold in markets. In addition, retail sales to residents in the neigh-
borhood who are constantly shopping from vegetable gardens are seen as a part of
urban life [10].
In addition, the infrastructure needed for the production realized in the veg-
etable gardens within the project area was generally created by the people who made
production in the field. Security and esthetic problems can be encountered where
these fields get in touch with the public space. In addition, providing spatial struc-
tures required by the manufacturers with individual solutions can cause structural
pollution and security weakness around the city. In this study, solutions for public
cooperation, urban esthetics, and operability were produced.

2.4 Design approach and decisions

In the historical Yedikule Vegetable Gardens Rehabilitation Project, accurate

interventions should be made in order to protect the existing natural structure
and to prevent damage to its natural landscape. The project is designed in such a
way that it blends all the aforementioned approaches, reveals the nature of the

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Figure 4.
General south view of the project site [11].

landscape, and also meets the recreation needs of the city. The project and plan-
ning decisions developed in this field will also shed light on the future scenarios for
Yedikule vegetable gardens.
In this context, the attitude and language of landscape and architecture are
important. Within the scope of the project, the minimum intervention was made to
the natural bed of Yedikule vegetable gardens, and care was taken especially for the
relationship between agricultural buildings and historical sites. The holistic approach
of the agricultural park concept to urban dynamics will be a guide for the urban
agriculture areas that will be constructed and planned in the future in Istanbul scale.
Data on the natural environment (climate, soil, water, natural structure, flora,
fauna, etc.) are compiled during the design process, their effects on the built
environment (buildings, buildings, cultural assets, etc.) and social environment
(living, working, recreation facilities, etc.) and their interactions among each other
are determined, and based on this data protection use balance is established.
While the accessibility of the project area was increased, the transportation
and circulation system were separated as much as possible without damaging the
cultural and natural values, and the traditional/structured texture and the service
facilities were provided. Recreational functions (children’s playground, bicycle
path, harvest restaurant, healing cafe, garden of medicinal plants, garden of
flowering plants), which will appeal to users from different age groups and vari-
ous interests in the area, have been proposed throughout the route associated with
the neighborhood texture of the project area. It is believed that these areas will be
mostly used by the residents. Apart from the recreation areas, the use of the market
place and the festival area, which are the main decisions of the project and associ-
ated with the vegetable gardens and production activities, have been proposed.
Residents and local/foreign tourists will be able to experience the area with the
stakeholders and participants who can take part in the preparation of various activi-
ties that will increase the social awareness through a variety of scientific, cultural,
educational, and social activities to be carried out (Figures 5 and 6).
Cultural activities that can be realized in the area are planned to be programmed
by the Yedikule Urban Agricultural Park PR and Public Relations Center in the
control and coordination of the relevant units (Figure 7).

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Figure 5.
Plan view of the landscape project [12].

Figure 6.
General perspective of the project site [12].

Figure 7.
Perspective view of Yedikule Urban Agricultural Park PR and Public Relations Center [12].

Granting the operating rights of the renovated vegetable gardens (areas used
as vegetable gardens formerly but disappeared, which will be rehabilitated within
the scope of the project) by renting these areas to the professional producers is

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necessary for the continuation of the existing urban agricultural concept of the
project area. Granting the right to rent these areas first to the producers who had
been engaged in vegetable production in the vicinity will contribute to the continu-
ity of the area (Figure 8).
In addition, hobby gardens/community gardens open to the use of neighborhood
residents in a section of the urban agriculture park are also recommended. In this
way, the residents of the neighborhood will be provided to interiorize and protect
the area more (Figure 8).
Within the project boundaries, there will be areas open only to the professional
producers. These can be present gardens, new orchards, professional urban gardens,
seedling growing greenhouses, and orchards. Farmers and gardeners can operate
these areas by leasing. The structural unit, where management and cultural func-
tions are gathered, is called the management building. Within the administration
building, there are PR-public relations center, library and classrooms, seed bank,
places for training, seminars, and meetings relating to vegetable gardens and the
farmers, a unit for the sale of the publications or products relating to cultivation
(Figure 7). In addition, the necessary spaces for urban agricultural workshops
and workshops, which are connected to the management unit, are located in the
northwest of the area. The functions that can be included in this unit are vegetable
production workshop, agricultural workshop for disabled people, sera greenhouse,
beekeeping workshop, compost workshop, and recycling workshop.
The venues for the realization of activities such as meetings, seminars, train-
ings, and workshops where expert stakeholders such as academicians, researchers,
neighborhood residents, farmers, and gardeners who are interested in urban agri-
culture and Yedikule vegetable gardens can come together will be provided within
the administrative building. In addition, a souvenir sales unit for the use of visitors
to the park is also proposed within the project concept. The products to be sold in
this unit are the book of historical Yedikule vegetable gardens, periodical parking
bulletin, books on urban agriculture, some products produced in workshops, gift
materials for promotion, plant seedlings, small agricultural tools, and so on. The
revenue obtained from the sale will contribute to the maintenance and management
of the park based on urban agriculture concept and ensure the continuity of the
park. The farmer market, which is designed for professional producers, is the area

Figure 8.
Urban agriculture parcels [12].

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Figure 9.
Perspective view of the farmers market [12].

containing the fixed sales looms that professional producers can use to sell their
crops (Figure 9). The market area can also be used for different activities where
open space is needed in non-sales times. There are also areas designed for eating and
drinking, healing cafes, harvest restaurants, and harvest festivals.
According to this calendar, it is recommended to implement various programs
to support farmers in order to promote the diversity of harvested crops. The most
important reason why the producers do not increase their product variety is the
difficulties encountered in finding the market where the products produced will be
sold. For this reason, cultivators tend to produce especially green leafy vegetables.
For example, harvesting festivals can be organized in certain periods of the year
in order to guarantee product sales, and different vegetables can be entered into
the production palette. For this purpose, seed exchange festivals, which are used
frequently by local producers, can be arranged to enable communication between
different vegetable gardens and producers.
In addition to vegetable production, orchards in the area have been proposed
to support the diversity of agricultural park in terms of agricultural functions. For
different species to grow in these orchards, fruit harvest festivals can be held in
various seasons of the year (citrus festival, cherry festival, strawberry festival, dut
festival, etc.).

3. Conclusion

According to many scientific studies, urban agriculture creates not only a food pro-
duction activity but also an area of action with the potential to increase social cohesion
and awareness by bringing together the separated social groups in the city. In order to
be successful in the social context of the urban agricultural park, which is planned to
be implemented within the scope of this project, it is important to implement it with
the participatory planning model mentioned above. Many studies to measure the suc-
cess of public space show that the open spaces interiorized by the user and its inhabit-
ants from the beginning of the process are always more livable and sustainable.
The existing agricultural productions and the potentials of urban agriculture are
stated in the Historical Yedikule Vegetable Garden Project with regard to the exam-
ple of the city of Istanbul where the population is the highest and the immigration

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is too high within Turkey. As a result of human and economic dynamics, today’s
metropolises lead to the creation of the awareness of urban agriculture due to their
historical and agricultural heritage, as well as saving the life support systems from
being dependent on foreign countries by changing their ways of production.
Examples such as “Yedikule Bostanları” should be considered as a potential for
making urban agriculture visible and improving in our country, which is seen as
a means to ensure the future sustainability of cities, and future planning studies
regarding this area should be evaluated accordingly.

Author details

Oktan Nalbantoğlu
Department of Urban Design and Landscape Architecture, Bilkent University,
Ankara, Turkey

*Address all correspondence to: oktan@bilkent.edu.tr

© 2019 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms
of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/
by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is properly cited.

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References

[1] Aksu GA. Landscape components [10] Kaldjian PJ. Urban Food Security

and holistic landscape planning
approaches. Istanbul Commerce
University Journal of Science.
2014;26(13):21-34
[2] Mougeot LJA. Urban agriculture:
Definition, presence, potentials and
risks, and policy challenges. In: Cities
Feeding People Series Report 31. 2000
and Contemporary Istanbul: Gardens,
Bazaars and the Countryside [PhD
thesis]. The University of Arizona; 2000
[11] Photograph archive of Oktan
Nalbantoğlu; 2017
[12] Archive of On Tasarım Design
Office; 2018

[3] UNDP. Human Development Report

2001, Making New Technologies Work
for Human Development. New York,
Oxford: Oxford University Press; 2001

[4] Tezer A, Solduk BB. The potential of

“urban agriculture” in urban development
of Istanbul’s metropolitan area. In: Turkey
Healthy Cities Association 10th Year
Conference. 2012 in Turkish

[5] Başer B, Kalyoncuoğlu B. Can

agroecosystems act as ecosystem
services in urban area? Two cases from
Anatolia: Bostan’s of Istanbul and Forest
farm of Ankara. In: Proceedings of
EFLA 2011 Congress

[6] Başer B, Eşbah Tunçay H.

Understanding the spatial and historical
characteristics of agricultural landscapes
in Istanbul. ITU A│Z. 2010;7:106-120

[7] Kalyoncuoğlu B, Kalyoncuoğlu B.

A new strategy for the integration of
urbanized agriculture with the city in
the process of metropolitanization:
Urban agriculture. In: Proceeding of
5th Landcape Architecture Congress,
UCTEA Chamber of Landscape
Architecture. 2011 (in Turkish)

[8] Tasarım O. Historic Yedikule

Vegetable Gardens Agriculture Park
Management Plan Report. 2018 (in
Turkish)

[9] Kuban. Istanbul, an Urban History:

Byzantion, Constantinopolis, Istanbul.
Türkiye İşbankası Kültür Yay; 1996

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Chapter 48

Affordance-Based Placemaking
and Incremental Neighborhood
Renewal
Tyler de la Plaine and Mukaddes Darwish

Abstract

Placemaking is a viable urban renewal process for creating vibrant and sus-
tainable neighborhoods focused on improving the wellness and well-being of the
community. As an interdisciplinary undertaking centered upon urban ecology and
harmony between the natural and built environment, placemaking incorporates
vision, leadership, research, design, construction, entrepreneurship, communities,
and municipalities. Place-made neighborhoods become a more complex experien-
tial environment through tailored businesses, local cultures, public spaces with art,
interesting residence options for creatives and families, buildings integrated with
nature, and modern infrastructure. This experiential environment of curated affor-
dances centers on human perception and feeling where the amelioration of public
spaces promotes social interaction and fosters healthier and economically resilient
communities. Beyond buildings, it is the emotional experiences, interactions, and
humanization within a location, its structures, and locales that make a place a place.
In this paper, authors will consider the essence of place, creative inclusion of people
and culture, and afforded experiences integral to placemaking. The exploratory
research is interdisciplinary owing to the complexities of the expansive field of
urban planning and urban renewal.

Keywords: place, placemaking, affordances, neighborhood renewal, livable streets,

sustainability, urban agriculture

1. Introduction

Urban issues continue to escalate globally, and it has become obvious that the
value of a single “green” building or eco-labeled product is insignificant if it is not
supported by sustainable urban infrastructure and a culture of sustainability. High
vehicle miles of travel, insufficient level of services, diminished air quality, decayed
sense of place, segregation in land use, and other nonurban feature problems create
negative effects on the human quality of life. Quality of life is considered one of the
most important dimensions for sustaining any urban development [1]. The essen-
tial goal of sustainable planning is the creation of a sustainable community which
includes the defining features of a healthy climate and environment, social well-
being, and economic security. However, sustainable planning is heavily focused on
the environment and social and economic realms of sustainable development, and
communities are ignored. Placemaking can be used to boost the social and economic

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bottom lines to balance sustainable planning and communities. Placemaking is

conceptualized as a viable urban renewal process for creating vibrant and sustain-
able communities [2–4]. Place-based urban designers are responsible for addressing
social issues (public health, social equity), economic issues (cost of services, return
on infrastructure investments), and environmental issues (natural land preservation
to development that improve our quality of life) [5].
Conceptually, place-makers should understand the values, cultures, and capa-
bilities of the community and neighborhood they are working to renew. Urban
renewal through placemaking has a higher chance of success if a community-
inclusive process is utilized. A visionary project unfamiliar with the community is
all but destined to fail [6].
Urban design impacts places beyond their physical dimensions of buildings
and infrastructure. Life quality (LQ ) as an affordance is considered a critical
dimension for neighborhood renewal [7]. Although a dynamic concept, LQ is
used contextually as an urban design construct. Spatial quality affordances offer
LQ through complex domains: placemaking, small-scale development, mixed-use
design, heritage-inclusion, public art, culture, and urban agriculture [7]. In this
interdisciplinary approach, small-scale urban designers, developers, and city
planners interact to shape the physical form of neighborhoods. Hypothesized is
that small-scale, mixed-use (SMU) buildings add environmental complexity to a
neighborhood and provide an ameliorative design strategy for vibrant and resilient
placemaking. Four arguments are covered: (1) discussion on place and placemak-
ing, (2) affordance-based placemaking (ABP), (3) rooftop urban agriculture, and
(4) incremental neighborhood renewal through small-scale, mixed-use urban
development (SMU-UD).
These arguments were viewed contextually as a holistic complex urban system,
where afforded experiences (through ABP) center on human perception and feel-
ing. Surmised is that incremental urban renewal would reduce the adverse social
and cultural effects of disruptive large-scale urban development, particularly the
displacement of residents. Envisioned is a viable and inclusive placemaking process
where SMU-UD projects would slowly and equitably rebuild neighborhoods into
sustainable, healthy, diverse, distinctive, and vibrant communities. Placemaking
thus transcends an indistinct or undesirable place into a distinct and desirable place.
The viability of these ideas is predicated upon the collective enterprising of
existing community members, civic leaders, and entrepreneurs [8]. Community
enterprising is based on the theory of social entrepreneurship which transcends
tradition and signals an “imperative to drive social change with its lasting, transfor-
mational benefit to society” [9]. Furthermore, the wellness disparity of vulnerable
and underserved populations should be identified and provided with opportuni-
ties for their pursuit of well-being [10]. Qualitatively, this placemaking approach
incorporates a diversity of disciplines including entrepreneurialism, economics,
psychology, agriculture, urban ecology, and sociology.

2. A phenomenological approach to place and placemaking

Placemaking is a creative and aspirational undertaking of envisioning and making

an undesirable or non-distinct place into one that is vibrant, cultural, and esthetic. It
is a place endeavored to enrich lives where the pursuit of wellness and well-being is
possible. Compellingly, placemaking is art and science, theory and implementation,
and holistic embodiment of complex, abstract factors. Place, in a positive phenom-
enological sense, is conceptually steeped in imagery of feeling where descriptors
attempt to capture its wonderment. Symbolically it is an interesting, beautiful,

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spiritual, healthy, enjoyable, or vibrant express, an emotional response from the phe-
nomenological experience (perception-meaning) of a place [11]. The sense of place is
an intriguing thing that with its tangible and intangible qualities permeates feelings
that are felt [12]. Some of the world-class places that capture these perceptions are
canals of Venice, the cafe-lined cobblestones of Stockholm, the bucolic Austrian sur-
rounds of Pfarrkirche St. Magdalena, the persevering isolation of Skagway, and the
spirituality of Thorncrown Chapel.
Placemaking, as a complex system, posits that a place’s whole is greater than and
cannot be understood alone by its constituent parts [13]. As a sophisticated and
collective process, placemaking necessitates contributions from multidiscipline
professionals, community members, and civic leaders. Furthermore, it incorporates
urban design tenets and sustainable development principles [10]. Additionally, it
focuses on discovering and enhancing the local identity of people, their culture, and
heritage. Embraced is the shaping of an environment’s perceived quality through
experiential feeling which adds value beyond architecture’s traditional “form fol-
lows function” construct [14]. Residents, tourists, and through-goers become part
of its movement, absorbing its environs, esthetics, and wonderment.

3. Affordance theory and affordance-based placemaking

Affordance-based placemaking (ABP) offers a compelling phenomenological

approach to urban development and renewal. As an alternative to the traditional
physical design paradigm, ABP is a model where curated experiences or affordances
form sensory and cognitive interrelationships between the populace and their envi-
ronment [10]. ABP considers what type of affordances—access to local food, vari-
able housing options, and economic opportunities—would best deliver the desired
outcomes and goals of the place being made. Through these affordances, a place
becomes experienced and known “reasonably intimately” by its discoverer because
it is explored moving through with “two feet” [15]. Thus, the perceiver experiences
and simultaneously becomes part of the environment experienced. In Gibson’s
eloquent words, affordance “cuts across the dichotomy of subjective-objective and
helps us to understand its inadequacy. It is equally a fact of the environment and a
fact of behavior. It is both physical and psychical, yet neither” [16]. This complex-
ity paradigm offers insight into the traditional (and limiting), spatial-structural
construct of physical design.
As an integral component in the inquiry-solution process, ABP adds value by
informing complex urban environments with experientially rich affordances. This
experiential fostering is intrinsic to tan emergence of place as a locale and is relative
to its quality, vibrancy, and relatability [18]. Pedestrians are presented with a rich,
immersive environment with affordances, art, architecture, and nature curated to
create a feeling of being somewhere special, an engageable as illustrated in Figure 1.
The transformation informs the place-made optimized for experience, locomotion,
and vibrancy where one’s discovery, “from one occluded vista to the next,” offers a
feeling of “being everywhere at once” [16, 19].
Urban design impacts place beyond their physical dimensions of buildings and
infrastructure. Livable, urban design has the potential to affect human wellness,
well-being, and environment [4, 20]. Rooftop farms and edible landscapes develop
into places of the heart where an urban landscape promotes healthy activities and
community socialization which “encourages security and stability” [20]. Vertical
rooftop farms create social ties and connections by encouraging residents to work,
garden, and explore the places where they live. Massey’s habitat of place, or “thrown
togetherness,” describes an “ever-shifting constellation of trajectories” and possible

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Figure 1.
Rooftop urban agriculture: an affordance-based design solution.

encounters [20]. Jagannath furthers Massey’s concept as “a range of different

elements present in the public space [which] contribute to how people feel in the
space, particularly if they feel included and a sense of belonging” [21]. This belong-
ing feeling, created by urban farms and community gardens, forges livable, healthy
communities and contributes to a sense of place. Furthermore, urban farms bring
purposeful nature to the built environment where Howard suggests a “joyous union
will spring a new hope, a new life, a new civilization” [22]. This joyous biophilic
union sets forth human connections and interactions with nature and provides
tranquility and mental wellness uniting the “human need for fulfillment and happi-
ness” [4, 23].
Wellness, particularly for vulnerable populations, with the predominance of
cheap, low-nutrition, manufactured foods in inner cities, is a challenge [24]. Urban
farms would offset urban development’s consumption of more than 50 acres of
farmland (every hour) and provide affordable, neighborhood access to fresh, qual-
ity whole foods [25]. Moreover, rooftop farms would improve air quality and lower
street noise, reduce building energy consumption, control stormwater runoff, and
afford ecological microhabitats for plants and animal species [25–27].

4. Small-scale, mixed-use urban development: incremental placemaking

Paramount to great urbanscapes is the interplay of approachable design and

nature, mixed-use buildings with neighborhood businesses, and inclusivity of
people’s heritage and culture, without which, there would only be infrastructure
and placelessness. Small-scale, mixed-use development is imagined as a both a
design and process to create viable, vibrant, and sustainable neighborhoods prin-
cipled on wellness and well-being. As an incremental strategy for neighborhood
placemaking, street-specific projects would be developed to meet specific needs.
Mixed-use designs address the need for community-based economic development in
neighborhoods by allowing a means for social exchange and social entrepreneurship
[9]. Additionally, economic development (as an afforded design) promotes social
change by providing a design solution where negotiated exchanges between parties
occur [27]. The SMU paradigm provides structure for affordance-based design, e.g.,
access to healthy local food, nature, and space. From this construct, ABD informs

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the traditional physical design process. Additionally, affordance-based salutogenic

design as part of Antonovsky’s [28] “salutogenic model” provides experiential design
factors that support wellness and well-being in neighborhoods and homes [10–29].
Affordable and decent housing is increasingly becoming scarce in urban
neighborhoods. As a design solution, SMU-UD would include varied housing
options from studios to family dwellings. In addition, incremental urban devel-
opment would reduce the adverse social effects of large-scale urban redevelop-
ments and the displacement of local residents through gentrification [30]. With
a community-inclusive process, SMU developers gain a deeper understanding of
the mix of local residents, their culture, and local heritage. And with the ben-
efit of lower developmental cost for small-scale projects, the barrier to entry is
reduced enabling broader participation for small-scale developers and community
projects. With small-scale developments, placemaking’s lasting neighborhood
improvements are not just about beautification, also they can have a real impact
on people’s lives [31]. Stronger community identity equates to safer and more
resilient neighborhoods and “creates elevated measures of trust, participation,
and stewardship.” Human-focused model offers a framework for urban neighbor-
hood redevelopment, economic advancement, social change, and community-
driven renewal [31–33]. Figure 2 illustrates small-scale, mixed-use urban
development: incremental placemaking.

Figure 2.
Small-scale, mixed-use urban development: incremental placemaking.

5. Resilience and placemaking

According to the UN Summit 2019, global emissions are reaching record levels.
The effects of climate change are already apparent having very real consequences on
people’s lives physically and disrupting national economies. The frequency of recent

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incidents including natural disasters such as earthquakes, tsunamis, and hurricanes

and difficulties caused by the economic downturn have emphasized the vulner-
ability of and made the appropriate consideration of resilience in the planning for
future of urban areas of vital significance [35]. Natural disasters and uncertainties
resulting from anthropogenic causes can be devastating that economic recessions
remove opportunity and jobs causing tremendous stress on community members.
Shortage of affordable housing, availability to quality food, access to green space,
fresh air, and low-noise environments all add stresses on communities [36].
Although challenges are present, there is an increasing recognition that afford-
able, scalable solutions are available now that will enable us all to create cleaner, more
resilient cities and economies. Placemaking is changing the way designers and engineers
think about city resiliency [35, 37]. Viewing places and their natural, anthropogenic,
and social uncertainties through a complex lens could offer insight into what is salient
for a community’s resiliency: economy and society, infrastructure and environment,
and leadership and strategy [34]. System dimensions can be moderated, to a certain
degree, for resiliency at the community level. Adding complexity to neighborhood envi-
ronments, as layers of resistance, creates business diversification, green spaces, local
food sources (community urban farms), strong community development programs
focused on inclusion, a spirit of equitability, and cooperative contingency planning.
This holistic community-inclusive process offers an opportunity for dynamic interac-
tion and design-thinking between civic leaders, emergency responders, volunteers,
business owners, engineers, architects, and environmental designers to explore solu-
tions for resiliency building. This synergistic problem-solving paradigm offers insight
and innovation toward building community resilience. Therefore, placemaking is a link
between sustainability and livability toward creating physical, economic, and social
resiliency.

6. Conclusion

Placemaking is a complex and collective process necessitating contributions from

creatives, multidiscipline professionals, community members, and civic leaders.
Affordance-based placemaking offers a compelling phenomenological approach
to incremental urban development. This ABP creates a curation of street-tailored
affordances and spaces where public art and esthetics, green spaces and mixed-use
designs, rooftop farms, and walkable streetscapes create harmony and synergy.
Affordances offer local food through rooftop farms, affordable housing through
small-scale developments, and economic opportunity through mixed-use spaces.
By determining which affordances provide the best experiences for a community’s
culture and value, a physical design becomes informed. These experientially based
places promote meaningful engagement, wellness, and well-being for its inhabitants
and add to its environmental complexity. Formed is a vibrant and viable locale that
is inclusive, cultural, and esthetic where meaningful engagement informs its milieu.
Creating resilient cities emphasizes the importance of creating smarter infrastructure
and enhancing community disaster preparedness. Placemaking is the process that can
be utilized creating resilient cities with building relationship between people and their
environment. Because placemaking focuses on creating quality livable places, it builds
the shared value, community capacity, and interdisciplinary collaboration that is the
base of resilient cities and prosperous communities.

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Affordance-Based Placemaking and Incremental Neighborhood Renewal
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.87836

Author details

Tyler de la Plaine1 and Mukaddes Darwish2*

1 Interdisciplanary Studies, Texas Tech University, Texas, USA

2 Civil, Environmental, and Construction Engineering Department, Texas Tech

University, Texas, USA

*Address all correspondence to: mukaddes.darwish@ttu.edu

© 2019 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms
of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/
by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is properly cited.

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Chapter 49

Evaluation of Variables That

Affect Urban Park User
Preferences: Ankara-Turkey
Sample
Arzuhan Burcu Gültekin and Aslı Dokucu

Abstract

The aim of this study is to create awareness about the variables that affect urban
park user preferences and to set light to the users, urban planners, landscape
architects, and real estate development professionals about the issue. In this frame,
it was studied to determine the significance of urban park design in Turkey and to
evaluate the variables that affect urban park user preferences for ensuring user
comfort in urban parks and sustainability of them. In accordance with the purpose
of the study, general user profile in urban areas that affects user preferences, vari-
ables about use case, and user satisfaction were researched along with sub-variables.
A total of 300 individuals (165 female, 135 male users) participated in the survey
study. Survey results were separately evaluated for Botanik Park, Kuğulu Park, and
Seğmenler Park with IBM SPSS Statistics 23 package program. Variables were
determined according to sufficiency level, and obtained results are presented in this
study along with the discussions. It was ascertained that rather than the size of the
field and number of activities, variables that affect user preferences are related to
the composition and density of green lands in a park, quality of services, cleaning,
security, and maintenance-repair of a park.

Keywords: open green spaces, urban parks, user preferences, user satisfaction,
accessibility, Botanik Park, Kuğulu Park, Seğmenler Park

1. Introduction

Dense housing and unplanned urbanization, which have been increasing since
industrial development, increase in life standards, and dramatic increase in popula-
tion are some of the most important problems of today’s cities. Open green spaces
are planned and used inappropriately; urban life becomes monotonous; cities turn
into socially, culturally, and biologically insufficient environments for human life;
and relationship between urban and rural areas slowly decreases because of incor-
rect site selection [1]. Because of the intense, stressful urban life and its pressure on
humans, open green spaces are now more important as individuals get the chance to
have psychological relief, continue sociocultural development, and carry out recre-
ational activities in these areas. Urban parks, one of the basic green areas in cities,
play an important role in the lives of humans living in cities; their features,

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functions, and opportunities they present are important for city dwellers. Urban
parks are designed in a way that they can be used by people from different age
groups; they are located in the most exclusive areas in cities in terms of natural
beauty. In addition, these areas organize social life through ensuring the sense of
protection, education, and socialization [2]. In this context, the basic goals of this
study is to emphasize the necessity of parks, to analyze variables of urban park user
preferences, and to create awareness among city planners, landscape architects, and
real estate development professionals on the basis of the findings obtained through
our research process. In the frame of these goals, the purpose of the study is to
evaluate the variables that affect users’ urban park preferences within the scope of
user profile, use case, and user satisfaction.
A survey study was conducted in Botanik Park, Kuğulu Park, and Seğmenler
Park, in Çankaya, Ankara, Turkey, in order to determine the variables that affect
user preferences. Survey questions were made of three different sections designed
for determining user profile, use case, and user satisfaction features. Sub-variables
about gender, age, marital status, number of children, education level, and monthly
average income within the scope of “user profile features”; sub-variables about the
reasons for preference and process of park use within the scope of “use case”; and
sub-variables about design features, accessibility features, environmental features,
and psychological and security features within the scope of “user satisfaction” were
evaluated with IBM SPSS Statistics 23 package program.

2. The notion and scope of urban park

Today’s human being tries to protect physiological and psychological health

through recreation activities. Individuals prefer recreation areas on the basis of their
economic, social, and cultural development levels. This is why, it is important to
plan, design, and establish green spaces by analyzing the elements of size, number,
distribution, and use of these spaces as a whole. The understanding of organizing
open spaces which involve sufficient physical, social, and visual elements has
become more important in the world today. Areas in crowded cities are highly
important for satisfying the necessities of modern townsmen in daily life. Urban
parks are the most important places in this respect as they involve various recrea-
tional opportunities and facilities [3].
Urban parks are green spaces with different sizes, purposes, functions, and
equipment, and they serve cities as a whole. Urban parks, one of the urban fabrics
made of various elements (housing, industry, trade, education, etc.), are the most
important urban green spaces which give people from all ages the chance to involve
in any kind of passive or active activities [4]. Urban parks are the areas of urban
service in complex urban environments; they have significant and multiple func-
tions in re-establishing the broken nature-human relationship resulting from the
rapid and irregular urbanization [5].

2.1 Urban park planning criteria and principles

Park planning criteria change according to country, settlement, and require-

ments of that settlement [6]. In this context, parks are classified according to the
number of housings that they serve besides population, dwelling unit, size, and
accessibility (Table 1). Green space necessity in cities increases in accordance with
the increase in population and constructions in that city. Factors that determine
standards in modern urban parks are population of city, size, geographical location,
climate, service areas of parks, and how much they are used [3]. When the size

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Park types Housing unit Population the Resident site the Size Accessibility
the park serves park serves park is located

Neighborhood 700–1000 2000–10,000 Primary school 1–4 ha 400–800 m

park

District park 1000–5000 10,000–50,000 County, district 4–20 ha 800–4800 m

Urban park 5000–10,000 Variable City 20–50 ha 30 min driving

distance

Regional park 20,000–30,000 Entire population Region Over 60 min driving

in small cities 200 ha distance

Table 1.
Planning criteria for different park types [2, 8].

criteria of different park types are analyzed, it can be seen that urban parks serve to
5000–10,000 house units, they are located in cities, and sizes are between 20 and
50 ha [2]. On the other hand, according to the US National Recreation and Park
Association (NRPA) park standards [7], population that urban parks serve should
be variable, and they should be located approximately 30 min driving distance in
terms of accessibility [8].
Planning principles for urban parks can be put into order as mentioned below:

• Physical planning of urban parks should be in accordance with the system of

other open green spaces in a city.

• An urban park should have a coherence and integrity in itself in terms of

design [9].

• Land surveys of the fields on which urban parks will be established should be
made carefully; topography and seasonal features of the area should be taken
into consideration.

• Socioeconomic structure, cultural features of city dwellers, especially local

community, and their expectations and requests from open green spaces
should be taken into consideration.

• There should be different parts of urban parks which can serve people from
different ages and culture groups; they should present different recreation
opportunities, and they should bind people together and increase social
activities [10].

• While planning urban parks, areas that are away from noise and pollution
should be chosen in order to make users feel comfortable.

• In order to enable the disabled use in urban parks, criteria of easy access and
transportation inside the parks should be taken into consideration while
designing parks.

• Urban parks should be planned in a way that they are directly connected to
transit systems in towns; safe and easy access should be ensured.

• Utilities should be located in proper places inside the urban parks in order to
enable users to easily reach and use them; they should be sufficient in terms of
number and size in accordance with the size of the parks.

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• Planting should be proper for the ecology of the city; plant types should be
carefully chosen in terms of color and texture [4].

2.2 Variables that affect urban park user preferences

Understanding the benefits of urban parks for humans and cities has a signifi-
cant role in ensuring a sustainable use [11]. It can be said that urban parks success-
fully function as long as they meet the demands and expectations of users. There are
scientific studies about urban parks based on the purpose of determining socioeco-
nomic features of users, how they use these parks, their satisfactions or complaints,
efficiency and functioning of parks, and planning of parks that support active and
social interaction [12]. In the light of these studies, it can be said that urban park
user preferences are related to personal features, state of the green spaces and
recreation areas, types of activities in parks, design, accessibility, and environmen-
tal, psychological, and security features. Creating recreation areas that don’t cause
any kind of social, psychological, or physiological disorders, ensuring sustainability
of parks, and protecting vividness in the park are the factors that are taken into

Variables that affect user preference Sub-variables that affect user

preference

Variables about user profile Demographic features Gender

Age
Marital status
Number of children
Education level
Monthly average income

Variables about use case Reasons for Reason for preference

preference Group that come together (user groups)

Process of use Use frequency

Seasonal use case
Days of use
Time of use
Hours of use
Night use

Variables about the user Design features Sufficiency of equipment

satisfaction Sufficiency green spaces
Sufficiency of seating units
Sufficiency of arrangements for the
disabled
Sufficiency of activity areas

Accessibility features District

Transportation
Duration of transportation
State of accessibility in the park

Environmental Sufficiency of cleaning

features Sufficiency of maintenance

Psychological features Feeling safe

Feeling happy
Being peaceful—quiet

Security features Security staff

Security cameras

Table 2.
Variables and sub-variables that affect urban park user preferences.

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consideration by the users. On the other hand, studies on the relationship between
user type and user preference show that user preferences vary according to age,
gender, education level, income level, and ethnic group [13]. In this context, it can
be said that variables about user profile, use case, and user satisfaction are important in
determining preferences of users in urban parks. Variables and sub-variables that
affect urban park user preferences are classified by reviewing different scientific
studies; classification is presented (Table 2). These variables and sub-variables can
be diversified, increased, or classified differently for a similar survey study in a
different country or city.

3. Evaluation of variables that affect user preferences in Ankara

urban parks

A survey study was carried out in the scope of this study in order to analyze the
variables that affect user preferences in Botanik Park, Kuğulu Park, and Seğmenler
Park, located in Çankaya, Ankara (city center) (Figure 1). Face-to-face question-
answer method was practiced in the study process during autumn in Botanik Park,
Kuğulu Park, and Seğmenler Park; questions were asked to the users of these parks
in the scope of the study (Figure 2). IBM SPSS Statistics 23 package program was
used in evaluating survey results of the study. Evaluation results were separately
analyzed for the users of each park. Variables were determined according to suffi-
ciency level, and obtained results are presented in the following pages along with
the findings.
The equation mentioned below is used while determining sample size of users in
survey study (Equation 1) [16, 17]:

n ≥ N  t2  p  q
(1)
N  m2 þ t 2  p  q

Abbreviations in the formula are expressed below:

N = size of the community (according to address-based population registration
system; Ankara population in 2017: 5.445.026 [18]), t = security coefficient (1, 96)

Figure 1.
Satellite images of urban parks of the study [14]: (a) Botanik Park, (b) Kuğulu Park, (c) Seğmenler Park.

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Figure 2.
Images of urban parks of the study [15]: (a) Botanik Park, (b) Kuğulu Park, (c) Seğmenler Park.

(95% secure), m =admitted sampling error percentage (10%), p = probability of

odds ratio of the feature to be evaluated in the main mass (0, 5), and q = nonexis-
tence rate of the feature to be evaluated in the main mass (0, 5) (it is assumed that
the community is heterogeneous).
It was determined that there were 96 surveys statistically representing the field
in the frame of the formula. In this context, a total of 300 surveys completed in 3
urban parks were statistically evaluated. Data about gender, age, marital status,
number of children, education level, and monthly average income of user group
who participated in the study are presented in Table 3.

3.1 Evaluation of variables according to use case

Variables about the use case of urban parks are classified as reasons of preference
and usage process. Data obtained from the users are presented in Table 4. When the
reasons for preferring Botanik Park, Kuğulu Park, and Seğmenler Park were ana-
lyzed, it was seen that sub-variables of each park were different. It was determined
that Botanik Park users mostly preferred the park in order to make use of their spare
time, for walking, or sports; Kuğulu Park users mostly preferred the park in order to
sit-rest and make use of their spare time; Seğmenler Park users mostly preferred the
park in order to meet friends, make use of their spare time, and sit-rest. Kuğulu
Park was not only preferred by people from immediate environment but also by
different user groups coming from different districts; it was ascertained that the
park is generally used for attending concerts, for food and drinks in the restaurants
around the park, and for shopping in the neighborhood, which is in a sense a small
center. This situation shows that the park is visited for various purposes; it is a
transit area and a frequent destination for users. It was determined that 45% of
Botanik Park users preferred to visit the area with girlfriend/boyfriend; 44% of
Kuğulu Park users and 51% of Seğmenler Park users preferred to visit the area with
their friends.
When the use frequency was analyzed, it was determined that users of all three
parks mostly used to visit the park once a month or a few times a year. In this
context, it can be said that more than half of the users visit the park at least once a
month. Seventy percent of Botanik Park users and 66% of Seğmenler Park users
visit the area during autumn, while 51% of Kuğulu Park users visit the park at every
season. Botanik Park and Seğmenler Park users visit the parks during weekends;
Kuğulu Park users visit the park on different days. It was determined that users spend
a maximum of 1–3 hours in all three parks, especially between 1:00 and 5:00 p.m.

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Demographic features Botanik Park Kuğulu Park Seğmenler Park

Frequency Rate Frequency Rate Frequency Rate

(F) (%) (R) (F) (%) (R) (F) (%) (R)

Gender Female 56 56 55 55 54 54

Male 44 44 45 45 46 46

Total 100 100 100 100 100 100

Age 18–25 55 55 27 27 28 28

26–35 40 40 44 44 53 53

36–45 1 1 15 15 8 8

46–55 3 3 3 3 6 6

56- 1 1 11 11 5 5

Total 100 100 100 100 100 100

Marital status Married 11 11 60 60 20 20

Single 86 86 37 37 78 78

Widow 3 3 3 3 2 2

Total 100 100 100 100 100 100

Number of 0 91 91 80 80 78 78
children
1 8 8 10 10 12 12

2 1 1 10 10 6 6

3 – – – – 4 4

Total 100 100 100 100 100 100

Education Primary 0 0 2 2 1 1
level education

High school 7 7 18 18 9 9
education

University 93 93 64 64 73 73
education

Postgraduate – – 15 15 16 16

Doctorate – – 1 1 1 1

Total 100 100 100 100 100 100

Monthly 0–1600 36 36 30 30 23 23
average
1600–2500 26 26 16 16 11 11
income
2500–5000 34 34 29 29 46 46

5000–10,000 2 2 24 24 20 20

10,000 and 2 2 1 1 – –
higher

Total 100 100 100 100 100 100

Table 3.
Demographic features of users.

Users stated that the best park to visit in the evening and at night is Kuğulu Park;
according to users, Botanik Park is desolate, and there are security problems in
Kuğulu Park and Seğmenler Park.

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Variables about use case Botanik Kuğulu Seğmenler

Park Park Park

F R (%) R (%) F R (%)

Reasons of Why do you come to this Walking/sports 67 25.0 9 4.0 25 9.7

preference park?
To make use of my 89 33.2 59 26.2 66 25.7
spare time

To play/to have 10 3.7 16 7.1 15 5.8

some quality time
with my child

To sit/rest 52 19.4 69 30.7 66 25.7

Picnic – – 3 1.3 5 1.9

To read book, 5 1.9 13 5.8 9 3.5

newspaper,
magazine

To meet my friends 39 14.6 52 23.1 69 26.9

Other 6 2.2 4 1.8 2 0.8

Total 268 100 225 100 257 100

With whom do you Family 9 6.3 22 15.9 12 7.6

come to this park?
Friend 30 21,1 61 44.2 80 51.0

Child 7 4.9 11 8.0 13 8.3

Relative – – 3 2.2 2 1.3

Girlfriend/boyfriend 65 45.8 5 3.6 10 6.4

Alone 29 20.4 35 25.4 39 24.8

Other 2 1.4 1 0.7 1 0.6

Total 142 100 138 100 157 100

Process of How often do you come Everyday 1 1 3 3 5 5

use to this park?
3–4 times a week 2 2 10 10 3 3

1–2 times a week 2 2 20 20 18 18

A few times a month 43 43 38 38 51 51

A few times a year 52 52 28 28 22 22

Other – – 1 1 1 1

Total 100 100 100 100 100 100

In which season do you Spring 24 24 28 28 15 15.2

visit the park most
Summer 4 4 6 6 14 14.1
frequently?
Autumn 70 70 14 14 30 66.3

Winter – – 1 1 – –

Every season 2 2 51 51 40 4.4

Total 100 100 100 100 100 100

On which days do you Weekday 1 1 14 14 1 1

visit this park?
Weekend 80 80 48 48 71 71

Changeable 18 18 30 30 22 22

All the time 1 1 8 8 6 6

Total 100 100 100 100 100 100

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Variables about use case Botanik Kuğulu Seğmenler

Park Park Park

F R (%) R (%) F R (%)

How much time do Less than 1 hour 20 20 43 43 5 5

approximately you
1–3 hours 80 80 54 54 82 82
spend in the park?
3–5 hours – – 3 3 9 9

More than 5 hours – – – – 4 4

Total 100 100 100 100 100 100

On which hours do you 09.00–13.00 2 2.0 3 3 6 6

come to this park?
13.00–17.00 80 80.0 69 69 52 52

17.00–21.00 18 18,0 26 26 36 36

21.00–24.00 – – 2 2 6 6

Total 100 100 100 100 100 100

Can the park be used at Yes 51 51 92 92 74 74

night?
No 49 49 8 8 26 26

Total 100 100 100 100 100 100

What are the reasons for There is security 1 2 4 50.0 14 46.7

inappropriateness of park problem
at night?
The park is desolate 47 96 3 37.5 11 36.7

Insufficiency of 1 2 1 12.5 5 16.6

lightning

Total 49 100 8 100 30 100

Table 4.
Approaches of users about urban parks’ use case.

3.2 Evaluation of variables about user satisfaction

Variables about user satisfaction are classified as design features, accessibility

features, environmental features, psychological features, and security features. In the
scope of design features, results obtained from the users through questions are
presented in Table 5.
Results obtained from the users through questions in the scope of accessibility
features, which is one of the variables about user satisfaction, are presented in
Table 6.
When the districts in which parks users live are analyzed, it can be said that all
three parks can be classified as “urban parks”; most of the users in all three parks
stated that they come from a “different district.” It was also determined that people
coming from different cities used to visit Kuğulu Park and Seğmenler Park. In terms
of the means of transport, it was seen that most of the users come to Botanik Park
and Seğmenler Park by walking, while Kuğulu Park users mostly use public bus. It
was determined that most of the users of all three parks can reach parks in 30 min
approximately. It was observed that there was no user who spend more than 1 hour
to visit Botanik Park, this result shows that this park is preferred by the users who
live in the neighborhood. Ninety-three percent of Kuğulu Park users stated that
transportation inside the parks is sufficient, while 84% of Seğmenler Park users said
that transportation is sufficient. It was determined that according to 44% of Botanik

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Variables about user satisfaction Botanik Kuğulu Seğmenler

Park Park Park

F R (%) F R (%) F R (%)

Design Do you think that equipment in the Insufficient 76 76 17 17 20 20

features parks are sufficient in terms of
Partially 22 22 19 19 46 46
number?
sufficient

Sufficient 2 2 64 64 34 34

Total 100 100 100 100 100 100

If you don’t think that they are Litterbins – – 9 13.2 14 10.1

sufficient, which equipment do you
Benches- – – 30 44.1 12 8.7
think are missing? (You can mark more
seating units
than one option)
Lighting 2 0.9 5 7.4 7 5.1
equipment

Sales units 92 39.6 1 1.5 31 22.5

Signs 28 12.0 4 5.9 1 0.7

WC 34 14.7 1 1.5 34 24.6

Plastic 18 7.8 5 7.4 4 2.9

objects
(statues,
etc.)

Water units 58 25 13 19.1 34 24.7

(pool, etc.)

Other – – – – 1 0.7

Total 232 100 68 100 138 100

Do you think that green spaces’ Insufficient 29 29 17 17 4 4

texture and plants in the areas are
Partially – – 17 17 10 10
sufficient?
sufficient

Sufficient 71 71 66 66 86 86

Total 99 100 100 100 100 100

Do you think that green spaces’ Insufficient 2 2 13 13 3 3

texture and plants in the fields are
Partially 48 48 30 30 20 20
functionally sufficient?
sufficient

Sufficient 50 50 57 57 77 77

Total 100 100 100 100 100 100

If you don’t think that greenspaces’ Doesn’t 32 64 8 16 4 16

texture and plants in the fields are protect from
functionally sufficient, what are the the wind
reasons?
Doesn’t 4 8 30 60 – –
protect from
the noise
sources

Doesn’t 13 26 9 18 21 84
protect from
the sun

Plants cause 1 2 3 6 – –
discomfort

Total 50 100 50 100 25 100

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Variables about user satisfaction Botanik Kuğulu Seğmenler

Park Park Park

F R (%) F R (%) F R (%)

Do you think that seating units are Insufficient – – 6 6 6 6

sufficient (arbors, benches, etc.)?
Partially 6 6 10 10 4 4
sufficient

Sufficient 94 94 84 84 90 90

Total 100 100 100 100 100 100

If you don’t think that seating units Wooden 5 83.3 4 44.4 3 42.8
are sufficient (arbors, benches, etc.), and
what are the reasons? splintery

Stone – – 2 22.2 1 14.3

material

Metal 1 16.7 2 22.2 1 14.3

material

Plastic – – 1 11.2 2 28.6

material

Total 6 100 9 100 7 100

Do you think that arrangements for Insufficient 82 82 94 94 81 81

the disabled are sufficient?
Partially 16 16 2 2 15 15
sufficient

Sufficient 2 2 4 4 4 4

Total 100 100 100 100 100 100

Do you think that size of the park Insufficient 2 2 25 25 3 3

field is sufficient?
Partially 1 1 11 11 2 2
sufficient

Sufficient 97 97 64 64 95 95

Total 99 100 100 100 100 100

Do you think that seating areas Insufficient 2 2,0 15 15 13 13

around the water are sufficient?
Partially 87 87.0 15 15 52 52
sufficient

Sufficient 11 11.0 70 70 35 35

Total 100 100 100 100 100 100

Do you think that playgrounds are Insufficient – – 22 22 19 19

sufficient?
Partially 2 2,0 9 9 8 8
sufficient

Sufficient 98 98,0 69 69 73 73

Total 100 100 100 100 100 100

Do you think that walking trails are Insufficient – – 32 32 24 24

sufficient?
Partially 26 26 19 19 37 37
sufficient

Sufficient 74 74 49 49 39 39

Total 100 100 100 100 100 100

Do you think that open fitness fields Insufficient 2 2 91 91 30 30

are sufficient?
Partially 4 4 4 4 29 29
sufficient

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Variables about user satisfaction Botanik Kuğulu Seğmenler

Park Park Park

F R (%) F R (%) F R (%)

Sufficient 94 94 5 5 41 41

Total 100 100 100 100 100 100

Do you think that floor coverings are Insufficient 4 4 11 11 17 17

sufficient?
Partially 18 18 6 6 14 14
sufficient

Sufficient 78 78 83 83 68 69

Total 100 100 100 100 100 100

Do you think that restaurants and Insufficient 98 98 28 28 66 66

cafes are sufficient?
Partially 2 2 6 6 5 5
sufficient

Sufficient – – 66 66 29 29

Total 100 100 100 100 100 100

Do you think that social activities are Insufficient 98 98 52 52 73 73

sufficient (concert, charity sale,
Partially 2 2 8 8 7 7
show, etc.)?
sufficient

Sufficient – – 40 40 20 20

Total 100 100 100 100 100 100

Table 5.
Approaches of users about the urban parks’ design features.

Park users, parking lots are insufficient; 91% of Kuğulu Park users and 89% of
Seğmenler Park users said that parking lots are insufficient.
Results obtained from the users through questions in the scope of environmental
features, which is one of the variables about user satisfaction, are presented in
Table 7.
It was seen that 34% of Botanik Park users, 16% of Kuğulu Park users, and 18%
of Seğmenler Park users think that the park is not clean enough. Most of the Botanik
Park and Kuğulu Park users said that “Pools and pounds aren’t clean,” while most of
the Seğmenler Park users said that “Park isn’t clean enough.” Twenty-nine percent
of Botanik Park users, 77% of Kuğulu Park users, and 69% of Seğmenler Park users
said that maintenance-repair of the park is sufficient. The basic reason why users
think that maintenance-repair is not sufficient is that according to them, broken or
old seating units aren’t repaired or renewed.
When the feeling of security was observed, it was seen that users of all three
parks feel highly safe during their visits. All of the Botanik Park users said that
they don’t feel safe, 42% of Kuğulu Park users said that they don’t feel safe, and
75% of Seğmenler Park users said that the security is insufficient. The users were
asked about what makes them happy during their visit to parks. When the
answers were analyzed, it was seen that most of the users find peace in parks.
Sixty-six percent of Kuğulu Park users said that they were dissatisfied as the park
was crowded according to them; on the other hand, all of the Seğmenler Park
users mentioned that they were dissatisfied with security. It was observed
that users think that Botanik and Seğmenler Parks are more peaceful than
Kuğulu Park.

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Variables about user satisfaction Botanik Kuğulu Seğmenler

Park Park Park

F R (%) F R (%) F R (%)

Accessibility Which district Gaziosmanpaşa 4 4 5 5 8 8

features in Ankara do
Tunalı 1 1 10 10 21 21
you live?
Esat 12 12 5 5 11 11

Birlik neighborhood 12 12 1 1 3 3

Another district of Ankara 71 71 66 66 54 54

I come from another city – – 13 13 3 3

Total 100 100 100 100 100 100

How do you By walking 81 81 35 35 39 39

come to this
By bus 9 9 38 38 35 35
park?
Private car 10 10 25 25 25 25

Bicycle – – – – – –

Dolmuş (collective taxi) – – 2 2 1 1

Other – – – – – –

Total 100 100 100 100 100 100

How long does 15 min. average 32 32 30 30 36 36

it take to come
30 min. average 62 62 40 40 40 40
to this park?
1 hour average 6 6 12 12 19 19

Over 1 hour - - 18 18 5 5

Total 100 100 100 100 100 100

Do you think Insufficient 2 2 2 2 7 7

that
Partially sufficient 57 57 7 7 9 9
transportation
in the park is Sufficient 41 41 93 93 84 84
sufficient?
Total 100 100 100 100 100 100

Do you think Insufficient 44 44 91 91 89 89

that the
Partially sufficient 51 51 2 2 5 5
parking lots
are sufficient? Sufficient 5 5 7 7 6 6

Total 100 100 100 100 100 100

Table 6.
Approaches of users about urban parks’ accessibility features.

Results obtained from the users through questions in the scope of psychological
features, which is one of the variables about user satisfaction, are presented in
Table 8.
Results obtained from the users through questions in the scope of security fea-
tures, which is one of the variables about user satisfaction, are presented in Table 9.
Eighty-nine percent of Botanik Park users, 65% of Kuğulu Park, and 83% of
Seğmenler Park users said that there is enough security staff in the park. It was seen
that according to 81% of Botanik Park users and 82% of Kuğulu Park users, security
cameras are sufficient in number; 56% of Seğmenler Park users said that security
cameras are partially sufficient.

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Variables about user satisfaction Botanik Kuğulu Seğmenler

Park Park Park

F R (%) F R (%) F R (%)

Environmental Do you think that Insufficient 34 34 16 16 18 18

features the park is clean
Partially sufficient 64 64 30 30 23 23
enough?
Sufficient 2 2 54 54 59 59

Total 100 100 100 100 99 100

If you don’t think The park is not clean 3 3 5 13.2 22 44

that the park is
Garbage aren’t collected – – 5 13.2 14 28
clean enough,
what are the Pools and ponds aren’t clean 97 97 28 73.6 14 28
reasons?
Total 100 100 38 100 50 100

Do you think that Insufficient 5 5 12 12 18 18

the maintenance-
Partially sufficient 66 66 11 11 13 13
repair of the park
is sufficient? Sufficient 29 29 77 77 69 69

Total 100 100 100 100 100 100

If you think that Broken or old seating units 68 95.7 18 78.3 18 48.6
maintenance- aren’t maintained and repaired
repair of the park
Lighting equipment aren’t 2 2.8 3 13.0 15 40.6
isn’t sufficient,
maintained and repaired
what are the
reasons? Playground equipment aren’t 1 1.5 2 8.7 4 10.8
maintained and repaired

Total 71 100 23 100 37 100

Table 7.
Approaches of users about urban parks’ environmental features.

Variables about user satisfaction Botanik Kuğulu Seğmenler

Park Park Park

F R (%) F R (%) F R (%)

Psychological Do you feel safe in the Yes 97 97 89 89 92 92

features park?
No 3 3 11 11 8 8

Total 100 100 100 100 100 100

If you don’t feel safe in Park is crowded – – 4 33.3 1 12.5

the park, what are the
Security is insufficient 3 100 5 41.7 6 75
reasons?
There are beggars – – 3 25.0 – –

There are peddlers – – – – 1 12.5

Total 3 100 12 100 8 100

Are you happy about Yes 100 100 98 98 98 98.0

spending time in the
No – – 2 2 2 2.0
park?
Total 100 100 100 100 98 100

If you are happy about To find peace 98 28.1 78 38.8 84 31.8

spending time in the
For recreation 96 27.5 45 22.4 60 22.7
park, what are the
reasons? To feel close to nature 95 27.2 68 33.8 77 29.2
(You can mark more
To find opportunity 13 3.7 10 5.0 33 12.5
than one option)
to meet with new
people

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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.87836

Variables about user satisfaction Botanik Kuğulu Seğmenler

Park Park Park

F R (%) F R (%) F R (%)

To find opportunity 47 13.5 – – 10 3.8

to do physical exercise

Total 349 100 201 100 264 100

If you aren’t happy Park is crowded – – 2 66.7 – –

about spending time in
Security is insufficient – – 1 33.3 2 100
the park, what are the
reasons? There are beggars – – – – – –

There are peddlers – – – – – –

Total – – 3 100 2 100

Do you think that the Yes 100 100 74 74 96 96

park is quite and
No – – 26 26 4 4
calm?
Total 100 100 100 100 100 100

Table 8.
Approaches of users about urban parks’ psychological features.

Variables about user satisfaction Botanik Kuğulu Seğmenler

Park Park Park

F R (%) F R (%) F R (%)

Security Do you think that security staff in Insufficient 1 1 20 20 12 12

features the park is sufficient in number?
Partially 10 10 15 15 5 5
sufficient

Sufficient 89 89 65 65 83 83

Total 100 100 100 100 100 100

Do you think that security cameras Insufficient 1 1 8 8 44 44

are sufficient?
Partially 11 11 10 10 56 56
sufficient

Sufficient 88 88 82 82 – –

Total 100 100 100 100 100 100

Table 9.
Approaches of users about urban parks’ security features.

4. Conclusion

Urban parks, which can be used for recreational purposes, are open areas that
positively contribute to life quality in a city. They increase attractiveness and make
cities more livable. Urban parks, one of the green fields in cities, are also significant
areas as they can ensure balance between function, aesthetics, and environment. It
is highly important to make preliminary analysis by taking user profile, use case,
and user satisfaction into consideration; controlled, qualified practices should be
planned, and participatory methods should be followed. On the other hand, regular
maintenance-repair programs should be set; efficient and sustainable use of such
places should be prioritized.

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A survey study was carried out in order to determine the variables that affect
user preferences in Botanik Park, Kuğulu Park, and Seğmenler Park, and the
obtained results were evaluated with IBM SPSS Statistics Package Program. Result
comparisons can be diversified, and the number of them can be increased in accor-
dance with the needs.
Evaluation results are presented below:

• One of the most important shortcomings in all three parks is that the designs of
equipment in the parks aren’t proper; they don’t contribute to the identity and
the design of parks.

• In the scope of equipment in the park, it was determined that there was only
one sales unit in Botanik Park and there was only one buffet in Seğmenler Park.
Small and different types of sales units should be placed in different areas of
parks.

• Although there are more social activities in Kuğulu Park than Botanik Park and
Seğmenler Park, the number of these activities should be increased as they are
efficient in keeping social interactions in those parks alive.

• It was determined that users of all three parks think that water units are
missing in the parks. As water units are designed to give peace, their number
should be increased.

• It was seen that arrangements special to the disabled are insufficient in all the
parks. As is known, the disabled and the old usually use disabled chair or
similar equipment, so necessary steps should be taken; the already existing
structures should be organized or rearranged in a way that they ease life and
activities of these individuals in parks.

• It was ascertained that parking lots were insufficient in all three parks. It is
highly important to spare parking area according to user capacity in urban
parks while making the area planning.

Author details

Arzuhan Burcu Gültekin* and Aslı Dokucu

Department of Real Estate Development and Management, Ankara University,
Ankara, Turkey

*Address all correspondence to: abgultekin@ankara.edu.tr

© 2019 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms
of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/
by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is properly cited.

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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.87836
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 Section 4

Sustainability in
Engineering Sciences

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Chapter 50

Perceptual Structure and Pattern

Modeling of Aftershock-Induced
Landslides
Omar F. Althuwaynee, Badal Pokharel, Ali Aydda
and Sinan Jasim Hadi

Abstract

In this study, two unsupervised clustering techniques were used to generate

meaningful training and testing landslide sample locations to produce landslide
susceptibility map in north of Kathmandu Valley, Nepal. First, the landslide inven-
tory data was prepared after enormous aftershock of magnitude 7.3 Mw on May
12, 2015. Secondly, unsupervised clustering algorithms (k-means, expectation-
maximization (EM) using Gaussian mixture models (GMM)) were used in R
programming environment to generate two samples of datasets. Additionally, a
dataset was generated using random sampling and that for sampling comparison
purpose. Later, eight terrain-based topographic conditioning factors were selected
from freely available digital elevation model derivatives (slope, aspect, elevation,
roughness, topographic wetness index (TWI), stream power index (SPI), area solar
radiation (ASR), and curvature). Eventually, a total of three datasets was used to
run logistic regression model to produce the landslide susceptibility map (LSM).
Using uncertainty optimization, statistical tests (ANOVA, Wald test, tenfold cross
validation, and ROC of AUC value) were performed. The unsupervised samples
show more significant behavior over the unstable characteristic of the randomly
selected samples. Gaussian mixture model (GMM) algorithm scored the highest in
model performance and prediction capability. The findings present an alternative
sampling strategy that significantly increases the efficiency and stability of the
landslide susceptibility model.

Keywords: landslide prediction, unsupervised clustering, logistic regression, cluster,

Nepal

1. Introduction

Earthquake-induced landslide is a significant natural hazard especially in moun-

tain areas and contributes in mountain-scale erosional budgets as well as life losses
[1, 2]. An earthquake occurred on April 25, 2015 that struck at Barkpak, Gorkha,
at a magnitude of 7.8 Mw and triggered landslides, rockfalls, and avalanches [3]
which blocked roads and dammed rivers [4]. The biggest aftershock of magnitude
7.3 Mw on May 12, 2015, triggered many landslides as well. The major shock and
the aftershock sequences produced almost 25,000 landslides with an approximate
area of 87 km2, most landslides concentrating in the central Nepal through the

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ISBS 2019 - 4th International Sustainable Buildings Symposium

whole slopes in the central Nepal [5, 6]. The landslide in Rasuwa district only covers
20.12 km2 area with volume of 0.08 km3 [5]. The most affected districts are Rasuwa,
Dhadging, Nuwakot, Sindhupalchowk, and Gorkha [7]. The landslides and debris
triggered by major shock caused loss of human lives, households, schools, and other
infrastructures [4].
Methods of selecting training and model validation in landslide susceptibility
mapping (LSM) using data mining approaches are crucial, especially to reduce the
result uncertainty and to reach a better representation for landslide spatial distribu-
tion. LSM usually starts with collecting and processing previous or current landslide
inventory followed by selection of deterministic or stochastic-based (clustering,
regression, artificial intelligence, etc.) susceptibility mapping techniques and then
map production and validation. In modeling phase, inventory is classified as training
data samples used as dependent factors with the independent (conditioning) factors
of landslides to be fitted, while the testing data samples is used as qualitative mea-
sure to evaluate the predictive power of the classification rule [8, 9].
Studies have been made to analyze the earthquake-triggered landslide distribu-
tion and simple spatial correlation by [10–13] and others. Landslides generally occur
in cluster pattern [14], and this pattern indicates the high density of the events
occurring at a specific location [15]. In the case of earthquake-triggered landslides,
events are clustered near and around the epicenters [11]. A hypothesis states that
landslide events usually happened in a cluster manner and not randomly (spatially
and temporally) especially in a study area that has a complex geological underneath.
Therefore, spatial data clustering algorithms can be used to extract some logical
representation of such clusters.
Machine learning algorithm which evolved from pattern recognition study can
be used in landslide susceptibility assessment [16]. Regression and classification are
two types of supervised learning. When desired output class or event is unknown,
unsupervised learning is applied to study the patterns of the input data and group
similar into a class [17]. Clustering and dimensionality reduction are widely used
unsupervised learning. Logistic regression is considered one of the robust multivar-
iate methods to generate landslide susceptibility models that have been examined
and validated based on the performance and stability by many authors in landslide
research field [8, 18–23].
In this study, the landslide inventory map prepared after a second major after-
shock on May 12, 2015, is processed, and three inventory datasets were produced,
two clustered-based datasets using k-means and expectation-maximization (EM)
using Gaussian mixture models (GMM) and one random-based dataset in R pro-
gramming environment. The efficiency in each dataset is checked using statistical
sets to prepare the final LSM using logistic regression method.

2. Study area

The study lies in southern part of Rasuwa district, north of Kathmandu Valley,
approximately 55 km east from the epicenter (Figure 1). It covers an area about
329 square kilometers with an elevation range of 540–4320 m. The number of
aftershocks between April 25, 2015, and May 12, 2015, recorded by the National
Seismological Center, in Rasuwa and Nuwakot, reached 19 and 22, respectively. In
between this time frame, the epicenters for 15 aftershocks have been recorded in the
study area with a magnitude lying in the range of 4.0–5.0 ML. The distribution of
landslides seems high after the major shock in April 25, and the small numbers of
additional landslides are observed after aftershock of 7.3 Mw in May 12 [6].

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Perceptual Structure and Pattern Modeling of Aftershock-Induced Landslides
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.87836

Figure 1.
Map of study area showing major settlements and epicenters for aftershocks of Gorkha earthquake 2015 in
between April 25 and May 12, 2015.

The peak ground acceleration (PGA) in study area is found in the range of
0.48–0.76 g [24]. In the scenario of Gorkha earthquake, landslide densities have
no direct correlation with modeled PGA [6]. The densities, however, correlate
with several factors such as slope, PGA, surface downdrop, specific metamorphic
lithologies, and large plutonic intrusions [25]. The land in the study area is mostly
occupied by forest followed by cultivated land, grassland, shrubland, debris
deposit, barren land, and water body. The study area is connected to Kathmandu,
capital city, by Pasang Lhamu Highway which faced obstruction several times due
to the landslides induced by the earthquake. Trishuli is the main river draining the
area. There were many landslides along the Trishuli River valley on both sides of the
river from Dandagaun to the border [4]. The landslides caused significant damage
at headworks, desander, penstock pipe, and powerhouse of hydropower project
at Mailung Khola [4]. As of now, there have been very limited studies in damages
which happened due to the coseismic landslides in this area. In Langtang Valley,
north of the study area, the most devastating landslide induced by this earthquake
had occurred in which the debris avalanche buried several villages killing 350
people [25].

3. Data

A geological map is prepared by digitizing the map published by the Department

of Mines and Geology (DMG) in 2011 [26]. The information on settlements,

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roads, and streams are taken from topographic maps. The spatial database for
the aftershocks within a study area is prepared using data in the website of the
National Seismological Center (NSC), and that of PGA is taken from United States
Geological Survey (USGS) website. The extension of landslides with head scarp and
displaced body was compared using Google Earth, and outliers were removed. We
have used high-resolution satellite image taken after the major aftershock on May
12, 2015, for preparing landslide inventory. A total of 683 landslide polygons are
prepared and verified in field as well as in Google Earth.

4. Methodology

Training and testing sample data for landslide susceptibility analysis were gener-
ated using different cluster-based data selection techniques, and then we used one
commonly used sampling technique (random selection) that to compare, assess,
and justify the nobility of the clustering based techniques. Firstly, two datasets were
generated from unsupervised clustering algorithms: k-means and expectation-
maximization (EM) using Gaussian mixture models (GMM) in R environment.
And then using the results of each cluster technique, we randomly extracted 70 and
30% out of total landslide inventory to be used later for susceptibility analysis model
training and testing, respectively. To add more competitive value to the current
research hypothesis, we prepared an additional inventory by using the common
spatial random selection procedure [8, 23, 27] and that for comparison purposes and
hypothesis proofing.

4.1 Unsupervised clustering algorithms

Unsupervised clustering algorithm, as a significant data mining technique, is a

process of self-organization of data without any prior knowledge on the category to
which a particular data belongs [28].
The main advantage of using unsupervised clustering algorithms is that it helps
to acquire the better understanding and identification of similar patterns of data
that can be placed into a specific category or class [17]. An attempt has been made
to generate and compare seven different landslide susceptibility models from
random-based distribution assumption and other assumption related to focus on
the event pattern nature for analyzing the landslide distribution patterns and the
consequences in the study area.

4.1.1 K-mean clustering algorithm

In k-mean clustering, the dataset is partitioned into “k” number of groups or

clusters as specified by the analyst [29] where the data within a cluster are as similar
as possible [28]. First k points, known as centroids, for each cluster is defined where
the centroids are the center of a cluster chosen randomly by k-mean algorithm. Each
data is selected and its distance from the centroid is calculated. The data is assigned
to that cluster where its distance to the centroid is shortest. K-mean algorithm
attempts to minimize the sum of squares within the cluster as mentioned in Eq. (1):

k n 2
J = ∑∑ ‖xi(j) − cj‖ (1)
j=1 i=1

In the given formula, n is the number of objects to be clustered, k is the number of

2
clusters, and ‖x(i j) − cj‖ is the distance function that lies between x(i j) and centroid cj.

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K-mean clustering is the reliable and fast algorithm for partitioning the larger
datasets but is sensitive to the outliers [28].

4.1.2 EM clustering using GMM

Gaussian mixture model is a parametric statistical model [30] in which each

cluster to be modeled by Gaussian distribution is characterized by three parameters:
mean vector (μk), covariance matrix (∑ k), and an associated probability in the
mixture [28, 31]. Expectation-minimization (EM) algorithm is widely used to deter-
mine the parameters of GMM for a given set of data [32]. For estimating the model
parameters, each cluster is centered at μk means keeping the increased density for
the data points near this mean, and the geometric feature (shape, volume, and ori-
entation) for each cluster is determined using the covariance matrix ∑ k [28]. Mclust
implements maximum likelihood to fit different models using the covariance matrix
parameterizations [33], and the best model is selected using Bayesian information
criteria (BIC) [28, 33, 34]. The model with highest BIC score is selected as the best.

4.2 Logistic regression

Logistic regression (LR) builds multivariate regression relation between a

dependent variable and different independent variables [35]. LR estimates the
probability of an event occurring by applying maximum likelihood estimation after
transforming the dependent variable into logit variable [35, 36]. The logistic model
is given as

1
P = _____ (2)
−z ⋯
1+e

where P is the probability of occurrence of landslide and varies from 0 to 1 on

s-shaped curve and z varies from -∞ to +∞ and is described by the given equation

z = b0 + b1 x1 + b2 x2 + … + bn xn (3)

where b0 is the intercept of the logistic model, n is the number of indepen-

dent variables, b1 is the slope coefficient of the model, and x1 is the independent
variables. Thus, the formed linear model from Eq. (3) is the logistic regression
model that represents the presence or absence of landslides on the independent
variables [37].
The process for LR was carried out in R environment, and later the coefficients
for each independent variable were imported to GIS to perform the final LSM using
Eqs. (2) and (3).

5. Results and discussion

In k-mean clustering algorithm, the optimum number of clusters was obtained

using the elbow method is 7. This method analyzes the total within-cluster sum of
squares (WSS) as the function of number of clusters, and the bend indicates that
additional clusters beyond it are insignificant and do not improve the total WSS
[28]. A higher number of clusters reduce the error of grouping pattern, while in the
current application, applying more than 10 clusters will not be practical and ends
with a complex clusters pattern. To test the hypothesis of complex cluster pattern,
Figure 2 shows that in k-mean clustering, increasing the clusters to more than the
recommended still reveals new groups.

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In GMM, the clusters were modeled using Gaussian distribution having three
parameters: mean vector, covariance matrix, and associated probability in the
mixture. The result model was then fit using EM algorithm. Mclust is a contributed
R package for model-based clustering, classification, and density estimation based
on GMM [38]. Bayesian informative criterion (BIC) for 14 available model param-
eterizations was obtained (Figure 3). BIC is associated with the variability of the
dataset, and the higher its value, the better the model is. On the x-axis, the number
of the clusters obtained from the algorithm is present, and BIC value is on the
y-axis. Based on model criteria, three top models were recommended (VVV, 7; EVV,
9; EVE, 8, with BIC values, −26628.78, −26647.97, −26651.12, respectively). Thus,
VVV (ellipsoidal, varying volume, shape, and orientation) with seven components
was selected by model automatically, and to enable the comparison applicability
between the cluster techniques, we have to keep the number of clusters consistent
(using 7 clusters). Moreover, taking in consideration the highest value of BIC, the
number of cluster is seven which means adding further clusters will not increase the
value of BIC or give the better model performance.
By separating the non-Gaussian distribution into a combination of finite num-
ber of Gaussian distribution on the basis of unsupervised learning without any a
priori knowledge, GMM can be used to model an arbitrary distribution [39]. From
683 landslide data and 7 clusters, we got the subspace dimension d = 6 (Figure 4a).
This result shows the maximal possible separation among the clusters. Further,

Figure 2.
Clusters obtained from k-mean algorithm.

Figure 3.
GMM BIC.

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Figure 4.
GMM classification and uncertainty obtained from EM algorithm: (a) GMM classification plot and
(b) uncertainty boundary.

the measure of uncertainty for associated GMM classification was also obtained
from EM algorithm in Figure 4b. The points that could not fit into any of the seven
clusters are given in this plot. The larger symbols represent the more uncertain
observations [28]. When the clusters intersect, the uncertainty regions lie on the
overlaps [40]. In this case, the landslides have mostly occurred within in the swath
zone between two largest shocks of 7.8 and 7.3 Mw, which seem to have created the
overlapping of the points among the clustering causing uncertainties.
Generalized linear models are used to generalize the classic linear models based
on the normal distribution [41]. ANOVA is used to analyze the deviance for one
or more generalized linear model fits, and it is similar to analysis of variance [42].
Smaller variances in conditioning factors reflect the higher likelihood in occurrence
of landslides. Though this test gives the likelihood of a factor, it fails to give the
predictive power of the model.
For all clusters elevation has negative relation, whereas curvature, slope, SPI,
aspect, and ASR have positive relation with the landslides. In contrary, TWI shows
negative relation to landslide occurrence for k-means and positive for the remaining
clusters. Likewise, roughness is negative for all other clusters. The areas with low
TWI value suffered from more landslides due to this earthquake [23]. The low value
of TWI indicates lower-order drainage that increases the instability [23]. Moreover,
the dominant portion of landslides triggered by the earthquake intersects with the
channel [6] which means there is significant correlation between drainage system
and landslides. In this regard, SPI can be considered as an important influential
factor. In general, the higher slope and higher relief are considered to be positively
correlated with the landslide density [43].
Slope and elevation clearly stand out as the most influencing factors for all
datasets. SPI, other than in EM cluster, is an influencing factor in the six datasets.
SPI is a significant conditioning factor for landslides in study area due to its positive
logistic regression coefficients and Pr(<Chi) value less than 0.05 in ANOVA table.
The study area is drained by Trishuli, a major river in central Nepal which might be
the reason for the instability of slopes during intensive shaking. Roughness shows
its influence on landslides in k-means. TWI, curvature, and aspect are less signifi-
cant for all clusters.
In most of the validation test, slope has occurred as the most influencing factor.
The study area is dominated by the Lesser Himalayan rocks, and the observations

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made by [25] show the high concentration of landslides in the slopes composed of
metamorphic rocks of the Lesser Himalayan Sequence. Comparatively, few land-
slides occurred in moderate slope, and most of them were confined in the conflu-
ence of the steep slopes [6].
This might not indicate the direct relation of the slope with the landslide because
the area of landslide concentration was in the transition from moderate slope to the
steeper slope. Also, for the steeper slopes and high relief farther from fault plane,
the number of landslides decreased [6]. The low relief and slope along with other

Figure 5.
Variable importance for different datasets.

Figure 6.
Prediction rates: (a) prediction rate for original inventory; (b) prediction rate for EM; and (c) prediction rate
for k-means.

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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.87836

factors like the earthquake source, the fluvial connectivity, and the proximity of
landslide to the direct connection with streams/rivers are high for these coseismic
landslides [6] which might be the reason for significant correlation of SPI and TWI
with the landslides. Therefore, slope along with the earthquake source characteris-
tics, SPI and TWI, made the impact in triggering the landslides (Figure 5).
K-fold cross validation was performed to assess accuracy of the model for training
as well as testing data. The result in testing data helps to compare the model perfor-
mance for different datasets (Figure 6). In addition, ROC curve was prepared to
analyze success and prediction rate. Eventually, EM using GMM cluster has registered
the highest accuracy in predicting landslide occurrence with accuracy of 95.76%
followed by k-means with 95.75%. The lowest accuracy is for random sampling of
original inventory (93.00 %). The kappa index is also high for EM which makes it a
better model. EM using GMM cluster has the highest prediction rate (0.95) (Figure 7).

Figure 7.
Comparison of accuracy and kappa index for different datasets.

Figure 8.
Landslide susceptibility map using dataset obtained from GMM.

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GMM modeling is one of the feasible tools for preparing landslide susceptibil-
ity model [44]. This is because GMM is feasible in the case of cluster covariance,
unlike other algorithms. The LSM is prepared using the best model, that is, GMM
(Figure 8).
The high susceptibility index can be observed in the transition of low and high
elevation as well as near to the water body.
The area has the metasedimentary rocks of the Lesser Himalaya, and PGA
effects were higher for the Lesser Himalaya, and slope increases in the Higher
Himalaya [6]. The rock strength for those near water bodies might be weak due
to more erosivity than rock in steeper slopes. On this basis, we cannot take only
slope or SPI as the cause of landslide occurrence. The physiographic transition,
weathering degree based on the rock strength, effects of PGA with reference to the
topography, and SPI and TWI all combined are the major influencing factor for the
landslides triggered by this earthquake. In this earthquake, southward slope suf-
fered more landslides than others [45]. In this regard, ASR can be considered to cre-
ate similar impact like slope and aspect, as it is controlled by aspect and angle. Due
to these controlling factors, roughness and curvature were not much significant.

6. Conclusion

This research aimed to find and relate the best clustering patterns of earth-
quake-induced landslide locations of April 25 to May 12, 2015, and then use the
resultant data pattern with topographic conditioning factors to produce LSM in
north of Kathmandu Valley, Nepal. In this study, a novel sampling strategy was
tested to increase the efficiency of the LSM rather than on merely random spa-
tial classification. The obtained results allowed us to conclude: first, the applied
unsupervised clustering sampling strategy shows more significant behavior over
the random sampling, and EM using GMM cluster scored the highest accuracy in
prediction of landslide occurrence, and second, all conditioning factors contribute
to landslide occurrence in the study area, but SPI and TWI are significant. As for
future work, the current findings will be tested and verified using another dataset
with limited inventory; moreover, we encourage more research to be carried out
to prove the model hypothesis in the case of rainfall-induced landslide susceptible
areas.

Acknowledgements

The authors thank the Department of Mines and Geology (DMG), Nepal, for its
kindness in making the geological data available.

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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.87836

Author details

Omar F. Althuwaynee1,2, Badal Pokharel3,4, Ali Aydda5 and Sinan Jasim Hadi2*

1 Department of Geoinformation Engineering, Sejong University, Seoul,

Republic of Korea

2 Department of Real Estate Development and Management, Ankara University,

Ankara, Turkey

3 Department of Geology, Tri-Chandra Multiple Campus, Kathmandu, Nepal

4 Himalayan Risk Research Institute, Bhaktapur, Nepal

5 Department of Geology, Ibn Zohr University, Agadir, Morocco

*Address all correspondence to: sinan.jasim@yahoo.com

© 2019 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms
of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/
by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is properly cited.

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Chapter 51

Comparing the Accuracy of

Energy Prediction Models Based
on Hourly and Daily Mean
Outdoor Temperature
Merve Kuru and Gülben Çalış

Abstract

It is well known that outdoor temperature highly effects energy consumption in

buildings. Accordingly, outdoor temperature is an important parameter for con-
structing energy prediction models, however; the effect of using data with different
time-intervals on the accuracy of models needs to be investigated. This chapter aims
at investigating the impact of hourly and daily disaggregated data on the perfor-
mance of energy models. Data were collected between January and December, 2015
from a commercial building located in Saint-Quentin-en Yveline, France. The daily
and hourly HVAC electricity consumption were modeled based on daily mean and
hourly outdoor temperature, respectively. The results show that the correlation
between daily mean outdoor temperature and daily HVAC electricity consumption
is stronger compared to the model based on hourly disaggregated data. Moreover,
the correlation coefficient between daily HVAC electricity consumption and daily
mean outdoor temperature was obtained as 0.82, whereas it was 0.70 between
hourly HVAC electricity consumption and hourly outdoor temperature. The results
indicate that hourly disaggregated data does not necessarily improve the accuracy of
the energy prediction models.

Keywords: energy prediction models, outdoor temperature, disaggregated data,

commercial buildings, regression analysis

1. Introduction

Electrical energy used for heating and cooling in buildings, businesses, and
industry consume around half of the energy used in the European Union [1].
Therefore, understanding and predicting the energy consumption of heating,
ventilating, and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems are beneficial for energy engi-
neers, electricity providers, end-users, and policy makers in addressing energy
sustainability challenges, the expansion of distribution networks, energy pricing,
and policy development. In order to have accurate prediction models, the most
influencing factors have to be included in the models [2]. Many researchers state
that the outdoor temperature is an important factor that effects the HVAC energy
consumption in buildings. Wu et al. [3] indicated that the outdoor temperature has
a significant effect (R value = 0.905), whereas solar radiation has little somewhat

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effect (R value = 0.32) on the building’s energy consumption. In another study [4],

it is indicated that the outdoor temperature has a significant effect on building’s
energy consumption (R value = 0.691), whereas the effect of relative humidity is
statistically insignificant. Neto et al. [5] stated that the outdoor temperature is more
important than solar radiation and relative humidity for predicting energy con-
sumption. Li [6] found that the outdoor temperature was the most important factor
that influences the residential electricity consumption (R value = 0.68).
Accordingly, many researchers [7–17] constructed energy prediction models based
on the outdoor temperature. KC and Ruth [18] investigated the relationship between
outdoor temperature and institutional building electricity consumption by using data
with 15 min intervals. The authors aggregated the data to calculate daily electricity use.
Moreover, they aggregated outdoor temperature data, which was obtained from the
local weather station with hourly intervals, to calculate daily mean outdoor tempera-
ture. Braun et al. [19] investigated the relationship between weather conditions and
energy consumption via multiple regression (MR) analysis. The outdoor temperature
and relative humidity data with 15 min intervals were obtained from a sensor whereas
the gas and electricity data with hourly intervals were collected from the energy
website of the company. The models were constructed for predicting weekly energy
consumption. Li [6] also performed a MR analysis to establish the link between
outdoor climate and residential electricity consumption. The study was conducted in
Singapore between 2005 and 2016. The monthly average electricity consumption data
of residential houses was obtained from Energy Market Authority. In addition, the
outdoor climatic data were obtained from Meteorological Service Singapore. Amber
et al. [20] developed several electricity consumption forecasting models for buildings
in the UK. Moreover, climatic data including outdoor temperature, relative humidity,
and wind speed were extracted in the form of daily mean values. Lai et al. [21] devel-
oped a prediction model for electricity consumption of a residential building by using
the hourly energy consumption data as well as daily climate data including outdoor
temperature and relative humidity. To unify the time interval of data, the authors
aggregated the hourly energy consumption data to daily consumption data. On the
other hand, Mathieu et al. [22] presented methods to analyze the electricity load data
of a commercial and industrial (C and I) facility. The energy consumption data with
15 min intervals were obtained from the Pacific Gas and Electric Company, whereas
the hourly outdoor temperature data was obtained from the nearest weather station. In
order to construct an electricity model with 15 min interval, the authors interpolated
the outdoor temperature data that matches to every 15 min interval. Yezioro et al. [23]
constructed an hourly heating and cooling electricity consumption prediction model
by using hourly weather data including the outdoor temperature, relative humidity,
and set-point temperature, which were obtained from the Pennsylvania State Climate
Office. Kwok and Lee [24] constructed an ANN model for simulating the hourly
cooling consumption of an office building in Hong Kong. The authors obtained hourly
climatic data from the Hong Kong Observatory and the actual data were collected from
the air conditioning system of the building. Yuan et al. [25] used hourly electricity
consumption and hourly weather data including outdoor temperature, relative humid-
ity, and global radiation to develop ANN models for forecasting the hourly electricity
consumption. The literature review shows that the models are generally constructed by
using hourly and daily data. In other words, there is no consensus on the time interval
of data that is used in the models. However, the effect of using hourly and daily disag-
gregated data on the performance of the prediction models has to be investigated.
This chapter aims at investigating the impact of using hourly and daily disag-
gregated data on the performance of energy prediction models. Data were collected
between 01 January and 01 December, 2015 from a commercial building located
in Saint-Quentin-en Yveline, France. The daily and hourly HVAC electricity

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consumption models were constructed based on daily mean and hourly outdoor
temperature, respectively. The following sections of the chapter describe datasets
and methodology. Then, findings and conclusions are presented.

2. Dataset and methodology

2.1 Dataset

The case study was conducted in an office building with 68,000 m2 located in
Saint-Quentin-en Yveline, France. The hourly and daily HVAC electricity consump-
tion between 01 January and 01 December, 2015 was collected from the building
management system. Moreover, the outdoor temperature was obtained from the
nearest weather station. The hourly as well as daily energy consumption data was
modeled based on using the hourly outdoor temperature data. It should be noted
that weekends and public holidays were not included in the models since the build-
ing is not occupied during these days and the actual HVAC electricity consumption
is observed as zero. In summary, a total of 223 daily mean and 3122 hourly outdoor
temperature, as well as 223 daily HVAC electricity consumption and 3122 hourly
HVAC electricity consumption data were used in the analysis.

2.2 Methodology

Statistical analyses were conducted to investigate the difference between the

accuracy of the models constructed by using hourly and daily disaggregated data.
Within this context, the correlation coefficient between variables and how much of
the change in dependent variable (HVAC electricity consumption) can be associ-
ated to the change in independent variable (outdoor temperature) was investigated.
The Pearson correlation coefficient is an indicator of the strength of the relation-
ship between the variables when the variables are normally distributed and there is
a linear relationship between them. On the other hand, if the variables are normally
distributed, there is no linear relationship between them (i.e., there is a quadratic
relationship) and there is a cause-effect relationship between the variables, regres-
sion analysis is carried out and the correlation coefficient is calculated to measure
the strength of the relationship. First step in the statistical analyses is creating
the scatter plot to understand the relationship between the variables. Then, the
goodness of fit tests are conducted to check the normality of the variables. If there
is quadratic and cause-effect relationship between the variables, the regression
analysis is conducted. The regression parabola that best fits the data is drawn via
a statistics program like SPSS. It should be noted that IBM SPSS Statistics V22.0 is
used in this study. In addition to drawing the parabola, the statistics programs also
output the correlation coefficient and a formula which is a prediction model.
The statistical significance of this model and the coefficient is checked with F test
at significance level 0.05. However, this is not adequate to say that the model and the
coefficient are appropriate. The appropriateness of the model should be assessed by
defining residuals. For quadratic regression, residuals must be normally distributed.
In this study, the following steps were conducted in the analyses:

• Creating scatter plots

• Checking the normality of the datasets

• Conducting quadratic regression analysis

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• Constructing prediction models

• Checking the normality of residuals

3. Findings

Figure 1 shows the scatter plots of daily HVAC electricity consumption versus
daily mean outdoor temperature and hourly HVAC electricity consumption versus
hourly outdoor temperature. The scatter plots show that there are quadratic
relationships between HVAC electricity consumption and outdoor temperature.
It should be noted that there is a cause-effect relationship between the HVAC
electricity consumption and the outdoor temperature, where the HVAC electricity
consumption (HVAC) is a dependent variable and the outdoor temperature (T)
is an independent variable. Based on these facts, quadratic regression analyses
were conducted to obtain the degree of relationships between daily independent-
dependent and hourly independent-dependent variables.

Figure 1.
Scatter plots daily HVAC electricity consumption versus daily mean outdoor temperature and hourly HVAC
electricity consumption versus hourly outdoor temperature.

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The prerequisite for regression analysis is the normality of variables. Therefore,

the Kolmogorov-Smirnov normality tests were conducted to check whether or not the
data set is normally distributed, and the results are shown in Table 1. The p-values
seen in the table are the level of marginal significance within a statistical hypothesis
test representing the probability of the occurrence of a given event. Therefore, the
results shown in Table 1 indicate that daily mean outdoor temperatures are normally
distributed at significance level 0.05, since the p value is higher than 0.05 whereas
other variables are not normally distributed since their p values are lower than 0.05.
However, it should be noted that if the skewness and kurtosis values of variables
are between −2 and +2, then the distribution of variables can be assumed as normal
distribution [26]. Therefore, it can be concluded that all variables distribute normally
since their skewness and kurtosis values are within the range of −2 to +2 (Table 1).
Next, the quadratic regression analyses were carried out via the SPSS program
and the correlation coefficients (R) were calculated as 0.82 and 0.70 for daily and
hourly relationships between HVAC electricity consumption and outdoor tempera-
ture, respectively. It should be noted that p values of F tests were obtained as 0.000
at the 0.005 significance level, which indicate that the coefficients are statistically
significant. Moreover, the coefficients of prediction models are statistically signifi-
cant at 0.05 since their p values are lower than 0.05 (Table 2).
The prediction models for HVAC electricity consumption according to the daily
mean and hourly outdoor temperature were obtained as follows:

dailyHVAC = 0.528 × Td2 − 13.133 × Td + 108.218, R 2 = 0.678 (1)

hourlyHVAC = 0.028 × Th2 − 0.796 × Th + 7.363, R 2 = 0.489 (2)

The results indicate that approximately 68% of the change in the daily HVAC
electricity consumption can be associated to the change in the daily mean outdoor
temperature [Eq. (1)], whereas approximately 49% of the change in the hourly
HVAC electricity consumption can be associated to the change in the hourly
outdoor temperature [Eq. (2)].
Figure 2 presents the actual HVAC electricity consumption datasets against the
predicted HVAC electricity consumption dataset obtained from these models.
It should be noted that residuals must be normally distributed to assure the
significance of the correlation coefficients and appropriateness of these prediction
models. The results of residuals’ Kolmogorov-Smirnov normality tests shown in
Table 3 indicate that the residuals are not normally distributed at significance level
0.05, since their p values are lower than 0.05. However, it can be assumed that the
residuals are normally distributed because their skewness and kurtosis values are
within the range of −2 to +2 [26].

Kolmogorov-Smirnov normality test Skewness Kurtosis

Statistic df P
Daily T 0.044 223 0.200 0.064 −0.505

Daily HVAC 0.133 223 0.000 0.605 −0.596

Hourly T 0.022 3122 0.002 0.209 −0.305

Hourly HVAC 0.145 3122 0.000 0.948 0.872

Table 1.
The normality tests’ results and skewness and kurtosis values of variables.

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Unstandardized coefficients t p
B Std. error
Daily model

Daily T −13.133 0.632 −20.769 0.000

Daily T2 0.528 0.025 21.492 0.000

Constant 108.218 3.750 28.862 0.000

Hourly model

Hourly T −0.796 0.015 −51.518 0.000

Hourly T2 0.028 0.001 54.655 0.000

Constant 7.363 0.107 69.104 0.000

Table 2.
The coefficients of prediction models.

Figure 2.
Scatter plots of the actual and predicted HVAC electricity consumption vs. outdoor temperature.

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Kolmogorov-Smirnov normality test Skewness Kurtosis

Statistic df p
Daily residuals 0.084 223 0.001 0.553 0.517

Hourly residuals 0.076 3122 0.000 0.957 1.641

Table 3.
The normality tests’ results and skewness and kurtosis values of residuals.

4. Conclusion

In this study, the quadratic regression analyses were carried out to understand
the relationship between (1) daily HVAC electricity consumption and daily mean
outdoor temperature and (2) hourly HVAC electricity consumption and hourly
outdoor temperature. For the analyses, the datasets between 01 January and 01
December, 2015 were obtained from a commercial building located in Saint-
Quentin-en Yveline, France. The main findings can be listed as follows:

• The correlation coefficient between daily HVAC electricity consumption and

daily mean outdoor temperature was obtained as 0.82, which is statistically
significant.

• The correlation coefficient between hourly HVAC electricity consumption and

hourly mean outdoor temperature was obtained as 0.70, which is statistically
significant.

• Approximately 68% of the change in the daily HVAC electricity consumption

can be explained by the change in the daily mean outdoor temperature.

• Approximately 49% of the change in the hourly HVAC electricity consumption

can be explained by the change in the hourly outdoor temperature.

The results show that the correlation between daily mean outdoor temperature
and daily HVAC electricity consumption is stronger compared to the model based
on hourly HVAC electricity consumption and hourly outdoor temperature. The
findings of this study indicate that high temporal resolution of outdoor temperature
and HVAC electricity consumption do not necessarily improve the accuracy of the
energy consumption modeling.

Acknowledgements

This work has received funding from HIT2GAP “Highly Innovative building
control Tools Tackling the energy performance gap” project of the European Union’s
Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement number
No. 680708.

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Author details

Merve Kuru and Gülben Çalış*

Civil Engineering Department, Ege University, İzmir, Turkey

*Address all correspondence to: gulben.calis@ege.edu.tr

© 2019 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms
of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/
by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is properly cited.

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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.87836
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Chapter 52

The Impact of Heat Transfer

Fluids on the Sustainable Solutions
for Solar Power Tower
Gülden Adıyaman, Levent Çolak and İlhami Horuz

Abstract

The solar power tower is one of the most promising technologies in concentrat-
ing solar systems for electricity generation from solar energy. Since the incident
radiation from the heliostats is absorbed directly by the heat transfer fluid in the
receiver, central receiver is important component of solar tower. Heat transfer
fluids directly affect the efficiency of solar tower systems. Recent studies have
shown that, in addition to conventional fluids, various fluids can be used in solar
tower central receivers and thus the efficiency of the receiver can be increased. On
the other hand, resources need to be used efficiently for sustainable development.
The sustainability of a system is not only related to its energy efficiency but also
closely its exergetic efficiency. In this study, solar two receiver was modeled for
verification. Different heat transfer fluids such as helium, lithium, sodium, air,
neon and sodium-potassium were carried out in ANSYS fluent. Temperature
changes on the receiver surface, receiver thermal, and exergetic efficiency were
obtained and discussed. According to the results obtained, the thermal efficiency
varied between 84.54 and 90.98%. The highest thermal efficiency was obtained
from helium and the lowest thermal efficiency was obtained from the sodium-
potassium eutectic, which had the highest exergetic efficiency.

Keywords: sustainability, solar energy, solar power tower, heat transfer fluid,
computational fluid dynamics, exergetic efficiency, solar receiver

1. Introduction

The development of technology and industry has led to an increase in energy

demands in the last century. Using fossil fuels have imposed negative effects on the
economy and the society. Fossil fuels with limited resources and environmental
problems require new sustainable electricity generation options. For solving the
problems, an important alternative for increasing energy demand is solar energy.
Electricity generation from solar energy which is one of the renewable energy
sources has increased dramatically in recent years and the use of optically concen-
trated solar technologies, which provide particularly high thermal power, has
gained importance. The solar power tower (SPT), one of the optical concentrating
solar systems, is one of the most promising technologies for electricity generation
from solar energy.

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ISBS 2019 - 4th International Sustainable Buildings Symposium

The solar power plant consists of four main subsystems: a heliostat field, a
central receiver, a steam generation subsystem, and a power block. In SPT system,
the sun rays fall on the surface of the heliostat, which consists of mirror. The solar
beam is concentrated by the heliostat field and is reflected to receiver at the top of a
tower. The incident energy is then transferred to a heat transfer fluid (HTF) from
receiver tube walls. The heated HTF passes through the steam generation subsystem
which consists of heat exchangers and transfers the thermal energy to the water.
Water is heated from subcooled liquid to superheated steam and then is fed to the
steam turbine for electricity generation.
Since the incident radiation from the heliostats is absorbed directly by the HTF,
which flows through the receiver, receiver is the important component of SPT. Heat
transfer fluids used in solar receivers directly affect the efficiency of solar tower
systems. Today, central receivers use water and molten salts (solar salt or nitrate
salt) that allow thermal storage easily. Recent studies have shown that, in addition
to conventional fluids, various types of fluids can be used in receivers.
The extreme non-uniformity of solar flux distribution on the surface of the
receiver will lead to a non-uniform surface temperature. Temperature fluctuations
on the receiver surface and thermal losses can be easily analyzed by using compu-
tational fluid dynamics (CFD) software. In this way, thermal efficiency can be
examined easily. The sustainability of a system is closely related to exergy. Exergy is
defined as the maximum work which can be produced by a flow of matter or energy
as it comes to equilibrium with a reference environment. In other words, exergy is
related to the quality of energy. Sustainable development requires both the
resources be used efficiently and sustainable energy resources be used. Rosen et al.
suggested a measure of the relation between sustainable developments and
exergetic efficiency and developed a sustainability index. The benefits of consider-
ing exergy for productivity evaluation and sustainability were indicated. It was
resulted that the exergy concept played an important role in evaluating and
increasing the use of sustainable energy and technologies. As exergetic efficiency
increased, they showed that sustainability increased and environmental impacts
decreased [1].
Colomer et al. presented a method for detailed modeling of flow dynamics and
heat transfer in solar tower receivers. They have made numerical solutions by
separating the receiver model into four submodels as two-phase flow, heat conduc-
tion, natural convection, and radiation [2]. Rodriguez-Sanchez et al. presented a
thermal model for the central receiver. The solar flux of a tubular external type
operating with molten salt was modeled and receiver was drawn as a polygon in the
form of flat panels. Thermal, mechanical, and hydrodynamic analyses of the
receiver were performed. Thermal analysis showed that thermal efficiency is lower
than the literature because radiative losses were higher than in the literature [3].
Kribus et al. studied various receiver designs that could be adapted to systems
designed for power generation with the solar tower, and showed how temperature
and power output changed [4]. Yang et al. studied experimentally about heat
transfer performance and thermal efficiency. They investigated how heat transfer
affects thermal efficiency of a receiver used molten salt as HTF [5]. Christian and
Ho used ANSYS fluent to characterize and evaluate convection and radiation losses
in the solar two power plant receiver. They presented a model that could be used for
receiver design and demonstrated whether convection correlations in the literature
were suitable for analytical evaluation of external tubular receivers [6]. Zanino et al.
investigated the effects of the Reynolds Average Navier-Stokes (RANS) type tur-
bulence model selection available in Fluent in the case of convective thermal losses
occurring in the solar two central receiver [7].

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Pacio and Wetzel focused on liquid metal technology. Three main liquid metals
such as molten tin (Sn), lead-bismuth eutectic alloy (LBE or PbBi), and sodium
(Na) are proposed [8]. Boerema et al. investigated liquid sodium and Hitec salt as
heat transfer fluid in solar power tower receivers. They showed that liquid sodium
was potential for solar thermal power systems for their wide operating temperature
range [9]. Bellos et al. examined the potential fluids that could be used in parabolic
trough collectors in the large temperature range of 300–1300 K. Examined working
fluids are water, solar salt, Therminol VP-1, air, carbon dioxide, liquid sodium, and
helium. As a result of the study, it was proven that liquid sodium exhibits maximum
exergetic efficiency (47.48%). The maximum exergetic efficiency of helium, air,
and carbon dioxide were 42.21, 40.12, and 42.06%, respectively [10].

2. Modeling and solution

The central receiver of solar two power plant was arranged in a tubular external
cylinder. It consisted of 24 panels. Each panel consisted of 32 thin-walled tubes
with end-bends connected to manifolds on each end of the panel. The external
surfaces of the receiver tubes were coated with a black Pyromark paint that was
absorbed 95% of the incident sunlight. Table 1 shows the technical properties of the
receiver [11].

2.1 Geometry and mesh

Solar two solar power tower receiver had a roughly cylindrical shape. It was the
external tubular cylindrical type and its shape approximated by a polyhedron made
of 24 heat absorbing panels. The receiver model geometry was simplified and

Configuration External tubular cylindrical receiver

Heat transfer fluid Nitrate molten salt (40% KNO3 and 60% NaNO3)

Thermal rating of receiver 42.2 MW

Average radiation flux 430 kW/m2

Peak radiation flux 800 kW/m2

Outlet temperatures 565°C

Inlet temperatures 290°C

Material Stainless steel 316H

Flow circuits (12 panels each) 2

Panels 24

Tubes/each panel 32

Tube wall thickness 1.2 mm

Tube outer diameter 21 mm

Absorber area 99.3 m2

Absorber diameter 5.1 m

Absorber height 6.2 m

Absorber surface material Black pyromark paint

Table 1.
Technical properties of the solar two receiver.

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ISBS 2019 - 4th International Sustainable Buildings Symposium

modeled in ANSYS Design Modeler. The receiver model was shown in Figure 1.
Simplified panels were arranged as a polygon with inner diameter of 5.1 m. Receiver
model consisted of 24 rectangular panels. The height of each panel was 6.2 m.
Since the outside diameter of the panel tubes was 2.1 cm and the thickness was
1.2 mm, the flow area of the molten salt was calculated as 18.6 mm, only flow areas
were modeled. The computational domain was shown in Figure 2. It was a hexahe-
dron with a height of 36 m and a 30 m wide square base.
The grid structure of the model was shown in Figure 3. More frequent mesh
structure was used in the mid-region of the air domain in contact with the receiver.
This was because the turbulence in this region and the heat transfer between the
receiver and the air domain can be calculated with high accuracy.
The grid structure element number was approximately 600,000. This number
was selected by resolving in many elements counts, until the independence from
the mesh element number in the results, and the appropriate number of elements
had been determined. The skewness of the mesh elements was 0.58 and it was
acceptable for fluent analysis.

Figure 1.
Model of the solar two receiver with simplified absorbing panels.

Figure 2.
Receiver and air domain model.

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Figure 3.
Half section of model with mesh structure.

2.2 Boundary conditions

ANSYS Fluent 18.1 version which is CFD software was used for numerical
solutions. CFD solutions were made in steady-state regime. Discrete ordinates (DO)
radiation model and RNG k-ε turbulence model were used.
Molten salt enters through the two northernmost panels (panels E1 and W1) of
the receiver and flows in a serpentine pattern through the adjacent six panels. It
crosses over from one side of the receiver to the other along the east-west
centreline. Then it completes the path through the remaining six panels and exits
the receiver through panels E12 and W12 [11].
As seen in the simplified model of the receiver, the connection pipes between
the panels were not modeled. In order to provide the serpentine flow without such a
pipe model, a boundary condition called ‘recirculation inlet-outlet’ was used in
fluent. Thermal losses and pressure drops due to connection tubes were neglected.
The surface heat load (W/m2) on the receiver with a total incident power of
40 MW was taken from the radiation map published in [6]. Each receiver panel was
divided vertically into 10 sections. Each value taken from the radiation map was
divided into tube wall thickness 1.2 mm and in ANSYS fluent, a volumetric heat
load (W/m3) was applied. Adiabatic conditions were assumed on the internal sur-
face of the receiver. The radiative condition is the DO model with phi and theta
discretizations of 1 and divisions of 3. The opaque surface was defined by the
emissivity ratio of 0.83 on the receiver walls [12].
Thermophysical properties of molten salt, air (wind), and 316H stainless steel
were given in Table 2. The density of air at atmospheric pressure, which is neces-
sary for natural convection calculation around the receiver, was determined from
the polynomial, which is given in Eq. (1) [13].

ð1Þ

Specific heat Density Thermal conductivity Dynamic viscosity

cp (J/kg K) ρ (kg/m3) k (W/mK) μ (kg/ms)

Molten salt 1516.53 1818.11 0.5242 0.0016

5
Air (wind) 1007 Eq. (1) 0.0263 1.846  10

316H stainless steel 500 7900 16 —

Table 2.
Thermophysical properties of molten salt, air (wind), and 316H stainless steel [12–14].

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Figure 4.
Temperature distribution on the receiver using molten salt.

Study Reference [6] Error percentage (%)

Convection loss (MW) 0.89 0.87 2.30

Tout,ms (K) 831.77 823.50 1.00

Table 3.
Comparison of reference results with study results.

In each half of the receiver, mass flow rate of molten salt was 45 kg/s and inlet
temperature (Tin,ms) is 563 K. It was assumed that wind flowed from the west onto
the receiver at speed Vair = 8.98 m/s and temperature Tair = 300 K.

2.3 Model validation and results

The study of Zanino et al. [6] was taken as a reference for verification of the
model. Table 3 showed the study results and reference results of the convection
losses and two panel (W12 and E12) average outlet temperature (Tout,ms). The
results were in accordance with the reference study and the error rates were
acceptable. The differences in the results were due to mistakes made in reading the
values on the radiation map.
The temperature distribution on the receiver was shown in Figure 4. Although
the average temperature of the receiver was 792 K, temperature distributions on the
receiver reach up to 872 K. A uniform temperature distribution has not been
observed due to non-uniform heat load. The values above the mean temperature
were generally on the outlet panels of the molten salt. The sum of radiation and
convection losses was determined as 2.78 MW. This loss was of 1.88 MW of radia-
tion, 0.89 MW of convective losses. The radiation loss was more than twice the loss
of convection.

3. Energy and exergy analysis

Since this study considers the exergy and energy performance of the central
receiver system at steady state, only the receiver was taken into.

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The receiver efficiency, ηth, is defined as the ratio of the average power absorbed
by the working fluid, Q abs, to the average power incident on the receiver, Q inc,
evaluated over a defined period under steady-state conditions [11].

ð2Þ

The absorbed power is:

ð3Þ

where ṁ is mass flow of HTF, and unit is kg/s. cp is the average specific heat
between HTF inlet and outlet temperature (J/kgK), Tin,htf and Tout,htf are the inlet
and outlet temperatures of HTF in K units.
An important assumption was made by Pacheco [11]: “Under steady-state con-
ditions with constant inlet and outlet salt temperatures and wind velocities, the
temperature distributions on the receiver surface and throughout the receiver are
independent of power level. Therefore, the thermal losses are independent of the
incident power”.
With constant thermal losses, the energy efficiency can be expressed in terms of
the absorbed power, thermal losses, and absorptivity:

ð4Þ

where α is the absorption ratio (0.95) of the Pyromark paint on the receiver
surface. Qloss is the total thermal losses (radiation, convection, and conduction).
The quality of the energy is directly related to the temperature. Since this can
be explained by the exergetic efficiency (ηex) which accounts for the rate of
utilization of the energy. The exergetic efficiency, ηex, for concentrated solar
system is solar field area as the ratio of gain exergy (Exu) to available solar radiation
exergy (Exs) [15]:

ð5Þ

The net exergy gained from the solar field is calculated as.

ð6Þ

The exergy of the solar heat radiation absorbed by the receiver can be evaluated
as [16].

ð7Þ

where Ts is the sun temperature (5777 K), Tamb is the ambient temperature
(300 K), and Trec is the average surface temperature of the receiver. Qs is the
concentrated beam radiation absorbed by the absorber (40 MW).

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4. Results and discussion

The heat transfer fluid used in the receiver affects the thermal efficiency of the
receiver. The thermophysical properties of the fluid used in the SPT receiver influ-
ence the thermal power absorbed by that fluid. This is an important parameter for
receiver efficiency. In this study, three different liquid metals such as sodium,
lithium, and sodium-potassium eutectic and three different gases such as helium,
air, and neon were analyzed as HTF. All thermophysical properties of the HTFs are
given in Table 4 with their references. All analyses were carried out in the solar two
flow path at 45 kg/s and 563 K inlet temperature for E1 and W1 panels.
According to CFD results, the thermal efficiency (ηth) of the receiver using
molten salt was calculated according to Eq. (4) and the result is 87.67%. Conduction
losses were taken 0.3 MW in calculations since this numerical value was obtained
from solar two receiver efficiency experiments [11].
When air was used as HTF in receiver, the thermal losses were determined as
3.68 MW. The thermal efficiency of the receiver was calculated as 85.49%. The exit
temperature of air was 929 K. The average temperature of the receiver was 859 K.
The highest temperature seen on the receiver surface was 971 K, as shown in
Figure 5(a). As expected, the lowest temperatures were observed in the North
direction, the temperature increased in the South direction and reached the highest
value in the South side panels.
When helium (He) was used as HTF in receiver, a significant decrease in ther-
mal losses was observed. Radiative and convective losses were determined as only
1.38 MW. The thermal efficiency of the receiver was calculated as 90.98%. The
reason for the high efficiency was the low receiver temperature as shown in
Figure 5(b). The average temperature of the receiver was 639 K, while the highest
temperature was only 663 K. The outlet temperature of the He gas was 644 K.
The average receiver temperature in the receiver using neon (Ne) gas was found
to be 869 K. Figure 6(a) showed the temperature distribution of the receiver. The
outlet temperature from the W12 and E12 panels of neon gas was 947 K on average.
The thermal efficiency of the receiver with a total loss of 4.14 MW was calculated
as 85.12%.
The temperature distribution of the receiver using liquid sodium (Na) was
shown in Figure 6(b). When the inlet and outlet temperatures of sodium were 782
and 884 K, respectively, the radiation losses on the receiver were determined as
1.85 MW and the convective losses were determined as 0.87 MW. The thermal
efficiency was calculated as 87.78%.
In the receiver using sodium-potassium (NaK) eutectic, the thermal losses were
4.38 MW. The thermal efficiency was 84.58%. As seen in Figure 7(a), temperatures

HTF cp (J/kg K) ρ (kg/m3) k (W/mK) μ (kg/ms)

7
Helium 5193 0.0697 0.252 320  10
4
Lithium 4160 475 49.7 3.4  10
4
Sodium 1272.3 846.2 66.8 3  10
7
Air 1087 0.4643 0.0549 354.6  10
5
Neon 1030 0.3466 0.0851 5.52  10
4
Sodium-potassium 880 750 26.2 1.8  10

Table 4.
Thermophysical properties of HTFs [8, 10, 13, 17].

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Figure 5.
Temperature distribution on the receiver using air (a) and helium (b).

Figure 6.
Temperature distribution on the receiver using neon (a) and sodium (b).

above 1000 K appear on the receiving surface. The average receiving temperature
was 877 K.
The results obtained from the receiver using lithium (Li) as heat transfer fluid
were similar to those obtained from helium gas. Figure 7(b) shows the temperature
distribution of the receiver. The total thermal losses from the receiver with an
average temperature of 644 K were 1.72 MW. In these conditions, the thermal
efficiency was calculated as 90.89%. However, the temperature of the liquid lithium
increased only in the receiver to 665 K.
The receiver thermal efficiency varied between 84.54 and 90.98%. Fluids with
higher efficiency than solar two were helium, lithium, and sodium. Apart from
sodium, the panel outlet temperatures were less than the molten salt, although the
thermal efficiencies of helium and lithium were higher than the molten salt.
Table 5 shows the average surface temperature, thermal efficiency, outlet tem-
perature and exergetic efficiency results for different HTF’s. Although the inlet

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ISBS 2019 - 4th International Sustainable Buildings Symposium

Figure 7.
Temperature distribution on the receiver using sodium-potassium eutectic (a) and lithium (b).

Heat transfer fluid Trec (K) ηth (%) Tout,htf (K) ηex (%)

Helium 639 90.98 644 53.97

Lithium 644 90.89 665 54.83

Sodium 782 87.78 884 60.87

Molten salt 792 87.67 832 61.27

Air 859 85.49 929 62.60

Neon 869 85.12 947 62.60

Sodium-potassium 877 84.54 1015 63.20

Table 5.
Results for solar receiver for different HTF’s.

temperatures are the same, lithium and helium with the highest thermal efficiencies
were found to have the lowest outlet temperatures. On the other hand, Table 5
shows that the sodium-potassium fluid, which has the highest output temperature,
provides the highest quality output energy.
Table 5 shows that although the highest thermal efficiency is obtained from
helium gas, the exergetic efficiency is the lowest among other heat transfer fluids.
That means the quality of energy for obtaining electricity is low for that fluid. Due
to quality of energy output of solar receiver, the best result can be obtained from
sodium-potassium which has the highest exergetic efficiency.

5. Conclusions

Since the radiation from the heliostats is absorbed directly by the heat transfer
fluid of the receiver, the central receiver is an important component of the solar
power tower systems. In this study, solar two central receiver was modeled and a
reference study [6] was used for model validation. The temperature changes on the
receiver, thermal and exergetic efficiency were obtained for different gas and liquid
metal HTFs by using ANSYS fluent.

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According to the results, the thermal efficiency of the receiver values varied
between 84.54 and 90.98%. The highest thermal efficiency was obtained from
helium and the lowest thermal efficiency was obtained from the sodium-potassium
eutectic. On the other hand, exergetic efficiency varied between 53.97 and 63.20%.
Although helium had the highest thermal energy efficiency, when it is evaluated in
terms of the energy quality depending on the outlet temperature, sodium-
potassium eutectic liquid metal had the highest exergetic efficiency.
The exergy plays an important role in evaluating the use of sustainable technol-
ogies. Since sustainable development means less exergy destruction, the sustain-
ability of a system is closely related to exergetic efficiency. In this context, when the
exergetic efficiency was taken into consideration for sustainability analysis of the
receiver, it was concluded that the most suitable fluid was sodium-potassium which
had the highest exergetic efficiency.
In future, the corrosion effects and their degradation times will be studied. Also,
lifetime and temperature resistance of the materials used in the receiver system for
heat transfer fluids discussed in this study will be investigated. The economic
analysis for these fluids will also be taken into consideration as future work.

Nomenclature
amb ambient
ex exergy
ms molten salt
rec receiver
s sun
th thermal
cp specific heat of the heat transfer fluid (J/kgK)
ṁ mass flow rate (kg/s)
Q abs power absorbed by the heat transfer fluid (W)
Q loss total losses from the receiver (W)
T in, htf inlet temperature of the heat transfer fluid (K)
T out, htf outlet temperature of the heat transfer fluid (K)
V air wind velocity (m/s)

Greek letters
α receiver solar absorptance
η efficiency

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Author details

Gülden Adıyaman1*, Levent Çolak1 and İlhami Horuz2

1 Mechanical Engineering Department, Başkent University, Ankara, Turkey

2 Mechanical Engineering Department, Gazi University, Ankara, Turkey

*Address all correspondence to: gulden@baskent.edu.tr

© 2019 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms
of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/
by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is properly cited.

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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.87836
References
[1] Rosen MA, Dincer I, Kanoglu M. Role
of exergy in increasing efficiency and
sustainability and reducing
environmental impact. Energy Policy.
2008;36:128-137. DOI: 10.1016/j.
enpol.2007.09.006
[2] Colomer G, Chiva J, Lehmkuhl O,
Oliva A. Advanced CFD and HT
numerical modeling of solar tower
receivers. Energy Procedia. 2014;49:
50-59. DOI: 10.1016/j.egypro.2014.
03.006
[3] Rodriguez-Sanchez MR, Sanchez-
Gonzalez A, Marugan-Cruz C, Santana
D. New designs of molten-salt tubular-
receiver for solar power tower. Energy
Procedia. 2014;49:504-513. DOI:
10.1016/j.egypro.2014.03.054
[4] Kribus A, Doron P, Rubin R, Karni J,
Reuven R, Duchan S, et al. A multistage
solar receiver: The route to high
temperature. Solar Energy. 1999;67:3,
00056-11, 00056. DOI: 10.1016/
S0038-092X(00)
[5] Yang M, Yang X, Yang X, Ding J.
Heat transfer enhancement and
performance of the molten salt receiver
of a solar power tower. Applied Energy.
2010;87:2808-2811. DOI: 10.1016/j.
apenergy.2009.04.042
[6] Christian JM, Ho CK. CFD
simulation and heat loss analysis of the
solar two power tower receiver. In:
Proceedings of ASME 2012 6th
International Conference on Energy
Sustainability & 10th Fuel Cell Science,
Engineering and Technology
Conference (ESFuelCell2012); 23-26
July 2012; San Diego. 2012. pp. 227-235
[7] Zanino R, Bonifetto R, Christian JM,
Ho CK, Savoldi Richard L. Effects of
RANS-type turbulence models on the
convective heat loss computed by CFD
in the solar two power tower. Energy
Procedia. 2014;49:569-578. DOI:
10.1016/j.egypro.2014.03.061
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[8] Pacio J, Wetzel T. Assessment of
liquid metal technology status and
research paths for their use as efficient
heat transfer fluids in solar central
receiver systems. Solar Energy. 2013;93:
11-22. DOI: 10.1016/j.solener.2013.
03.025
[9] Boerema N, Morrison G, Taylor R,
Rosengarten G. Liquid sodium versus
Hitec as a heat transfer fluid in solar
thermal central receiver systems. Solar
Energy. 2012;86:2293-2305. DOI:
10.1016/j.solener.2012.05.001
[10] Bellos E, Tzivanidis C,
Antonopoulos KA. A detailed working
fluid investigation for solar parabolic
trough collectors. Applied Thermal
Engineering. 2017;114:374-386. DOI:
10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2016.11.201
[11] Pacheco JE, editor. Final Test and
Evaluation Results from the Solar Two
Project. Albuquerque: Sandia National
Laboratories; 2002. pp. 43-119. DOI:
10.2172/793226
[12] Zavoico B. Solar Power Tower
Design Basis Document. California:
Sandia National Laboratories; 2001.
pp. 23-66. DOI: 10.2172/786629
[13] Incropera FP, David DP, Bergman
TL, Lavine AS. Fundamentals of Heat
and Mass Transfer. 6th ed. USA: John
Wiley & Sons; 2007
[14] Material Properties Database
[Internet]. 2009. Available from:
https://www.makeitfrom.com/material-
properties/AISI-316H-S31609-Stainless-
Steel [Accessed: August 12, 2017]
[15] AlZahrani AA, Dincer I. Energy and
exergy analyses of a parabolic trough
solar power plant using carbon dioxide
power cycle. Energy Conversion and
Management. 2018;158:476-488. DOI:
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[16] Petela R. Exergy of heat radiation.

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187-192. DOI: 10.1115/1.3687092

[17] Benoit H, Spreafico L, Gauthier D,

Flamant G. Review of heat transfer
fluids in tube-receivers used in
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j.rser.2015.10.059

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Chapter 53

A Comparative Evaluation
of Solar, Wind, and Biomass
Energy in Terms of Technical and
Economic Aspects: Turkey Case
Arzuhan Burcu Gültekin and Abdullah Murat Eser

Abstract

One of the biggest problems of twenty-first century is undoubtedly unrestrained

increase of consumption. This increase has caused big environmental, economic,
and energy crisis. At this point, the renewable resources have gained importance,
although they could not reach a remarkable production level at the world scale. In
this regard in this study, it is intended to highlight the importance of electricity gen-
eration from renewable energy resources in technical and economic perspectives,
and create awareness among researchers, government authorities, local authorities,
enterprisers, energy consultants, and public. Within the scope of this intention, the
aim of this study is to comparatively evaluate the efficiency of electricity generation
by solar, wind, and biomass energy in terms of technical and economic aspects. In
this context, an evaluation method was developed, which contains technical and
economic analyses. Solar, wind, and biomass energy that have high potential in
Turkey, were evaluated comparatively according to the developed method. This
comparison was focused in productivity of the resources in technical perspective
and feasibility of the resources in economic perspective. Finally, the resource and
electricity production potential of Turkey were mentioned, and the necessity of
biomass energy was determined compared with the other resources.

Keywords: electricity, electricity production, electricity generation, solar energy,

wind energy, biomass energy

1. Introduction

Basically, energy is the ability of doing work. As soon as the work is done, the
energy will be converted to the power and the time dimension will be involved in
calculations. About the electricity production and consumption, it is important to
know distinction and units of the electric power and electrical energy. Watt is a unit
of electric power and Wat-hour is a unit of electrical energy.
Energy resources are classified into two separate groups. The first one is primary
energy resources, which exist in nature originally such as solar, wind, biomass,
hydroelectric, and wave. This type of energy resources can be used directly or
indirectly after converting into another energy form. The other type of energy,
which is named as secondary energy resources, can be obtained as the result of

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energy cycles, and they can be used as energy resources in this form. These energy
resources are electrical energy, heat energy, mechanical energy, and so on [1].
The renewable energy is a definition that, in fact, refers to resources. It means
that these resources can be renewed in nature sustainably. This feature of the
renewable energy brings it eco-friendly and economically viable features, too. The
energy cycle, yields, losses, transmission, and storage processes are related with
the purpose and the location of the energy used, not with the type of resource. For
example, the basic principles of generating electricity from nuclear, fossil, and bio-
mass energy resources are the same and they are all given to the system without any
separation until the load part. At this point, the important subject to be emphasized
should be the cycle of energy.
Consumption takes part in much in the twenty-first century agenda.
Consumption of the resources until the end means the system also consumes itself.
While the system is consuming itself, at the same time the world, which is habitat
of human, is also being consumed. The system produces consumption elements by
consuming. Changing the consumption habits of the system can be achieved by not
stopping the consumption, but by replacing the consumed resources. At this point
of view, if the energy, which is the main element of production and work, could
be put back after consuming, the system will change format within. Hereby, the
electricity generation can be provided continuously, and the first step of the system
change would be achieved. In this regard, the main questions of this study are how
electricity can be generated continuously, which resources should be used, and
which cycles should be preferred.
The renewable energy resources are not only solar, wind, and geothermal, at the
same time there are biomass energy resources that do exist in nature. Biomass can be
defined as total of live organism mass in an ecosystem and this mass has an energy,
which is named as biomass energy. Biomass energy has many advantages over other
energy types and these advantages could make this energy type be used for electric-
ity generation efficiently instead of the other ones. Availability, continuity, and
commonness are main advantages of biomass energy. This energy type has some dis-
advantages, such as process problems and transporting. Generating electricity from
biomass energy does not contain high risk as nuclear energy, however it has nearly
the same risk as solar and wind energy. The only method of generating electricity is
not to use renewable resources, and it cannot be mentioned that the biomass energy
is the only and the most efficient resource about generating electricity.
In this study, it is intended to create awareness for the importance of electricity
generation from renewable energy resources in technical and economic perspec-
tives, and to set light to researchers, government authorities, local authorities,
enterprisers, energy consultants, and public. The aim of this study within the scope
of this intention is to comparatively evaluate the efficiency of electricity generation
by solar, wind, and biomass energy in terms of technical and economic aspects.
In this context, an evaluation method was developed that contains technical and
economic analyses in this study. Solar, wind, and biomass energy that have high
potential in Turkey, were evaluated comparatively according to this method. This
comparison focused in productivity of these resources in technical perspective, and
feasibility of these resources in economic perspective.

2. Renewable energy resources

Renewable energy is the energy, which is obtained from the existing energy
flow in the ongoing natural processes. In general, the renewable energy resource is
defined as being equal to the energy taken from the energy resource or renewing

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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.87836

itself more quickly than the exhaustion rate of the resource [2]. Solar energy,
wind energy, biomass energy, geothermal energy, and wave energy are the types
of renewable energy resources. In this study, three kinds of energy types as solar,
wind, and biomass were taken into account for comparison.
Electrical energy gains meaning after usage. However, this energy, which is used,
must have a source, a certain cost, the manner of obtaining it, and positive or negative
effects. While energy is being consumed, it is not known how it was produced and
which processes were occurred, and by nature of consuming it is also not expected to
be known. Regarding electricity generation, as desired in all areas, maximum effi-
ciency, minimum loss, low cost, and sustainability of this situation are expected. As
known, this situation can be provided with renewable energy resources.
Although the efficiency for electricity generation is at the forefront, the issue
in front should be sustainability, as the existence of electricity is more important
than the cheapness of electricity generation. If mankind is considered not to
abandon electricity at any future stage of technology development, the first
necessity of electricity generation would be sustainability. From the perspective
of sustainability, renewable energy resources, which can be used generating
electricity, are not limited. Renewable energy types can be diversified with the
development of technology over time.

2.1 Solar energy

Solar energy is known as the source of life. All kinds of living beings live with
the existence of the sun. In this case, it is irrational to deny solar energy benefits
for the technology. The solar energy is used for electricity generation with the
help of photovoltaic panels. These panels behave as small power plants, when the
sunlight reaches the surface of the panels. At that time, a little technical problem
occurs with the obtained energy. This type of electricity has direct current and it
must be converted to alternative current before used in network. Therefore, a few
more types of equipment are required. In 2015, 0.3% of installed power belonged
to solar energy in Turkey. When it came to 2016, 1.1% of the installed power of
Turkey and in 2017 nearly 4.0% had been provided by solar power plants. Lastly,
according to registered values, until the middle of 2018, 5.4% of the installed
power had been belonged to solar energy. These values state for a graphic, which is
sharply increasing after 2017 to today [3, 4].

2.2 Wind energy

Wind energy is not like solar energy regarding the availability. In fact, wind can
be seen in every season anywhere. However, when generating electricity from wind,
continuous and high potential wind are required. This type of winds cannot be found
everywhere. To evaluate the wind energy potential of a region, variety of scales can
be used. In 2015, 6.2% of installed power had been provided by wind power plants in
Turkey. As the advancing years are analyzed, in 2016 7.3% of the installed power of
Turkey, and in 2017 nearly 7.8% had been provided by wind power plants. Lastly, until
the middle of 2018, according to registered values, 7.7% of the installed power had
been provided by wind power plants. These values mean that after 2016, electricity
generation from wind maintain stable, when it is compared to installed power [3, 4].

2.3 Biomass energy

Biomass can be defined as the live mass formed as a result of photosynthesis.

Plants can be calculated as biomass to the extent that they retain their biological

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properties after death. This definition is only about plants. In general, it can also
be defined as the total mass of living organisms belonging to a species or a society
of various species at a given time [5]. In 2015, less than 0.5% of the total installed
power, and in 2016 less than 0.7% had been provided by biomass energy in Turkey.
The ratios had been nearly the same in 2017 and 2018. Lastly, until the middle of
2018, according to registered values, 0.73% of the installed power was belonging
to biomass energy. These values state that biomass energy and its benefits have not
been understood in Turkey yet [3, 4].

3. Comparative evaluation on the efficiency of electricity generation by

solar, wind, and biomass energy in terms of technical and economic
aspects

Turkey’s electricity generation capacity for 2017 was declared as 87,139 MWe,

and generated electricity as 295.5 TWh. It is expected that, in 2023, Turkey’s
estimated electricity generation will be 385 TWh, and the electricity generation
capacity is calculated as 113,531 MWe according to this capacity (Table 1) [6].
About 34.14% coal, 29.53% natural gas, 20.08% hydro electrical, 10.81% wind
energy, 2.59% solar energy, 1.83% geothermal, and 0.60% biomass energy were
used to generate electricity in Turkey on the date of 04.08.2018 [3, 4]. In order to
compare the efficiency of these energy resources, it is envisaged that a specific
comparative evaluation method would be beneficial.

3.1 Evaluation method

An evaluation method was developed in this study in order to comparatively

evaluate the efficiency of electricity generation by solar, wind, and biomass energy
in terms of technical and economic aspects. In this context, the method contains
technical and economic analyses. Solar, wind, and biomass energy potential of
Turkey were evaluated comparatively according to the developed method. Objective,
practical, internationally valid data, as well as Turkey specific daily values, were used
in the comparison. The comparison was focused in productivity of the resources in
technical perspective, and feasibility of the resources in economic perspective.
The evaluation method proposes two different approaches. The first approach,
which can be defined as “capacity coverage ratio”, measures the ratio of the resource’s
generation capacity to the country’s electricity generation capacity. The second
approach that can be defined as “full capacity production ratio” measures how much of
the capacity of the resource will be sufficient for the whole production of the country.
The first approach is related to the production capacity of Turkey. It is aimed to
determine the production capacity percentage in case all the resources were used
for generating electricity. Electricity generation capacity of the solar power plants
varies directly with the surface area of the photovoltaic panels. Accordingly, in the
second approach, it was assumed that the criterion for electricity generation from

Years Electricity generation capacity (MWe) Electricity generation (TWh)

2015 73,147 261.8

2017 87,139 295.5

2023 113,531 385.0

Table 1.
Turkey’s electricity generation capacity electricity generation over years [6].

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solar energy is the land area. Wind energy was found to be insufficient, therefore it
was not taken into account in the second approach. Besides, electricity generation
from biomass power plant is directly related to raw materials, for this reason, the
resources are considered as the criterion of capacity of biomass power plant. The
results of the both approaches were evaluated at the conclusion section of the study
with technical and economic results.

3.2 Assumptions for comparative evaluation

In this section, efficiency, capacity, capacity coverage ratio, and full capacity
production ratio were compared for three resource types. For comparison, assump-
tions for evaluation of solar energy, wind energy, and biomass energy, which
constitutes the base of this study, were developed (Table 2). In this context of
assumptions, rates of daily, monthly and annual electricity production, and rev-
enues from electricity generation are determined [7].

3.2.1 Comparative evaluation of solar, wind, and biomass energy in terms of

technical aspects

3.2.1.1 Evaluation of solar energy in terms of technical aspects

In this section, the PVGIS software data of The European Commission’s

“Institute of Energy and Transportation (IET)” website were used. This website
shares and provides instant, accurate, and valid data without international access
restrictions [8].
For the solar analysis, five different points were selected at the south of
Konya city and monthly solar radiation data for these points were collected from
PVGIS. Selected five points were Beyşehir Karahisar, Çumra Türkmencamili, Ereğli
Kutören, Seydişehir Akören, and Karaman Dinek, respectively.
Radiation time, which expresses hours suitable for generating electricity from
solar energy, was an important data set for solar power plants at the first stage of
the solar analysis. At the second stage, the significant issue is the capacity factor,
which was calculated as “6.97/24 = 0.2904 (29.04%)” by the formula of radiation
time/24 hours (Table 3).
Sum of the daily values for each day of every month was calculated, and noted as
the value of the related month. Factors affecting the output performance of the solar
panels can be classified in three categories. The first factor is the efficiency of the solar
panels (71.56%), which is about the working mechanism of the panels. The efficiency
was calculated as “715.59/1000 = 0.7156” by the formula of production/production
capacity (Table 3). The second factor, which is about energy type (29.04%), is the
capacity factor as above mentioned. The last factor, which depends on every issue
about solar power plants, is the performance of the solar panels. This performance
was unpredictable in this study, and it was assumed as 90.00% [2].
All calculations were made for 1000 kWh solar power plants. All error and loss
values were reflected in the results (Table 3).
According to Table 3, 1000 kWe or 1 MWe capacity solar power plant produces
1,599,906.98 kWh (approximately 1.6 GWh average) electrical energy per year.

3.2.1.2 Evaluation of wind energy in terms of technical aspects

In Turkey, it is estimated that there is at least 5000 MW electricity potential

in regions with a minimum wind speed of at least 7.0 m/s. Besides, a minimum of
48,000 MW electricity potential is estimated in regions with a minimum wind

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Assumptions

General assumptions Assumptions related to the values of power plant electricity generation
are presented in Table 5

Assumptions related to the investment cost of power plants are

presented in Table 5

Assumptions related to the fixed and annual expenses are presented in

Table 5

Support and exemption of the government are assumed as 20 years (the

legal period in Turkey is 10 years)

Solar, wind and biomass power plants are assumed to have no

environmental impacts

Assumptions related to the electricity production and consumption data

are presented in Table 1

Assumptions related to the land costs are presented in Table 5

Land areas are assumed as adequate for electricity generation

Lands are assumed as available for electricity generation

City network system losses of electricity distribution are ignored

Financial assumptions Assumptions related to the interest rates, discount rates, weighted
average capital cost, and taxes are presented in Table 6

During the lifetime period of power plants, electricity prices are

assumed to be adjusted according to inflation
The costs (fixed costs, variable costs etc.) are assumed to be adjusted
according to inflation

Assumptions for solar energy Assumptions related to the solar radiation values are presented in Table 3
power plants
Annual expenditures are assumed to increase by 3% each year

Performance of the solar power plant are assumed to be reduced by 2%

of its initial potential each year

It is assumed that 20,000 m2 land is adequate for 1000 kWe

Assumptions for wind power Assumptions related to the data of electricity generation from wind are
plants provided from scientific researches [2, 7]

Assumptions for biomass
energy power plants
It is assumed that the most powerful and efficient cycles are used during
electricity generation
Resource decomposition is ignored
All biomass resources in Turkey are assumed as available for electricity
generation

Table 2.
Developed assumptions for comparative evaluation.

speed of at least 8.5 m/s. In this case, wind potential can be calculated as 12 bil-
lion kWh per year. However, 12 billion kWh potential annual means 4.06% of
all demand of Turkey’s 2017. Same value corresponds 3.12% of all Turkey’s 2023
demand [2, 9].

3.2.1.3 Evaluation of biomass energy in terms of technical aspects

The population of Turkey as of 2017 was 79,814,871. The waste amount of this
population and the energy values of these wastes, which were published by Turkish
Republic General Directorate of Renewable Energy, are presented in Table 4. In
case of meeting all necessary conditions, electricity generation from these resources

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Months Production Production Days Radiation Monthly 90%

capacity (kWh) time production performance
(kWe) (Hour) (kWh) (kWh)
January 1000 737.22 31 4.05 92,558 83,302

February 1000 729.09 28 5.14 104,930 94,437

March 1000 793.19 31 6.28 154,419 138,977

April 1000 742.52 30 6.88 153,226 137,930

May 1000 665.31 31 8.22 169,535 152,581

June 1000 633.42 30 9.35 177,674 159,907

July 1000 602.07 31 10.18 190,000 171,000

August 1000 634.60 31 9.80 192,791 173,512

September 1000 704.89 30 8.38 177,209 159,488

October 1000 806.30 31 6.15 153,721 138,349

November 1000 754.28 30 5.38 121,628 109,465

December 1000 784.25 31 3.70 89,953 80,958

Year 1000 715.59 365 6.97 1,777,674 1,599,907

Table 3.
Electricity generation of a solar power plant [2, 8].

is possible with various efficiency levels. In this section, evaluation was made with
the total energy in a general framework without any resource separation.
According to Table 4, total energy equivalent of waste in 2017 was 44,228,796
TOE per year. 1 TOE equals to 11,627 kWh electrical energy, when appropriate
conditions are provided [10], which means 44,228,795 × 11,627 = 514,248,199,465 k
Wh of electrical energy. Thus, if the mentioned amounts of wastes had been used,
514.25 TWh of electrical energy could have been generated in 2017. Furthermore,
the electricity generated would be equal to 1.74 times that of Turkey’s 2017 electric-
ity production.
As for the efficiency matter, it would be at least 30% even if the most primitive
system (boiler—steam turbine system) is used to generate electricity from biomass.
If it is considered that working period is 8760 hours per year, the minimum electricity
production of Turkey would be 154,274,459,800 kWh in 2017. Besides, the generated
electricity would be equal to 52% of the Turkey’s 2017 electrical energy production [10].
From the view of “full capacity production ratio”, Turkey’s land area is
nearly 783,562 km2 and 2017 electricity generation of Turkey was 295.5 TWh
(295,500 GWh). In this study, it is assumed that 20,000 m2 land area is

Types of wastes Amount (tons per Energy value (TOE per year)
year)

Animal wastes 163,297,308 1,176,198

Herbal wastes 96,451,594 39,877,285

Urban solid wastes 31,331,836 2,315,414

Forest wastes — 859,899

Total energy equivalent of wastes 44,228,796

Table 4.
Biomass resource (waste) potential of Turkey [2].

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sufficient to generate 1.6 GWh electrical energy annual (Table 3). In this case,
295,500/1.6 = 184,688 power plants or 184,688 × 20,000 m2 land area is required. It
means 3693.76 km2 land area corresponds only 0.47% of Turkey’s land area. As for
2023 production of Turkey, it corresponds 0.61% of Turkey’s land area.
In Table 5, output capacities were illustrated for each energy type with elec-
trical power values (kWe), and percentage values. Generated electrical energy
(kWh) and average income (USD) were also illustrated in the table concurrently.
These values constitute a perspective for each energy type at first step. Annual

Solar power Wind power Biomass power

plant plant plant

Capacity (1000 kWe)

Efficiency 71.56% 83.33% 85.00%

Capacity factor 29.04% 30.00% 90.00%

Performance 100.00% 100.00% 90.00%

Output performance 20.78% 22.50% 68.85%

Output capacity (kWe) 207.81 224.99 688.50

Production
Daily (kWh) 4987.45 5399.78 16,524.00
Monthly (kWh) 149,623.37 161,993.52 495,720.00

Annual (kWh) 1,820,417.70 1,970,921.16 6,031,260.00

Average income (USD/kWh) 0.133 0.092 0.133

Daily income (USD) 663.33 496.78 2197.69

Monthly income (USD) 19,899.91 14,903.40 65,930.76

Yearly income (USD) 242,115.55 181,324.75 802,157.58

The sufficiency of the resources for full capacity production (30% efficiency)

2017 100.00% 4.06% 52.21%

2023 100.00% 3.12% 40.07%

The sufficiency of the resources for full capacity production (100% efficiency)
2017 100.00% 13.53% 174.03%

2023 100.00% 10.40% 133.57%

Full capacity production rate of resources (with minimum loss)

2017 0.47% — 57.46%

2023 0.61% — 74.87%

Cost
Investment cost 980,000.00$ 1,200,000.00$ 3,500,000.00$

Fixed cost 20,000.00$ 24,000.00$ 122,450.00$

Variable cost 10,000.00$ 24,000.00$ 36,790.00$

Rental 3800.00$ — 5000.00$

Total annual expenses 33,800.00$ 48,000.00$ 164,240.00$

Lifetime (years) 25 20 25
Salvage value percent 25% 40% 25%

Table 5.
Technical and economic values of each type of plants [2, 6–9, 11].

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electricity production of biomass energy power plant was nearly three times of the
other types of power plants. Moreover, wind energy had better performance than
solar energy in electricity production. When the subject was annual income, the
ranking changed. However, all these data does not make everything clear, since
investment and annual costs of the biomass energy plants are much more than the
others. Consequently, the necessity of making a financial evaluation was appeared.
Data related to capacity, production, sufficiency, and cost of each power plant are
presented in Table 5.

3.2.2 Comparative evaluation of solar, wind, and biomass energy in terms of

economic aspects

In terms of economic aspect, it is not possible to carry out operations on behalf

of efficiency analysis without using the cost and income values. Therefore, appro-
priate studies were carried out by using valid economic values in this section.
Additionally, valid interest rates and USD LIBOR values are used for all financial
calculations via the necessary financial data given in Table 6.
In the economic evaluation, it is accepted that three methods as “internal rate
of return (IRR), modified internal rate of return (MIRR), and discounted payback
period” should be used as economic analysis method [14]. In the first method,
capital’s rate of return can be evaluated according to “Weighted Average Capital
Cost (WACC).” This means, the investment is profitable, when IRR is greater than
WACC and it can be applicable under the conditions mentioned. This method can
be used for the project’s feasibility itself. In the second method, in addition to the
previous method, roughly, capital replacement cost is considered. This method can
be used for comparative evaluation of the power plants. In the last method, differ-
ent from the others, discounted payback period was calculated in order to deter-
mine how many years it will take for capital to come back. Time value of money was
considered in this method.
Three investment scenarios were created and IRR, MIRR, and payback period
values were separately calculated for each investment scenarios. The following three
investment scenarios were considered in the financial evaluation:
Scenario 1. 100% equity capital.
Scenario 2. 90% equity capital and 10% debt.
Scenario 3. 50% equity capital and 50% debt.

Necessary financial data

Rates
USD LIBOR—12 months 3.03%

Interest rate LIBOR + 9.50%

Taxes
Value—added tax 0.00%

Corporation tax 22.00%

Weighted avarage capital costs
WACC (0% debt) 4.00%

WACC (10% debt) 4.85%

WACC (50% debt) 8.26%

Table 6.
Financial data and assumptions for comparative evaluation [7, 12, 13].

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WACC Solar Wind Biomass

Internal rate of return (IRR)

Scenario 1 (100% equity capital) 4.00% 18.33% 14.97% 18.04%

Scenario 2 (90% equity capital 4.85% 15.07% 11.42% 15.04%

and 10% debt)

Scenario 3 (50% equity capital 8.26% — — —

and 50% debt)

Modified internal rate of return (MIRR)

Scenario 1 (100% equity capital) 4.00% 7.10% 17.23% 7.52%

Scenario 2 (90% equity capital 4.85% 6.50% 16.22% 6.90%
and 10% debt)

Scenario 3 (50% equity capital 8.26% — 10.52% —

and 50% debt)
Payback period (years)

Scenario 1 (100% equity capital) 4.00% 4 years 5 years 4 years

3 months 5 months 7 months
Scenario 2 (90% equity capital 4.85% 4 years 6 years 5 years
and 10% debt) 10 months 10 months 4 months

Scenario 3 (50% equity capital 8.26% — — —

and 50% debt)

Table 7.
Results of financial evaluation.

The evaluation results were obtained after using the above-mentioned three
methods and making the necessary financial calculations. The related results were
presented in Table 7.

4. Conclusions

As a result of comparative evaluation of solar, wind, and biomass energy in

terms of economic aspects, financially the most efficient resource was determined
as solar energy. In terms of biomass and wind energy, it was observed that biomass
was close to solar energy and wind energy had the lowest performance.
From the view of “capacity coverage ratio,” biomass resources were deter-
mined as sufficient to provide 52.21% of Turkey’s installed capacity as of 2017.
It was also observed that biomass resources are sufficient to provide 40.07% of
Turkey’s estimated installed power as of 2023. Besides, it can be stated that solar
energy potential is sufficient to provide all demand of Turkey’s 2017 and 2023.
Wind energy was determined to provide only 4.06% of Turkey’s installed capac-
ity as of 2017. It was also observed that wind energy could provide only 4.06% of
Turkey’s installed capacity as of 2017, and can provide only 3.12% of the demand
as of 2023.
At this point, it is important to say that, the lifetime of solar power plants and
biomass power plants were assumed as 25 years in order to make more effective
comparison. Solar power plants are guaranteed for 25 years by producers and
distributors; however, the lifetime of biomass power plants are in general more than
25 years (nearly 40–50 years). Actually, lifetime expectancy for biomass power
plants is estimated to occur more than the assumption of this study. The estimated
expectancy would increase cashflows, IRR, and MIRR percentage values in favor

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of biomass power plants. Therefore, this increase could ensure the biomass power
plants be preferable instead of solar power plants for Turkey.
It was ascertained that, in first and second scenarios of IRR and MIRR methods,
biomass power plants were more effective than the others in terms of economic
aspects. IRR was calculated as 15.04% and MIRR as 6.90% when focused on the
results of scenario 2. In this case, the above-mentioned values gained meaning when
the discounted payback period was calculated as 5 years and 4 months.
From economic perspective, although solar and wind power plants do not need
raw materials to produce energy, they remained behind the biomass energy. The
point to note in this case is that solar and wind energy are both environmentally
friendly and they do not have the cost of raw materials. In spite the fact that biomass
power plants require raw materials, and more expenditure than solar and wind
power plants, it remained superior to the others in terms of technical and economic
aspects. This case, which stems from the productivity of biomass, can be converted
into an advantage for electricity generation in Turkey. As there are many kinds and
big amounts of biomass resources in Turkey (see Table 4), it is possible to generate
electricity at various efficiency levels from these resources.
The resources used by biomass energy to generate electricity are the waste of
people or nature. When they are not used to generate electricity or anything else, it
is a fact that they will remain idle in nature. Likewise, when they are not recycled,
they will disrupt the ecosystem and will cost a lot to be stored or transported. In
this case, it will be extremely productive to re-use these wastes that have negative
impacts on humanity and consumption through completely natural methods.
In this context, it is of great importance for the government, related sectors, the
investors, and the researchers to consider the contribution of biomass power plants
to the environment and the economy. Moreover, it is essential to accelerate biomass
power plant investments in Turkey for achieving energy efficiency in terms of
technical and economic aspects.

Author details

Arzuhan Burcu Gültekin* and Abdullah Murat Eser

Department of Real Estate Development and Management, Ankara University,
Ankara, Turkey

*Address all correspondence to: arzuhanburcu@yahoo.com

© 2019 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms
of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/
by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is properly cited.

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References
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Machine. 2013;639(54):32-44
[2] General Directorate of Renewable
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of Energy and Natural Resources
[Internet]. 2019. Available from:
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[Accessed: January 5, 2019] (in Turkish)
[3] Turkey’s Electricity Distribution
Corporation (TEDC, TEDAŞ)
[Internet]. 2019. Available from: http://
www.tedas.gov.tr/#!tedas_anasayfa
[Accessed: January 5, 2019] (in Turkish)
[4] The Chamber of Electrical Engineers
(UCTEA, EMO) [Internet]. 2019.
Available from: http://www.emo.org.
tr/ekler/34427e6be0fae4a_ek.pdf
[Accessed: January 7, 2019] (in Turkish)
[5] Topal M, Arslan IE. Biomass energy
and Turkey. In: VII National Clean
Energy Symposium UTES’; 17-19
December 2008; İstanbul, Turkey (in
Turkish). 2008
[6] Republic of Turkey Ministry
of Energy and Natural Resources.
[Internet]. 2018. Available from: http://
www.enerji.gov.tr/tr-TR/Sayfalar/
Elektrik [Accessed: November 2, 2018]
(in Turkish)
[7] Erkeç M. Unlicensed electricity
generation in Turkey and legal
regulations about renewable energy.
In: 6. Energy Efficiency, Quality
Symposium and Exhibition; 5 June 2015;
Sakarya, Turkey: Sakarya University (in
Turkish). 2015
[8] PVGIS. Photovoltaic Geographical
Information System, Institute for
Energy and Transport (IET) [Internet].
2019. Available from: http://re.jrc.
ec.europa.eu/pvgis/ [Accessed: January
5, 2019] (in Turkish)
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[9] Yılmaz M. The energy potential of
Turkey and its importance of renewable
energy sources in terms of electricity
production. Ankara University Journal
of Ecology. 2012;4(2):33-54 (in
Turkish)
[10] Özcan M, Öztürk S, Yıldırım M,
Kılıç L. Electricity energy potential
of different biomass sources based on
different production technologies. In:
ELECO‘ 2012, Electrical-Electronics and
Computer Engineering Symposium;
29 November-1 December 2012; Bursa,
Turkey (in Turkish). 2012
[11] Mutlular Biomass Power Plant
[Internet]. 2018. Available from: http://
midseff.com/tr/factsheets_tr/mutlular.
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Turkish)
[12] Republic of Turkey Ministry
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Temel+Faaliyetler/Para+Politikasi/
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[13] Central Bank of the Republic of
Turkey (TCMB) [Internet]. 2019.
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tr/wps/wcm/connect/TR/TCMB+TR/
Main+Menu/Temel+Faaliyetler/
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2019] (in Turkish)
[14] Gedik T, Akyüz KC, Akyüz İ.
Preparation and evaluation of the
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Faculty of Forest. 2005;7(7):51-61 (in
Turkish)
Chapter 54

Analysis of Impact of Window

Design Detail on Energy Demand
Profile of Typical Hotel
John O. Onyango and Nea Maloo

Abstract

An interest in energy consumption in building and associated carbon dioxide

emission has been increasing. The hospitality industry consumes vast amounts of
energy even during periods when buildings are not occupied, and it was estimated
that almost a quarter of total energy is used for cooling during hot season, while
almost two-thirds of total energy demand is for space heating in the winter. The
demand and use profile varies depending on climatic location. The openings such
as door and windows are a source of unregulated energy loses and the design and
detailing affects this. This chapter reports on the analysis of results of experimental
work and numerical simulation of a typical mid-chain hotel in cold climate of mid-
west USA, and compares it with measured data from sample rooms. It reveals that
the design of the window seal, reveals, location of curtain within the space affects the
performance of the space cooling device, and comfort of occupants. It suggests that
the hotel industry could save vast amounts of energy costs in addition to reducing the
carbon emission and raising corporate profiles with expensive retrofitting.

Keywords: energy consumptions, cooling, hotels, window design, sustainability

1. Introduction

On average, there were 4.8-million guests each night staying in hotel rooms in
2015 [1]. Hotel rooms are enclosed spaces that create adequate comfortable thermal
microclimate achieved mostly through use of HVAC systems. The most important
factors for comfort in rooms are temperature of the room air, surfaces of surround-
ing walls, windows, and heating surfaces. Studies of energy consumption profiles
of hospitality industry reveal that on average, hotel guest room reveal that they
account for 40–80% of total energy use, but for those that cater for high-end guest,
the consumption is 50–70 kW and for the luxurious guest rooms more than 80 kW
per day [2].
Literature review on research on indoor thermal conditions have been carried
out using finite elements to study the characteristics of laminar and turbulent air
flows, two-dimensional numerical prediction, and computational fluid dynamics
(CFD) among others methods [3–5]. ASHRAE 55 Thermal Comfort using PMV
with acceptability rate of 80 recommends that indoor operative temperatures
should be in the range of 23.3 and 30.3°C at relative humidity of 80% [6]. It has
been shown that a 1–4°C thermostatic setback results in a reduction in energy

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ISBS 2019 - 4th International Sustainable Buildings Symposium

demand response savings of 5–12% [7]. For cold climates, energy the reduction per
°C which is 5.4% of total annual [8]. Hotel facilities present abundant opportunities
for energy savings. In 2007, there were over 25,000 hotels in the United States, that
annually spend an average of $2196 on energy costs per room that amounts to about
6% of the total annual hotel operating cost [9].
Most budget level hotels such as Quality Inn, Super-8, Wyndham, Fairfield
Suites all use window-based packaged terminal air conditioner (PTAC) for heat-
ing and cooling (Figures 1 and 2). However, these types of units do not have great
demand response, thermostatic systems (Figure 3) is an example of a packaged
terminal air conditioning that has capacity of 0.6 tons or 7000 BTU of cooling
and 3 kW electrical heater (12.2 EER, 230 V) heating. They are typically installed
through the wall below the window and even though they are installed close to bed
location, the room may appear comfortable, however at what cost to the environ-
ment? It was estimated that hotels emit an equivalent of 10 tons of CO2 per bedroom
per year [10].
The use of PTAC units in hotels is common because of their low initial costs and
simplicity of the systems. The design and location of PTAC units within the wall

Figure 1.
External view of super 8 in South Bend, IN [11].

Figure 2.
External view of quality inn & Suites in South Bend, IN [12].

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Figure 3.
Typical packaged terminal air conditioner (PTAC) [13].

results in inefficiencies dues to factors that could lead to excessive energy consump-
tion, typically left running in unoccupied rooms, unless a good energy management
systems is in place. This is unlikely as hotels tend to keep rooms cool, so room
service personnel would always turn them on if they found them off.

2. Methodology

The objectives of this study were firstly, to understand the thermal environment
in typical hotel bedroom, secondly to look at the impact of the location and design
of window-based PTAC on the thermal environment and energy consumption, and
finally to suggest simple design retrofits to reduce energy consumption and impacts
of the various retrofits strategies. The hotel room is similar in size and configura-
tion to illustrations in Figures 4 and 5. The work discussed here involved logging
of energy use recording of the PTAC window unit over 24-hour period with the
curtains as designed and repeated with the curtains placed tight along the window.
It was undertaken using a three-channel PicoLog CM3 data logger with accuracy
within ±1% and uses industry-standard clamps and was connected to Mac OS via

Figure 4.
Typical guest room.

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ISBS 2019 - 4th International Sustainable Buildings Symposium

Figure 5.
Typical guest room plan [14].

USB (Figure 6). The clamp on data loggers measure the AC circuit currents and
voltage in a non-invasive manner without breaking the circuit being measured.
Data were acquired using the PicoLog 6 data logging software. The electrical
consumption data from the HVAC circuit was captured every 5 minutes for 24 hours
period which were then used to obtain the averages values of the voltages and
currents, that is related to mean square root voltage as given in equation (1). The
voltages were calculated using the mean square root (RMS) of the logged periodic
voltage then used to calculate the electrical consumption in kilowatts (kW) with the
current data.

Vrms = 1.11 V ave (1)

where Vrms is theroot mean square value of the AC voltage; Vave is the logged
average AC voltage.

Figure 6.
PicoLog CM3 data logger [15].

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Figure 7.
Air quality CO2 + RH/T data logger [16].

In addition, IEQ data were recorded using air quality 1% CO2 + RH/T environ-
mental data logger at the following locations: air exit of the PTAC, at 36″ above the
floor near the bed head and at thermostat location (5′-0″). Data were acquired from
the logger and viewed using GasLab® software (Figure 7).

3. Results and discussion

Figures 8 and 10 are thermal images of the room close to the window where the
PTAC is located. It can be noticed that in Figure 8, the curtains have not sacked in air
being discharged from the PTAC unit and the temperature distribution is fairly uni-
form. However, Figures 9 and 10 reveal the effect of discharged air being sacked into
the window curtains, thereby affecting the thermal environment of the room. It can
be noted that the budge in the curtain has a lower temperature hue than in same area
in Figure 8, indicating cooler air being trapped and thereby affecting the distribution
and overall thermal environment of the room. This not only results in inefficiency in
use through trapped cool or warm air in fairly well insulated curtains, but also in tem-
peratures being higher for same thermostat settings. As a result, the room occupants
would respond by either changing the thermostatic setting or the PTAC units needing
to continue working harder to try and meet the comfort setting of the occupant.
The thermostat of the PTAC unit was set to 74° F, however, the IAQ data for
room at the unit, at bed head, and at back wall at 5′-0″ were 75.2° F, 78% RH; 72.1°
F, 81% RH; and 76.4° F, 71% RH, respectively. The average temperature and humid-
ity values for the room were 74.6° F and 76.7%. Tables 1 and 2 are extracted from
measured data that show that the hourly energy consumption for the PTAC unit
at one of the sampled hotel room is 13.63 kW. The consumption if the window is
designed to include either a longer window sill that would stop air being sucked into
the curtains, the consumption is 12.82 kW.
The above results were snap short of the data, however over longer period of
24-hours, they were 327.12 and 307.92 kW, respectively, if the system was running

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ISBS 2019 - 4th International Sustainable Buildings Symposium

Figure 8.
Thermal image of room + window.

Figure 9.
View of window with air sucked in.

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Analysis of Impact of Window Design Detail on Energy Demand Profile of Typical Hotel
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.87836

Figure 10.
Thermal image of window with air sucked in.

With air sucked into window curtains

Time in Voltage Current Power = IV

minutes (V) (A) (kW)
Mean (every 5 minutes) 5 180.40 6.61 1.192
10 181.00 6.17 1.117

15 180.50 6.21 1.121

20 180.40 6.21 1.120

25 181.00 6.23 1.128

30 180.66 6.29 1.136

180.66 6.29 1.136

Hourly energy consumption (kW) 13.63

Table 1.
Hourly energy consumption (kW).

over that period. The reality is that, it runs intermittently and sometimes overrid-
den by the user, in our case, we turned it off during the day when we were away,
hence the number is representative of a period of 12 hours very close to what
literature review indicates.
The equivalent to energy reduction was therefore between 5.9 and 6.21%, if a
simple scheme that would keep the curtains from sucking in air being emitted from
the PTAC unit was installed as was done at the Microtel by Wyndham Hotels in
South Bend (Figure 11) and as proposed by authors (Figure 12).
One could potentially resolve the issue by mounting the PTAC unit a little
forward by say 4″ into the room; another strategy would be to fix the unit at a

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ISBS 2019 - 4th International Sustainable Buildings Symposium

With modified window sill

Time in Voltage Current Power = IV

minutes (V) (A) (kW)
Mean (every 5 minutes) 5 183.3 5.84 1.07
10 184.1 5.87 1.08

15 183.99 5.85 1.08

20 183.8 5.78 1.06

25 184.98 5.79 1.07

30 184.08 5.73 1.06

184.04 5.81 1.07

Hourly energy consumption (kW) 12.83

Table 2.
Hourly energy consumption (kW).

Figure 11.
Double queen room with modified window sill [17].

lower position leaving a space between the top of PTAC unit and the window sill
which should also be extended to block air from being sacked into the curtains
(Figure 12).
The first option is limited by the depth of the unit (11-1/4″) which fits a typical
wall construction. In the second strategy, which is an easy design option may
result in some air being trapped in the curtain, but definitely an improvement to
the original design. Figures 12 and 13 illustrates strategies 3 that involves extend-
ing the window sill without changing position of the PTAC unit. Even though
it results in air not being sacked into the curtain, it will, however impact the
distribution of air through the room and affect the thermal comfort and intro-
duce drafts and vertical temperature differentials between the feet and the head
locations. Strategy 4 is optimum solution that involves both lowering the location
of PTAC unit and extending the window sill. It will result in better temperature
distribution as well as ensuring air is not sacked into the curtains. The authors
acknowledge the limitation of the study did not include testing the energy reduc-
tion using the various strategies and will be looking at this over next 12 months
using CFD modeling and analysis in IESVE as well physically testing them in
hotels here in South Bend Indiana, USA.

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Figure 12.
Sketches of Modified Location of PTAC [18].

Figure 13.
Sketches of Modification to Window Sill [19].

4. Conclusion

Literature review indicated that the high-end guest rooms consumed between
50 and 70 kW per day [2] and that the reduction noticed using modified design was
between 5.9 and 6.2% translating to energy savings of approximately 3 kW daily.
The impact across the many rooms in the 25,000 hotels is enormous and perhaps it
is high time hotel industries consider their commitment to sustainability through
energy consumption by simple upgrades to their window sill design.

Acknowledgements

This work would not be possible without support of the funds provided by
the Dean School of Architecture at University of Notre Dame & Dean College of
Architecture and Engineering, Howard University.

Conflict of interest

We neither have to our best knowledge any conflict of interest in work presented
in this chapter, nor do we promote any particular proprietary product or processes.

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Author details

John O. Onyango1* and Nea Maloo2

1 School of Architecture, University of Notre Dame, Indiana, USA

2 College of Engineering and Architecture, Howard University,

Washington, D.C., USA

*Address all correspondence to: jonyang1@nd.edu

© 2019 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms
of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/
by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is properly cited.

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Analysis of Impact of Window Design Detail on Energy Demand Profile of Typical Hotel
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.87836
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[1] American Hotel & Lodging
Association (AH and LA). Lodging
Industry Trends 2015 [Internet].
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[2] Blanchard J, Sullivan GP. Guest
Room HVAC Occupancy-Based Control
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[3] Lee SC, Cheng CY, Chen CK.
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Numerical Heat Transfer, Part A:
Applications. 1997;31(5):529-550. DOI:
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[4] Sinha SL. Behaviour of inclined
jet on room cooling. Building and
Environment. 2001;36(5):569-578.
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sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/
S0360132300000330/pdfft?md5=bc9f6
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[5] Ni J, Jin B, Zhang B, Wang X.
Simulation of thermal distribution
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[6] American Society of Heating,
Refrigerating and Air Conditioning
Engineers (ASHRAE). ANSI/ASHRAE
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[7] Department of Energy (DOE).
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nc.gov/ncdeq/Environmental%20
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[8] Moon JW, Han SH. Thermostat
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[9] Environmental Protection Agency
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energystar.gov/sites/default/files/
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and%20Hotels.pdf [Accessed:
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[10] Brescu. ECG36 Energy Efficiency
in HotelswA Guide for Owners
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Building Research Establishment.
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cibse.org/getmedia/070252ba-
cd5e-4b74-ba0b-4bb51e8d55c2/
ECG36-Energy-Efficiency-in-Hotels-a-
Guide-for-Owners-and-Managers.pdf.
aspx
[11] Wyndham Worldwide Corporation.
View of Super 8-South Bend [Internet].
2016. Available from: https://www.
wyndhamhotels.com/content/dam/
property-images/en-us/se/us/in/
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south-bend/14645/14645_exterior_
view_1.jpg? [Accessed: April 20, 2018]

[12] Choice Hotels International.

View of Quality Inn-South Bend
[Internet]. 2016. Available from:
https://t-ec.bstatic.com/images/hotel/
max1024x768/342/34291660.jpg
[Accessed: April 20, 2018]

[13] Friedrich. Package Terminal Unit,

PTAC [Internet]. 2018. Available from:
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2019]

[14] Wyndham Worldwide Corporation.

Queen Bed Room-Super 8 PDF Set
[Internet]. 2016. Available from: https://
developmentsupport.wyn.com/en/
architecture-and-design/super-8/
downloads/ [Accessed: April 20, 2018]

[15] Pico Technology. PicoLog CM3 Data

Logger [Internet]. 2018. Available from
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[16] Mic Meter Industrial Company.

98113E Desktop TVOC,Temp. RH
Logger [Internet]. 2013. Available
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[17] Embassy Suites by Hilton. View

of Embassy Suites-Notre Dame
[Internet]. 2018. Available from: https://
embassysuites3.hilton.com/en/about/
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2018]

[18] Onyango JO. Sketch of Modified

Location of PTAC; 2019

[19] Onyango JO. Sketch of Modification

to Window Sill; 2019

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Chapter 55

Estimation of Soil Erosion in the

Drainage Basin of Cakmak Dam
Murat Pınarlık and Zeliha Selek

Abstract

Soil erosions have negative impacts on the economic life and sustainable opera-
tions on dams which are built in basins due to the filling of reservoirs. The sediment
carried by stream erosion causes the dead and active capacity of the dam reservoir
to be filled and the socioeconomic benefits to run out. Therefore, it has great impor-
tance to calculate the soil losses for the sustainable management of soil and water
resources in the drainage basins of dams. Soil losses resulting from erosion can be
calculated with the help of various equations and methods given in the literature.
One of these methods is revised universal soil loss equation (RUSLE) model. In
this study, soil losses resulting from erosion, which is located in the drainage basin
of Cakmak dam in Yesilirmak basin, was calculated with RUSLE model, and the
effect of erosion on the reservoir capacity was revealed by a geographic informa-
tion system (GIS). According to the results, slightly above 90% of low to very low
erosion and 5% of high to very high erosion were determined in the drainage basin
of Cakmak dam.

Keywords: erosion, RUSLE equation model, GIS, Cakmak dam, sustainable dam

1. Introduction

Although soil erosion is a natural part of erosion, it threatens the sustain-

ability of natural resources [1]. Soil erosion is an important environmental
problem that reduces soil productivity and water quality, causes sedimentation,
and increases the probability of floods worldwide [2]. Important terrain features
influencing the mechanism of soil erosion are slope, length, aspect, and shape.
Particularly, the impact of slope and aspect plays a major role in runoff mecha-
nism. The greater the gradient the slope has, the more runoff occurs, and hence,
the infiltration reduces. The increase of the flow velocity depending on the slope
will cause the erosion of soil [3]. Recently, soil erosion which is an important
problem in the whole world also damages the lands of Turkey greatly. In our
country, 54% of forest areas, 59% of agricultural areas, and 64% of pastures
are under the influence of moderate and high erosion [4]. Defective topography
and climatic conditions of Turkey create a favorable environment for erosion.
However, besides physical factors, human impacts are considerably high [5]. Soil
erosion is a result of the interaction between soil erodibility and rainfall erosivity
factors. Failure of human practices such as planting, desertification, an exten-
sion of urban areas and roads, unregulated, and overgrazing also accelerate this
problem [6, 7].

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Water erosion is the main type of physical land deformation in the global per-
spective [8]. Besides, due to the loss of fertile soil in agricultural areas, it is risky
for food safety and represents a serious barrier to sustainable development [9].
Water erosion causes soil particles to be removed through raindrops. Flow on the
surface also carries out the transport process [10]. Sediment formation in moun-
tain basins starts with landslides on steep slopes. The risks associated with this are
the deposition of sediment in the reservoirs and the transportation of the sediment
to the water networks [11]. All parts of catchments are closely linked together by
the behavior of streams, land use, and any disturbance in the hydrological and
biotic environments. Therefore, river catchments are dynamic and vulnerable
systems. Especially when exposed to human impacts, it can change significantly,
because, the system should be adjusted to remove this unnatural disturbance again
[12]. The total land area, which is subjected to human-induced soil degradation,
is estimated about 2 billion hectares. Furthermore, the land area affected by soil
degradation due to erosion is estimated at 1100 Mha by water erosion and 550 Mha
by wind erosion [13].
Particularly predictive models are needed to reduce corrosive processes in soil
use and management of basins. Models developed to calculate soil erosion can
be divided into empirical and conceptual and based on physical processes of soil
erosion [14, 15]. Empirical models are fast in predicting erosion, but for a specific
area, long-term data collection is required [16]. Also, empirical models are widely
used for measurement of the surface soil loss and sediment yield from the catch-
ment areas [17]. Physical-based or process-based models are based on mathematical
equations that define the erosion process. These models are designed to represent
the necessary mechanisms to control erosion. The advantage of physical-based
models is the synthesis of a single component associated with various factors.
Furthermore, they represent erosion involving complex interactions between their
spatial and temporal changes [18]. In the studies related to the determination of
soil erosion, physical-based methods are generally used such as USLE, RUSLE,
CORINE, and LEAM [19–21]. The most widely used of these methods is revised
universal soil loss equation (RUSLE) [22–24]. In addition to RUSLE method, GIS,
STATSGO, SSURGO, and remote sensing systems have been used and benefited
their soil databases [25–31]. The results obtained were found to be highly effective
and usable compared to other methods.
In this study, the soil losses resulting from erosion, which is located in the drain-
age basin of Cakmak dam in Yesilirmak basin, were calculated with RUSLE model,
and the effect of erosion on the reservoir capacity was revealed by geographic
information system (GIS).

2. Study area

In this research, Cakmak dam drainage area, which is located in Yesilirmak

subbasin of Yesilirmak basin in Turkey, was discussed. Yesilirmak basin is the
third largest basin in Turkey with the surface area of 38,387 km2. Yesilirmak sub-
basin covers approximately 32% of this area (11,961 km2). When the land use of
the Yesilirmak subbasin is examined, it includes the irrigated agricultural area
12.18%, the dry agricultural area 12.89%, the mountain pasture 9.43%, the forest
37.46%, and the steep slopes without trees 28.04%. Cakmak dam drainage area
is 47,862.7 ha. The lake surface of Cakmak dam was calculated as 500 ha by geo-
graphical information system (GIS). The following calculations were obtained by
subtracting the dam lake surface from the drainage area. The maps showing the
location of the Cakmak dam drainage area on the basin are given in Figure 1.

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Figure 1.
Location of the drainage basin of Cakmak dam in Yesilirmak basin.

3. Materials and methods

The map of soil loss to Turkey’s river’s reaching was revealed by revised univer-
sal soil loss equation (RUSLE). The dynamic erosion model and monitoring system
(DEMMS) has formed the dynamic structure of this model. It has been developed
to provide monitoring and reporting between years. With this system, the effects of
changes in soil-water conservation activities in the kinetic energy of the rain with
changes in land cover can be monitored temporally, spatially, and areally [32].
Soil losses caused by erosion with various methods and equations are calculated.
The most prevalently used of these methods is revised universal soil loss equation
(RUSLE). Soil losses which are transported and as a result of erosion in the drainage

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area of Cakmak dam in Yesilirmak basin were calculated by RUSLE equation. The
revised RUSLE is denominated as follows [33, 34]

A=R∗K∗L∗S∗C∗P (1)

where A is the annual soil loss (t ha−1 y−1), R is the rainfall erosivity factor
(MJ mm ha−1 hour−1y−1), K is the soil erodibility factor (t ha hour ha−1 MJ−1 mm−1),
L is the length of slope, S is the slope steepness, C is the cover management factor,
and P is the erosion control practice factor.
In this study, the data sets provided by the General Directorate of Combating
Desertification and Erosion and used to reveal the soil losses of our country were used.

3.1 Rainfall erosivity factor (R)

A 329 minute Automatic Meteorological Observation Station (AMOS) data was

used by the General Directorate of Combating Desertification and Erosion to obtain
the rainfall erosivity factor. Furthermore, it was computed by means of the equa-
tion given below and taken from the rainfall erosivity power map of Turkey:

E = 0.29 ∗ (1 − 0.72 e (0.05I)) (2)

where E is the unit rainfall energy and I is the rainfall intensity during the time
interval.

3.2 Soil erodibility factor (K)

23,000 profile data which was taken from 0 to 30 cm is existing in the soil
information system established under the General Directorate of Combating
Desertification and Erosion. By using the data and Eq. (3), obtained soil erodibility
map of Turkey was put into account in this study area. The K factor map of the
drainage basin is as follows:

Kt = 0.0293(0.65 − DG + 0.24 DG2 )

{ ( 2 ) − 4.02C + 1.72 C }
∗ exp − 0.0021 ____ OM 2
OM − 0.00037 ____ 2
(3)
C C

where Kt is the soil erodibility factor, Dg is the geometric mean particle size, OM
is the organic matter content (%), and C is the soil clay content.

3.3 Steepness and length of slope (LS)

This data is obtained by using 1/25,000 numerical elevation model and Eq. (4).
The map of steepness and length of the slope is given in Figure 4:

(22, 13 )
0,4
x𝜂
(0, 0896 )
1,3
(sin θ)
LS = ______
0,4
∗ ________ 1,3
(4)

where x is the flow accumulation, θ is the slope in degrees, and η is the cell size.

3.4 Cover management factor (C)

In order to get this data, forest stand maps produced by the General Directorate
of Forestry and CORINE 2012 data sets produced by the Republic of Turkey

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Name of equation Equation

Roehl SDR = 36(A) − 0.20

Williams and Berndt SDR = 0.627(SLP)0.403

Renfro log(SDR) = 1.7935 − 0.14191 log(A)

Vanoni SDR = 0.42(A) − 0.125

USDA-SCS SDR = 0.51(A) − 0.11

Boyce SDR = 0.41(A) − 0.3

SDR, sediment delivery ratio; A, basin area (km2); SLP, main waterway slope

Table 1.
Sediment delivery ratio equations [36].

Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry Department of Information Technologies were

used together. C values are assigned to obtained polygons [35].

3.5 Erosion control practice factor (P)

Erosion control practice factor covers the erosion measures in the study area.
Any data could not be obtained for erosion control in Cakmak dam drainage basin.
Therefore, this value is one for this study area.

3.6 Sediment delivery ratio (SDR)

Sediment delivery ratio is the equation which countries produce for themselves
and is often defined as a function of the area. In an effort to determine these values
in our country, basin similarity test is carried out by using sediment observation
station of the General Directorate of the State Hydraulic Works data and RUSLE
equality results. In this study, USDA-SCS equation was used (Table 1).

4. Results and discussion

The Cakmak dam drainage area is 47,862.7 ha. Cakmak dam lake surface is calcu-
lated as 500 ha with GIS. The following calculations were obtained by removing the
dam lake surface from the drainage area.
For the drainage area of Cakmak dam, the rainfall erosivity factor (R), soil erod-
ibility factor (K), steepness and length of slope (LS), and cover management factor
(C) were calculated and mapped by using the GIS-based DEMMS model. These
maps were illustrated in Figures 2–5, respectively.
A map of the soil losses of displacement for the drainage area of Cakmak dam
which is obtained by using the DEMMS model is shown in Figure 6. Besides, the
map of transported soil losses by river is given in Figure 7.
From the results of the model, in the study area, 71.4% very low, 20.6% low, 3%
moderate, 1.6% high, and 3.4% very high erosions were observed. Soil erosion classi-
fication, areas, and percentages are given in Table 2 for Cakmak dam drainage area.
In the drainage area of Cakmak dam, 207.210 tons of soil is displaced as a result
of water erosion (Table 3). This means that in the unit area, 4.38 tons−1 ha−1 soil is
activated by the impact of water erosion.
It was calculated that 97.920 tons of soil per year was carried by rivers in the
evaluation made considering the sediment delivery ratio (Table 4). This means that
in the unit area, 2.08 tons−1 ha−1 soil is carried by rivers.

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Figure 2.
R factor map.

Figure 3.
K factor map.

Figure 4.
LS factor map.

Due to soil erosion, bathymetric surveys were used to analyze the effects of
sediment transported to Cakmak dam reservoir. It was examined by the elevation-
volume data belonging to before the dam construction of the Cakmak dam and
in 2014. As a result of the study, it has been observed that an average annual load

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Figure 5.
C factor map.

Figure 6.
Water erosion map.

Figure 7.
Map of soil carried by the river.

of 0.59 hm3 sediment is carried by the river to the reservoir. The obtained value
is approximately eight times higher than the amount of annual sediment carried
by river calculated by sediment delivery ratio equation. This difference can be

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Water erosion classes Very Low Moderate High Very Total

low high
Water erosion classification 1 5 10 20 20+
value

Area (ha) 33,835.0 9735.8 1430.3 739.2 1622.4 47,362.7

Percentage (%) 71.4 20.6 3.0 1.6 3.4 100.0

Table 2.
Soil erosion characteristics.

Water erosion Water erosion Number of Area (m2) Area Maximum

classification classification pixel (ha) soil loss
numbers value (10 × 10 m) (ton/year)
1 1 3,383,495 338,349,500 33,830 33,830

2 2 500,034 50,003,400 5000 10,000

3 4 382,713 38,271,300 3830 15,310

4 8 204,946 20,496,400 2050 16,400

5 16 76,253 7,625,300 760 12,200

6 30 80,034 8,003,400 800 24,010

7 60 72,400 7,240,000 720 43,440

8 120 30,840 3,084,000 310 37,010

9 271 5537 553,700 60 15,010

Total 473,627,000 47,360 207,210

Table 3.
Water erosion values.

Water erosion Water erosion Number of Area (m2) Area Maximum

classification classification pixel (ha) soil loss
numbers value (10 × 10 m) (ton/year)

1 1 4,098,196 409,819,600 40,980 40,980

2 2 302,323 30,232,300 3020 6050

3 4 105,596 10,559,600 1060 4220

4 8 73,279 7,327,900 730 5860

5 16 87,667 8,766,700 880 14,030

6 30 50,083 5,008,300 500 15,020

7 60 18,209 1,820,900 180 10,930

8 90 917 91,700 10 830

Total 473,627,000 47,360 97,920

Table 4.
Values of soil carried by river.

attributed to the excessive amount of sediment carried in flood conditions. In fact,

the model result is a value close to the average annual sediment carried by rivers in
Turkey. Generally, when the sedimentation observations are compared with the
results of the bathymetry, the bathymetric values are higher. A similar situation is
also present here. Besides, in this period, it was determined that the volume of the

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dam had a loss of 8.17% dead volume, in the active volume of 30.23%, and storage
loss of 14.39% in the total volume.

5. Conclusions

In the present study, the soil loss of the drainage basin of Cakmak dam was
estimated. Factors affecting soil loss in the basin, the rainfall erosivity factor (R),
soil erodibility factor (K), steepness and length of slope (LS), and cover manage-
ment factor (C), were calculated and mapped by using the GIS-based DEMMS. The
severity of soil loss was investigated in five categories. From the results of the
model, in the study area, 71.4% very low, 20.6% low, 3% moderate, 1.6% high, and
3.4% very high erosions are observed. In addition to this, the amount of erosion
caused by water and the amount of soil carried by the river were determined in the
total basin area. In the drainage area of Cakmak dam, 2072.1 tons of soil is displaced
as a result of water erosion. This means that in the unit area, 4.38 tons-1 ha-1 soil
is activated by the impact of water erosion. It was calculated that 979.2 tons of soil
per year was carried by rivers in the evaluation made considering the sediment
delivery ratio. This means that in the unit area, 2.08 tons-1 ha-1 soil is carried by
rivers. Although there was no high erosion in the basin, it was determined that
water erosion and the amount of soil carried by the river had a negative impact on
the operation of the reservoir. In 26 years, it was determined that the dam had a loss
of 8.17% dead volume, the active volume of 30.23%, and storage loss of 14.39% in
the total volume. The results show that if the measures are not taken related to water
erosion in the area, the dam will have completed its useful life in approximately
25–30 years. Some measures should be taken to ensure that the Cakmak dam, which
was built to meet the drinking water needs of Samsun province, can meet this need
in the near future. For this purpose, it can be advisable to perform terracing and
forestation work on erosion control in the upper basin. In order to remove the sedi-
ment deposited in the reservoir, natural and mechanical methods such as washing
and underwater excavation can be applied.

Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to the Turkish Republic General Directorate of

Combating Desertification and Erosion for their supports.

Author details

Murat Pınarlık* and Zeliha Selek

Department of Civil Engineering, Gazi University, Ankara, Turkey

*Address all correspondence to: muratpinarlik@gazi.edu.tr

© 2019 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms
of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/
by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is properly cited.

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Chapter 56

Evaluation of Tensile Strength of

Different Mortar and Adhesive
Specimens Used in Masonry Wall
Construction
Yağmur Kopraman, Coşkun Çakmak and Anıl Özdemir

Abstract

In recent years, experimental study on non-load-bearing walls has been incre-

mented. In the light of these studies, knowledge on the mechanical properties of
construction materials used as binders is rapidly growing. Prior to wall construction,
different kinds of binding materials could be chosen with respect to usage objectives
and availability. In this study, the most widely used construction materials, namely,
cement-lime mortar, gypsum mortar, and specially designed chemical brick adhe-
sive, were chosen. Cylinder specimens using the mentioned construction materials
were tested to evaluate their tensile strength. For each type of construction mate-
rial, three identical specimens were produced. This experimental study is compiled
from the data collected from a total of nine specimens. Tests were done according to
ASTM standard C496-17 standard. During the tests, vertical displacement, vertical
and horizontal strain readings, and applied load readings were collected. As a result,
whatever the material was, all has yielded approximately the same tensile strength.

Keywords: masonry wall, mortar, adhesive, tensile strength, Brazilian test

1. Introduction

Non-load-bearing walls are widely used in every structure as partition walls.

In general, natural stone, clay brick unit, aerated concrete brick unit, lightweight
concrete brick unit, or even concrete blocks are widely used as wall construction
materials. The variety of available materials allow constructors to choose the most
suitable one according to economy, usage needs, insulation demand due to heat and
sound, and finally local availability [1]. On the market, each individual wall unit is
bound to each other with some kind of specific binder or mortar. Randomly chosen
binder may not satisfy needed workability and usage objectives.
Most of the unit to unit binders used in non-load-bearing walls consist of certain
amounts of fine-graded materials and water, mixed to form a workable putty within
a decent amount of time [2]. In this study, the most widely used construction
materials were chosen which are concrete lime mortar, gypsum mortar, and spe-
cially designed chemical adhesive. This experimental study is the completed portion
of a large unfinished experiment, aimed to investigate the computer simulation of
non-load-bearing partition walls.

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2. Literature survey

There are various methods of testing stone or brittle materials in tension [3–7].
The most common method of tensile testing is bending tests either by three- or
four-point loading of unreinforced beam specimens [8]. Although the test proce-
dure is quite easy, these testing methods are used to yield twice the strength com-
pared to calculations done by Hooke’s law [9].
Hübert Rüsch in the 1960s designed a prism-shaped specimen tested in pure ten-
sion. But, local failures were observed where the loading apparatuses contact with the
specimen. So Rüsch increased the cross section of the specimen where contacts lead to a
local failure. The test method which gives the closest result to the actual tensile strength
of the test specimens is “Simple Tensile Test” [10]. Although this method is known to
output the real-life tensile strength, the specimen preparation and its placement in the
test setup need more effort, and repeatability of test procedure is quite low [11].
Another technique used for determining tensile strength of brittle materials
is first introduced by Carneiro and Barcellos in 1953. This technique is named as
cylinder split test or Brazilian test [12]. The Brazilian test, accepted as standardized
test method, included the major international standards such as ASTM C496,
ISO 4105, BS 1881-117, and RILEM CPC6 [13–16]. In recent years, Brazilian test is
more widely used than bending tests for determining specimen tensile strength,
for its low error rate and much standardized output in the test results. Therefore,
in this study Brazilian test procedure was used to determine the tensile strength.
For this purpose, cylindrical specimens having standard dimensions, 150 mm in
radius and 300 mm in length, was placed horizontally in a compressive testing
machine. Compressive load transfer is applied to the test specimen, with a pair
loading apparatus made up of hardboard having width, length, and thickness
of 10, 300, and 5 mm, respectively. Loading apparatuses were located at 12 and
6 o’clock position, respectively, where the cylindrical specimen touches the
compressive testing machine. Thus, concentrated linear compressive stress was
applied that leads to an elongation in the perpendicular direction where the defor-
mation is unconstrained. As a result, a crack pattern occurs along the 12–6 o’clock
direction which causes the specimen to split into two identical halves. This brittle
failure mechanism, reveals that as the specimens get wider and longer, much more
compressive load is needed to crush the specimen [17, 18]. Therefore, the dimen-
sions and the rate of loading of all the specimens in this experimental study are
kept identical. And to overcome material defects, each test is repeated three times.
A basic scheme of Brazilian test setup and the stress distribution along cracked
specimen was shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1.
Cylinder splitting tensile strength test [19].

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It should be noted that, apart from the outer edges where some local crushing
is observed, uniform tensile stress distribution develops at the inner layers of the
specimen. For that reason, this method of testing yields dependable and trust-
worthy results. ASTM standard C496-17 [20] proposes Eq. (1) to be utilized while
calculating the shear stress on specimens:

2P
σ = _______________ (1)
πDL

where:
σ is the splitting tensile strength, MPa.
P is the maximum applied load indicated by the testing machine, N.
L is the length of the specimen, mm.
D is the diameter of the specimen, mm.
In Table 1, the proposed equations of available tensile test methods used for
tensile capacity prediction of concrete in terms of compressive strength were shown
[9]. The direct tension test being the most ideal method, the closest value was
proposed by Brazilian test.

Direct Brazilian Three-point Four-point

tension test test (BT) bending test bending test
(DTT) (3PT) (4PT)
__ __ __ __
Tensile strength (MPa) 0.35 √f c 0.50 √f c 0.70 √f c 0.64 √f c

Tensile strength/direct 1.00 1.45 2.00 1.82

tension test

Table 1.
Tensile strength of concrete by various test methods.

3. Experimental study

Test specimens were produced and tested in the structural mechanics’ labora-
tory of the civil engineering department in Gazi University. Specimens were cast by
the layers approximately each having 100 mm. Each layer of material was carefully
placed in the pot leaving no gaps or voids. For each construction material, three
identical shaped specimens were taken. Each type of construction material stayed in
the pot for 2 days and then was taken out. Drying process lasted for 4 weeks. At the
day of testing, all specimens had a similar aging process, which lasted between 30
and 32 days at a controlled ambient temperature level of 20°C (68°F). No additional
care or cure process was utilized during production. Concrete-lime mortar was pre-
pared by mixing cement, lime, 0–3 mm graded sand, and water by the volumetric
ratios of 1, 1, 4, and 1, respectively. Gypsum and chemical wall unit adhesive needed
only water to be added into the dry content. For gypsum mortar preparation, 4
volumetric units of dry gypsum powder were mixed by 3 volumetric units of water.
The mix design of chemical wall unit adhesive consisted of water and dry content,
which was expressed as 0.59–1 volumetric ratio, respectively. For all construction
material types, each individual mixing speed and duration were applied carefully.
Experiment elements were shown on Figure 2.
In Figure 3, test and loading setup was shown. Specimens were tested in a custom-
made axial load test frame having 3000 kN of loading capacity. The load was applied
at a rate of 3 kN/s with a computer-controlled hydraulic jack. During the test five
sensor readings were taken simultaneously. Readings were collected through a digital
data logger device which collects eight readings per second. Two vertical direction

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Figure 2.
Production of test specimens.

Figure 3.
Testing and measuring instrument setup.

linear displacement readings, two strain gauge (SG) readings at vertical and hori-
zontal directions, and applied axial load were collected throughout the experiments.
Although the strain gauge readings were planned as the dominant deformation
reading, during tests after the development of shear cracks, vertical strain stopped
responding. Besides, horizontally placed strain gauge transmits no meaningful strain
reading if the crack was missed. So as a backup, mathematical average of the linear
displacement readings was used to verify the vertical strain gauge reading. But in the
horizontal direction, very delicate strain gauges are damaged suddenly after the first
observable crack, and rapidly growing crack leads gauges to lose its consistent data
output. For this reason, especially, horizontally placed strain gauges mostly failed to
inform dependable readings. For that reason, the selected horizontal strain plot of
only one specimen was given. Others were omitted because of sudden loss or mis-
placed gauge. Figures 4–6 show experiment elements before the tests.
Tensile stress-strain graphs were plotted by using the data of experimental
phase, and the behavior of the binding materials against the applied load was deter-
mined. The experimental observation and stress-strain graph of nine test specimens
(three concrete-lime mortars, three gypsum mortars, three chemical adhesives) will
be presented in the following section.

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Figure 4.
View of concrete-lime mortar specimens prior to testing.

Figure 5.
View of gypsum mortar specimens prior to testing.

Figure 6.
View of chemical adhesive specimens prior to testing.

4. Experimental results

As aforementioned nine Brazilian tests were carried out for three different kinds
of binders. Tensile strength of each mortar type was obtained by averaging the three
test results. Compiled test results are shown in Table 2. The average of gypsum and
cement-lime mortar specimens crushed approximately at the same level of tensile
stress. The tensile strength of the adhesive mortar was about 15% lower than the
other mortar types. Graphs plotted using the calculated stress-strain values were
presented in Figures 7–9. Three tests were carried out for every kind of mortar,
but just in first tests, strain gauges were utilized to be able to define the relation of

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Cement-lime mortar Gypsum mortar Chemical adhesive

Tensile stress at failure 16.00 17.50 12.50 13.50 18.00 15.00 11.50 12.50 15.00
×10−2 (MPa)

Std. deviation of 2.56 2.29 1.80

tensile stress at failure
×10−2
Average tensile stress 15.33 15.50 13.00
×10−2 (MPa)

Vertical strain at 6 6 7 6 6 7 3 5 8
failure ×10−2
(mm/mm)
Std. deviation of 0.58 0.58 2.52
vertical strain at
failure ×10−2

Table 2.
Test results.

Figure 7.
Tensile strength and strains in vertical and lateral direction of gypsum mortar specimens.

vertical and horizontal strain magnitude values. The other two tests were carried
out to confirm the tensile strength of specimens. It is clear to see, from the first
figures of every triple figure set, how vertical strain of the specimen changes versus
its lateral strain value under the effect of the same load magnitude. For example,
the first graph in Figure 7 shows that vertical strain of the gypsum mortar specimen
1 is equal to nearly three times its lateral strain value under the effect of the same
load magnitude. In addition, final shapes after the failure of mortars were shown in
Figures 10–12.

4.1 Gypsum mortars

From the outcome of first test, it is possible to conclude that until 0.005 mm/mm
strain in both directions moved closely to each other. After this value, vertical strain
moved faster than the lateral one. Gypsum mortar specimen had tensile strength of
0.16 MPa in average. All specimens reached their tensile strength value at relatively
0.06 mm/mm, vertical strain value. Even though strength results are different from

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Figure 8.
Tensile strength and strains in vertical and lateral direction of cement-lime mortar specimens.

Figure 9.
Tensile strength and strains in vertical and lateral direction of chemical adhesive mortar specimens.

Figure 10.
View of concrete-lime mortar specimens after test.

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Figure 11.
View of gypsum mortar specimens after test.

Figure 12.
View of chemical adhesive specimens after test.

each other, behavior of specimens was nearly similar. Specimens kept their bear-
ing load until they reach about 0.05 mm/mm vertical strain value in three tests. In
addition, the strain interval, from beginning to increase of bearing load to reach
their maximum bearing load, is 0.01 mm/mm, and it is again nearly the same for
each specimen.

4.2 Cement-lime mortars

Data obtained indicate that in scope of strain and strength, behaviors of cement
mortar specimens are quite similar to gypsum mortar specimens. Cement mortar
specimen had tensile strength value of 0.15 MPa in average. They reached to this
level of stress averagely at 0.06 mm/mm vertical strain value.

4.3 Chemical adhesive mortars

This test set showed that strain behaviors of three different tests arose dispa-
rately. In the first test, as soon as the test started, the bearing load increased without
showing any behavior like keeping the same load-bearing capacity. In the second
and third test, although the strength and strain values are different, they are similar
to other types of mortar in terms of failure behavior. Adhesive mortar specimens had
tensile strength values relatively 0.12, 0.13, and 0.15 MPa. They reached their tensile
strength value at relatively 0.03, 0.05, and 0.08 mm/mm vertical strain values.

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5. Conclusion

In this study tensile strength of the most widely used mortar types was calcu-
lated and compared to each other by Brazilian test method. This study is a subgroup
of a project, which is about investigating earthquake performance of partition wall
systems of which experimental studies were already done. An analytical study is
also being planned about this topic to be able to confirm the results. For this analyti-
cal study, mechanical properties of every component that constitutes these wall
systems should be calculated in order to transfer the material properties to the com-
puter. Because mortars are the most important connectors for masonry units to each
other, it is significant to define their mechanical properties too. For this reason, the
main limitation of the experimental study is just to define tensile strength of mortar
specimens that are most widely used in construction sector. In addition, there was
a lack of mechanical behaviors of mortar types in academic literature. Based on the
results, it can be concluded that mortar types have close tensile strength values.
Additionally, for all kinds of mortars, failure in shape was very brittle and stress
accumulation occurred in the same regions. It is recommended that these tests can
be carried out with a high number of specimens and maybe with different compo-
nents like cement/water or gypsum/water ratios.

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge the support from the Gazi University-
Projects of Scientific Investigation (BAP)(Research ID: 07/2018–2102).

Author details

Yağmur Kopraman, Coşkun Çakmak and Anıl Özdemir*

Department of Civil Engineering, Gazi University, Ankara, Turkey

*Address all correspondence to: anilozdemir@gazi.edu.tr

© 2019 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms
of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/
by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is properly cited.

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[19] ASTM C496-02. Standard Test

Method for Splitting Tensile Strength
of Cylindrical Concrete Specimens.
American Society for Testing and
Materials International; 2002

[20] ASTM C496-17. Standard Test

Method for Splitting Tensile Strength
of Cylindrical Concrete Specimens.
American Society for Testing and
Materials International; 2017

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Chapter 57

The Effect of Pile-Head Boundary

Conditions in Liquefiable Soil
Pınar Sezin Öztürk Kardoğan and Nihat Sinan Işık

Abstract

The soil may lose its strength due to various reasons. Especially in saturated
sandy soils, because of the increase in pore water pressure under dynamic loads, the
soil loses its strength and behaves as a liquid. Liquefaction phenomenon, along with
the occurrence of large soil displacements, can cause lateral spreading in sloping
ground. These displacements cause some damage on pile foundations. It is still hard
to determine the behavior of laterally loaded piles under dynamic loading with
definite judgments. For this reason, some numerical and experimental methods are
used. In this study, some centrifuge test results are compared with those obtained
numerically with a beam on nonlinear Winkler foundation (BNWF) model.

Keywords: pile, pile-soil interaction, pile-head boundary conditions,

soil liquefaction, BNWF

1. Introduction

The increase of pore water pressure during an earthquake triggers the liquefac-
tion phenomenon, which in turn in the case of sloping ground conditions may
trigger the lateral spreading phenomenon. Lateral spreading due to soil liquefaction
in steep slopes causes the soil to lose its stiffness by being exposed to large lateral
displacements. Both lateral spreading and liquefaction phenomenon occur due to
the reduction of strength and stiffness of the soil. Therefore, in case of soil liquefac-
tion and lateral spreading, large stresses may occur on pile foundation, resulting in
considerable damage to the pile. In Turkey and in other countries severely exposed
to large earthquakes, many studies have been carried out on pile damages due to
liquefaction and lateral spreading, and their effects on the superstructure behavior
have been evaluated. The 1964 Niigata (Mw = 7.5), 1964 Alaska (Mw = 9.2), 1971
San Fernando (Mw = 6.4), and 1995 Hyogoken-Nambu (Mw = 7.2) earthquakes
caused liquefaction and lateral spreading and in literature is reported that piles
damage due to these phenomena occurred. A semi-analytical analysis method was
presented in [1] to capture the dynamic response of vertical floating pile groups.
Numerical results suggested that this method gave better results than the finite ele-
ment method [1]. In the past, the behavior of piles under seismic loads was studied
with numerical methods (i.e., p-y curves and finite element method) [2], and the
results obtained were compared with centrifuge test experimental data [3–6]. Other
researchers have performed centrifuge tests to better understand the performance,
in a liquefiable deposit, of piles beneath the bridge piers and then have attempted to
reproduce these tests with the help of numerical tools based on the finite difference

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ISBS 2019 - 4th International Sustainable Buildings Symposium

method [7]. Especially in the case of pile foundation in liquefiable soil, bridge piers
and structures were damaged due to large displacements caused by liquefaction and
lateral spreading [8–12].
Particularly, static and dynamic analyses were used to determine the per-
formance of an old bridge resting on a liquefiable soil deposit, where lateral
spreading was observed, and it was found that the presence of a crust layer above
a liquefiable soil can affect the pile foundation analysis results [13, 14]. In this
work, a single pile subjected to liquefaction and lateral spreading effects is stud-
ied with a numerical model, and the results are compared with those obtained in
centrifuge tests.

2. Materials and methods

2.1 p-y curves for sandy soil in LPILE code

A proper assessment of lateral soil resistances is very important in case of

deep foundation in liquefiable soils. Although reasonable and generally accepted
methods have been developed to define p-y curves for unliquefied soils, a signifi-
cant uncertainty remains about the evaluation of the lateral resistance that can be
achieved in liquefied sands [15]. Sometimes liquefiable soils are thought to have
no strength. In the code LPILE [16], soil strength reduction due to liquefaction is
commonly introduced by applying reasonable reduction factors to the p-y curves or
by entering a very low value for the angle of friction of the sand. Rollins et al. [17]
developed p-y curves based on the results of load tests carried out on pile groups
in liquefiable sandy soil. The p-y curves found in [17] revealed a concave upward
shape as shown in Figure 1.
This shape is shown to result firstly from dilative behavior during shearing,
although blank effects may also contribute to the monitored load transfer reply.
In addition, in [17] it was shown that these p-y curves increase their stiffness
with depth. With increasing depth, a small displacement is required to develop
significant resistance, and the rate at which resistance develops as a function of
lateral pile displacement also increases. Rollins et al.’s model is shown to give results
close to the actual liquefiable sandy soil behavior.
Reese et al. [18] developed p-y curves for laterally loaded piles, both under
short-term static loads and under cyclic loads. In the latter work, some formulas
were defined for the calculation of p-y curves of sandy materials under static and
cyclic loads (Figure 2).

Figure 1.
p-y curve in liquefiable sand as proposed in [17].

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The Effect of Pile-Head Boundary Conditions in Liquefiable Soil
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.87836

Figure 2.
Characteristic shape of a set of p-y curves for static and cyclic loading in sand [18] (p = soil reaction; y = lateral
displacement; b = pile diameter; x = depth).

3. Case study

Abdoun and Wang [19] carried out centrifuge test on a soil profile (Figure 3)
consisting of an unliquefiable slightly cemented sand layer in the first 2 meters,
a liquefiable loose Nevada sand layer (relative density, DR = 40%) in the next 6
meters, and a slightly cemented sand in the bottom layer thick 2 meters (dimensions
above are in prototype scale). The centrifuge model was subjected to a centrifugal
acceleration of 50 g.
The soil in the centrifuge model was completely saturated with water. The
model was adjusted to reach an angle of 4.8 degrees from the horizontal surface,
thus allowing liquefaction-induced lateral spreading to occur during the experi-
ments. Variable horizontal accelerations were applied at the base of the model at
a frequency of 2 Hz in the form of a sine wave with a maximum value of 0.25 g.
The diameter (D) and the flexural rigidity (EI) of the prototype pile used in these
centrifuge tests are equal to 60 cm and 8000 kNm2, respectively. The box used
for the centrifuge test is a laminar box with a size of 2 × 2.5 × 0.5 m (model scale).

Figure 3.
Centrifuge model in prototype scale used for the verification analysis [19].

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ISBS 2019 - 4th International Sustainable Buildings Symposium

In the tests, the pile head was fixed against the rotation. The maximum bend-
ing moments reached during the tests at the upper and lower boundaries of the
liquefiable layer were 270 and 305 kNm, respectively. It was also measured that the
free-field ground surface moved 70 cm laterally, while the lateral displacement of
the pile head was 85 cm.

3.1 Analysis results using LPILE (beam on nonlinear Winkler foundation)

The analyses simulating the centrifuge experiment were performed using

LPILE, which is a computer code based on the BNWF model. The pile section
properties (D and EI) were taken as reported above. A free-field ground surface
displacement of 70 cm, which is the free-field ground surface displacement mea-
sured in the centrifuge test, was applied to the pile. A soil displacement of 70 cm
was applied throughout the layer thickness in the unliquefiable upper layer, while a
soil displacement profile, as shown in Figure 4, was applied in the liquefiable layer.
The latter profile follows a cosine function.
The analyses were carried out considering the pile head both fixed against the
rotation and free to rotate to evaluate the influence of the boundary condition at
the pile head. p-y curves developed by Reese et al. [18] were applied at the top and
bottom unliquefiable layers. The intermediate liquefiable layer was modeled in the
following ways:

1. By using the p-y curve proposed by Rollins et al. [17]

2. By using the two p-y curves (i.e., the p-y curve for sands under static loading
and the p-y curve under cyclic loading) proposed by Reese et al. [18] to which
a p-multiplier equal to 1/50 was applied

When the p-y curve proposed by Rollins et al. [17] was adopted to model the
liquefiable layer, the resulting bending moment at the transition zone (boundary
line between liquefied and unliquefied soils) and the pile-head displacement were
265 kNm and 86.5 cm, respectively, in the case of fixed-head boundary conditions
(also the centrifuge model pile was fixed-head).
In the case of free-head boundary condition, the pile bending at the transition
zone and the pile-head displacement were 257 kNm and 101.5 cm, respectively.
The pile bending and pile displacement profiles obtained when using the p-y curve
proposed by Rollins et al. [17] are given in Figure 5.
When the p-y curve by Reese et al. [18] was used (to which a p-multiplier equal
to 1/50 was applied to model the liquefiable soil), the pile bending at the transition

Figure 4.
Model created with LPILE [16].

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The Effect of Pile-Head Boundary Conditions in Liquefiable Soil
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.87836

Figure 5.
Analysis results when using the p-y curve proposed by Rollins et al. [17]. (a) Pile bending vs. depth. (b) Pile
deflection vs. depth.

zone and the pile-head displacement were 200 kNm and 33.5 cm, respectively, in
the case of fixed-head conditions. In the case of free-head boundary condition, the
pile bending at the transition zone and the pile-head displacement were 300 kNm
and 90.5 cm, respectively. The results obtained using the p-y curve by Reese et al.
[18] are shown in Figure 6 in terms of pile bending and pile deflection profiles.
LPILE analysis results were compared to those obtained experimentally in
centrifuge. It was found that the pile bending and the pile displacements inferred

Figure 6.
Analysis results when using the p-y curve proposed by Reese et al. [18] scaled with a p-multiplier equal to 1/50.
(a) Pile bending vs. depth. (b) Pile deflection vs. depth.

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ISBS 2019 - 4th International Sustainable Buildings Symposium

by using the p-y curve developed by Rollins et al. [17] are closer to those mea-
sured in centrifuge than those inferred by using the p-curve by Reese et al. [18].
Nevertheless, especially in the case of pile buckling assessments, the use of p-y
curve by Rollins et al. may lead to numerical stability problems. In fact, Ashford
et al. [20] reported that convex p-y curves may cause numerical solution problems
in some cases. The analysis results are summarized in Table 1.

Rollins Reese et al. Rollins Reese et al. Centrifuge

et al. [18] model et al. [18] model test
[17] p-multiplier = 1/50 [17] p-multiplier= 1/50
model (fixed head) model (free head)
(fixed (free
head) head)
Displacement of the 86.5 33.5 101.5 90.5 85
pile head (cm)

Bending moment at 265 200 257 300 270

the transition zone
(kNm)

Table 1.
Comparison between LPILE and centrifuge test results.

4. Conclusion

In this work, the response of a single pile subjected to lateral spreading was
studied by using a beam on nonlinear Winkler foundation (BNWF) program.
Single-pile analyses were carried out considering both free-head and fixed-head
boundary conditions. The analysis results were compared to centrifuge test data
retrieved in literature.
To model the liquefiable soil layer, the p-y curves proposed by Rollins et al.
[17] and by Reese et al. [18] were used. In the case of the p-y curve by Reese et al.
[18], originally developed to model sandy soils under static/cyclic lateral load-
ing, a p-multiplier set equal to 1/50 was applied to reproduce the stiffness and the
strength reduction in the liquefiable layer.
The analysis results by using the p-y curve developed by Rollins et al. [17] were
successful in reproducing both the pile-head displacement and the pile bending at
the transition zone depth obtained in centrifuge, when considering the pile head
fixed against the rotation. On the contrary, the analysis results by using the p-y
curve proposed by Reese et al. [18] were found to be significantly different com-
pared to the experimental data. Thus, it was found that the p-y curve developed by
Rollins et al. [17] to model liquefiable sands gave more reliable results than Reese
et al. [18] springs.

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The Effect of Pile-Head Boundary Conditions in Liquefiable Soil
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.87836

Author details

Pınar Sezin Öztürk Kardoğan* and Nihat Sinan Işık

Department of Civil Engineering, Gazi University, Ankara, Turkey

*Address all correspondence to: sezinozturk@gazi.edu.tr

© 2019 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms
of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/
by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is properly cited.

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[1] Ettouney MM, Brennan JA, Forte
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(ASCE)0733-9410(1983)109:3(301)
[2] Boulanger RW, Curras CJ, Kutter BL,
Wilson DW, Abghari A. Seismic soil-
pile-structure interaction experiments
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(ASCE)1090-0241(1999)125:9(750)
[3] Kimura M, Zhang F. Seismic
evaluations of pile foundations with
three different methods based on
three-dimensional elasto-plastic finite
element analysis. Soils and Foundations,
The Japanese Geotechnical Society.
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sandf.40.5_113
[4] Brandenberg SJ, Boulanger
RW, Kutter BL, Chang D. Static
pushover analyses of pile
groups in liquefied and laterally
spreading ground in centrifuge
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Geoenvironmental Engineering.
2007a;133(9):1055-1066. DOI: 10.1061/
(ASCE)1090-0241(2007)133:9(1055)
[5] Brandenberg SJ, Boulanger RW,
Kutter BL, Chang D. Liquefaction-
induced softening of load
transfer between pile groups and
laterally spreading crusts.
Journal of Geotechnical and
Geoenvironmental Engineering.
2007b;133(1):91-103. DOI: 10.1061/
(ASCE)1090-0241(2007)133:1(91)
[6] Tasiopoulou P, Gerolymos N, Tazoh
T, Gazetas G. Pile-group response
to large soil displacements and
liquefaction: Centrifuge experiments
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2013;139(2):223-233. DOI: 10.1061/
(ASCE)GT.1943-5606.0000759
[7] Armstrong RJ, Boulanger RW, Beaty
MH. Liquefaction effects on piled
bridge abutments: Centrifuge tests
and numerical analyses. Journal of
Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental
Engineering. 2013;139(3):433-443. DOI:
10.1061/(ASCE)GT.1943-5606.0000780
[8] Hwang J, Kim C, Chun C, Kim M.
Viscous fluid characteristics of
liquefied soils and behavior of piles
subjected to flow of liquefied soils. Soil
Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering.
2006;26(2-4):313-323. DOI: 10.1016/j.
soildyn.2005.02.020
[9] Ledezma C, Bray JD. Factors
that affect the performance of
bridge foundations undergoing
liquefaction-ınduced lateral spreading.
In: Geotechnical Earthquake and
Engineering and Soil Dynamics
IV Congress; 18-22 May 2008;
Sacramento, California. 2008. DOI:
10.1061/40975(318)161
[10] Shin H, Ardumio P, Kramer SL,
Mackie K. Seismic Response of a
Typical Highway Bridge in Liquefiable
Soil. Geotechnical Earthquake and
Engineering and Soil Dynamics
IV Congress; 18-22 May 2008;
Sacramento, California. 2008. DOI:
10.1061/40975(318)164
[11] Li Q , Zhang X, Yang Z. Analysis of
Laterally Loaded Piles in Liquefiable
Soils with a Frozen Crust. Oakland,
California, United States: Geo
Congress; 2012. pp. 25-29. DOI:
10.1061/9780784412121.022
[12] Turner BJ, Brandenberg SJ, Stewart
JP. Case study of parallel bridges
affected by liquefaction and lateral
spreading. Journal of Geotechnical
and Geoenvironmental Engineering.
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2016;142(7):1-12. DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE) Engineering, University of Canterbury,

GT.1943-5606.0001480
[13] Brandenberg SJ, Kashighandi P,
Zhang J, Huo Y, Zhao M. Sensitivity
Study of an Older-Vintage Bridge
Subjected to Lateral Spreading.
Geotechnical Earthquake and
Engineering and Soil Dynamics IV
Congress, 18-22 May 2008; Sacramento,
California. DOI: 10.1061/40975(318)165
[14] Knappett JA, Mohammadi S,
Griffin C. Lateral spreading forces on
bridge piers and pile caps in laterally
spreading soil: Effect of angle of
incidence. Journal of Geotechnical
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2010;136(12):1589-1599. DOI: 10.1061/
(ASCE)GT.1943-5606.0000387
Christchurch, New Zealand [Internet].
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org.nz/db/2003/View/Paper054s.pdf
[Accessed: 20-09-2018]
[20] Ashford SA, Boulanger RW,
Brandenberg SJ. Recommended
Design Practice for Pile Foundations
in Laterally Spreading Ground. USA:
Pacific Earthquake Engineering
Research Center College of Engineering,
University of California, Berkeley,
Rep; 2011

[15] Isenhower WM, Wang S. Technical

Manual for Lpile, Version 6. Austin:
Ensoft Inc; 2011. p. 101

[16] Wang S-T, Isenhower W. LPile

A Program for the Analysis of Deep
Foundations Under Lateral Loading.
Austin, Texas: Ensoft Inc.; 2010. p. 87

[17] Rollins KM, Hales LJ, Ashford SA.

P-y Curves for Large Diameter
Shafts in Liquefied Sands from Blast
Liquefaction Tests. Workshop on
Seismic Performance and Simulation
of Pile Foundations in Liquefied and
Laterally Spreading Ground. 26-18
March 2005. United States: University
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[18] Reese LC, Cox WR, Koop FD.

Analysis of Laterally Loaded Piles in
Sand. In: Proceedings 6th Offshore
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1974 Houston, Texas; 1974. pp. 473-484.
DOI: 10.4043/2080-MS

[19] Abdoun T, Wang Y. Performance of

retrofitted pile foundations subjected to
seismically induced lateral spreading.
Pacific Conference on Earthquake

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Chapter 58

Prediction of Monthly Streamflow

Using Extreme Gradient Boosting
and Extreme Learning Machine
Sinan Jasim Hadi, Arkan J. Hadi, Kamaran S. Ismail,
Mohammad Ali Ghorbani and Mustafa Tombul

Abstract

Streamflow is an essential part of the hydrologic cycle. The prediction of

streamflow is important in most of the water resource management applica-
tions. In this study, the performance of two data-driven models, namely, extreme
learning machine (ELM) and extreme gradient boosting (XGB), in predicting the
streamflow 1 month ahead is evaluated. A basin located in the southeast of Turkey
was selected as an application. Downstream flow is predicted 1 month ahead by
using the optimum lags of downstream itself, upstream, rainfall, temperature,
and potential evapotranspiration as input variables. Using these variables, several
input combinations were developed to identify the best combination. The results
showed that using the variables beside the lagged downstream flow increases the
model performance. For example, using only lagged downstream flow, only Nash-
Sutcliffe 0.335 and RMSE 26.851 m3/s can be obtained, while using all the vari-
able as inputs, Nash-Sutcliffe 0.671 and RMSE 18.879 m3/s are obtained by using
XGB. This study found that XGB outperformed the ELM although the former is a
tree-based model.

Keywords: streamflow prediction, extreme learning machine, extreme gradient

boosting, data-driven models

1. Introduction

One of the crucial components in the global- and regional-scale hydrologic

cycle is streamflow [1–3]. The streamflow is highly related to the flood and drought
disasters, and it is the main source of fresh water. Consequently, the highly accurate
streamflow forecasting, especially in the regions that are vulnerable to floods and
droughts, is very important for managing the water resources efficiently [1, 4].
Streamflow forecasting is done in two categories: short-term and long-term fore-
casts. Short-term forecast can be hourly or daily, and that is important in flood and
warning system applications, while long-term forecast which can be monthly or
annual is important for the operation of the reservoir, the transportation of sedi-
ments, and making decisions in irrigation management [5–7].
Hydrologic models in general are divided into two categories: physical-based
model and data-driven model (DDM). A physical-based model formulation is

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implemented according to the physical process interaction between the hydrological

elements. DDMs are driven from the data in which a model forms the relationship
between the inputs and the outputs regardless of the physical interaction. Several
DDMs have been developed around the globe and used for hydrologic modeling
in general and streamflow in particular such as autoregression, artificial neural
network (ANN), adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS), support vector
machine, and genetic programming [8].
The selection of the model is important in relation with the study area and its
physical characteristics. From the hydrologic point of view, another important
factor in the selection of the model is the number of variables available that can
be used as predictands and their length. As an example, ANFIS model creates
rules between the variables and the number of these rules that highly depends
on the variables used and their amount, and as a consequence, the computa-
tional cost could be very high [1, 8, 9]. Such an issue also exists in other models
such as ANN.
ANN has been the most widely used DDMs in all models and especially in
hydrologic models due its ability in modeling the nonlinear relationships and its
fast performance. There are numerous numbers of studies that applied the ANN
on streamflow modeling [2, 3, 8, 10–13]. Although ANN is considered as fast in
comparison to the aforementioned DDMs, it is criticized by several shortcom-
ings: long tuning process of the back-propagation algorithm, the local minima,
and over fitting. Extreme learning machine (ELM) which is firstly proposed
by [14] overcomes these shortcomings by its calculation and structure which
consists of single-hidden layer feed-forward networks (SLFNs) of ANN. ELM
has been also used for predicting the streamflow by several researchers such as
[7, 15–17].
Another DDM, namely, extreme gradient boosting (XGB), was proposed by
[18]. According to the knowledge of the authors, XGB model has not been used in
predicting the streamflow in the literature. Therefore, the objective of this study is
to compare the performance of the well-tested ELM method with the new XGB in
predicting the monthly streamflow 1 month ahead.

2. Study area and data

A basin shown in Figure 1 located in the southeast of Turkey, namely,

Goksu-Gokdere or 1805 (i.e., its code), is selected as an application to
examine the performance of the ELM and XGB in predicting the monthly
streamflow. The basin is located in Seyhan basin and situated between
37°36′07”N–38°17′20”N and 35°34′44“E–36°06’45”E. The physical characteris-
tics of the basin are as follows: the average slope is 23%, the longest water path is
equal to 192 km, the area of the basin is about 1790 km2, and the highly varying
elevation is 319–2967 m.
Daily streamflows measured at downstream which is to be predicted and at the
upstream (Figure 1) were collected for the period 1973–1994 from the Ministry of
Forests and Water Affairs—general directory of water affairs. The daily streamflow
data were converted monthly. Due to the nonexistence of a meteorological station
inside the basin, the rainfall and temperature data were interpolated using inverse
distance weighting which proved to be the best method in this area [18] by using the
observations of 17 stations around the basin. The monthly potential evapotranspi-
ration was also obtained from the CruTS3.23 data which were assessed in the local
area as reliable data [19].

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Figure 1.
Study area.

3. Methodology

The number of lags must be identified before starting developing the model’s
combination in the case of using several parameters as inputs. In order to identify
the optimum number of lags, the autocorrelation function (ACF) and cross cor-
relation function (CCF) were used. According to the results of ACF and CCF, the
lags having correlation with downstream flow (i.e., to be predicted) are identified
as follows: 2, 2, 1, 1, and 1 for downstream, upstream flow, evapotranspiration,
temperature, and rainfall. Several combinations were developed in order to find the
best combination that can be used to predict the streamflow (Table 1). The differ-
ent combinations were entered into ELM and XGB. In all the models, the output is
the downstream flow 1 month ahead which is to be predicted, while the inputs are
downstream (DS) which represents the affecting lags, upstream (US), rainfall (R),
temperature (T), and/or potential evapotranspiration (E). The evaluation of model
performance of the combinations is implemented using Nash-Sutcliffe coefficient
(NC) and root-mean-square error (RMSE). The entire data were normalized before
being modeled and then were denormalized after getting the predicted values. The
normalization was done using

x−x
y = (1 − 0.1) _________
xmax − xmin + 0.1
min
(1)

where xmin and xmax are the minimum and the maximum values of the variable x,
respectively, and y is the normalized value. 1 and 0.1 is the maximum and minimum
values of the normalized values.

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No. 1 2 3 4 5 6

Model* DS DSUS DSUSRT DSUSET DSUSRE DSUSRET*

*DS, downstream; US, upstream; R, rainfall; E, evapotranspiration; T, temperature

Table 1.
Combinations of the developed models.

4. Results and discussion

After the different combinations were entered into ELM and XGB one by one
and for every combination, the best parameters were obtained. For ELM only the
best number of the hidden neuron in the hidden layer (not reported here) while
for XGB several parameters including maximum depth, eta, gamma, minimum
child weight, and subsample were optimized using hyper parameter optimization
algorithm. The optimized parameters of the XBG are shown in Table 2.
The results of the ELM listed in Table 3 show that the use of only the lagged
downstream flow in predicting the 1 month ahead implies a weak model with low
NC and high RMSE 0.504 and 37.135 m3/s, respectively. The inclusion of other vari-
ables increases the performance of the model. Considering only the test subset in
evaluating the performance, DSUSRE combination which consists of downstream,
upstream, rainfall, and evapotranspiration has the best performance with NC 0.67
but not the best based on RMSE 30.060 m3/s.
Table 4 which contains the results of the performance of XGB in the different
combinations shows that the combination with only the downstream also has the
lowest performance with NC 0.335 and RMSE 26.851 m3/s. The best-performed

Model Max. depth Eta Gamma Min. child weight

DS 7 0.1 0.1 6
DSUS 4 0.1 0.1 6

DSUSRT 4 0.1 0.1 3

DSUSET 4 0.1 0.1 3

DSUSRE 8 0.1 0.1 3

DSUSRET 8 0.1 0.1 2

Table 2.
The XGP optimized parameters.

Model Training Test

NC RMSE (m3/s) NC RMSE (m3/s)

DS 0.539 23.195 0.504 37.135
DSUS 0.638 21.357 0.579 32.895

DSUSRT 0.735 19.207 0.660 28.154

DSUSET 0.735 19.245 0.658 28.121

DSUSRE 0.698 18.920 0.670 30.060

DSUSRET 0.721 19.047 0.665 28.891

Table 3.
Results of ELM model.

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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.87836

combination is DSUSRET which contains the entire input variables with NC 0.671
and RMSE 18.879 m3/s. Hence, using the other variables rather than the lagged
downstream flow itself improves the model performance dramatically especially
when the upstream is added to the downstream. This is expected as the downstream
is a consequence of the upstream, and their relation is inversely proportional with
the distance between the measuring points.
Considering both training and testing subsets, the DSUSRET combination which
contains the entire input variables using XGB is the best performance. Therefore, it
is chosen for the comparison between ELM and XGB models. Figure 2 represents the
Taylor diagram of the last combination for both ELM and XGB by considering the
entire dataset. According to the figure, XGB is closer than ELM to the observed data
by having higher correlation, less constant RMSE, and close standard deviation.
Figures 3 and 4 which show the scatter plot of the observed versus the predicted
values of the DSUSRET combination of ELM and XGB, respectively, including both
training and test subsets, indicate that XGB has more accurate performance than
ELM as the points are more scattered from the 1:1 line in ELM. The correlation which
calculated for all the dataset is higher for XGB 0.92, while it is lower for ELM 0.85.
Regarding the best-performed combinations, DSUSRE combination which
contains all the variables except the temperature is identified as the best-performed

Model Training Test

NC RMSE (m3/s) NC RMSE (m3/s)
DS 0.720 28.949 0.335 26.851
DSUS 0.761 26.728 0.526 22.680

DSUSRT 0.844 21.598 0.631 20.001

DSUSET 0.854 20.917 0.634 19.928

DSUSRE 0.853 20.999 0.647 19.568

DSUSRET 0.854 20.927 0.671 18.879

Table 4.
Results of XGB model.

Figure 2.
Taylor diagram of DSUSRET combination of ELM and XGB.

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ISBS 2019 - 4th International Sustainable Buildings Symposium

Figure 3.
Observed vs. predicted of ELM (m3/s) for training and test subsets.

Figure 4.
Observed vs. predicted of XGB (m3/s) for training and test subsets.

combination in the ELM model. This is due to that the prediction of the down-
stream flow requires the information of all the used variables except the tempera-
ture because the information needed to be obtained from the temperature are also
available in the evapotranspiration as the evapotranspiration is calculated using
the temperature. In the XGB model, the situation is different as the best-performed
model is DSUSRET which contains all the variables, and that is due to the tree
nature of the model in which it chooses only the important inputs and separates
them from those who have no contribution in the prediction of the model.

5. Conclusion

Extreme learning machine (ELM) and extreme gradient boosting (XGB)

performance in predicting streamflow 1 month ahead are evaluated and compared
in this study. Downstream flow 1 month ahead is used as output, while lagged

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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.87836

downstream, upstream flow, rainfall, temperature, and potential evapotranspira-

tion are used as inputs with different combination. According to the results, it
can be concluded that including variables beside the lagged downstream such as
upstream, rainfall, potential evapotranspiration, and/or temperature can improve
the model’s performance dramatically. ELM is a very fast algorithm as it does not
need any tuning process, while XGB is slower as it requires hyper parameters tuning
to have them optimized. XGB is performed better than ELM in terms of predicting
accuracy although XGB is a tree-based model. XGB has a very important charac-
teristic, that is, the importance matrix which explicitly identifies the most and less
important feature in the model. In the future research, this matrix can be used as a
selection tool of the model inputs especially when there is a large number of inputs.

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank the Turkish Republic General Department of Water
Affairs—Ministry of Forest and Water Affairs and Turkish Republic General
Department of Meteorological Affairs in Turkey for providing the data necessary to
complete this work.

Author details

Sinan Jasim Hadi1*, Arkan J. Hadi2, Kamaran S. Ismail3, Mohammad Ali Ghorbani4

and Mustafa Tombul5

1 Department of Real Estate Development and Management, Ankara University,

Ankara, Turkey

2 Department of Chemical Engineering, Soran University, Soran, Erbil, Iraq

3 Department of Civil Engineering, Soran University, Soran, Erbil, Iraq

4 Department of Civil Engineering, Near East University, Mersin, Turkey

5 Department of Civil Engineering, Eskişehir Technical University, Eskişehir,

Turkey

*Address all correspondence to: sinan.jasim@yahoo.com

© 2019 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms
of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/
by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is properly cited.

725
ISBS 2019 - 4th International Sustainable Buildings Symposium
References
[1] Hadi SJ, Tombul M. Monthly
streamflow forecasting using
continuous wavelet and multi-gene
genetic programming combination.
Journal of Hydrology. 2018;561:674-687
[2] Liu Z, Zhou P, Chen G, Guo L. 
Evaluating a coupled discrete wavelet
transform and support vector regression
for daily and monthly streamflow
forecasting. Journal of Hydrology.
2014;519:2822-2831
[3] Makkeasorn A, Chang N-B,
Zhou X. Short-term streamflow
forecasting with global climate change
implications–A comparative study
between genetic programming and
neural network models. Journal of
Hydrology. 2008;352(3):336-354
[4] Kisi O, Cimen M. A wavelet-support
vector machine conjunction model for
monthly streamflow forecasting. Journal
of Hydrology. 2011;399(1):132-140
[5] Guven A. Linear genetic
programming for time-series modelling
of daily flow rate. Journal of Earth
System Science. 2009;118(2):137-146
[6] Yaseen ZM, El-Shafie A, Afan HA,
Hameed M, Mohtar WHMW, Hussain
A. RBFNN versus FFNN for daily
river flow forecasting at Johor River,
Malaysia. Neural Computing and
Applications. 2016;27(6):1533-1542
[7] Yaseen ZM, Jaafar O, Deo RC, Kisi
O, Adamowski J, Quilty J, et al. Stream-
flow forecasting using extreme learning
machines: A case study in a semi-arid
region in Iraq. Journal of Hydrology.
2016;542:603-614
[8] Hadi SJ, Tombul M. Forecasting daily
streamflow for basins with different
physical characteristics through data-
driven methods. Water Resources
Management. 2018;32(10):3405-3422
726
[9] Hadi SJ, Tombul M. Streamflow
forecasting using four wavelet
transformation combinations
approaches with data-driven models:
A comparative study. Water Resources
Management. 2018;32(14):4661-4679
[10] Shiau J-T, Hsu H-T. Suitability of
ANN-based daily streamflow extension
models: A case study of Gaoping
River basin, Taiwan. Water Resources
Management. 2016;30(4):1499-1513
[11] Kişi Ö. Neural networks and
wavelet conjunction model for
intermittent streamflow forecasting.
Journal of Hydrologic Engineering.
2009;14(8):773-782
[12] Abdollahi S, Raeisi J, Khalilianpour
M, Ahmadi F, Kisi O. Daily mean
streamflow prediction in perennial and
non-perennial rivers using four data
driven techniques. Water Resources
Management. 2017;31(15):4855-4874
[13] Isik S, Kalin L, Schoonover JE,
Srivastava P, Lockaby BG. Modeling
effects of changing land use/cover on
daily streamflow: An artificial neural
network and curve number based
hybrid approach. Journal of Hydrology.
2013;485:103-112
[14] Huang G-B, Zhu Q-Y, Siew
C-K. Extreme learning machine: Theory
and applications. Neurocomputing.
2006;70(1-3):489-501
[15] Deo RC, Şahin M. An extreme
learning machine model for the
simulation of monthly mean streamflow
water level in eastern Queensland.
Environmental Monitoring and
Assessment. 2016;188(2):90
[16] Li B, Cheng C. Monthly
discharge forecasting using wavelet
neural networks with extreme
learning machine. SCIENCE
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CHINA Technological Sciences.

2014;57(12):2441-2452

[17] Lima AR, Cannon AJ, Hsieh WW. 

Forecasting daily streamflow using
online sequential extreme learning
machines. Journal of Hydrology.
2016;537:431-443

[18] Chen T, Guestrin C, editors.

Xgboost. A scalable tree boosting
system. In: 22nd ACM SIGKDD
International Conference on Knowledge
Discovery and Data Mining. Vol. 2016.
California, USA: ACM; 2016

[19] Hadi SJ, Tombul M. Conversion

of CruTS 3.23 data and evaluation
of precipitation and temperature
variables in a local scale. In: MATEC
Web of Conferences. EDP Sciences.
2017;120:05007

727
Chapter 59

Effect of the Mold Size on the

Compaction Parameters of the
Soils
Mustafa Özer and Ahmet Erdağ

Abstract

In this study, the effect of the mold size on the compaction parameters of the
soils was investigated. For this purpose, a coarse-grained (finer than 19.00 mm)
and a fine-grained (finer than 4.75 mm) soil were used in the tests. Compaction
tests were conducted according to the current version of the ASTM D698 stan-
dard. In order to determine the effect of mold size, each soil used in study was
compacted with both 6 in and 4 in diameter molds (with a volume of 2124 and
943 cm3 respectively). According to the results obtained, slightly greater values
of density/unit weight were obtained with the 4 in diameter mold (with a volume
of 944 cm3). These results are compatible with the results mentioned in the
ASTM D698.

Keywords: compaction, dry unit weight, mold size, optimum water content, proctor

1. Introduction

In many engineering structures such as highway, railway, airfield, and earth

dam, loose soils need to be compacted to increase their dry density. The mean-
ing of the verb “compact” in soil mechanics is to press the soil particles tightly
together by expelling air from void spaces [1]. Compaction process increases the
strength characteristics and settlement properties of soils. Compaction is actually
a rather cheap and effective way to improve the properties of a given soil [1]. In
order to obtain proper compaction in situ, laboratory compaction tests must be
conducted prior to in situ compaction. Maximum dry unit weight and optimum
water content under given compaction effort are obtained from laboratory
compaction test to guide to the in situ compaction. According to current ASTM
D698 [2], two different molds in terms of size can be used in laboratory compac-
tion tests. One of these molds has a volume of 2124 cm3, while the other has a
volume of 943 cm3. The selection of the mold is made according to the coarseness
of the material to be tested. In ASTM D698 [2] three methods named Methods A,
B, and C were identified in terms of mold size and coarseness of the material to be
tested. In Method A, 101.6 mm (4 in) diameter mold (with a volume of 943 cm3)
shall be used. This method may be used if 25% or less by mass of the material is
retained on the No. 4 (4.75 mm) sieve. In Method B, 101.6 mm (4 in) diameter
mold (with a volume of 943 cm3) shall be used. This method may be used if 25%
or less by mass of the material is retained on the 3/8 in (9.5 mm) sieve. In Method

729
ISBS 2019 - 4th International Sustainable Buildings Symposium

C, 152.4 mm (6 in) diameter mold (with a volume of 2124 cm3) shall be used.

This method may be used if 30% or less by mass of the material is retained on the
3/4 in (19.0 mm) sieve.
In ASTM D698 [2], it was highlighted that the 152.4 mm (6 in) diameter mold
shall not be used with Method A or B. Besides, it was also noted that the results have
been found to vary slightly when a material is tested at the same compactive effort
in a different size mold, with the smaller mold size typically yielding larger values
of density/unit weight. However, it was not specified in ASTM D698 [2] that this
situation is valid for coarse-grained soils or fine-grained soils or both. Besides, there
is no opinion in ASTM D698 [2] as to how the density/unit weight will be affected
when using 4 in diameter mold with Method C (viz., with coarse-grained soils). In
this study, how density/unit weight will be affected when using 4 in diameter mold
with coarse-grained soils (i.e., with Method C) and 6 in diameter mold with fine-
grained soils (i.e., with Method A) was investigated.

2. Soil materials used in the study

Three soil materials were used in the study. The soil material-1 (named as S1) is a
natural gravelly silty soil that contains coarse-grained particles. The soil material-2
(named as S2) was obtained from S1 by sieving through 4.75 mm sieve. That is, S2 is
a fine-grained soil finer than 4.75 mm. The soil material-3 (named as S3) is a mixed
gravelly silty clayey material which is obtained by mixing a coarse-grained grav-
elly material and fine-grained clayey soil. The soil material-3 was sieved through
19.0 mm sieve. That is, S3 is a coarse-grained soil finer than 19.0 mm.
Sieve analysis, hydrometer analysis, liquid limit, and plastic limit tests were
conducted on these samples according to relevant standards to characterize it
(Refs. [3, 4], respectively). Particle size distribution of the materials is depicted
in Figure 1. Liquid limit, plastic limit, and plasticity index of the soils are also
shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1.
Particle size distribution of the soil materials used in the study (Atterberg limits are also shown).

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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.87836

3. Experimental program

The tests conducted in the study were held in three sections. Standard Proctor
effort according to ASTM D698 [2] was performed in all tests. Hence, 24.5 N ham-
mer, 305 mm high of drop, and three layers were applied in the compaction tests.
Twenty-five blows for 4 in diameter mold and 56 blows for 6 in diameter mold
were performed for each layer. The detail of the tests and the results of it were given
below.

3.1 Test 1 (previously compacted sample)

In the first section of the study, four compaction tests were conducted and the
soil material S1 was used. First, the material S1 was compacted with 6 in diameter
mold (Test 1-1). The remaining three tests in this section were conducted on
the same material batch to eliminate the sampling effect. So, after the Test 1-1
was completed, the test material S1 was dried in room temperature (in labora-
tory atmosphere) and was crushed by rubber hammer. Then, this material was
recompacted with 4 in diameter mold in the second test (Test 1-2). Hence, the test
material was recompacted secondly in Test 1-2. For the third test, the test material
was sieved through 4.75 mm sieve and then dried and crushed as in the case in Test
1-2. The fine-grained material (−4.75 mm) was recompacted with 4 in diameter
mold (Test 1-3). Hence, the test material was recompacted thirdly. Finally, this
soil material was recompacted with 6 in diameter mold (Test 1-4) after and dried
and crushed as in the previous case. Hence, the test material was recompacted
fourthly.

3.2 Test 2 (not previously compacted sample, finer than 4.75 mm)

In this section of the study, two compaction tests were conducted and the soil
material S2 was used in these tests. Before the compaction tests, the material S2 was
divided into two parts by using riffle box according to ASTM C702 [5]. It was dem-
onstrated by [6] that soil samples can be divided into representative subspecimens
reasonably with riffle box according to ASTM C702 [5].
One part of the sample was compacted with 6 in diameter mold (Test 2-1), and
the other parts of the sample were compacted with 4 in diameter mold (Test 2-2).
Hence, the soil that has been previously compacted in the laboratory has not been
reused in the compaction tests. However, a compaction test was conducted on the
same batch. That is, data points within a compaction test were obtained from the
same batch of the soil.

3.3 Test 3 (not previously compacted sample, finer than 19.0 mm)

In the last section of the study, two compaction tests were also conducted and
the soil material S3 was used in these tests. Before compaction tests, the material
S3 was divided into two parts by using riffle box according to ASTM C702 [5].
One part of the sample was compacted with 6 in diameter mold (Test 3-1), and
the other parts of the sample were compacted with 4 in diameter mold (Test 3-2).
Hence, the soil that has been previously compacted in the laboratory has not been
reused in the tests. As in case Test 2, a compaction test was conducted on the same
batch.

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ISBS 2019 - 4th International Sustainable Buildings Symposium

4. Results and discussion

The results obtained from each section were given in a separate section.

4.1 Test 1 (previously compacted sample)

The results obtained from coarse-grained materials (−19.0 mm) (i.e., from Test
1-1 and 1-2) were given in Figure 2, and results obtained from fine-grained materi-
als (−4.75 mm) (i.e., from Test 1-3 and 1-4) were depicted in Figure 3.
As can be seen in Figure 2a, a moderately higher maximum dry unit weight was
obtained from 6 in diameter than the 4 in diameter mold (1.72, 1.79 g/cm3, respec-
tively) on the coarse-grained soils. However, as in the case of fine-grained soils
(Figure 2b), a considerably higher maximum dry unit weight was obtained from
4 in diameter mold than the 6 in diameter mold (1.66, 1.34 g/cm3, respectively).
As it will be remembered, according to ASTM D698 [2], typically slightly larger
values of maximum dry unit weight may be expected from the smaller mold size
(e.g., 4 in diameter). In this respect, it can be seen that while the results shown in
Figure 2b are compatible with ASTM D698 [2], the results presented in Figure 2a are
not consistent with ASTM D698 [2] with respect to mold size. Namely, while smaller
value of maximum dry unit weight was obtained from 4 in diameter mold in the case
of coarse-grained soils (Figure 2a), larger value of maximum dry unit weight was
obtained from 4 in diameter mold in the case of fine-grained soils (Figure 2b).
Although the results shown in Figure 2b seem to be consistent with the results
specified in ASTM D698 [2], the fact that the difference between the results is
higher than expected should draw attention. It was argued that the only reason
for obtaining lower value of maximum dry unit weight (both Figure 2a and b)
is not only the size of the mold but also disintegration of the particles due to
recompaction.
Sieve analysis was performed on the sample S1 after the last compaction test
(Test 1-4) to verify (to check) this argument, and results obtained were presented
in Figure 3 with the particle size distribution of the original sample (before com-
paction). Particle disintegration is shown clearly in Figure 3. Hence, it was consid-
ered that the low maximum dry unit weight shown in Figure 2b is mainly due to the
disintegration of the particles as well as the mold diameter.

Figure 2.
Compaction curves obtained from soil (previously compacted samples were reused in the tests from Test 1-2 to
Test 1-4). (a) Compaction curves obtained from coarse-grained (−19.0 mm) soils (Test 1-1 and Test 1-2).
(b) Compaction curves obtained from fine-grained (−4.75 mm) soils (Test 1-3 and Test 1-4).

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Effect of the Mold Size on the Compaction Parameters of the Soils
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.87836

Figure 3.
Particle size distributions of soils (S1) performed after and before compaction tests.

Figure 4.
Compaction curves obtained from soil (not previously compacted samples were used in these tests). (A)
Compaction curves obtained from fine-grained (−4.75 mm) (Test 2-1 and Test 2-2) soils. (B) Compaction
curves obtained from coarse-grained (−19.0 mm) soils (Test 3-1 and Test 3-2).

4.2 Test 2 and test 3 (not previously compacted samples)

The results obtained from fine-grained materials (−4.75 mm) were given in

Figure 4A, and the results obtained from coarse-grained materials (−19.0 mm)
were depicted in Figure 4B.
As can be seen from Figure 4A, slightly higher maximum dry unit weight was
obtained from 4 in diameter mold than the 6 in diameter mold (1.64, 1.62 g/cm3,
respectively) on the fine-grained soils as expected due to ASTM D698 [2]. However,
as in the case of coarse-grained soils (Figure 4B), unlike ASTM D698 [2], slightly
lower maximum dry unit weight was obtained from 4 in diameter mold than the
6 in diameter mold (1.85, 1.86 g/cm3, respectively). Although slightly different
results were obtained from both molds, the differences between results shown in
Figure 4 are within “acceptable range of two results” given in ASTM D698 [2].
Hence, it can be said that the difference between the results is insignificant.

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ISBS 2019 - 4th International Sustainable Buildings Symposium

5. Conclusions

Two main conclusions were drawn from this study:

• In the case of not previously compacted samples, slightly different results

were obtained from 4 in and 6 in diameter mold under the same compaction
effort. When using fine-grained materials (−4.75 mm), 4 in diameter mold
gives slightly higher maximum dry unit weight than the 6 in diameter mold as
stated in ASTM D698 [2]. Nevertheless, when using coarse-grained materials
(−19.0 mm), contrary to that described in ASTM D698 [2], the maximum
dry unit weight obtained with 4 inch diameter mold was smaller than those
obtained from 4 in diameter mold. However, the differences between results
obtained in the study are within “acceptable range of two results” given in
ASTM D698 [2].

• Greater differences have been obtained between the values of maximum

dry unit weights with 4 in and 6 in diameter molds on the previously com-
pacted (reused) samples than those from not previously compacted samples.
Significantly low value of maximum dry unit weight was obtained from 6 in
diameter mold than 4 in diameter mold on the recompacted (reused) sample.
These large differences were attributed to the disintegration of the particles
rather than the diameter of the molds.

Author details

Mustafa Özer1* and Ahmet Erdağ2

1 Department of Civil Engineering, Gazi University, Ankara, Turkey

2 Department of Civil Engineering, Kafkas University, Ankara, Turkey

*Address all correspondence to: ozerm@gazi.edu.tr

© 2019 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms
of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/
by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is properly cited.

734
Effect of the Mold Size on the Compaction Parameters of the Soils
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.87836

References

[1] Liu C, Evett JB. Soils and

Foundations. 6th ed. Upper Saddle
River, NJ: Pearcon-Prentice Hall; 2003.
p. 496. ISBN 0-13-048219-6

[2] ASTM D698. Standard Test

Method for Laboratory Compaction
Characteristics of Soil Using Standard
Effort (12,400 ft-lbf/ft3 (600 kN-m/m3)).
Annual Book of ASTM Standards, PA,
United States; 2012

[3] EN ISO 17892-4. Geotechnical

investigation and testing—Laboratory
testing of soil—Part 4: Determination of
particle size distribution: International
Organization for Standardization; 2016

[4] ASTM D4318. Standard Test

Method for Liquid Limit, Plastic Limit
and Plasticity Index of Soils. PA,
United States: Annual Book of ASTM
Standards; 2017

[5] C702 ASTM. Standard Practice for

Reducing Samples of Aggregate to
Testing Size. PA, United States: Annual
Book of ASTM Standards; 2018

[6] Özer M. Comparison of sample

dividing (reducing) methods used
in soil mechanics tests. Journal of
Polytechnic. 2014;17(4):167-176. DOI:
10.2339/2014.17.4

735
Chapter 60

Evaluation of Energy Potential and

Investment Costs of Solar Power
Plants: Case of Ankapark Parking
Lot
Ahmet Nazım Akkaya, Harun Varlı and Seyfettin Kurt

Abstract

Due to the world population growth and industrialization process, energy

demand in every sector is increasing day by day. Considering the amounts gener-
ated, energy sources are categorized as primary and secondary energy sources.
While primary energy sources are classified as fossil sources, hydraulic energy, and
nuclear energy, secondary energy sources are solar, geothermal, wind, and fusion
energy. In order to meet the energy demand in the world today, most of the energy
consumed is obtained from fossil sources. Nonrenewable and fossil-based sources,
which have limited reserves, such as coal, oil, and natural gas are frequently used in
all sectors. This case brings environmental pollution to more dangerous levels. It is
of great importance to use renewable energy sources, which do not require imports
and are low in cost, in order to contribute to the prevention of environmental
pollution in Turkey. In this context, the biggest theme park of Europe, Ankapark,
Turkey, was examined in this paper in terms of solar energy. The Ankapark parking
lot project, built as the largest solar power plant in the world, was evaluated in terms
of solar energy potential and investment costs.

Keywords: theme park, Ankapark, solar parking lot, solar energy, solar power plant

1. Introduction

Considering the amount produced in general, energy sources are examined in

two groups as “primary energy sources” and “secondary energy sources.” Primary
energy sources are comprised of fossil resources such as coal, petroleum products,
hydraulic energy and nuclear energy, while secondary energy sources include
solar energy, geothermal energy, tidal energy, wave energy, wind energy, fusion
energy, etc. The most widely used energy sources, petroleum and its derivatives
as fossil sources, are the resources that will be exhausted in the near future due
to rapid consumption, and thus they are depleted, ultimately causing ecological
deterioration and even debalancing the climatological equilibrium arising from
burning of these resources for energy production. This reveals that there is a seri-
ous problem to be solved. For these reasons, new quests have been embarked on for
obtaining the energy needed in the future from sources such as solar energy, wind
energy, tidal energy, and wave energy. Particularly the importance of solar energy

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ISBS 2019 - 4th International Sustainable Buildings Symposium

and wind energy is increasing worldwide. Undoubtedly, the most current and the
most widely applied energy type among the renewable energy sources is the solar
energy [1].
Solar energy power plant is a technology based on obtaining energy from
sunlight. The energy being emitted by the Sun and reaching the Earth is the energy
of radiation emitted by the fusion process in the nucleus of the Sun. The conversion
of hydrogen gas to helium on the Sun results from the fusion process. Outside the
Earth’s atmosphere, the intensity of solar radiation is approximately constant which
is 1370 W/m2. However, it varies between 0 and 1100 W/m2 on Earth. Even a small
part of this energy coming to Earth is many times more than the current energy
consumption of humanity. The studies on the use of solar energy gained momen-
tum especially after the 1970s. The solar energy systems have shown technological
progress and brought together cost reduction, being accepted as an environmentally
clean energy source [2, 3].
In the solar power plants, the energy particles coming from sunlight are con-
verted into electrical energy. The power plants use solar cells that are similar in
size to calculators but in larger volumes. Solar cells are photovoltaic batteries that
convert the sun’s rays into electricity. The main ingredients of these batteries are
crystalline silicon and gallium arsenite [4]. Solar power plants are profitable energy
paths in terms of construction/operation cost and efficiency. They can be consid-
ered as the energy production systems of the future in terms of minimum damage
to nature [5, 6].
Solar carports let you take full advantage of large parking areas for the
purpose of producing electricity while providing shaded or covered park-
ing to everyday users. Bearing in mind the abovementioned reasons, Ankara
Metropolitan Municipality is increasing renewable energy usage year by year.
For this purpose, theme park carport photovoltaic (PV) project was constructed.
By specializing in the parking lot and drive area coverage, Ankara Metropolitan
Municipality aimed to increase renewable energy usage while decreasing carbon
emission [7].

1.1 Solar energy potential in Turkey

Solar energy, which is inexhaustible, nonpolluting, non-imported, and to some

extent free, is one of the new and renewable energy sources. The largest source of
fusion energy is the sun. Because, without polluting the environment and without
disrupting the climatological balance, the solar energy can be given directly to the
grid by means of direct current electric energy converters and transformers and it
can be converted to hydrogen gas by electrolysis.
The annual solar energy reaching to the whole surface of the world is 1370 W/m2
[8]. The distance between the Earth and the Sun is 150 million km. Half of the solar
radiation passes through the atmosphere and reaches the Earth’s surface. With this
energy, the Earth’s temperature rises and life becomes possible on Earth [9]. The
importance of solar energy in in terms of using it has been understood in the second
half of our century. Today, the use of solar energy ranges from the daily life struc-
ture and housing to communication, agriculture, industry, power plants, military
services, and space. In particular, solar technology is based on low-temperature and
high-temperature heat applications; radiant electric, solar, thermal applications;
and photosynthetic and photochemical functions [3].
Turkey is more fortunate than many other countries in terms of solar energy
potential due to its geographical location. Turkish State Meteorological Service
measured the sunshine duration and radiation intensity according to the study
by the renewable energy DG benefiting from the data. Turkey’s average annual

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sunshine duration in the years 1966–1982 is available from the General Directorate
of 2640 hours (daily total of 7.2 hours). The mean total radiation intensity 1.311
kWh/m2 year (total 3.6 kWh/m2 per day) has been determined [10].
Turkey has a high solar energy potential, such as 110 days, and if the necessary
investment is made in Turkey, it can produce an average of 1100 kWh of solar
energy per square meter per year [10] (Figure 1).

1.2 Legislation related to solar energy in Turkey

Under subclause 3 of article(s) of the RERCSM Regulation, RERCSM is defined

as a support mechanism that includes the procedures and principles regarding
payments, periods, and prices. It can be benefited by the legal entities with pro-
duction licenses while generating electricity based on renewable energy sources.
It also consists of the individuals, who generate electricity from renewable energy
sources in the context of unlicensed electricity generation via authorized supply
companies [12].
RERCSM is a market-based purchasing mechanism operated by Energy
Exchange Istanbul (EXIST). The responsibilities, authorities, and duties of
RERCSM are regulated under Electricity Market Law (EML) numbered 6446
published in the Official Gazette dated March 30, 2013, and numbered 28,603.
According to this law, RERCSM has the duty and authority to implement day-
ahead planning/day-ahead market and market settlement transactions and opera-
tions [12]. Under this mechanism, the state guarantees the system to operate at
certain prices in terms of electricity generated in power plants operating with
renewable resources. This application, which may be considered as a guarantee
of purchase, continues for 10 years according to Article 10 of the RERCSM
Regulation.
Electricity to be produced at the power plant with a maximum installed capac-
ity of 1 MW, which is planned to be established under subclause (b) of Article
14 of Electricity Market Law No. 6446, in accordance with subclause 3 of Article
14 in the same law stating “if, apart from the needs of the owners, the excessive
amounts of electric produced from renewable energy sources, with exemption from
license-obligation, is given to the system, the electricity is purchased by the last
source supplying company over the prices which are determined by the regulation
of Renewable Energy Resources for Electricity Generation dated 10.05.2005 and
numbered 5346, regulated in terms of sales and provision” [13].
In accordance with Article 11 of the Regulation on Unlicensed Electricity
Generation in Electricity Market and in accordance with the production source

Figure 1.
Turkey solar energy potential map [11].

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ISBS 2019 - 4th International Sustainable Buildings Symposium

document to be issued by the network operator, according to Article 18 of the same

regulation, the solar energy is purchased with the price 13.3 USD Cent/kWh for a
period of 10 years to be considered under the scope of RERCSM [14].
According to the Regulation on Unlicensed Electricity Generation in the
Electricity Market dated 02.10.2013, numbered 28,783, land rights (land/rent
agreement), environmental impact assessment document, Provincial Directorate
of Agriculture Regarding Land Qualification, etc., after the receipt of a letter of
invitation within the period specified in the Regulations, connection agreement and
system usage agreements are made.

2. Evaluation of Ankapark solar power plant in terms of investment costs

Ankapark solar power plant will be used in the area already designated as a park-
ing lot in Ankapark project, one of the largest theme parks in Europe, in order to
reduce the foreign dependency of energy to reduce the harmful effects of exposure
to the Sun in the region, to maintain the self-sustainability, and to adopt a stance
against environmental pollution. This study was conducted to evaluate the solar
energy efficiency.

2.1 Photovoltaic panels (PV)

Systems that convert sunlight directly into electrical energy through panels are
called as solar power plants. The technical name used for these panels is PV. The PV
systems use cells to convert solar radiation into electrical energy. The cell consists of
one- or two-layer semiconductor material. When the light is on the cell, an electric
field is generated that produces electric current along with the layers. The larger the
light intensity, the greater the electrical current. PV systems also produce electricity
in cloudy weathers, and even less cloudy conditions can generate more electricity
than full sunny conditions due to the reflection of sunlight.
Compared to conventional fuel options, PV has a very small share in elec-
tricity generation. However, an increasing number of people, companies, and
institutions choose PV technology for environmental reasons, for economic
development, as a back-up, and for risk diversification. The cost of PV for houses
or workplaces depends not only on solar sources but also on electricity prices
and incentives. The electrical connection between the solar energy and the local
grid allows the sale of excess electricity to the local electricity company. Thus, it
becomes possible to obtain electricity from the grid if no electricity is generated
while the Sun is out [15, 16].
The most important part of the PV system has different technologies as
described in the following:
Crystal silicon technology: There are three main types of silicon technology, includ-
ing monocrystalline, multicrystalline, and ribbon sheet. Efficiency is between 12
and 17%. This technology is the most common one with a 90% share in the market.
Thin film technology: There are four types of thin film technology. Its cost is
cheaper, but its efficiency is slightly lower than that of polycrystalline and mono-
crystalline technology (10–16%) (Figure 2).
Other cell types: There are other PV technologies that are about to start produc-
tion or are in the R & D phase.
Focused PV: Some solar cells are designed to work with focused sunlight. The
sunlight with a lens focuses on the cells placed in the collectors. Efficiency is
between 20 and 30%.

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Figure 2.
General view of the theme park carport PV project [17].

2.2 Current solar energy potential of Ankapark

Photovoltaic panels were installed in the project area with a total surface area of
60.192 m2. Modules will be mounted on steel construction prepared at 10–25° angle.
83.600 units of 120 W power panels shall be used for the installed power. The direct
current from the panels is aimed to be converted to alternating current by means of
inverters with a power of 50 kilowatts.
The investment is a production facility based on Sun power in accordance with
Electricity Market Law numbered 6446, defining in the first paragraph of Article
14 the unlicensed activities with exemption from obligation to obtain a license and
establishing a company. Therefore, the installed capacity is set to be just under
1 MW [12].
As a result of the investigations carried out on power plant field, the solar energy
potential of the project site has been determined according to the available data,
each of the 83,600 photovoltaic panels with 120 W power, and according to the
other equipment of the system (inverters, fasteners, transformers, wiring, electrical
measurement controls, etc.). The aim of the system is to convert the field potential
to electrical energy under optimum conditions. Table 1 provides preliminary
project data for the Ankapark area.

2.3 Evaluation of investment costs of Ankapark power plant

The investment cost of Ankapark power plant was estimated via Oska
software by the Ankara Metropolitan Municipality. According to the results of
the assessment via this software, an expenditure table was created. The expen-
diture table that consists of the investment cost of the solar power plant with
the installed capacity of MWp (10 × 0.998) is presented in Table 2. Project site
acquisition, permit, VAT, license, and company capital are not included in the
investment cost.
The annual operating expenses of the plant in Ankapark are estimated to be
around 328,281 Euro in total, and unit energy production cost will be 2.21 Euro
cent/KWh, excluding depreciation, finance, and tax in accordance with Article
11 of the Regulation on the Production of Unlicensed Electricity in the Electricity
Market and in accordance with the production source document to be given by
the network operator. The provisions of Article 18 of the same regulation and the
Purchase of Excess of Energy directory provision shall be made by the supplying
company, Sun Power Systems, for a period of 10 years within the scope of RERCSM

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ISBS 2019 - 4th International Sustainable Buildings Symposium

with a unit cost of 13.3 USD Cent/KWh for solar power plant investment. In addi-
tion, the installed capacity of the plant will be 10.032 MW, it will generate approxi-
mately 12.026 t CO2 for 14.500.450 kWh/year energy, and it will have a carbon
income of 60.130 Euro/year over 5.00 Euro/t (Figure 3).

Project name Ankapark power plant

Project coordinate 39° 56′ 39.14” K–32° 46′ 42.44″ D
Area Anatolia
Province Ankara
District Yenimahalle
Annual revenue 192,856.00 dollars/year
2
Daily average radiation (kWh/m ) 5.18
Yearly average vertical radiation (kWh/m2) 157
Panel type Thin film
Panel power 120 W
Panel dimensions 1200 × 600
Panel number 83.600
Panel efficiency 16.7%
Total surface area 60.192 m2
Power plant installed power 10 MW
Inverter power 50,000 W
Inverter number 186

Table 1.
Ankapark project data [18].

Investment items
Panel 83,600 Piece
Panel power 120 W 42,392.00
Feasibility
Research and development 34,606.00 EUR
Pre-feasibility 2595.00 EUR
Feasibility 5191.00 EUR
Freight, etc. 193,795.00 EUR
Energy transmission 2.2 km 153,000.00 EUR
Engineering and project direction 311,456.00 EUR
Solar module 5,301,245.00 EUR 12,570,304.00
Investment
Construction 2,799,960.00 EUR
Electricity 1,864,128.00 EUR
Inverters 1,764,560.00 EUR
Construction works 182,160.00 EUR
Total 12,612,696.00 EUR

Table 2.
Investment items of Ankapark power plant [19].

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Figure 3.
View of solar panels and panels planned to be installed in the parking lot of Ankapark.

3. Conclusion

For the year 2018, 37.3% of electricity generation in Turkey was obtained from
coal, while 29.8% of it was produced from natural gas, 19.8% from hydraulic energy,
6.6% from wind energy, 2.6% from solar energy, 2.5% from geothermal energy, and
1.4% from other sources. According to the types of the sources, the installed power
distribution in Turkey can be listed as follows: 31.9% of the installed power is based
on hydraulic energy, 25.6% on natural gas, 21.5% on coal, 7.9% on wind, 5.7% on
solar, 1.4% on geothermal, and 5.9% in the form of other sources.
Based on the scenario with the highest probability, in case of an increase by 4.8%
(to 385 TWh), the electricity consumption in the year 2023 in Turkey is expected to
rise by 5.5% (to 357.4 TWh). By the end of the year 2018, power plants with a total
of 4,025.5 MW additional capacity were added to the system, and as of the end of
the 2018, Turkey electrical capacity increased to around 88.551 MW.
Although Turkey’s geography has a great energy potential, Turkey should
further increase the investments until 2023 and should meet the growing energy
demand through renewable energy sources. It is thought that electricity consump-
tion will reach to 385 terawatt hours in 2023 with an annual increase average of
4.8% compared to the base scenario [20].
Considering that the life of the system is 25 years on average for state or private
enterprises, it is a profitable investment for all enterprises. It is very important that
government support for solar energy investments should continue for the com-
ing decade as well. Solar power plant investments in Turkey are foreseen as a very
profitable investment with government support in renewable energy sources.

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Author details

Ahmet Nazım Akkaya, Harun Varlı* and Seyfettin Kurt

Ankara Metropolitan Municipality, Ankara, Turkey

*Address all correspondence to: varlihan@hotmail.com

© 2019 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms
of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/
by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is properly cited.

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Evaluation of Energy Potential and Investment Costs of Solar Power Plants: Case…
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.87836

References

[1] [Internet]. Available from: [14] [Internet]. Available from: http://

https://tr.wikipedia.org/wiki/
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rredc.nrel.gov/solar/spectra/am0/
ASTM2000.html
[3] Varınca K, Gönüllü T. A research on
solar energy potential in turkey and
usage degree, method, and prevalence
of this potential. In: I. National Solar
and Hydrogen Energy Congress
(UGHEK’ 2006); 21-23 June 2006;
Eskişehir. (in Turkish)
www.gensed.org/CF/CD/15929964a201
8dbf6bee06f95410b57dcbe81422351680.
pdf
[15] [Internet]. Available from:
http://www.sapa-solar.com/turkey/
Fotovoltaik/
[16] [Internet]. Available from: http://
www.solarfield.com.tr/page/111/
fotovoltaik-nedir.html
[17] Photograph Archive of Harun Varlı.
2018

[4] [Internet]. Available from: http://jes. [18] Database of Photovoltaic

ksu.edu.tr/issue/19357/205292 Geographical Information System
(PVGIS). 2018
[5] [Internet]. Available from:http://
www.enerjiatlasi.com/gunes/ [19] Archive of Ankara Metropolitan
Municipality Technical Affairs
[6] Tunç Ş. Field and Potential
Department. 2017
Determination of Electricity
Generation by Solar Energy. Ankara; [20] [Internet]. Available from: https://
2009. (in Turkish) www.enerji.gov.tr/tr-TR/Sayfalar/
Elektrik
[7] [Internet]. Available from:
http://www.resmigazete.gov.tr/
eskiler/2013/03/20130330.pdf

[8] [Internet]. Available from: https://

tr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Güneş_enerjisi

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eie.gov.tr/yenilenebilir/g_enj_tekno.aspx

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www.yegm.gov.tr/MyCalculator/

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eskiler/2016/03/20160323-5.html

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 Section 5

Environmental Policies
and Practices

747
Chapter 61

Data-Driven Food-Oriented Urban

Development: A Framework
Approach for Greater Miami
Utilizing Food Resilience Urban
Infrastructural Tools (FRUIT)
James Brazil and Shruti Khandelwal

Abstract

The conventional global food supply chain and current agricultural practices
contribute toward food waste and associated wastage of fiscal and labor resources.
Additionally, social, political, and economic pressures have led to the formation
of food deserts or food-insecure neighborhoods in areas identified by the US
Department of Agriculture. Food insecurity has been linked to poor accessibility
to healthy food products leading to higher health-related problems. This research
proposes a data-driven assessment framework for a food-oriented approach to
urban developments, wherein the food supply chain is driven by local, food produc-
tion opportunities, demographics, consumer diet, and nutritional requirements.
This framework approach utilizes the Food Resilience Urban Infrastructure Tools
(FRUIT), a set of analytical instruments developed for improving food accessibil-
ity and reducing food waste. FRUIT will model local food production across three
urban neighborhoods (census tract) with varying urban densities (low-medium-
high) in Miami-Dade County. The result demonstrates a spatial and demographic
analysis to feed the target population with respect to consumer equity and food
consumption trends. This framework incubates community development with
urban agriculture projects utilizing a viable roadmap for the financing and return
on investment that accelerates innovation and food security for populations living
in food-insecure neighborhoods.

Keywords: food resilience, urban infrastructure, integrated design, food-orientated

urban development, food-water-energy nexus

1. Introduction

It is estimated globally that 31% of all food (by mass) is wasted rather than
consumed, representing a massive loss in embodied land, water, labor, and ener-
getic resources [1]. Resource inefficiencies associated with agriculture industry in
the United States estimate that food waste is as high as 50% of the total production
[2, 3]. These resource inefficiencies stemming from the current agriculture system
are compounded throughout the entire food system, ultimately leading to a highly

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inefficient, wasteful, costly, and unequal distribution of food. These growing

redundancies in the conventional food supply chain influence current trends of
food consumption and food waste and, thereby, associated wastage of fiscal and
labor resources. There are many influencing factors when compiling and analyzing
data of the food supply chain, including but not limited to logistics; cold chain; tar-
iffs, duties, and levies applicable per country; pesticide and chemical application;
and United States Department of Agriculture and Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) standards. The research opportunity is immense as there is currently no
standard assessment framework for rules and regulations, point-of-origin informa-
tion, and/or farming practices employed on how products are produced, processed,
and distributed. Addressing these challenges of the current food system and supply
chain through the lens of promoting the local production of food in urban environ-
ments offers a new paradigm for city development that this research explores.

2. Research objective

The research proposes a food-oriented approach to urban development and

discusses the literature that has been reviewed to contribute toward food-insecure
neighborhoods. This approach employs a holistic assessment framework of the
entire food supply chain as to identify food distribution inefficiencies and dem-
onstrate the economic opportunity for growth, and mitigate risks, of a local food
production system. The objective is to “promote the transition to economies that
are low-carbon, resource efficient and socially inclusive, incubating a local green
economy” [4]. Food Resilience Urban Infrastructure Tools is a set of analytical
instruments developed for improving food accessibility and reducing food waste—
a toolbox through which creative disruption of the supply chain will infiltrate
malpractices and improve the economic viability of adopting urban agriculture as
a sustainable local food production and distribution practice. FRUIT is an applied
combination of specialized data and a set of computational algorithms that assess
the technological, political, economic, real estate, and social impacts of urban
agriculture. This research proposes a data-driven assessment framework for a Food-
Oriented Urban Development (FOUD), wherein the food supply chain is driven
by local, food production opportunities, demographics, consumer diet, and nutri-
tional requirements. The scope of this paper extends to include the computational
analysis tools of FRUIT. These are used to demonstrate spatial and demographic
analysis to feed the target population with respect to consumer equity and food
consumption trends. This analysis is the foundation for building out the holistic
design framework that incubates community development with urban agriculture
projects, utilizing a viable roadmap for the financing and return on investment that
accelerates innovation and food security for populations living in food-insecure
neighborhoods.

3. Need of study

In a combined study in North Carolina, Baltimore, and New York City, adults

with supermarket greater than 1 mile from their homes have 25–46% low prob-
ability to have a healthy diet than those with supermarkets near their homes [5].
Supermarket presence in an urban neighborhood is associated with decreased
obesity and overweightness, while neighborhoods solely with convenience stores
are associated with higher rates of diet-related disease [6, 7]. Twenty-three com-
munities in Miami-Dade County designated as food deserts by the USDA as they

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lack supermarkets or grocery stores, and as a result, the residents only have access to
processed foods at convenience stores associated with higher expenditure and poor
nutritional quality [8]. There has also been research on incarceration and access to
healthy food stemming from insufficient diets and symptoms of malnourishment.
The hypothesis is that nutritionally deprived individuals are at a higher risk of
committing a crime or being incarcerated [9]. This posits the necessity of a compre-
hensive strategy to assess local food demand from consumer data and requirements,
followed by viable food production, distribution, and consumption patterns to
inform FOUD, directly addressing existing food insecurities in urban environments
with low or no access to fresh produce.
Securing food for urban populations from urban and peri-urban agriculture has
its own challenges. There is a need to (1) address policy frameworks for planning
authorities to support the practice of urban farming in the area [10], (2) offset
high operating costs of production—primarily labor—as the market is directly in
competition with our cost-competitive neighbors such as Mexico [11], (3) protect
and secure crops from infestation and disease [12], and (4) incentivize farming in
vacant buildings and underutilized land from stagnated development. These chal-
lenges are research opportunities that are addressed in the assessment framework,
to develop creative development models between property owners and community
leaders within Miami that supports economic growth. Moreover, the scaling of a
viable urban farming industry to meet the exponential demand of locally sourced
food as observed through the US local food sales, which is doubling every 4–5 years,
is vital to support the development of Miami’s green economy [13].
Computational technology combined with geographical location devices and
remote sensing advancements has introduced a distributed intelligence to agri-
cultural practice and supply chain management. An increasing amount of data is
generated at every point in the supply chain, with emerging technologies starting to
create interoperable digital ledgers connecting digital platforms [14]. Herein lies the
need for FRUIT to merge the digital assets of the existing food system into a larger
framework of geographical and infrastructural data, creating data-driven tools that
promote urban development based on local food production.

4. Literature review

The food system in the United States is primarily focused on economic driv-
ers which propel the ‘corporate management of food’ for maximum production
efficiency and profit margin driven. The improvement in accessibility to physical
infrastructure such as supermarkets and grocery stores does not indicate a com-
plete nutrition guarantee for the residents. However, it has been widely used in
identifying the existence of food deserts as defined by United States Department
of Agriculture (USDA) [15]. The agency defines food desert on the basis of acces-
sibility to a supermarket or a grocery store within a 1-mile distance in urban areas
and 10 miles in rural communities for populations greater than 500 people or 33%
of the census tract [16]. FOUD, however, responds to “community food security,”
which suggests community residents have access to “safe, culturally appropriate,
nutritionally sound diet through an economically and environmentally sustainable
food system that promotes community self-reliance and social justice” [17].

4.1 Resource management

The Miami-Dade County agricultural industry is $2.7 billion with direct sales
value of $661 million. Approximately 90–95% of all agricultural products grown

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within the county are exported to other parts of the state, nation, and internation-
ally, depending on the season, commodity, etc. [18]. The nutritional content of our
already limited supply of food has dramatically decreased due to excessive carbon
dioxide leading to higher sugars in plants and decrease from 6 to 38% in essential
nutrients according to USDA nutrient content data between 1950 and 1999 [19].
Conventional farming methods also contribute to the low nutritional content of
crops, such as low soil fertility due to close plant spacing, excessive crop cultiva-
tion, and increasing contaminations from chemical fertilizers and pesticides,
which often cause crops to absorb fewer nutrients (20% less) and have unhealthy
root systems and less flavor [20, 21]. According to the county’s Department of
Regulatory and Economic Resources, Miami-Dade County has incurred a loss of
about 45% of its croplands and about 18% of its fruit and nut groves due to foreign
competition, urbanization, and pests and diseases within the last two decades [22].
Simultaneously, agricultural areas surrounding Miami-Dade County have shallow
groundwater tables and with a 27-inch rise in sea level can lose up to 37,500 acres of
agricultural land according to the 2100 projections [23].
The biggest indicator of inefficiency in the food system is food waste. Thirty-one
percent of edible food is wasted globally and so do the resources, energy, time, and
money along with it [24]. Therefore, scaling down the food supply chain is esti-
mated to reduce these inefficiencies, indicating that local food production can be
more efficient and less wasteful. The securing of existing food, water, and energy
(FWE) infrastructure as a nexus in urban environments is vital to ensure a resilient
food supply. FOUD promotes a distributed network of resources without stressing
the existing infrastructure, utilizing and complementing existing resources that are
part of the design framework. FRUIT then models a self-sufficient food ecosystem
of existing and proposed resources with production for FOUD projects [25].

4.2 Agriculture management

There are many types of technology employed in agriculture, traditionally

centered on nutrients, pest control, farm equipment, and biotechnology. The objec-
tive of advancements of these technologies is focused on improving yield, quality,
resource reduction in the short term, physiological adaptation, and stress tolerance
in the long term. Farm management techniques promoting “precision agriculture”
rely on remote sensing applications to create management knowledge as a means to
address site-specific production goals. Environmental modeling combined with risk
management algorithms optimizes outdoor farming, while soil and climate profile
can be recreated for indoor farming like the “food computer.” Rapid innovation
in growing mediums, nutrient delivery, and artificial illumination coupled with
advancements in sensor, device, machine, and information technology character-
ize the latest explorations into controlled urban agriculture “containers” [26–28].
Herein lies the opportunity for FRUIT to adapt and scale advancements in resilient
agricultural management to site-specific challenges growing in present urban
environments.

4.3 Supply chain management

Current economic models for the food system are primarily global tools for
predicting market trends and commodity prices, oriented toward maximizing
profits for food service providers. An economic development model for local urban
food production systems, however, does not exist, thereby isolating current urban
agriculture to small-scale community gardens with no quantifiable impact to the
urban development of cities. The inclusive prosperity of a green economy supports

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the integration of local food production in urban areas. This is a major disruption to
the conventional food supply chain as it geographically aligns production, process-
ing, storage, and distribution with the consumer. This direct relationship from the
grower to the consumer ensures enhanced food access, accountability, and quality
control of the produce. It also fosters economic development and entrepreneurship
of a more secure individual, retail, and/or commercial provisioning of nutritional
produce. Food retailers agree that 79–84% consumer purchasing decision in the
future will have a great or moderate influence due to the following factors: health
and wellness, buying locally and sustainable produce, no chemical/pesticides or
hormones/antibiotics, humane animal treatment, and clean labels [29].
Earlier, we established that data is created, collected, and used on platforms
that enable automated and robotic systems that allow not only farms but businesses
at every point in the supply chain to be more profitable, more efficient, safer, and
more environmentally friendly. With the introduction of blockchain technology,
these platforms of data can be networked together onto a distributed shared ledger
connecting growers, processors, distributor, and retailers. One of the frontrunners
of supply chain technology like the IBM Food Trust proposes better accountability
of foods while improving food quality, shelf life, and shared information between
the farmer and consumer about the nutritional quality [14, 28]. This unprecedented
visibility into the supply chain will enable safer and fresher produce while elimi-
nating inefficiencies that lead to food waste and excessive carbon emissions. The
role of technology in agriculture and the food system is ultimately creating a more
sustainable environment for human settlement. Our cities realize that sustainable
urban development must also adapt these Internet of Things (IoT) technologies
into areas such as governance and management, creating distributed networks
that can be updated in real time. FRUIT ultimately is creating business value to the
food ecosystem and urban development simultaneously by combining governance,
standards and interoperability, and technology.

4.4 Consumer-centric approach

In public health journals, there are five dimensions in “characterizing the food
environment” in terms of “food access”: availability, accessibility, affordability,
accommodation, and acceptability [29]. Ethnic groups and low-income populations
have not been widely investigated for many of the aforementioned factors including
access to their staple or familiar diets [30, 31]. Moreover, affordable and a health-
ful diet is identified as an underlying issue in ethnic communities and low-income
populations which require policies to incorporate healthy strategies for improving
community health [30, 32]. Poor health in adults and children, poor cognitive and
emotional development in children and, and adult depression are some of the public
health issues related to food insecurity [33]. Moreover, there is also a direct relation-
ship between incarcerated individuals, these public health issues, and having had
lower access to healthy food [9, 34].
C.S. Mott publication on Good Food identifies “consumer orientation” extremely
vital to enable innovation and cater to contemporaneous food consumption patterns,
their drivers, and opportunities for growth [35]. This is evident in a study to promote
healthy food access for the residents of the Phoenix Metropolitan Area, Arizona,
which can be improved by spatial optimization of urban gardens in vacant plots. The
spatial analysis of currently 68 gardens estimates to cover a mere 8.4% of the food des-
ert area. According to the maximal covering spatial optimization method, food access
can be increased to cover more than 96% with 53 gardens located on vacant lands. The
study infers that robust planning strategies can improve food access and alleviate the
associated diseases with food desert such as obesity and heart diseases [35]. “Civic

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agriculture” recommends communities to nurture their “social and economic devel-

opment” through local resources to supply the demand of local consumers [36, 37].

5. Methodology

5.1 Proposing the design framework

FOUD is driven by local, food production opportunities, demographics,

consumer diet, and nutritional requirements. A consumer-centric approach
in relation to resource, agricultural, and supply chain management establishes
the premise for the design framework. The objective is to create a roadmap for
decision-makers (planners, community leaders, and city officials) to vitalize a
productive metabolism through food and nutritional development in their com-
munities. Advancements in various technologies in agricultural and supply chain
management will facilitate local food production and distribution in food-insecure
urban neighborhoods facing accessibility and food waste challenges in response to
consumer dietary and purchasing patterns [38]. FRUIT’s assessment of community
needs is achieved by FOUD’s initial three steps, namely, data aggregation, market
assessment, and engineering analysis. This is further explained in Section 5.2.
FOUD’s framework aims to incubate a community development with urban agricul-
ture projects utilizing a viable roadmap for the financing and return on investment
that accelerates innovation and food security for populations living in food-insecure
neighborhoods. The following is an outline of the design framework:

1. Aggregate data: engage with community leaders and property owners to

develop local sociocultural profiles and assemble spatial opportunities of
urban environments into potential multi-scalar infrastructural projects.

2. Market assessment: conduct supply chain analysis on local food distribution

networks and economic feasibility of local production establishing precedent
to reduce food waste and improve food access in prospective projects.

3. Engineering analysis: mechanical engineering surveys provide comprehen-

sive on-site diagnostics utilizing real-time data to build a responsive City
Information Model (CIM), iterating fiscal and operational scenarios with the
built environment.

4. Community engagement: data visualizations empowering individuals to make

informed decisions interfacing cultural dietary trends with their purchasing
habits for the collective social well-being—increasing transactional size of
healthy organic local food, improving overall project viability.

5. Nutritional planning: public health evaluations prognose the community’s

adaptability toward sustainable food trends, creating demand for specific
crops which will be spatially coded within the CIM to be economically and
ecologically viable.

6. Local food production: establish network of specialist farmers who have devel-
oped innovative agriculture systems that maximize operational efficiencies
for farming selected crops in urban environments, catalyzing a new green
workforce for a burgeoning underemployed urban population, and promoting
a neighborhood resiliency.

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7. Integrated design: each urban agriculture project is derived as a vertically inte-

grated model with built-in risk assessment, customizable evaluation structure,
economic forecasting, and nutritional and spatial planning tools.

8. Food oriented development: develop platform—based on machine learning—

that evaluates and visualizes big data sets to incubate community development
of urban agriculture projects, providing a viable roadmap for the financing
and return on investment, to accelerate innovation and security in the local
food industry.

5.2 FRUIT analysis

The procedural steps listed in Section 5.1 are for the implementation of a
FOUD. Food Resilience Urban Infrastructure Tools improves food accessibility and
reduces food waste to fulfill the community’s need for food security. For this study,
the three neighborhoods in Miami-Dade County are focused on demonstrating
a spatial and demographic analysis to feed the target population with respect to
consumer equity and food consumption trends (Figure 1).
FRUIT initiates the aggregation of data with site(s) selected according to a
preliminary analysis of socioeconomic indicators and food accessibility variables in
Miami-Dade County census tracts which are identified as food deserts, including
variables included in the ERS Food Atlas: low-income population with low access
to supermarkets or grocery stores in under half mile distance. The population is
studied by calories required to support the population with respect to age, gender,
and level of activity. This is followed by overlaying the cultural tendency of food
consumption at-home assessment to estimate the number of calories needed to
produce locally. The low-, medium-, and high-density census tract are chosen to

Figure 1.
Food-oriented urban development framework.

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fulfill 75% of their population locally as per diet trends observed for at-home food
consumption in urban areas and analyzed for producing crops for six food groups
based on averages of consumption for a normal person with moderately active
lifestyle (with 2000 kcal requirement). The six groups are vegetables, fruits, grain,
protein, dairy, and oils. A percentage of the total calorie requirement for the com-
munity is calculated for every food group and then paired with a modular agricul-
tural system to meet this demand.
Both controlled indoor environments and outdoor agriculture systems are con-
sidered to fulfill a complete dietary food production by taking into consideration
the total area covered by the geographic boundary of the census tract and built-up
area to calculate viable areas for local food production. The local food opportunities
include and prioritize the usage of vacant and underutilized plots and interstitial
spaces such as rights of way, subdivisions, and rooftops to optimize production. The
engineering analysis is complete when FRUIT estimates the requirements of water,
energy, and nutrient systems for the food systems.

6. Result and discussion

Following the methodology explained in Sections 5.1 and 5.2, Table 1 shows
the summary analysis result from FRUIT which gives the spatial needs to produce
adequate food for the selected population assuming 50% is the demand to procure
the produce locally as an example for this paper. The population count is the total
number of people living in the census tracts, and the number corresponds to urban
density calculated from average persons per household. It is categorized as low den-
sity (less than 50 dwelling units per acre), medium density (between 50 and 150 du/
acre), and high density (more than 150 du/acre). The total area is represented to
show the total area required for food production if the full diet was required to be
grown locally. However, FRUIT estimation based on practical limitation uses 50%
of the demand to be grown locally for demonstration purposes of this paper. Thus,
indoor food production systems, outdoor areas, and total area to accommodate
auxiliary systems which include energy, water, and nutrient-generating systems are
estimated for spatial needs for local food production.
From the table, the average area required to supplement 50% of their diet per
person from low, medium, and high density is approximately 642, 400, and 260
sqft, respectively. According to the conventional statistics used to calculate the
amount of area required to feed one person (e.g., American), the area required is
1.2 acres per person which is more than 52,000 sqft [37]. This demonstrates the

Tract Population Total area Total Total Total Total area

selected in count (sqft) indoor outdoor auxiliary under
Miami- (persons) area (sqft) area (sqft) systems production
Dade (50% (50% (sqft) (50% (sqft) (50%
County demand) demand) demand) demand)

Low-density 120 154,212.58 1296.00 891.00 3969.00 77,106.29

tract

Medium- 2507 1,994,949.49 16,281.00 11,016.00 4,288,707.00 997,474.75

density tract

High- 7620 3,989,898.99 48,681.00 32,724.00 12,158,019.00 1,994,949.49

density tract

Table 1.
FRUIT analysis for three census tracts in Miami-Dade County.

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FRUIT’s capacity to assess a high-yielding potential and optimization of land for

feeding communities with locally better and nutritious food.
FRUIT simulates a Food-Oriented Urban Development model that can incubate
community development with urban agriculture projects utilizing a viable roadmap
for the financing and return on investment that accelerates innovation and food
security for the Greater Miami. The research contextually develops these urban
infrastructural tools to guide city development by strengthening its urban resilience
and empowering decision-makers to cogently work with community leaders and
local stakeholders to drive inclusive prosperity. Most common recommendations
focus on improving the food accessibility and affordability by framing better
policies to address their respective challenges of food deserts in ethnic groups and
low-income populations [31] and food justice issues [32, 34, 35]. However, the
correlation to social equity and cultural identity will provide a deeper insight into
consumer needs and improvement of the quality of life and economic opportunities
for them. Hence, it is important to comprehend how we can successfully advocate
for local foods from social, cultural, and economic standpoints which are in sup-
port of the (vulnerable) consumer. Additionally, it is important to address the role
of technology when discussing about modern farming practices. It is becoming
increasingly evident from novel experimentations and practices that improved and
high efficiency yields may bridge the gap of food production and increasing popu-
lations. Technology is, therefore, the dependable instrument to provide for food
security for future generations. Therefore, the data-driven Food-Oriented Urban
Development is necessary as a framework approach for urban cities utilizing Food
Resilience Urban Infrastructural Tools (FRUIT).

7. Conclusion and recommendations

This research develops upon the urban infrastructural tools for the region to
think about their role in city development and drive inclusive prosperity. The role of
technology in agriculture and the food system is ultimately creating a more sustain-
able environment for human settlement. Our cities realize that sustainable urban
development must also adapt these IoT technologies outside commerce into areas
such as governance and management, creating distributed networks that can be
updated in real time. FRUIT proposes to merge the digital assets of the existing food
system into a larger framework of geographical and infrastructural data, creating
tools that promote urban development based on local food production. There is a
necessity to create business value to the food ecosystem and urban development
simultaneously by combining governance, standards and interoperability, and tech-
nology. Moreover, this and future research will raise awareness of a fair and equal
food culture, especially in food deserts, providing access to nutritional information
and awareness of public health within their communities.

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Author details

James Brazil1* and Shruti Khandelwal2

1 Studio James Brazil, Miami Beach, FL, USA

2 School of Planning, Design and Construction, Michigan State University,

Michigan, USA

*Address all correspondence to: jamesbrazil.jb@gmail.com

© 2019 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms
of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/
by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is properly cited.

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Chapter 62

Utilization of Construction and

Demolition Wastes from Urban
Transformation in Terms of
Sustainability
Hüseyin Yılmaz Aruntaş, Melih Şahinöz and Mustafa Dayi

Abstract

In recent years, environmental problems have been increasing due to the

decrease in natural resources and rapid population growth. As a component of
population growth and relevant to natural resources, construction and demolition
(C&D) wastes must be handled more efficiently. In this regard, governments are in
an effort to increase environmental awareness and recycling. In this sense, one of
the most important steps is urban transformation. However, an excessive amount
of waste is generated as a result of urban transformation. Emerging C&D wastes
can be reused in construction sector or other sectors, and they can contribute to
economy. After the destruction of a structure, various types of wastes are generated
such as concrete, brick, rubble, plaster, wood, glass, metal, tile, plastic, asphalt, etc.
These C&D wastes should be separated so that the damage given to the environ-
ment is reduced. The number of urban transformation projects is increasing in the
world. In this study, the types of solid wastes, areas of usage, disposal methods,
and sample applications were investigated. In addition to that, environmental and
economic gains of C&D wastes were explained. As a result, conservation of natural
resources and reduction of greenhouse gas are supported by recycling the C&D
wastes.

Keywords: urban transformation, construction wastes, demolition wastes, recycling,

sustainability

1. Introduction

The world population is rapidly increasing. According to the UN Report, the

world population is 7.6 billion in 2017. The population has increased by almost
1 billion in the last 12 years. It is estimated that the world population will be 8.6
billion in 2030 and 9.7 billion in 2050 [1]. In contrast to population growth, natural
resources are rapidly declining. In addition, the need for shelter and unplanned
urbanization ratio is also increasing. The infrastructure is also inadequate in the
unplanned urbanization areas. This situation has highlighted the term of sustain-
ability especially in recent years. Sustainability is to leave today’s resources to future
generations by preserving them [2].

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There are many different research studies and projects on sustainability in the
world. One of the most important of these works is urban transformation project.
Urban transformation is the regulation of unplanned urbanization areas. Social,
economic, and environmental plans are developed in order to increase the quality of
urban life. These plannings compose an urban transformation project [3].
Urban transformation projects may differ according to the problems of coun-
tries or cities. In urban transformation projects, there are some methods such as
renovation, rehabilitation, protection, redevelopment, regulation, cleaning, and
revitalization. These projects are economically supported by the state, the private
sector, or the public sector. For example, in Turkey, the first legal regulations on
urban transformation projects were carried into effect by the government in 2005
[4]. With these legal arrangements, the government encourages urban transforma-
tion projects. According to this, financial support is provided to the region during
the project period by the government. Urban transformation projects improve the
construction sector in Turkey and provide additional employment opportunities as
well [5, 6].
Many buildings are being demolished or renewed in the implementation of these
projects. As a result, large amounts of construction and demolition (C&D) wastes
are generated. Finding storage area for these wastes is very difficult and costly.
Therefore, recycling these wastes provides both economic gain and reduction of
environmental pollution. In addition to that, the use of recycled materials is encour-
aged by many states. Research studies conducted on recycling or reuse of C&D
wastes increasingly continue in the world [7, 8].

2. Urban transformation projects in Turkey and in the world

2.1 Urban transformation projects in Turkey

The term “urban renewal” was started to be used in the 1970s in Turkey, and the
projects of urban renewal started to be implemented in the 1980s. As per the 2000s,
the term urban transformation was started to be used widely. The first urban trans-
formation projects led by the public sources in the 1980s were the Ankara Dikmen
Valley and the Orange Blossom urban transformation projects [9].
In Turkey, there are a large number of urban transformation project implemen-
tations, because 95% of the population of Turkey is located in earthquake zones.
The most significant earthquake in the recent history of the country occurred in the
Marmara Region of Turkey, in 1999. This earthquake is called as the 1999 Marmara
Earthquake. Many buildings were demolished or damaged. This situation proved
that a large number of houses were inadequate. In addition to this, the damaged
buildings pose a threat to the environment and to the people. Almost all infrastruc-
ture systems in the earthquake zones became unusable. Moreover, the quality of
concrete in old buildings is quite low in Turkey. Even worse, the rate of unplanned
urbanization is high due to rapid population growth and migration. Therefore,
the purpose of urban transformation projects in Turkey is generally to increase
the number of housing, to repair damaged structures, and to renew infrastructure
systems and landscaping. Due to all of these reasons, the need for urban transfor-
mation projects is increasing each passing day [10].
The urban transformation project of the Küçükçekmece Ayazma and Tepeüstü
District in Istanbul started in 2004. The aim of the project was to design the
landscape of Ayazma District and Tepeüstü District. It also aimed at renewing
the commercial areas and buildings in the region. In addition to this, it aimed at
creating sports facilities and green areas. Lastly, this project aimed at employment

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opportunities. The implementation area of the project was 127,000 m2. 2520 people
directly benefited from this project [11].
The North Ankara Entrance urban transformation project started in 2004.
The aim of the project was to improve connection roads and to make physical and
environmental arrangements. In addition, education and healthcare buildings and
social areas were built. The implementation area of the project was 3.93 million m2
in Ankara [12].
In Konya City, the Old Bus Terminal Area urban transformation project was
implemented between 2003 and 2006. The aim of the project was to design the
landscaping of the central Konya. The project also aimed at renewal of state and
commercial buildings. The project implementation area was 11,000 m2 in the city
center. 768 people directly benefited from this project [13].
In Trabzon City, the Zağnoz Valley urban transformation project started in
2004. The project was planned at four stages. The aim of the project was to repair
the infrastructure and prevent unplanned urbanization. In addition, this area was
planned as a tourism area. The project implementation area was 104,290 m2 in the
valley [14].
In Istanbul, the Gaziosmanpaşa District urban transformation project started
in 2005. The main aim of the project was to reconstruct the buildings that were
considered to be risky in terms of resistance to earthquake. In addition, landscaping
and social areas were designed. The project implementation area was 204,816 m2 in
the district [15].
In Erzurum City, the Yakutiye Hasan-i Basri District urban transformation
project started in 2006. The aim of this project was to regulate the environment, to
build educational and social service building, and to increase the number of houses.
The project implementation area was 272,000 m2 in the city center. 10,086 people
benefited directly from this project [16].
In Istanbul, the Fatih Neslişah and Sulukule District urban transformation
project started in 2006. The aim of the project was to protect the historical and
architectural texture of the district. In addition, a repairment was planned for the
infrastructure, and 574 buildings were planned to be rebuilt. The project implemen-
tation area was 93,000 m2 in the city center. 2735 people benefited directly from this
project [17].
In Bursa city, the Osmangazi District urban transformation project started
in 2006. Within the context of the project, it was planned to repair the infra-
structure, to increase the number of houses, and to design the landscaping. 1220
buildings were demolished. The project implementation area was 282,000 m2 in
the district [18].
In Izmir city, the Kadifekale area urban transformation project started in 2006.
The aim of the project was the destruction of illegal buildings. 1958 buildings
were demolished in relation to the project. The project implementation area was
42,000 m2. It is estimated that 550,000 tons of C&D wastes were generated in the
first 6 years of the project [19].
In Istanbul, the Ataşehir/Barbaros District urban transformation project started
in 2013. In the project, it was planned to design the landscape, to construct official
and educational buildings, to increase the number of houses, and to design green
areas. The project implementation area was 127,000 m2 in the district. 2520 people
directly benefited from this project [20].
In Burdur City, the central district urban transformation project started in
2013. The aim of the project was to reconstruct risky buildings against earthquake
disaster. In addition, a sustainable urban model was planned. The project imple-
mentation area was 280,000 m2 in the district. 1056 buildings were planned to be
demolished within the context of the project [21].

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In Kayseri City, the Kocasinan District urban transformation project started in

2014. The aim of the project was to reconstruct risky buildings against earthquake
disaster. The project implementation area was approximately 4.2 million m2 in the
district. In the first stage, all the old/new risky buildings consisting of 3–5 story
buildings were planned to be demolished within the context of the project [22].
In Gaziantep, the Şahinbey District urban transformation project started in
2015. In the project, it was planned to increase the number of houses, to reconstruct
risky buildings, and to enlarge streets. 7594 buildings were demolished within
the context of the project [23, 24]. In different urban transformation projects
conducted in various regions of Turkey, it is generally aimed at the renewal of the
risky buildings, satisfying the housing need and creating social and green zones.
Therefore, some examples of urban transformation projects conducted in various
regions of Turkey for different purposes are given in Table 1.

2.2 Urban transformation projects in the world

In Hiroshima Danbara, the urban transformation project was carried out in

1995. The aim of the project was to erase the traces of the Second World War. This
project was materialized with the economic contributions of the state, the private
sector, and the public. Within the scope of the project, approximately 461 buildings
were rebuilt. The project cost was 284 million dollars. In the architecture of the
project, the concept of traditional culture was prioritized. In addition, 5 parks, 2
green areas, 13 playgrounds, and roads were built in the city [25].
Rio de Janeiro is the second largest city in Brazil. In this city, a great majority
of the people were living in slum areas. People who live in these slum areas could
not benefit from basic needs such as electricity and water. In addition, there was
a problem of garbage collection and environmental pollution in this area. For this
reason, the urban transformation project of Rio de Janeiro was carried out between
1994 and 2005. Thanks to this project, 168 building areas were rebuilt, and new
workplaces and educational buildings were built. In addition, electricity, water, and
sewage systems were repaired. The project cost was 600 million dollars. Thanks to
this project, the life quality of nearly 1 million people increased [26].
In China, the Guangzhou Pearl River urban transformation project started
in 2000. The surroundings of the Pearl River were an industrial zone. With the
development in the economy, the industrial zone of the Pearl River was expanded.
This situation caused land shortage in the city. The aim of this project was to ensure
the sustainability of the city despite the increasing industry of Guangzhou city. In
addition, this project aimed at protecting the ecosystem and agriculture of the city.
This project was carried out along the Pearl River (65 km long) and on an area of
370 km2. In the project, agricultural areas, historical villages, and island structures
were constructed by the state [26, 27].
In France, the city of Triangle de Gonesse in the north of Paris, the Europa City
urban transformation project began in 2016. The aim of this project is to turn the
Triangle de Gonesse region into an economic center. In addition, traffic in Paris will
be reduced through new connection roads. The project will be implemented on an
area of 8.6 million square meters. The cost of this project is 3.4 billion dollars. The
project is planned to be completed by 2024 [28].
The Egyptian government plans to create a new settlement in the northern
part of the capital, with the New Cairo project in Cairo. The aim of the project is to
increase the number of buildings and to create a new trade and tourism center. The
project started in 2015 and will be completed by 2022. The project will be imple-
mented on 82 million square meters. The project cost is estimated to be approxi-
mately 45 billion dollars [29].

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Utilization of Construction and Demolition Wastes from Urban Transformation in Terms…
Date Region/city Aim Partnership Project area (m2)/ Affected
number of houses population

2004–at present Küçükçekmece Ayazma and To provide employment opportunities, to deal with Municipality local 127,000 2520
[11] Tepeüstü District/Istanbul housing shortage, to provide social and green areas people
2004–at present North Ankara Entrance/Ankara Transportation, education and healthcare areas, Government 3,930,000 —
[12] cultural areas municipality local
people

2003–2006 Old Bus Terminal Area/Konya To provide trading and social areas Municipality 11,000 768
[13] City
2004–at present Zağnoz Valley/Trabzon City To provide tourism and social areas Government 104,290 —
[14] municipality

2005–at present Gaziosmanpaşa/risky-declared To deal with housing shortage, to provide social areas Government 204,816 104,983
[15] districts/Istanbul municipality local
people

2006–at present Yakutiye Hasan-i Basri District/ To deal with housing shortage, to provide social and Municipality local 272,000 10,086
[16] Erzurum city green areas people
2006–at present Fatih Neslişah and Sulukule To protect historical fabric, landscaping, housing Municipality 93,126/574 building 2735
[17] Districts/Istanbul shortage

2006–at present Osmangazi/Doğanbey/Bursa City To repair infrastructure, to deal with housing shortage Municipality 282,000 —
[18]
2006–at present Kadifekale area/Izmir city Landscaping Municipality 420,000/1958 building —
[19]

2013–at present Ataşehir/Barbaros District/ To deal with housing shortage, to build state and Municipality private 127,000 2520
[20] Istanbul educational facilities, landscaping sector
2013–at present Burdur City/central district To deal with housing shortage, sustainable city Municipality 280,273/1056 building 3000
[21]
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Date Region/city Aim Partnership Project area (m2)/ Affected
number of houses population

2014–at present Kocasinan District/Kayseri City To reconstruct risky buildings Municipality 4,194,500 —
[22]
2015–at present Şahinbey District/Gaziantep City To deal with housing shortage, to reconstruct risky Municipality 7594 building —
[23, 24] buildings, to enlarge street

Table 1.
Examples of urban transformation projects in Turkey.
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3. Recycle and reuse opportunities

Generally, large amounts of C&D wastes are generated in the demolition or

reconstruction of a structure. There are many different studies on the reuse and
destruction of C&D wastes in the world.
Martinez et al. examined the usability of fine aggregates obtained from C&D
wastes in cement-based masonry mortar production. Three types of recycled
aggregates (concrete, mixed, and ceramic wastes) were used as aggregate in the
production of masonry mortar. The physical and mechanical properties of these
mortar mixtures were compared with the mortar samples prepared with 100%
natural sand. It was determined that the physical and mechanical properties of the
mortars prepared with recycled aggregates were lower than those of mortar samples
prepared with 100% natural sand [30].
Perez et al. investigated the reuse of C&D wastes as coarse aggregates in hot
asphalt production. C&D wastes were added to the bitumen mixtures by 0, 20,
40, and 60%. As a result, they emphasized that the reuse of these wastes in asphalt
production reduces the durability of the asphalt mixtures [31].
Restuccia et al. used recycled sand in mortar mixtures. Recycled sand was
obtained by crushing C&D wastes. This recycled sand was then washed and sieved.
After these processes, the recycled sand was added to the mortar mixtures by 0,
25, and 75%. The physical and mechanical test results of mortar mixtures prepared
with recycled sand were compared with the mortar mixtures prepared with natural
sand. As a result, the use of recycled sand reduced the mechanical properties of
mortars. Additionally, recycled sand increased the water absorption property of the
mortar [8].
Başar investigated the reuse of C&D wastes. He expressed that wastes such as
glass, steel, aluminum, plastic, ceramic, wood, rubble, asphalt, brick, and gyp-
sum are generated especially during the demolition of a building. In the research,
solution suggestions were expressed regarding the utilization of these wastes. As
a result, it was stated that most of these wastes could be recycled and reused in
secondhand or new material production [32].
Figure 1 shows a company where secondhand building materials are sold. These
C&D waste materials have been generated in demolition or repairment of a build-
ing, and they have been stored. Waste materials such as doors, windows, glass, and
washbasins can be reused in the buildings. Additionally, these C&D wastes can be
reused for economic gain.
Akarsu investigated the reuse of C&D wastes [33]. According to this study,
wood waste can be used as fuel, decoration, and mold material. In addition, rubble
wastes can be reused as filling material in foundation and road constructions. Brick
wastes can be reused as decoration materials on the exterior facades of the building.

Figure 1.
Secondhand construction materials [34].

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In addition, it was stated that metal and plastic materials could be recycled. Besides,
it was explained that tile waste could be reused as well.
Ağaoğlu stated that a large part of the C&D wastes are comprised of concrete
wastes. Thus, concrete waste recycling aims to protect both the environment
and reduce the use of resources. Therefore, in the research, concrete wastes were
converted into aggregates. These aggregates were used in concrete production. As
a result of the research, it was explained that recyclable aggregate could be used in
construction materials [35].
Karademir investigated the recycling of C&D wastes generated from urban
transformation. Additionally, the relationship between urban transformation and
environmental pollution was investigated in the study. For this purpose, Istanbul-
Kadıköy District urban transformation project was taken as a model. As a result, the
amounts of structural wastes generated in Kadıköy District between 2013 and 2017
were determined. In Kadıköy, it was determined that the amount of C&D waste was
1.3 million m3 in 2017 [36].
Kılıç stated that the rubble wastes generated during the construction demoli-
tion process can be used as raw materials. C&D wastes must be separated from
other wastes by applications such as crushing process. Thus, a recycled aggregate is
obtained for the concrete. It was shown that these recycled concrete aggregates can
be used in production of filling material, plain concrete, paving stone, mortar, and
landscaping [37].
Kadiroğlu et al. stated that brick and glass fractures obtained from C&D wastes
can be used in concrete production after grinding. According to the test results, 5%
recycled aggregates obtained through different recycling procedures can be used in
the concrete mixtures [38].
Ölmez and Yıldız reported that waste materials such as insulation material,
metal, glass, plastic, carpet, pipe, roofing material, timber, wood, plywood, brick,
stone, rubble, brick, and soil are produced during the construction/dismantling
processes. In addition, concrete wastes can be used in pavement construction and as
recycled aggregate and filling material in sewer and drain systems [39].
Aruntaş et al. [40] determined that waste marble powder can be used as a
replacement material in self compacting concrete production. Similarly, Dayı et al.
[41] stated that waste glass powder and fly ash can be used in composite cement
manufacturing. Thus, thanks to the use of waste marble powder and waste glass
powder, more economical concrete can be produced, and environmental pollution
can be reduced. In addition, by utilizing these wastes in cement and concrete pro-
duction, the ecological balance can be maintained, and greenhouse gas emissions
can be reduced [40, 41]. Table 2 shows methods of disposal of construction and
demolition wastes and usage areas.
Yaprak et al. investigated the reuse of waste concrete in fresh concrete produc-
tion. They used the waste concrete as fine recycled aggregate in the production of
fresh concrete in the laboratory. Thus, by using concrete wastes as aggregate, it was
aimed to reduce both the cost of concrete and environmental pollution. As a result,
it was emphasized that up to 50% fine recycled aggregate is suitable for producing
concrete [43].
Figure 2 shows a few buildings demolished within the scope of an urban trans-
formation project. Before the demolition of these buildings, recyclable materials are
dismantled by workers in the constructional site. In the separation process, firstly
PVC windows, glass, wood and iron gates, tiles, sanitary ware, water, and electrical
installation elements (such as pipes) were dismantled. The rebars were decomposed
by using demolition equipment. The rubble wastes were poured into municipality
waste area via the excavation trucks.

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C&D Recycling process Recycled product and usage area

Rubble Crushing Recycled aggregate

Pulverization Filling material/in the production
Using directly of low-strength concrete as
aggregate (blinding concrete)
As a filler material for
superstructure and infrastructure
work
In the production of paving
stones, concrete pipes, plaster, and
landscape
Brick/roof tile Crushing Filling material
Pulverization As a source of raw material in
Using directly brick/tile production
Reusing
Natural stone Crushing Recycled aggregate
Pulverization Filling material
Landscape design
Marble/granite Crushing Aggregate for concrete and asphalt
Pulverization applications
Filling material
Asphalt, cement-concrete
production
Soil improvement works
Metals Using directly Reusing
Melting New metal production
Paper/carton Cleaning Recycled paper
Using directly
Plastic and PVC-based Demolition Panel, using directly
materials Melting, cutting, crushing, Recycled plastic
Pulverization Recycled aggregate
Asphalt production
Synthetic raw material
Glass Using directly, production of second Recycled glass, reusing
quality glass Glass fiber insulating materials
Grinding, pulverization, melting (glass wool, glass fiber)
In the production of reflective
paint on roadside cement-concrete
production
Ceramic Crushing, pulverization Decoration material
Additives in concrete and brick
production
Wood Using directly, cleaning, cutting, Reusing, production of wooden
resizing, forming under high water furniture and kitchen elements
vapor, shredding, burning Firing, production of wooden parts
Insulating panel
Filling material, paper production
Insulation materials Using directly pulverization burning Asphalt production
Production of re-insulation, raw
materials for the production of
synthetic materials
Door/window and Using directly Reusing
kitchen equipment Resizing

Table 2.
Methods of disposal of construction and demolition wastes and usage areas [42].

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Figure 2.
View of demolished buildings within the scope of an urban transformation project [34].

Figure 3.
Storage and crushing of C&D wastes in Istanbul (a) and Eskişehir (b) municipality waste areas, Turkey [39].

Pamuk reported that waste roof materials could be used again. In addition, the
bitumen-based waste materials such as membrane and shingle generated from the
roof disassembly process can be recycled by melting; thus, economic gain can be
provided [44].
Figure 3 shows the stored C&D wastes can be produced in different sizes of fill-
ing materials obtained by using a crushing machine. The produced filling materials
are transported to the construction areas by dumper trucks.

4. Construction and demolition wastes and sustainability

As it is known, cement plants and ready mixed concrete plants provide aggre-
gate and raw material from nature. This situation causes the reduction of natural
resources and the increase of environmental pollution. In this respect, it is aimed
to reduce the environmental pollution by the use of construction and demolition
wastes and to protect the natural resources in the world.
In Belgium, the amount of solid waste collected was approximately 48 million
tons in 2008. 87% of C&D wastes generated throughout the country was recycled.
6 million tons of these wastes were destroyed by burning. Approximately 270,000
tons of wastes were used in the filling works [45, 46].
One of the most successful countries in waste management is the Netherlands.
According to the European Environment Agency in the Netherlands, the total
amount of waste was approximately 120 million tons in 2008. 65% of these wastes
were C&D wastes resulting from construction, demolition, infrastructure works,

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and repairment. The Netherlands government recycled 94% of these C&D wastes.
The remaining 477,000 tons were used in filling works [45, 46].
Denmark is one of the countries, where recycling is the most common, in
Europe. In Denmark, municipalities are collecting construction wastes separately.
85–90% of the collected C&D wastes are composed of wall and concrete wastes.
Denmark recycled 86% of all these wastes in 2012 [45, 47].
In Germany, 49.7 million tons of C&D wastes were generated in 2000. 32.7 mil-
lion tons of these wastes were recycled as construction materials. The remaining 17
million tons of waste were used as filling material [48].
Figure 4 shows a recycling plant facility, where C&D wastes are stored. This
recycling plant facility area is 120,000 m2 and 25 km away from Eskişehir city in
Turkey. There are 10 personnel at the facility and only C&D wastes are stored in
this facility. The wastepaper, cardboard, plastic, wood, or metal wastes within the
demolition wastes brought to the facility are being separated and stored in a differ-
ent place. These classified wastes are being sent to the recycling facilities and being
transformed into raw materials.
In Turkey, 25.84 million tons of solid wastes were collected by the municipali-
ties in 2012. C&D wastes were estimated to be 4–5 million tons in the same year. In
Turkey, 125,000 tons of excavated soil were destroyed every year. Especially, with
the increase of urban transformation projects, it is predicted that both the amount
of excavation soil and the amount of C&D wastes will increase in the country.
Depending on the increase in urban transformation and infrastructure projects,
approximately 0.6 m3 of 1 m3 of structural waste can be recycled. Turkey has made
regulations particularly regarding the environment for the EU accession process.
For this reason, it is aimed to recycle 70% of the C&D wastes produced by the
year 2020. It is also aimed to recycle approximately 16 million tons of C&D wastes
generated in urban transformation projects [42, 49].
In Hong Kong, 25% of all wastes are composed of C&D wastes. In 2000, an aver-
age of 37,000 tons of construction wastes per day were generated in Hong Kong.
80% of these wastes were destroyed by using in the filling works. The remaining
20% were stored in waste areas. Furthermore, the Hong Kong government aims to
reduce its waste management costs by $750 million by the end of 2019 [50, 51].
The United States produces 260 million tons of nonindustrial wastes per
year. Approximately 136 million tons of these wastes are construction waste. In
the United States, approximately 300,000 buildings are demolished each year.
It is known that 100,000 buildings throughout the country are made of wood.
20–30 kg/m2 C&D wastes are generated during the construction time. C&D wastes
are generally reused in restoration and fillings works [52, 53].

Figure 4.
The view of the storage area for construction and demolition wastes in Turkey.

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5. Conclusion

Rapid population and migration growth cause unplanned urbanization all over
the world. This situation decreases the quality of life. In addition, people’s access to
basic needs such as education, health, social service, trade area, and transportation
becomes difficult. Moreover, the number of houses and infrastructure remains
inadequate. In order to solve these problems, urban transformation projects are
carried out in different cities in Turkey. In this way, sustainable cities are being
created. Thus, both quality of life is increased and natural resources are protected.
In this study, utilization of C&D wastes generated from urban transformation in
terms of sustainability was investigated. It was found that C&D wastes have a high
recycling potential. Thanks to this high recycling potential, it is aimed to reduce
environmental pollution and to protect natural resources. Different urban transfor-
mation projects are being implemented according to the type of problems of cities
or regions. The number of urban transformation projects is gradually increasing
both in Turkey and in the world. Also, many types of C&D wastes occur in urban
transformation project applications. Various literature studies on the evaluation
methods of these C&D wastes are presented. Additionally, based on previous
studies, it is observed that various recycling transactions are being implemented
for recycling various demolition wastes. It is determined that the recycled materials
obtained from the demolition wastes are rather being used as filling materials for
the groundwork and road constructions. Moreover, it is also determined that the
construction wastes are also used as the aggregate for concrete production, paving
stones, and concrete pipes and as raw material sources in the construction sector.
Thus, the demolition wastes are being recycled as a contribution to the national
economy. It is an inevitable reality, all across the world and Turkey, to embrace the
life cycle models prioritizing the reuse of construction materials after recycling
at the end of their raw material, production, correct usage, and service life. It is
observed that the studies conducted on reuse, recycling, and disposal of wastes
are insufficient today. As a result, in terms of sustainability, C&D wastes must be
used in construction sector. On the other hand, considering the sustainability, it is
necessary, at the beginning, in other words in the design and production phase, to
produce the construction materials to be used in the construction sector with raw
materials that are appropriate for recycling.

Author details

Hüseyin Yilmaz Aruntaş1, Melih Şahinöz1* and Mustafa Dayi2

1 Department of Civil Engineering, Gazi University, Ankara, Turkey

2 Department of Civil Engineering, Düzce University, Düzce, Turkey

*Address all correspondence to: melihsahinoz@hotmail.com.tr

© 2019 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms
of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/
by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is properly cited.

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[41] Dayı M, Aruntaş HY, Çavuş M,
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[42] İpekçi CA, Coşgun N, Esin T. The
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[43] Yaprak H, Aruntaş HY, Demir I,
Şimşek O, Durmuş G. Effects of the
fine recycled concrete aggregates on
the concrete properties. International
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[44] Pamuk R. The current situation
of construction and demolition waste
management in Turkey: proposal model
for waste management [M.Sc. thesis].
Istanbul: Beykent University; 2018 (in
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[46] Yıldız ME. Assessment of
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thesis]. Ankara: Gazi University; 2017
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Chapter 63

Investigation of Energy-Efficient
Façade Systems in the Context of
Fire Safety
Evser Civelek and Figen Beyhan

Abstract

Studies on energy efficiency, which has changed the agenda of all the countries
of the world which caused significant changes in the design approaches of the
structures and caused significant changes and many different applications, were
realized on energy-efficient façade systems. These façade systems, which have been
extremely successful in the efficient use and conservation of energy, unfortunately
do not provide adequate and competent solutions when it comes to fire safety. The
aim of this study is to examine the design and application details of energy-efficient
façade systems in which weak points in terms of fire safety are to be determined.
Also fire safety measures are to be taken by taking into consideration the legislative
obligations related to the application details of the façade construction materials.
For this purpose, firstly, the material finishing systems which are widely used in the
façades to ensure energy efficiency will be examined. Fire propagation paths will be
investigated which occurred Turkey on April 5, 2018, at the Istanbul Eyup Taksim
Training and Research Hospital fire with the analysis made in terms of the pro-
visions of national regulations, and then what should be related will be put forward.

Keywords: fire safety, combustible exterior wall systems, regulations,

mechanism of fire spread

1. Introduction

The concept of energy efficiency leads to many changes in the building sector and
society and is seen as the main driving force in the built environment. The primary
effort of the concept in question is the protection of the world and thus the survival of
the people (energy, climate, ecosystems, etc.) while shaping the political, economic,
and technological factors of the society as well as the country’s legislation. The
number of 5627 Energy Efficiency Law of May 2, 2007, in Turkey entered into force,
and the effective use of energy, prevention of waste, alleviating of the energy cost
burden on the economy, and energy sources for environmental protection and energy
use were aimed at increasing productivity [1]. The studies on energy efficiency,
which has changed the agenda of all the countries of the world, have caused signifi-
cant changes in the design approaches of the buildings, and many different applica-
tions have been realized on energy-efficient façade systems. These façade systems,
which have been extremely successful in the efficient use and conservation of energy,
unfortunately do not provide sufficient performance when it comes to fire safety.

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In terms of energy-efficient structure, façade systems are generally examined in

two groups as single-layer curtain wall and double-shell curtain wall. It is common
in both of these systems that insulating materials, which are critical in ensuring
energy efficiency, can cause major catastrophes when necessary measures are not
taken during fire. The most important problem to be experienced in such façades is
when the fire by-products (smoke, hot gases, flame) are not controlled. As a matter
of fact, gaps formed between two façades or between the façade and material gaps,
the spatial geometry, the cross section of the cavity, the dimensions, the airflow
rate, and the pressure of the ventilation system will be different depending on the
spread of the fire. According to the scenarios prepared by the smoke movement on
the wide glass surface façades which are frequently preferred in energy-efficient
fronts, if the hot smoke moves toward the outer layer, the outer glass panel may
crack and even break with high heat and pressure. The fire incidents in this context
make it necessary to take precautions on fire safety in energy-efficient façade
design and application stages in terms of ensuring the safety of life and reducing the
financial losses [2].

2. Single-layer façade systems

Façade systems have started to change with the development of building mate-
rials, namely, iron steel and concrete, starting from the nineteenth century. Build-
ing shell is an element that provides the distinction between inner and outer spaces
which is made by primitive methods in the pre-industrial period. After the indus-
trial revolution, the building shell became a bearer. In this case, due to the wide-
spread use of iron materials, frame systems consisting of a combination of linear
elements which cause the architecture have also enabled the formation of two
separate systems, the structure and the shell. The double/single shell facade systems
developed as a result of these developments reduce the energy consumption of the
building. However, the air flow between the floors during the fire (flue effect), and
the nature of the materials used for insulation, facade geometry, and so on cause
rapid spread of smoke and flame. Energy Performance of Buildings Directive
includes the Energy Efficiency Law in Turkey since December 5, 2008; the guide
has been put into place. The objective of this regulation is to ensure that energy and
energy resources in buildings are effective and efficient, to prevent energy wastage,
to reduce energy costs and to protect the environment, to save energy and to
provide energy inside and/or to the environment [3]. In this context, in line with
the provisions of the regulation, single-layer façade systems have been preferred
especially in the existing building blocks in our country. Before the transition of the
fire problems experienced in the energy-efficient façade systems to the selected
sample building, the general installation system of the single-layer façades and the
criteria of the national standards for possible fire problems will be examined. The
installation of this façade system will be discussed in general in order to avoid
mixing the façade with a single-layer façade.

2.1 Single-layer façades

It can only be defined as the outer wall which carries its own load and is
connected to the carrier system on each floor. Such façades are independent of the
building carrier system and are non-supporting external covering systems, which
are constructed on the outer surfaces of the building but which consist of elements
that carry the load, acting as a two-way filter of the building’s relationship with the

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outside environment. Commonly used systems for such façades are given in
Table 1.
Single-layer façades are the type of façade often used in building the shell.
Especially with the advancement of glass technology, this demand is increasing. It
has been the subject of regulations and standards that the resistance to fire can be
increased if interventions are made for interior joints/floors in these systems, in the
joints of the walls of the floors, and in the openings in the outdoor area and in the
joint gaps made for joining the end points of the two materials. It said that the
national fire regulations in Turkey are located in the following provisions related to
the façade type. In July 2015, published in the Official Gazette No. 29411 and still in
force “Classes of fire reaction class (including thermal insulation materials) at least
A2-s1, d0 class in buildings with a height of more than 28.5 m.” The obligations that
come with this amendment determine the conditions for the materials and systems
to be used in conventional façade systems as follows:

• No fireproof material at a distance of 1.5 m on the course and leveled/leveled

ground elevation should be covered.

• In buildings with a building height of up to 6.5 m, exterior cladding materials

or systems (including thermal insulation system) can be applied without any
additional requirements.

• In buildings with a building height of more than 6.5 m, but less than 28.5 m, the
windows and similar spaces must be at least 15 cm on the sides and at least
30 cm A1 class fire barriers on the upper parts. Visualization of these
conditions is shown in Figure 1.

• In adjacent structures with different heights, the exterior of the high building
level on the roof of the low building should be covered with a non-flammable
material or system.

• In the curtain wall systems, all materials used in the façade installation
(including insulation materials) must be at least A2-s1, d0 class [5].

2.2 Multilayer (double-shell) façades

Multilayer façade is a façade system consisting of a double glass shell separated

by a so-called air corridor. The inner shell serves as part of a conventional wall or
façade, while the outer shell, usually made of a single glass, forms a protective face
against external weather and noise.
By placing solar control elements in the intermediate zone, which is located
between the two glass shells and protected from the external climate, it is possible to
control the solar radiation depending on the season. By opening the windows in the
inner shell, the building can be naturally ventilated and cooled. With the addition of
a second glass shell, the wind pressure on the inner shell surface decreases and
allows window opening even at the top floor of a high building. This allows for
natural ventilation and increases user comfort. Double-layer façades are generally
examined in four types as classified in the following:
Building-level double-layered façades: They are not horizontal and vertical
dividers in the space between the double shells, but with a continuous buffer gap
running along the façade. In such façades, the desired ventilation in the intermedi-
ate space is usually provided by the openings in the ground and roof alignments.

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Single-layer installation

Façade types Materials for the installation of the façade Figure

installation system

Exterior insulation The insulation layer is generally used as a

and finish system polymer foam. The most widely used is
(EIFS) expanded polystyrene (EPS), but other polymer
foams are sometimes used such as phenolic,
polyisocyanurate (PIR), or polyurethane. In
addition to these, stone wool is used as the
fireproof material. The last layer also includes
the primer layer and the paint layer. This layer
is generally applied with trowel or displays.
This layer is usually modified by altering the
cement-based polymer material to provide
resistance to ignition and combustion on the
exterior

Metal composite Composite panel is a one-sided colored

material cladding aluminum composite sheet consisting of two
sides of aluminum plate and the middle of
polyethylene or FR grade mineral filler.
Composite panel is produced at different core
thicknesses depending on wind load and
application. The painted face of the composite
panel (PVDF or HDPE) produced in solid,
metallic wood, and special effect colors has been
used in exterior wall applications with its UV-
resistant surface. The non-flammable class of the
filler in the core of the composite panel is
determined according to the criteria of the
buildings in the country and according to the
characteristics of the buildings

High-pressure Compact laminates are the panels formed by

laminates phenol-impregnated kraft papers and the outer
part of the melamine-impregnated layer under
high pressure and heat. It is resistant to stresses,
impacts, UV rays, acid rain, and harsh weather
conditions. It is possible to reduce non-
flammable and flame retardant panels. Due to its
low specific weight, it can be easily machined
and can be connected with elements such as
screws, rivets, and bolts. In addition, it can be
adhered to the support system by means of
special sealants

Rain screen It is used in a wide range, mostly metal

cladding/ composite dressing, high-pressure laminate,
ventilated façades wood products, metal coating, ceramic tile, and
cement-based panels. Between the edges of the
curtain panels, there are often openings at the
top and bottom of the wall, with significant
gaps. In this way, ventilation and water
discharge are supported. This system is mainly
applied in the process. The main benefits of this
system are improved protection against the
passage of moisture into the building and
improved thermal performance thanks to sun
shading. It increases insulation and reduces
heat bridges

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Single-layer installation

Façade types Materials for the installation of the façade Figure

installation system

External timber Wood-derived materials are encouraged to

paneling and increase the use of renewable materials in
façades buildings. In addition, the use of conventional
wood cladding and cross-laminated timber
(CLT) also increases. CLT consists of wood
layers. CLT wood parts, known as laminated
wood, consist of combining each layer at a 90°
angle by gluing and pressing. The thickness of
each layer varies from 57 to 400 mm in
thickness, with a total of 3.5 or 7 layers starting
from 10 mm. Appropriate coating is required for
wood panels exposed to weather conditions

Table 1.
Single-layer façades [4].

Figure 1.
Conditions in façade systems. (a) Conditions in façade systems connected to building heights. (b) Conditions in
façade systems for adjacent buildings with different heights.

Corridor height double-layered façades: Double shell is the most used type of façades.
These façades are obtained by horizontal partitioning in the intermediate space. The
air intake into the cavity is provided from the openings at the lower points of the floor
slab and the air outlet from the openings at the upper points of the floor slab.
Box window type double-layer façades: These are façade systems where the space
is horizontal and vertical and works as independent and small boxes.
Shaft type double-layer façades: Façade systems are used to connect the box window
façade units with vertical air shafts. Double-layered façade systems in high-rise build-
ings are frequently preferred for reasons such as ecological, durability, clean façade
appearance, and prestige. However, in the case of using double-shell curtain walls, the
chimney effect between the two shells occurs faster than the flame and smoke spread
on the surface of the single-layer façade. The velocity of the air taken from the lower
elevation in the double-layer façades that continue along the height of the building
decreases to the upper elevations as the height increases, but it is never zero.

3. Method

In general, materials and systems used as the topcoat in both front systems and
the matrix expansion for the dangers that may occur on the basis of the façade
design are given in Table 2. In the row section of the table, energy-efficient façades
are divided into two main headings: outer covering/system features and façade

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features. In the column section, the hazard criteria that can be formed on energy-
efficient fronts are listed according to many characteristics. The level of the hazards
that may occur according to the colors given below in the legend is determined by
overlapping the rows and columns.
The levels of the problems that can be caused by the coating materials used in
the energy-efficient façade design and the danger that can be caused by the façade
systems and/or the danger that may be created according to the matrix expansion
are given in Table 2. In general, the levels of the hazards encountered during the

* FF (fire fighters), * FD (fire departments)

Presents a low risk when unmitigated or is not applicable to the listed attributes (low or N/A). Presents
a moderate risk when unmitigated (moderate). Presents a moderate risk when unmitigated (high)

Table 2.
Fire-induced danger associated with the façade [6].

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Fire hazard and potential hazard reduction strategies

Exterior materials and Explanation

systems

Structural integrated If the structural integrated panel (SIP) and exterior insulation and finish systems
panel (SIP) start to deteriorate during fire, they contribute to a high rate of flame
propagation, smoke generation, and fuel load. Therefore, depending on the
Exterior insulation &
building usage, user load, building heights, and the use of the approved/listed
finish system
materials, the proper sealing of the panels in the system installation will limit the
fire spread by taking necessary precautions during the installation/modification
depending on the sources of potential ignition

Rigid foam insulation These materials start to deteriorate during fire, and they can contribute to a high
rate of flame spread, smoke and toxic product development, and fuel load.
Spray-applied foam
Depending on the building usage, user load, building heights, the use of the
insulation
approved/listed materials, and fire-resistant barrier (fire-resistant gypsum panel,
etc.) approved/material list. Flame retardants. Sprinkler system can be used

Foil insulation systems Can contribute to high rate of shock hazard for installers and flame spread and
fuel load. Therefore, fire-resistive barrier (e.g., fire-rated gypsum), depending on
the building usage, user load, building heights, the use of the approved/listed
materials, and sprinklers system, can be used

High-performance Can change moderate rate of thermal characteristics of compartment for burning
glazing and impact FF access. Therefore, sprinklers assure adequate FD access and assure
mechanism for FD smoke/heat venting, depending on the building usage, user
Low emissivity and
load, building heights, and the use of the approved/listed materials which can be
reflective coating
used

Double-skin façade/ This system can change the moderate rate of thermal characteristics of
cavity wall compartment for burning, impact FF access, and present “chimney” for vertical
smoke and flame spread if the fire is not properly stopped. Therefore fire stop
between floors, sprinklers, and mechanism for FD smoke/heat venting,
depending on the building usage, user load, building heights, and the use of the
approved/listed materials, can be used

Bamboo, other cellulosic Can contribute to moderate rate of flame spread, smoke development, and fuel
load. Therefore approved/listed materials, flame retardant and treatments, and
Biopolymers, FRPs
sprinklers can be used

Vegetative roof systems Can contribute to the moderate rate of fire load, spread fire, impact FF
operations, impact smoke and heat venting, and contribute to stability issues.
Therefore, management of fire risk of vegetation, the use of fire tested
components, and provision of adequate area for *FD access, smoke/heat venting,
and other operations depending on the building usage, user load, building heights,
and the use of the approved/listed materials can be used

PVC rainwater This material can contribute low rate of additional fuel load. Therefore, these
catchment materials can be used in limited quantity, and approved/listed materials can be
used
Exterior cable/cable
trays

Exterior solar shades/ This material can contribute to the low rate of impacts FF access and present
*
awning WUI issue. These materials can be used in limited volume

Exterior vegetative
covering

Façade features Explanation

Area of glazing Breakage may occur in moderate rate depending on the type of glass, and fire
may spread, and/or a barrier may enter the FF inlet, respectively

Area of combustible Larger area (volume) of these materials can provide high rate of increased fuel
material load. These materials are used to limited volume
* FF (fire fighters), * FD (fire departments), * WUI (window user interface)

Table 3.
Display of fire hazards in energy-efficient building elements [6].

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ISBS 2019 - 4th International Sustainable Buildings Symposium

fire in the energy-efficient single-layer exterior cladding and finishing systems and
the face of these hazards related to the strategies regarding the measures that may
limit the spread of the fire determined are given in Table 3.
In this study; the selected hospital building fire will be examined according to
the matrix method given above. According to the findings to be obtained measures
and recommendations to be evaluated and interpreted.

4. Case study

The fact that the buildings where single-layer or double-layer façade systems are
applied are generally multi-story buildings and the high number of people working
and sheltering in these buildings requires that fire and safety measures in these
buildings be handled more carefully. In this study, in the light of the observations,
researches, and the information obtained as a result of the interviews conducted
with the related persons, the fires of the façades will be pointed out. In the frame-
work of the provisions of the regulation, fire safety will be evaluated on the fronts,
and what should be related to fire safety systems will be determined.
Taksim First Aid Research and Training Hospital, Istanbul: 2018 fire data
Façade features: The façade of the fire spread is designed as a single-layer curtain
wall made of a combination of aluminum composite panel and compact laminate.
The exterior claddings are mechanically fixed to their own construction, and the
ventilation gap between the façade cladding and the façade has been formed. XPS
panels are fixed to the outer wall of the building for insulation purposes. It has been
the most important factor in the growth of fire due to its flammable property which
is easily ignited. The building had a fire in 2011 as well, and a mineral-based
insulation material was used instead of the easily ignitable insulation material that
was damaged in this fire. In other words, while some of the insulation materials of
the building are mineral based, some of them remained organic based. A general
view of the hospital is given in Figure 2 [7].
Fire propagation: The part of the building that is covered with organic-based
insulation material has not been damaged. A block was connected with the corridor
block, which when blew, the glass façade melted the steel construction, and fire
moved from the openings like windows and doors on the front to the interiors,
ignoring the offices, patient rooms, corridors, office equipment, medical devices,
and documents, and the smoke generated by the fire adversely affected the indoor
air quality of the hospital by moving up to the interior spaces which must be fully
sterile, such as the operating room. Figure 3 shows the spread of the fire after the
start of the fire.
The result: from the flammability of the insulating material used in the façade
and from the ventilated space in the front finishing system, the fire progressed

Figure 2.
General view of hospital [8].

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Investigation of Energy-Efficient Façade Systems in the Context of Fire Safety
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Figure 3.
Vertical analysis of the starting point of the fire (a) [7], (b) [9].

rapidly upward. The form of the façade can make a chimney effect and caused the
spread of fire [7].

* FF (fire fighters), * FD (fire departments)

Presents a low risk when unmitigated or is not applicable to the listed attributes (low or N/A). Presents
a moderate risk when unmitigated (moderate). Presents a moderate risk when unmitigated (high)

Table 4.
Detailed matrix representation of the hazard restriction of the sample building.

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5. Results

In order to determine the fire propagation and limitation strategies of the sample
study and to interpret the result, the data of Table 2 and Table 3 were used. Also,
other criteria that are considered in the study are added in Table 4 and Table 5. The

Fire hazard and potential hazard reduction strategies

Exterior Hazard Concern Potential mitigation strategies

materials level
and systems

Exterior If fail, insulation can contribute to High Approved/listed materials. Assure

insulation flame spread, smoke production, and proper sealing of panels. Take care
and finish fuel load during installation, including
system retrofits, relative to potential sources
of ignition

Rigid foam Can contribute to flame spread, High Fire-resistive barrier (e.g., fire-rated
insulation smoke and toxic product gypsum). Approved/listed materials.
development and fuel load Flame retardants. Sprinklers

Double-skin Can change thermal characteristics of Moderate Appropriate fire stop between
façade / compartment for burning. Can floors. Sprinklers may have some
cavity wall impact FF access. Can present benefit (sprinkle red building).
“chimney” for vertical smoke and Assure mechanism for FD smoke/
flame spread if fire is not properly heat venting. Approved/listed
stopped materials

Façade Hazard Concern Potential mitigation strategies

features level

Area of Can present more opportunity for Moderate

glazing breakage and subsequent fire spread
and/or barrier to FF Access
depending on type

Area of Larger area (volume) provides High Limit volume

combustible increased fuel load
material

Façade The chimney effect in the U-form High Fire-resistant barrier (fire-resistant
geometry building can occur when the fire gypsum panel, etc.) Approved/listed
spreads in upward direction materials

Table 5.
Display of fire hazards in energy-efficient building elements for case study.

Figure 4.
Façade after fire [7].

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façade cladding systems used in the fire-exposed part of the building (glass curtain
wall system, mechanically assembled aluminum composite panel, and compact
laminate panel) are obliged to comply with the requirements of Turkey national fire
regulation with all materials used in the façade installation (including insulation
materials) which must be at least A2-s1, d0 class. In addition, when the thermal
insulation system, which is formed by using heat insulation material, dowel, plaster
net, plaster, and other similar equipment, is applied in the regulation, the system
must be certified by an accredited laboratory within the scope of the relevant
standards. System fire response report is essential. It is seen in Figure 4 that the
façade design which does not satisfy these provisions causes the fire to spread
rapidly.
The air gap between the chimney effect and the mechanical assembly created by
the physical characteristics of the area where the fire grew created the ground for
the fire to spread easily.

6. Conclusion and discussion

The system, application, and materials related to the fire caused by the fire in the
building are as follows:

• In order to prevent the passage of flames between the floors over the façade,
measures such as fire barriers were not taken to ensure the fire resistance of the
flooring at the level of the slabs and the exterior cladding.

• The steel construction frame has been identified as the outermost layer/coating
of a wood-based composite façade covering material which is not suitable for a
building of this height in terms of mechanical response to fire.

• Thermal insulation boards which are not suitable for a building with this kind
of fire reaction class are used under the façade topcoat in the building walls.

• On thermal insulation boards, no plaster layer was applied, and the top of the
thermal insulation boards was left naked.

• Between the façade cladding and the bare thermal insulation boards, there is a
ventilation gap that makes the chimney effect.

• Heat-insulating products are adhered to the back of the steel construction

carcass on the building walls, without any frame, by means of the bursting
method.

The fire-safe design of buildings today is based on the use of existing methods
and harmonized standard fire tests and codes. The purpose of these tests is to assess
the fire hazards arising from building materials, products, and systems in the
building. Standard tests provide ratings used to assess fire performance in the event
of a fire. However, these ratings only provide information about the behavior
observed for this test [10, 11]. As a result, there is a great need for the development
of new validation systems for energy-efficient façade systems. Existing regulations
and classification systems are not sufficient to define or represent the characteristics
of modern façade systems. It is important to mention that the design of the façade
system and the envelope design of buildings in general have changed significantly
in the last decade. There are several large- or full-scale testing methods that can be

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used as a basis for the development of new validation methods for façades. How-
ever, they are used only for the material and system tested. Since there are uncer-
tainties regarding the actual fire safety targets of the façades, it would be important
to identify fire risks if appropriate solutions are available and to draw up analyses
based on case studies on fire statistics and fire incidents. In the present practice, it is
vital to make a holistic view of the energy sufficient façade fire safety assessments
with uncertainties in the objectives and acceptable solutions. This is especially true
for modern façade systems.

Author details

Evser Civelek1* and Figen Beyhan2

1 Project and Approximate Cost Department, Ministry of Defence, Ankara, Turkey

2 Department of Architecture, Gazi University, Ankara, Turkey

*Address all correspondence to: evscivelek@gmail.com

© 2019 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms
of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/
by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is properly cited.

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Investigation of Energy-Efficient Façade Systems in the Context of Fire Safety
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.87836

References

[1] Energy Efficiency Law of the Official
Gazette 02 May 2007 day and 26510
decision. (In Turkish)
[2] Beyhan F. Façade systems and fire
safety in contemporary architecture.
BEST Building Electrical Electronic
Mechanics and Control Systems. 2010;
105:196-201. (In Turkish)
[3] The Regulation on Energy
Performance in Buildings Official
Gazette 05 December 2008 date and
27075 decision. (In Turkish)
[10] Jensen G. Fire spread modes and
performance of fire stops in vented
façade constructions—Overview and
standardization of test methods. In:
MATEC Web of Conferences 9, Owned
by the authors, published by EDP
Sciences; 2013
[11] Juan PHM. Performance-based
methodology for the fire safe design of
insulation materials in energy efficient
buildings [Ph.D thesis]. The University
of Edinburgh; 2015

[4] White N, Delichatsios M. Fire

hazards of exterior wall assemblies
containing combustible components
final report. The Fire Protection
Research Foundation, Massachusetts,
USA; June 2014

[5] BYKHY (Regulation on Fire

Protection of Buildings). The Council of
Ministers 16 March/2015 date and 2015/
7401 Number Decision Official Gazette
09 July 2015 date and 29411 Number
Publishing “Alteration”. (In Turkish)

[6] Meacham B et al. Fire safety

challenges of green buildings, Springer
Briefs in Fire, © Fire Protection
Research Foundation. 2012. DOI:
10.1007/978-1-4614-8142-3

[7] [Internet]. Available from:

http://tgub.org.tr/Images/
pdf/GAZIOSMANPASA-
TAKSIM-EGITIM-VE-ARASTIRMA-
HASTANESI-YANGINI-RAPORU%20_
Prof.Dr.FigenBeyhan.pdf

[8] [Internet]. Available from: https://

www.trhastane.com/gaziosmanpasa-
taksim-egitim-ve-arastirma-hastanesi-
9100.html

[9] [Internet]. Available from: https://

www.haberturk.com/ihtimaller-
belli-ya-ihmaller-1909353

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Chapter 64

Impact of Capital Flight on

Economic Growth of Nigeria
(1980–2014)
Fatima Muhammad Lawal and Arzuhan Burcu Gültekin

Abstract

This chapter evaluated the impact of capital flight on economic growth of Nigeria
using autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) technique and a secondary source of data
over a period of 35 years (1980–2014). The chapter also examines the causal relation
between capital flight and economic growth using Granger causality test. The long
run estimates of the variables using ARDL model reveals that capital flight has a
negative effect on economic growth of Nigeria, while the result of the Granger
causality test reveals a bi-directional causal relationship between capital flight and
economic growth. Based on empirical findings, the chapter suggests the need for
policies to impose the economic growth that reduces the flight of capital to an increase
in economic growth. More generally, the chapter also recommends that a new overall
strategy, political, and public policies should be made more stable and certain in the
country. This will make investors to be rest assured about the impact of these policies/
strategies on the real value of their domestically held assets in the future and to
encourage Nigerians abroad to come back home and invest in the country.

Keywords: capital flight, ARDL, economic growth, Granger causality, Nigeria

1. Introduction

Capital flight is the outflow of huge capital in the form of money from country
to country. Capital flight has frequently been regarded as the economic reaction to
the portfolio choices of wealth resident of some debtor countries in recent years [1].
In the words of [2], capital flight is an unlawful movement of funds from one
country to another. Certainly, it is an unusual flow of capital, as the government
does not sanction it. This is because exchange of capital controls imposed by the
particular country is not adhered to. Capital flight weakens sustainable develop-
ment in different ways, both directly and indirectly. It drains domestic savings,
depresses capital accumulation which is the key driver of long-term growth. Capital
flight weakens sustainable development because it reduces government resources,
thus weakening financial public infrastructure and the provision of social services.
The Nigerian economy faces massive financial hemorrhage because politicians,
foreign investors, and corporate bodies shift funds to foreign countries and convert
from Naira to the dollar [3]. According to [4], the imperative question is the reason
why capital flight from Nigeria has gained so much importance over the years.
Giant capital flight from the country has been linked to a large balance of payment

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ISBS 2019 - 4th International Sustainable Buildings Symposium

deficit, which regularly leads to globalization and consequently the enormous

impact of exchange rate speculation [5, 6]. For the developing countries, a vital
economic result of globalization has been the enormous and unique outflows of
foreign private capital.
According to [7], the movement of capital flight in Nigeria was more obvious
between September and November 2009 when a number of billions of US Dollars
was obtained through the banks and bureaux-de-change. Through this period, a
sum of USD13.894 billion (₦2,153.57 billion) left the country. Going by the report
presented at the Central Bank of Nigeria, between January 22, 2010 and March 5,
2010, a sum of USD6.734 billion (₦1,043.77 billion) left the country.
In another edition of the Vanguard Newspaper [3], payments made by the CBN
on behalf of the public shows that a total of USD22.1 billion left the country in
5 weeks, with an average of USD4.5 billion in a week. So also, about USD3.083
billion left the country by the end of the month of July 2014. The total foreign
exchange flowing out of the country mounted to USD4.2 billion by the end of the
month of August 2014. It however falls to USD4.1 billion by the end of September
and rise astronomically to USD5.29 billion at the end of October 2014. The foreign
exchange outflow rose further up to USD5.35 billion by the end of November 2014.
In Nigeria, there has been a growing difficulty in capital flight over the years due
to economic growth and development, and common research has been conducted
on this dilemma [8–12]. Likewise, the desire to solve this dilemma remains somber.
While the intensity of low capital inflows is said to suppress the level of economic
growth and hinder economic development in any economy, high capital inflow
intensity encourages capital formation. This is the basis for economic growth and
improves the level of significant investment that promotes higher returns. In the
case of capital outflow, it is usually money running away from the country. In
detail, increased capital outflows represent a possible loss for economic growth and
development, particularly in a country deeply dependent on external financing and/
or international supports/aids [8].
The capital flight in Nigeria led to the fall of Naira’s exchange rate until the
beginning of 2015 and the collapse of international crude oil prices in late 2014 [3].
Moreover, the flight of capital caused the depletion of Nigeria’s foreign reserves and
consequently the weakening of Naira. Nigeria’s foreign exchange reserves, which
amounted to USD5.4 billion in 1999, increased to USD52.3 billion, a large portion of
USD52 billion by the end of 2007, and to USD53.0 billion in 2008. However, in 2008,
after the collapse of the international crude oil price and the global financial crisis, the
reserve declined to USD42.4 billion in 2009. Moreover, in February 2015, it decreased
to USD33.04 billion from USD38.138 billion at the end of April 2014 [3].
The Nigerian government has launched programs and policies aimed at increas-
ing foreign capital inflows to other countries in order to use the appropriate contri-
bution to the whole economy in previous periods. The founding of the Bureau of
Public Enterprises (BPE), Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC),
National Council on Privatization (NCP), Economic and Financial Crime Commis-
sion (EFCC), and other anti-regulatory bodies aim to encourage economic growth
and development of the nation’s economy [9]. But, it turned out that these high
targets were an illusion.
The objectives of this chapter are to identify the long-run implications/effect of
persistence capital flight on the Nigerian economic growth and to capture the short
comings observed in the literature by identifying the direction of causality between
capital flight and economic growth in Nigeria. In order to achieve these objectives,
this chapter is structured into five sections. Following introductory section, Section
2 focuses on the review of related literature, Section 3 provides data and methodol-
ogy, Section 4 presents the results of analysis, and Section 5 concludes the chapter.

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Impact of Capital Flight on Economic Growth of Nigeria (1980–2014)
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2. Literature review

This section includes two sub-sections. The first sub-section is about the theo-
retical framework the study providing the review of theories. The second one is the
empirical review of previous studies.

2.1 Theoretical framework

There are various economic theories in the background of capital flight used to
measure the impact of capital flight on the economic growth. However, the theo-
retical framework of this chapter focuses on four main theories, as emphasized by
[9, 13, 14]. These four theories, defined in the area of capital flight, include the
investment orientation thesis; the debt-driven capital flight thesis (the debt-
overhang thesis); tax depressing thesis; and the thesis that produces austerity.

2.1.1 The investment diversion theory

The assumption of this theory is that because of political and macroeconomic

uncertainty in countries that are developing and also due to the concurrent presence
of a more better investment opportunities in countries that are advanced like the
presence of foreign interest rate that are high, the existence of economic and
political stability, a wide variety of financial instruments, a favorable secrecy of
accounts and tax climate, some immoral leaders that are corrupt and bureaucrats
regularly drain off the limited capital resources to advanced countries from their
home countries and as such, these resources become scarce for general investment
in the home country leading to a fall in the general investment level, a fall in the
growth rate of the economy and hence, a fall in the employment rate, a rise in
dependency ratio, and increase in the rate of deaths. These negative effects some-
times necessitate lending from abroad in order to boost the domestic activities of an
economy, which is also sometimes further drain off through corruption bringing
about indebtedness and external dependency. Liquidity limitation or crowding
results may lead to a decline in the value of the local currency, provided that the
authorities operate a variable exchange rate system [5]. Efforts to defend the
exchange rate at this time, results to, loss of international reserves. Now, exchange
rate defense efforts lead to the loss of international reserves. The investment diver-
sion thesis presents one of the known negative sequences of flight capital in the
respective countries [9].

2.1.2 The debt-driven capital flight thesis

This is an extension of the investment diversion thesis. The theory assumes that
a country having heavy external debt will motivate the inhabitants to move their
funds to foreign countries. External debt is sold to economic domestic agents who
later transfer these resources completely or partly abroad. External debt in accor-
dance to this thesis is one of the influencing factors to flight capital.

2.1.3 The tax-depressing thesis

This theory assumes that home resources held abroad are no more in control of
the domestic government and can therefore not be taxed. Subsequently, capital
flight brings about a potential loss of revenue to the home country. The decrease in
the government revenue affects the fiscal activities to promote growth and

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ISBS 2019 - 4th International Sustainable Buildings Symposium

development. These results to increase in the debt burden of a country as a result of

decrease in the debt servicing ability of the government which hinders economic
growth and development. Thus, a direct consequence of flight capital is a reduction
in the government’s income-generating potential [14].

2.1.4 The austerity thesis

This theory is concerned with the various indebted situations of the poor as a
result of flight capital. The poor suffer more as a result of excessive exposure to very
painful and rigorous measures to pay for debt obligations by the government to
international banks that on the other hand render interest to flight capital from
inhabitants of these countries [15]. In developing countries, poverty influences
international dependency and inequality reducing the poor to drawers of water and
hewers of wood. It also bridges the gap between the poor and the rich countries. The
investment diversion theory and the debt-driven capital flight thesis are both
related to this study and thus, we base the foundation of this work to these theories.

2.2 Review of empirical literature

Some empirical evidence from developing countries shows some negative

impact of capital flight on gross domestic product (GDP). For instance, ARDL
method was adopted in [16] on data set of 139 developing countries to analyze the
impact of the capital flight on growth of real GDP over the period of 2002 through
2009. It was found that the capital flight has negative impact on GDP growth, of
which significance can be stated as ambiguous. Furthermore, the proposed results
are not robust according to the specifications considering the effects of the
region or year.
Marianna [17] aimed to analyze the impact of capital flight on long-term eco-
nomic growth. The researcher employed a pooled cross-section analysis based on
the fixed effects model estimated by feasible generalized least squares method using
different methodologies for a set of 75 countries between 1994 and 2003 and
presented the results. According to the results, the countries, which have higher
capital flight to GDP ratio, have experienced slower growth of GDP per capita and
poorer countries were punished more by the phenomena. The researcher also sug-
gests that significant steps should be taken for a flight relief or even reversal of
capital flight to occur and in order to avoid the causes of capital flight, which
includes economic policies, political stability, and institutional developments. It is
also suggested that other key issues need to be taken into account in order to
stabilize the stability of inflation. Since this is a significant determinant of flight and
growth, transparent taxation is the process of foreign capital treatment of domestic
capital, supporting domestic market, as well as balancing state spending.
There are also some reviews from the African continent. For example, [14]
predicted the measurements, determinants, and impacts of capital flight on real
economic growth in Cameroon. In this study, two-stage least-squares technique was
used after the co-integration error correction mechanism of [18] using time series
data from 1970 to 2005. Quantitative results show that the large capital outflows
from Cameroon stem from fiscal deficit, political instability, interest rate inflation
and external debt servicing GDP ratio. It is also reported that capital flight has a
negative impact on economic growth. Consequently, it is found out that growth and
development in Cameroon can be achieved and sustained through alleviation of
capital flight. Therefore, the combinations of the establishment of fiscal discipline,
tax and tariff adjustments, and good governance are recommended.

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Impact of Capital Flight on Economic Growth of Nigeria (1980–2014)
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Using different estimation methods, the magnitude of capital flight in Kenya

was analyzed in [19]. The causal factor of capital flight, which gives importance to
macroeconomic variables, has been determined empirically. This capital flight
reached its peak in the balance of payments crisis. This means that capital flight is
used for protection against bad economic conditions. Besides, it was debated that
growth in economy would lead to increase capital flight without credible reforms.
Some reviews from the Nigeria’s perspective are also identified. Adaramola and
Obalade [20] used the ordinary least square regression and the Johansen
co-integration test on macroeconomic data to examine the impact of capital flight
on Nigerian economic growth for the period of 1981–2010. The authors found that
capital flight has negative impact on economic growth only in the short run. In
addition, the capital flight significantly and positively impacted the economic
growth in the long run. It was recommended that creating friendly and enabling
business environment is a method of encouraging foreign investors to invest in the
country as well as re-investing the profits based on the empirical findings.
Margaret [8] employ the least square regression model in the analysis of capital
flight determinants and their impact on Nigerian economy from 1970 to 2004, her
findings reveal that capital flight exerts a negative impact on Nigeria’s economic
development; it also reveals that 6 of the 12 explanatory variables exert some
significant effects on the economic development. These include the total export,
terms of trade, type of government, growth rate differential, inflation and sum of
import and export as a ratio of GDP. The study finally recommends among others,
that the government should formulate polices to maintain stability in the microeco-
nomic environment that is economic, political, and social stability.
The impacts of capital flight on economic growth are analyzed by evidence from
the Nigerian economy in [9]. Ordinary least squares technique, multiple regression,
and descriptive statistics were used. It was found out that the outflow representing
capital flight and errors and omission have an inverse relationship with gross
domestic product (GDP) representing the overall economic growth in the Nigerian
economy. Good governance, full implementation of fiscal discipline, and change of
attitude in the national economy management were also proposed. It was proposed
that protection laws for Nigerians should be enacted so that they could bring their
stolen money back home and invest in the real sector of the economy.
Contrary to most of the existing capital flight studies, [11] examined the capital
flight impact on exchange rate and economic growth in Nigeria by using OLS
method on secondary data between 1981 and 2007. The results indicated that the
capital flight has statistically significance and positive impact on the exchange rate
and economic growth of Nigeria, which contradict previous studies. Based on the
findings, it is recommended that more training is needed for the Nigerian traditions
to increase efficiency in combating import and export faults. Furthermore, [21]
empirically evaluated the capital flight impact on Nigeria economy using two-stage
least square technique between 1970 and 2008. The capital flight reported a signif-
icant and negative impact on economic growth in the estimated model. According
to the findings, nonperformance of domestic resources can spark capital flight.

3. Data and methodology

This study uses a time series secondary data which was sourced from the publi-
cations of World Bank and United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
(UNCTD) with a sample size of 35 years from 1980 to 2014). The study adopts a
model from [21] with some modification. The dependent variable used is real GDP
which serves as a proxy for economic growth. The independent variables used are

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Capital flight proxied by capital outflows, Domestic investment proxied by private

investment, External debt, Exchange rate, and Foreign Direct Investment. The
functional representation of the model for this study is as follows;

RGDP ¼ FðKF; EXD; DOIN; EXR; FDIÞ (1)

The econometric equation of the above function becomes as follows:

RGDP ¼ β0 þ β1 KF þ β2 EXD þ β3 DOIN þ β4 EXR þ β5 FDI þ εt (2)

where RGDP is the real gross domestic product; KF is the capital flight; EXD is
the external debt; DOIN is the domestic investment; EXR is the exchange rate; FDI
is the foreign direct investment; β0 is the constant parameter; β1 β5 are the coeffi-
cient of independent variables; εt is the error term.
In order to empirically analyze the long-run relationships and short-run
dynamic interactions among the variables of interest (gross domestic product,
capital flight, exchange rate, external debt, domestic investment, and foreign direct
investment), the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) cointegration technique
was applied as a general vector autoregressive (VAR) model of order p, in Zt, where
Zt is a column vector composed of the six variables: Zt = (RGDP, KF, EXD, DOIN,
EXR, FDI). The ARDL cointegration approach was developed by [22].
A further advantage of the ARDL model over the previous and traditional
cointegration methods are all variables of the model assumed to be endogenous and
the short-run and long-run coefficients of the model are estimated simultaneously
[23]. An ARDL representation of Eq. (3) is formulated as follows:
ΔRGDPt ¼ α0 þ ∑ni¼1 α1iΔRGDPt 1 þ ∑ni¼0 α2iΔKFt 1 þ ∑ni¼0 α3iΔEXDt 1
þ ∑ni¼1 4iΔDOINt 1 þ ∑ni¼0 5iΔEXRt 1 þ ∑ni¼0 6iΔFDIt 1
þ β1RGDPt 1 þ β2KFt 1 þ β3EXDt 1 þ β4DOINt 1 þ β5EXRt 1
þ β6FDIt 1 þ et:
(3)

where Δ denotes the first difference operator, α0 is the drift component, et is the
usual white noise residuals.
The first until fifth expressions (β1–β6) on the right-hand side match up to the
long-run relationship, while the other expressions with the summation sign
(α1 α6) show the short-run dynamics of the model.
Bound testing procedure is used to investigate the presence of long-run rela-
tionships among the RGDP, KF, EXD, DOIN, EXR, and FDI [22]. This procedure is
based on the F-test. The F-test is a test of the hypothesis of no cointegration among
the variables against the existence or presence of cointegration among the variables
that is denoted as:
Ho: β1 = β2 = β3 = β4 = β5 = β6 = 0.
that is, there is no cointegration among the variables.
Ha: β1 6¼ β2 6¼ β3 6¼ β4 6¼ β5 6¼ β6 6¼ 0.
that is, there is cointegration among the variables.
The ARDL bound test is based on the Wald-test (F-statistic). The asymptotic
distribution of the Wald-test is non-standard under the null hypothesis of no
cointegration among the variables. For the cointegration test, two critical values are
given by [22]. The lower critical bound assumes that all the variables are I(0), which
means that there is not any cointegration relation between the examined variables.

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Impact of Capital Flight on Economic Growth of Nigeria (1980–2014)
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Additionally, the upper bound assumes that all the variables are I(1) meaning that
there is cointegration between the variables. H0 is rejected when the computed F-
statistic is greater than the upper bound critical value (the variables are
cointegrated). H0 cannot be rejected if the F-statistic is below the lower bound
critical value (there is no cointegration among the variables). The results can be
mentioned as inconclusive when the computed F-statistics is between the lower and
upper bound. Furthermore, unrestricted error correction model (UECM) based on
the assumption made by [22] is developed in this chapter. From the unrestricted
error correction model, the long-run elasticities are the coefficient of the one lagged
explanatory variable (multiplied with a negative sign) divided by the coefficient of
the one lagged dependent variable. The ARDL has been selected because of the
reason that it can estimate the long- and short-run dynamic relations among all the
variables used and can be applied for a small sample size. The ARDL methodology is
considered as to be relieved of the burden of establishing the order of integration
between the variables. Moreover, it permits testing the existence of relation among
the variables and can differentiate dependent and explanatory variables. Conse-
quently, it is inclinable that various variables have different optimal number of lags
with the ARDL. Accordingly, Eq. (3) in the ARDL version of the error correction
model can be expressed as Eq. (4). The error correction version of ARDL model
pertaining to the variables in Eq. (3) is as in the following:

ΔRGDPt ¼ α0 þ ∑ni¼0 α1iΔRGDPt 1 þ ∑ni¼0 α2iΔKFt 1 þ ∑ni¼0 α3iΔEXDt 1

þ ∑ni¼1 4iΔDOINt 1 þ ∑ni¼0 5iΔEXRt 1 þ ∑ni¼0 6iΔFDIt 1
þ λECt 1 þ ut
(4)

where λ is the speed of adjustment parameter and EC is the residuals that are
obtained from the estimated cointegration model of Eq. (3).

4. Results

4.1 Unit root test result

The study investigated the stationary level of the variables under study in order
to ensure that none of the variables are integrated beyond order one [I(1)]. For this
purpose, this study adopted the conventional Augmented Dickey-Fuller (ADF) test.
The result of the unit root test in Table 1 shows that the variables were stationary at
different order of integration.
The table reveals that LOGRGDP (the study dependent variable), LOGDOIN,
LOGEXD, and KF are all stationary at differenced value I(1) while FDI is stationary
at level value 1(0). This shows that our result has a mixture of I(1) and 1(0)
variables and this explains one of the advantage of using ARDL method of estima-
tion as the method allows a mixture of 1(1) and 1(0) variables as regressors. In other
words, the order of appropriate variables integration may not be the same neces-
sarily. Hence, the ARDL technique is advantageous for not involving identification
of the order of the fundamental data.

4.2 Estimated long-run co-efficient

The long-run ARDL result from Table 2 reveals that capital flight is negatively
related to economic growth at 1.59. This implies that an increase (decrease) in

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ISBS 2019 - 4th International Sustainable Buildings Symposium

ADF test

Variables 1(0) 1(1)

LOGRGDP 5.684017***

LOGDOIN 4.85109***

LOGEXD 3.650528***

FDI 3.12064**

KF 7.938042***

EXR 5.156324***
Note: *** and ** represent significance level at 1 and 5%, respectively (source: E-view result output, see appendix).

Table 1.
Unit root test result.

Variable Coefficient Std. error t-Statistic Prob.

C 0.983478 0.263385 3.733989 0.0009

LOGEXD 0.105061 0.070812 1.483656 0.1495

DOIN 0.000131 2.34E-05 5.585648 0.0000

KF 1.59E-05 0.000156 0.102255 0.9193

FDI 0.000170 4.34E-05 3.906390 0.0006

EXR( 1) 0.005541 0.002043 2.711918 0.0115

LOGRGDP( 1) 0.575138 0.093768 6.133607 0.0000

R-squared 0.938898 F-statistic 69.14793

Adjusted R-squared 0.925320 Prob (F-statistic) 0.000000

Durbin-Watson stat 1.865096

Table 2.
Result of estimated long-run co-efficient (dependent variable; real GDP).

capital flight will lead to a decrease (increase) in economic growth. For instance, a
unit rise in capital flight will lead to about 1.59 decreases in economic growth
(ceteris paribus).
The result also reveals a positive and insignificant relationship between external
debt and economic growth. This is not surprising considering the quality of institu-
tions in Nigeria that encourage rent-seeking behaviors among political office
holders because sometimes foreign loans are not injected into the right channels
necessary for growth but being transformed sometimes instantaneously from capi-
tal inflow to capital flight through corruption or selling to domestic economic agents
and ultimately ending up abroad, usually in a private foreign account having no
significant effect to economic growth.
However, the result identifies a positive and significant relationship between
domestic investment and economic growth. This shows that an increase (decrease)
in domestic investment will lead to an increase (decrease) in economic growth of
Nigeria. In other words, a unit rise/fall in domestic investment will lead to a
0.000131 rise/fall in economic growth. The result also reveals that this is statistically
significant at 1% level going by its p-value of 0.0000.
Furthermore, foreign direct investment displays a negative and significant
impact on economic growth. A decrease (increase) in FDI will lead to an increase
(decrease) in economic growth signifying an inverse relationship between the two

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Impact of Capital Flight on Economic Growth of Nigeria (1980–2014)
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but statistically significant at 1% level given by its p-value of 0.0006. This further
explains that a 1% change in foreign direct investment will lead to a 0.000170
change in economic growth.
Finally, exchange rate has a negative and significant impact on economic
growth. Decrease (increase) in exchange rate will lead to an increase (decrease) in
economic growth of Nigeria. In other words, a unit rise in exchange rate, will lead to
a 0.005541 change in economic growth of Nigerian addition, this is found to be
statistically significant at 1% level as shown by its p-value of 0.0115.

4.3 Result of the estimated short-run relationship

The short-run nexus between capital flight, other explanatory variables and
economic growth (real GDP) is estimated using the error correction model (ECM).
The error correction co-efficient is 0.934135 and is statistically significant at 5%
level going by its p-value of 0.0182. This shows a very high speed of adjustment to
equilibrium level after a shock. For the explanatory variables, the short-run analysis
identify the presence of a negative relationship between capital flight and economic
growth and a negative and significant relationship between foreign direct invest-
ment and economic growth, a positive and significant relationship between domes-
tic investment and economic growth, a positive and significant relationship
between exchange rate and economic growth, and a positive and insignificant
relationship between external debt and economic growth (Table 3).

4.4 Result of the Granger causality test

The main purpose of conducting Granger causality test is to identify the nature
and direction of causality between the dependent variable (Real GDP) and inde-
pendent variables (capital flight, FDI, external debt, domestic investment and
exchange rate). The test result is summarized and presented in Table 4.
The Granger causality result from Table 4 shows that, there is a bi-directional
relationship between capital flight and real GDP at 1% level of significance

Variable Coefficient Std. error t-Statistic Prob.

C 0.047492 0.048205 0.985210 0.3348

D(DOIN( 1)) 6.25E-05 4.30E-05 1.454322 0.1594

D(DOIN) 9.53E-05 2.60E-05 3.671964 0.0013

D(EXR( 1)) 0.004408 0.002539 1.735691 0.0960

D(EXR) 0.004515 0.002756 1.637847 0.1151

D(LOGRGDP( 1)) 0.573099 0.246896 2.321215 0.0295

D(LOGEXD) 0.249763 0.179764 1.389396 0.1780

D(KF) 0.000137 0.000116 1.178261 0.2507

D(FDI) 0.000213 3.74E-05 5.701868 0.0000

ECM( 1) 0.934135 0.367374 2.542737 0.0182

R-squared 0.764591 F-statistic 8.300260

Adjusted R-squared 0.672475 Prob (F-statistic) 0.000021

Durbin-Watson stat 2.030531

Table 3.
Error correction estimates of the ARDL model (short-run dynamics).

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Null hypothesis Obs. F-statistic p-Values

Capital flight and real GDP

KF does not Granger cause LOGRGDP 34 19.4739 0.0001

LOGRGDP does not Granger cause KF 6.67640 0.0147

Foreign direct investment and real GDP

FDI does not Granger cause LOGRGDP 34 14.2011 0.0007

LOGRGDP does not Granger cause FDI 0.02692 0.8707

External debt and real GDP

EXD does not Granger cause LOGRGDP 34 0.06437 0.8014

LOGRGDP does not Granger cause EXD 0.26180 0.6125

Domestic investment and real GDP

DOIN does not Granger cause RGDP 34 13.0891 0.0010

RGDP does not Granger cause RGDP 18.1347 0.0002

Exchange rate and real GDP

EXR does not Granger cause RGDP 34 3.78769 0.0607

RGDP does not Granger cause EXR 0.02334 0.8796
Source: Authors computation using e-views version 9.

Table 4.
Result of the Granger causality test.

therefore; the null hypothesis of no causality between capital flight and real GDP
will be rejected going by their respective p-values of 0.0001 and 0.0147. The result
also shows a uni-directional relationship between FDI and real GDP. This is because
at 1% level of significance, the null hypothesis that FDI does not Granger cause real
GDP is rejected while on the other hand, the null hypothesis that real GDP does not
Granger cause FDI could not be rejected going by its p-value of 0.8707. However,
the result also identifies a no directional relationship between external debt and real
GDP as shown by their respective p-values of 0.8014 and 0.6125 which are not
significant even at 10% level. As such, the null hypothesis of no causality between
external debt and real GDP cannot be rejected. A bi-directional causal relationship
between domestic investment and real GDP has also been identified at 1% level of
significance with their p-values of 0.0010 and 0.0002, respectively. Therefore, the
null hypothesis of no causality between domestic investment and real GDP will be
rejected. Finally, the result shows a uni-directional causal relationship between
exchange rate and real GDP where exchange rate Granger causes real GDP at 10%
level of significance without any feedback effect.

5. Conclusion and recommendations

This study investigates the impact of capital flight on economic growth in

Nigeria. Capital flight limits growth potentials, crowds-out investment, and
worsens capital formation. The long-run result generated from the ARDL approach,
showed that capital flight has a negative effect on economic growth of Nigeria,
while the result of the Granger causality test showed a bi-directional causal rela-
tionship between capital flight and economic growth. These, thus suggest huge
potentials for capital flight reversals in order to enhance economic growth. Efforts
must be made toward the design and implementation of appropriate policy mea-
sures that would stimulate economic growth and encourage flight capital to return
to the country. This study has empirically revealed that capital flight has a negative

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Impact of Capital Flight on Economic Growth of Nigeria (1980–2014)
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.87836

effect on economic growth of Nigeria. Therefore, we recommend the following

measures that will help in curbing issues of capital flight in Nigeria.
Firstly, the study recommends that since a rise in economic growth decreases
capital flight, then policies which fuels economic growth should be formulated in
order to decrease capital flight. Secondly, since capital flight can be reduced as a
result of a high and sustainable economic growth, this necessitates the need to deal
with the decay in the critical infrastructure, power, water, transport, etc. This will
assist to improve domestic investment and draw foreign investors. Thirdly, foreign
loan advances should only be used to finance a project that is self-liquidating or
provision of infrastructures. This is based on the belief that the multiplier effect of
infrastructure will go a long way in improving the performance of real sectors and
generate income. Fourthly, inflows of capital (e.g. foreign direct investment) in the
economy should be injected into the right channels necessary for growth such as the
real sectors (industrial, agricultural, etc.) where the effect of the inflows can be felt
by the economy. In addition, more generally, a new overall strategy, political, and
public policies should be made more stable and certain in the country such that
investors will be convinced about the effect of these strategies/policies on the actual
worth of domestically held property in the future and to give confidence to
Nigerians overseas to be back home and invest in their country.

Author details

Fatima Muhammad Lawal1* and Arzuhan Burcu Gültekin2

1 Department of Economics, Sokoto State University, Sokoto, Nigeria

2 Department of Real Estate Development and Management, Ankara University,

Ankara, Turkey

*Address all correspondence to: fatimahmuhd12@gmail.com

© 2019 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms
of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/
by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is properly cited.

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and Explanations (Princeton Studies in
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[2] Kindleberger CP. A historical
perspective. In: Lessard DR, Williamson
J, editors. Capital Flight and Third
World Debt. Washington, DC: Institute
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[3] Vanguard Newspaper. Capital Flight:
Economy Hard Hit by $22.1bn Outflow
in 5 Weeks; 2015
[4] Obadan MI. Foreign Capital Flows
and External Debt Perspectives on
Nigeria and the LDCS Group. An Ibadan
University Press; 2004
[5] Ajayi IS. An Econometric Analysis of
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[6] Ajayi IS. An analysis of external debt
and capital flight in the severely
indebted low-income countries in sub-
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[7] Vanguard Newspaper. Massive
Capital Flight Hits Nigeria as Deposits
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[8] Margaret NO. An empirical analysis
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their impact on the Nigerian economy
[unpublished thesis]. Owerri:
Postgraduate School Federal University
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[10] Bakare AS. The determinants and
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capital flight on exchange rate and
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Nigerian economy. European Journal of
Business and Management. 2013;5(5).
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iiste.org
[13] Le QV, Rishi M. Corruption and
capital flight: An empirical assessment.
International Economic Journal. 2006;
20(4):523-540
[14] Forgha NG. Capital flight,
measurability and economic growth in
Cameroon: An econometric
investigation. International Review of
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74-90
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[16] Gusarova V. The impact of capital
flight on economic growth [unpublished
thesis]. Kyiv School of Economics; 2009
[17] Marianna C. The measurement of
capital flight and its impact on long term
growth: Empirical evidence from cross-
section of countries [unpublished M.Sc.
thesis]. Bratislava: Comenius
University; 2006
[18] Engle RF, Granger CWJ. Co-
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[19] Ng’eno NK. Chapter 5. Capital flight

in Kenya. In: Ajayi SI, Mohsin SK,
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[20] Adaramola AO, Obalade AA. Does

capital flight have a force to bear on
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[21] Otene S, Richard E. Capital flight

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[22] Pesaranr MH, Shin Y, Smith RJ.

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Chapter 65

Sustainable Development after

Disasters: The Case of Erbaa
County
Aşina Kübra Aslan, Ertuğrul Karagöl,
Arzuhan Burcu Gültekin, Şefik Taş, Emir Sunguroğlu,
Zekeriya Çelik and Eren Adıgüzel

Abstract

The strong association between natural disasters and sustainable development

was not understood for many years in developing countries including Turkey, and
therefore, effective steps have not been taken in terms of improving and strength-
ening this association. It is obvious that sustainable development works are impor-
tant after disasters. It was also emphasized that the measures that must be taken to
prevent disasters and reduce their losses must be included in development plans of
all sizes. Especially, local administration must be trained about being prepared for
natural disasters, and the damages must thus be minimized. The sustainability con-
cept must not be limited with a shallow area like the protection and development of
the environment. In this chapter, the importance of sustainable development after
disasters was emphasized; and the policies that were implemented after the great
earthquake that happened in the city of Erbaa in 1939–1942–1943 was examined in
the light of the data received from Erbaa Municipality.

Keywords: sustainable development, disaster, natural disaster, Erbaa, earthquake

1. Introduction

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (Global Goals) constitute

a universal call for action to eliminate poverty, protect our planet, and ensure
that all people live in peace and welfare. Major disasters interrupt the economy
and development targets all over the country, and cause important problems in
payment balance, create negative effects on income distribution by disrupting
the budget income-expenditure balance, increase poverty, and therefore, stop the
planned investments and cut the resources that are allocated for further invest-
ments. Similarly, major disasters also cause losses in production and stocks, loss of
market, shortages in terms of goods, and increase prices, cause unemployment and
disruption in social balances. They also lead to sudden and uncontrolled popula-
tion movements, which affect sustainable development in a mostly negative way,
and even lead to the disruption of political and social integrity. For this reason, it
is emphasized in all international institutions and platforms by the United Nations
that all the natural disasters in fact pose a problem of development. In addition,

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it is also mentioned that precautions must be taken for the purpose of preventing
disasters and reducing their losses, which must be included in development plans
at any level. In other international approaches as well, it is also emphasized that it
is impossible to obtain sustainable development by leaving policies, strategies, and
actions that may lessen disaster dangers and risks aside; and it is recommended
that disaster risk reduction activities must be not be considered as a component of
sustainable development, on the contrary, such activities must be considered as the
precondition. The strong connection between disaster and sustainable development
is understood better as disasters are faced. In countries where the danger and risk of
natural disaster such as earthquake is high, like Turkey, due to climatic and geo-
graphical conditions, the implementation of sustainable development policies that
are based on influential policies and strategies planned to reduce natural dangers
and risks is extremely important. In this respect, planned and audited residence
and industrialization must be carried out; and the physical, social, economic, and
environmental damages, which cause natural disasters, must be reduced. Especially
local administration must be trained about being prepared for natural disasters, and
the damages must thus be minimized. The sustainability concept must not be lim-
ited with a shallow area like the protection and development of the environment.

2. Disaster management and fundamental principles

2.1 Concept of disaster

Disasters are phenomena that have social, political, economic, and demographic
effects in societies, and may even shake social order and drag societies into uncer-
tainties [1]. There are various factors that affect the size and magnitude of disasters.
The factors that affect the size and magnitude of disasters are as in the following:

• Physical size of the disaster,

• Distance of the disaster to residential areas,

• Underdevelopment, unemployment and poverty,

• Rapidly increasing population,

• Unplanned urbanization, zoning, and industrialization in risky areas,

• Use of the environment and forests in an improper way,

• Lack of education and knowledge,

• The level societies have in protection and having information on disaster prior
to disaster [2].

2.2 Disaster types

Disasters are classified under separate groups according to various characteris-

tics. Disaster types vary parallel to the development levels of countries. Because an
event that is considered as a disaster by a society does not mean the same situation
for another society. In general terms, disaster is an unpredictable, and therefore,
an unexpected phenomenon. Disasters may be examined in two parts. The

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classification of disaster types is made as natural disasters and non-natural disas-

ters, in other words, the ones caused by humans.
Natural disasters: natural disasters are dangerous events, which affect the socio-
economic and cultural activities of societies in a negative way, and cause significant
losses of lives and properties. Natural disasters are evaluated under two groups in
terms of their sources. Earthquakes, volcanoes, floods, landslides, and tsunamis are
accepted as the disasters related to geological factors; and fires, storms, snow, ice,
and fog are considered as the disasters related to atmospheric factors.
Non-natural, technological disasters: non-natural, human, and technological
disasters are those that are caused by human factor and not directly caused by the
nature. These disasters occur only as a result of the destructions of people. As an
example, for this type of disasters, it is possible to mention industrial accidents,
accidents caused by overcrowded residential areas, nuclear, biological, chemical
accidents, transportation accidents, immigrants, and displaced societies.

2.3 Disaster management

Disaster management is a society-oriented management system trying to pro-

vide accurate and reliable life to the society, prevent disasters and reduce relevant
harms. It shows variations according to the size of the disaster. The result of disas-
ters affects the management of all individuals who manage and who are managed
because of the disruption on life and property. For this reason, unlike other man-
agement activities, disaster management is a vital phenomenon showing that even
small errors might cause significant losses of lives and properties. In this context,
although it is not possible to prevent natural disasters, it is possible to decrease the
losses of properties and lives caused by disasters with activities in disaster manage-
ment stage. In this respect, the pre- and post-disaster activities must be considered
as a whole.
Different approaches are used in organizing and managing the policies and
activities related to natural disasters with an institutional structure. The traditional
one among these is defined as based on the basic factor that causes disasters. In this
respect, there are activities to be done before and after a disaster. It is possible to
consider natural disasters in a cyclic pattern because they are likely to be repeated in
the area where they occur. Disaster management is a broad concept which includes
preventing disasters, minimizing damages, being prepared for disasters, rescue in
the fastest and most effective way at the time of a disaster, providing temporary
hosting, providing first aid, and rebuilding activities. This type of management may
be called as contemporary disaster management, and it is only possible to decrease
disaster losses in a country with such a management system [3]. The basic elements
of natural disaster management are given in Figure 1 [4].
In this way, as explained separately in the figure, “Response,” “Recovery,”
“Sensitivity Analysis,“ “Preparedness,” “Prediction and Warning,” “Reduction
and Prevention,” “Disaster Analysis,” are the seven activities that require specific
expertise and complement each other over time. Although all stages of disaster
management require different expertise and many institutions and organizations
have separate duties in these stages, disaster management must be handled in an
integrated manner.

2.4 Sustainable development after disasters

This is the development model responding to the present needs but does not
eliminate the possibility of covering the needs of future generations. Sustainable
development is defined as covering today’s needs by not depriving the needs of

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Figure 1.
Basic elements of natural disaster management [4].

future generations. When the concept of development is mentioned in terms of

sustainability, progress in three areas comes to the agenda, which are as follows;

• Economic development: Involves economic development.

• Social development: Involves social equality and equal opportunities for every-
body, lack of exclusion, and achieving social rights by everybody.

• Environmental protection: Ensuring that resources are recycled in a righteous

manner for future generations.

With the economic crisis, which emerged in the world in the 1970s, dif-
ferences were experienced in economic approaches, and this process was
considered as the collapse of modernism in one sense. While capitalism, which
was large-scale, mass-based, and organized, was exposed to criticism, and new
production and management approaches started to emerge. When planning,
which is the main and most important factor in the development literature, lost
its importance in a fast pace, it was observed that national regional planning
lost its importance in many countries. In addition, environmental problems that
stem from the destruction of nature during the development process caused
that the traditional welfare concept was questioned, and the economic under-
standing, which considered nature as an inexhaustible factor, was replaced by
approaches which considered the environment as a factor that is necessary for
human welfare. The main target of the sustainable development approach, which
emerged as a result of the unbelievable damage that was caused by societies to
the environment as a result of the increases in the world population and techno-
logical innovations after the industrialization era, is to decrease these damages
to the lowest degree, and create a more protective awareness on the needs of
future generations. In general terms, the main damages caused by humans to the
environment are:

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• Irreversible changes on the atmosphere and the components of the climate of

the Earth,

• Negative effects of ultraviolet rays due to damaged ozone layer on living

organisms,

• Deformation of the upper layer of the soil, and increase in dissertation,

• Decreasing biological variability,

• Damaged nutrient cycle,

• Pollution in air, river, and oceans,

• Decreases in artesian water resources.

3. Disaster-focused sustainable development: the case of Erbaa County

3.1 General geology of the Erbaa County and surroundings

Erbaa and its surroundings are mostly located on Permian and Cenozoic-
age units. The basis of the district consists of Permo-Triassic old Turhal Group
metamorphisms [5]. The main rock is covered unconformably by late-middle Jura
agglomerate-sandstone and late Jura-early cretaceous limestone units. The Yumaklı
Formation, which consists of conglomerate, sandstone, mudstone, shale, and marl
alternation, covers these units, which are also covered by Çerkeş formation, which
was formed in the terrestrial environment in an unconformable way (Figure 2).
The youngest unit in the Erbaa basin is the Quaternary-age alluvium units filling the
valley basements. Pliocene deposits and alluvions in Erbaa County consist of gravel,
sand, clay, marn, and non-cemented sandstone and conglomerate [6].
Paleozoic-age formations, which constitute the basin basement in Erbaa County,
were exposed to Hercynian Orogenesis and Jura, Kreatese, Paleocene, and Eocene
lithological units that are on this basement and became fractured and curved with
the effect of Alpine Orogenic Movements.

3.2 Erbaa County earthquake status and the earthquakes that happened in its
surroundings

Erbaa County is located in an active fault zone in the North Anatolian Fault
Zone. Erbaa, which is a county of Tokat, is located in the Mid-Black Sea Region
and in the 1st Degree Earthquake Zone according to the Earthquake Zones Map
(Figure 3).
The center of Erbaa County was built on the left banks of the Kelkit River. The
earthquakes in 1939, 1940, 1942, and finally in 1943 in the basin of Niksar revealed
the necessity of moving Erbaa County, which was located on the North Anatolian
Fault Zone on alluvium, to other areas with more secure and sound grounds. In this
respect, with the decision of Ministerial Cabinet in 1944, it was decided that Erbaa
should be moved to an area that was called Ardıçlık, which was relatively more
durable, 2 km south of its former place. Ardıçlık, which is the new area where Erbaa
was moved, was formed by Pliocene deposits, which are more stable, and consisted
of sandstone, conglomerate, gravel, sand, silt, and clay. In this way, the effects of a

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Figure 2.
Geological map of Erbaa County and its surroundings [7].

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Figure 3.
Earthquake map of Tokat and its surroundings [2].

Figure 4.
1942 Niksar-Erbaa earthquake fracture zone [7].

possible earthquake were reduced by moving the town. Erbaa County was moved
to the south where the alluvial thickness was less, and which was 2 km away from
the 1942 Niksar-Erbaa Earthquake Fracture, on the Pliocene sediments, which
were more stable (Figure 4). As a result, it was ensured that the possible losses that
might occur due to the fault fracture were reduced.
1939, 1940, 1942, and 1943 Earthquakes: The first earthquake, which hap-
pened in 1939 at a magnitude of 7.9, caused major damages in Erbaa and Niksar,

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and 319 people lost their lives in Erbaa County center in the earthquake [8]. In
the earthquake, which happened in 1940 with a magnitude of 6.2, there were 881
casualties, and 1659 buildings were destroyed. The earthquake in 1942 with the
epicenter of Erbaa-Niksar, which was 7.2 in magnitude, destroyed Erbaa district
center completely. Only a bath and a few wooden structures remained intact in the
county. In this earthquake, which happened in Erbaa County, a total of 534 people
died, 16 fires broke out, and all of the houses were destroyed in fires [9]. The 1943
Earthquake happened at a magnitude of 7.3. After the earthquakes of 1939, 1940,
and 1942, since the people in the county were already living in barracks and tent-
style makeshift houses, the loss of lives and property was relatively less compared to
other earthquakes. There were a total of 12 deaths in the county [7]. The loss of lives
and properties in the devastating earthquakes, which happened in and after 1939 in
Erbaa and its surroundings, started to mobilize local governments and solution-
oriented activities were accelerated. As a result of the research that was conducted
following the earthquake in 1943, it was publicly mentioned that the county that
was located on the North Anatolian Fault Line and the basement were not suitable
for settlements because it had alluvial materials and that Erbaa County had to be
moved to a more solid ground.

3.3 Sustainable development and planning of Erbaa

With the increase in the deaths because of mortal and destructive events, which
occurred after the earthquake, healthy planning was carried out (Figure 5). County
Municipality followed a development policy that was related with development
and urbanization. The settlement plan of the new county was made to include the
government buildings in the center with neatly placed streets. In the new settle-
ment, which was started to be built in 1944, firstly, 100 houses were built by the
state (by Kizilay), and about 1000 houses were built by the citizens with the help of
materials provided by the state, which made a total of 1100 houses [8]. In addition,
a settlement was established and included administrative and cultural buildings like
government buildings, town hall, primary school, market place, teachers’ hall, and
office of the civil servants (Figure 6). The new Erbaa started to improve in a fast
pace with the increasing population, social needs, and municipal services. When
the development directions of the city are considered, it is seen that the new city
develops in all directions; however, the development is mostly toward the north
(toward the moved area). In actual fact, although the construction plan of the city
foresaw the growth in the southern part of the city, official buildings (monopoly

Figure 5.
Old and new Erbaa. (A) Topographical map of old and new Erbaa [7]. (B) Geographical positions of old and
new Erbaa [7].

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building, warehouse, station building, office, park, etc.) seemed to be prevented

from developing toward the north, and the city moved to the north of these official
buildings toward the plain.
In the new establishment area, Samsun-Erzurum Motorway settlements in the
north of the city attracted the settlement toward itself and thus was effective in
the development of the settlement toward the north (Figure 7). In actual fact, the
settlement boundary, which was in the south of the motorway, continued its devel-
opment by moving to the opposite side of the road and progressing to the north
of the highway in a fast manner. In this part of the city, new neighborhoods like
Ertuğrul Gazi, Yıldırım Beyazıt, and Fatih Sultan Mehmet developed. Although it

Figure 6.
Zoning Plan of New Erbaa (1944) (Scale:1/4000) [8].

Figure 7.
Erbaa zoning plan 2019 (Erbaa Municipality) [10].

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was expected that the city developed on a more stable surface toward the south, the
development of the north toward the old settlement area became a negative devel-
opment in terms of earthquake risk. This must be taken into consideration particu-
larly in terms of the development of the city. When these drawbacks are considered,
it was emphasized that the development of county toward the old settlement had
to be prevented in the Geological-Geotechnical Study based on Erbaa Municipality
Zoning Plan and in the evaluation of the GIS-Based Seismic Micro Evaluation of
the Erbaa County in the North Anatolian Fault Zone in the TUBITAK Project [7].
The Tepeşehir project, which targeted to build 477 houses, and which was built
by Erbaa Municipality in the last period (planned to reach 2000), was pioneering
in urban transformation and directing the development of the city toward the
south-east direction with less earthquake risk in terms of determining the direction
of development of the county and establishment on a more solid ground. Erbaa
Municipality started the establishment of Tepeşehir project in 2000 with its own
resources and completed it in 2007 (Figure 8). A total of 477 houses, 69 of which
are villas and 408 of which are residences, were built as the first stage of urban
transformation in Tepeşehir on an area of 230 decares. The first stage of this project
had cost approximately 20 million TL.

Figure 8.
Tepeşehir residences built by Erbaa Municipality [10].

Figure 9.
Erbaa first stage park valley recreation area [10].

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In our present day, there is a risk of the city to spread toward the former settle-
ment area again, and precautions have been taken against this. These areas have
been closed to settlements and are made use of as recreation areas. The Valley
Park Project of Erbaa Municipality has constituted a good example to Turkey and
to the region on this issue. The Park Valley Project was offered to the use of public
by Erbaa Municipality as a recreation area in an area that was not suitable for
settlement because it was formed of alluvial material on the coast of Kelkit River
by the Municipality of Erbaa. The first stage of this project, which was planned
to be completed in four stages, was completed, and was presented to the use of
public (Figure 9).

4. Conclusion

The strength of the connection between disaster and sustainable development is

understood better when disasters are faced. In countries like Turkey where there is a
high threat of natural disasters, mainly earthquakes, due to climate and geographi-
cal location, effective policies, and strategies should be based on sustainable devel-
opment. To achieve this, planned and supervised settlement and industrialization
must be carried out, and natural, physical, social, economic, and environmental
damages should be reduced. Especially local administrations must be trained on the
awareness of natural disasters, and the damage that may occur must be minimized
in this way. The concept of sustainability must not be limited in a narrow sense
like the protection of the environment. In international literature, it is emphasized
that it is not possible to achieve sustainable development without applying policies,
strategies, and actions to reduce the risks of disasters; and it is recommended that
the efforts to reduce the risks of disasters must not be considered as an element of
sustainable development, but they must be considered as the prior condition of it. It
is necessary to make spatial planning, and the public must be trained on awareness
to define and reduce the disaster risks. However, it is not proper to limit these with
pre-disaster and spatial planning activities. All disasters may cause new dangers
and risks right after the event, and temporary and permanent settlement activities
must minimize the risks of future disasters and provide a safer and improved life
environment.
North Anatolian Fault is a major earthquake zone where many earthquakes
were faced in Turkey. This zone starts with the Gulf of Saros and the Sea of Izmit
axis in the west, and stretches toward the plain of Erzincan through Adapazari,
Duzce, Bolu, Kastamonu, and Kelkit Valley, then continues in the direction of Varto
by passing through the northern edge of Van Lake and continues to Iran. Erbaa
County, which is the subject of the present study, is located in Kelkit Valley, which
is located on one of the most effective lines of this fault line. Erbaa region, which
has a high agricultural potential despite the earthquake risk, has been chosen as a
residential area since ancient times.
In Erbaa, where many earthquakes occurred in the past, it was made compulsory
to move the settlement to solid ground after 1939, after the successive devastating
earthquakes. For this reason, the destructive earthquakes (1939–1941, 1943) were
effective in changing the settlement area of Erbaa County. Former Erbaa County
was located in the North Anatolian Fault Zone, and because of the presence of
1942 Niksar-Erbaa earthquake fracture and Esençay Fault which pass through the
county, was located in a very risky area in terms of earthquakes. The fact that the
former Erbaa was established in this area where the alumina thickness was high in
the Kelkit River bed caused that the earthquakes were felt more violently. Erbaa
was moved to Ardıçlık, which is a more secure ground, 2 km south from the former

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settlement area with the decision of the Ministerial Cabinet in 1944 after the 1943
earthquake. When the results of this move were evaluated, the following points
were concluded;

• The most appropriate place was chosen in terms of geological and morphologi-
cal characteristics. The city was moved from the alluvial deposit of the Kelkit
River to an area where there were more resistant Pliocene formations.

• As the new settlement did not move far from the former Erbaa, there were
problems in using the agricultural areas and the agricultural areas did not
change.

• The county was moved 2 km away from the 1942 Erbaa-Niksar fault fracture.
In this way, the possible damages of earthquakes were reduced when compared
to the former settlement.

• Due to the proximity of the county to the former settlement, there were no
problems in the transportation connections with the surrounding cities and
counties.

According to the Zoning Plan, which was prepared in 1944, the new settlement
area and the former settlement area were separated from each other as a line, and the
former area was made use of as a station, park, warehouse, and monopoly building,
and was not used as a residential area. In our present day, Erbaa Municipality has
started the recreation area project, and the Park Valley Project has been realized. The
Park Valley Project realized by the Municipality has constituted a good example to
Turkey and the region on this issue. Again, Erbaa Municipality has produced earth-
quake-resistant houses with less floors in the scope of 477-house Tepeşehir Project.
With the Tepeşehir Project, the Municipality has pioneered urban transformation and
tried to direct the spread of the city toward the southeast that has less risk in terms
of earthquakes. In the Geological-Geotechnical Study based on Erbaa Municipality
Zoning Plan 2009 and in the evaluation of the GIS-Based Seismic Micro-Zoning of
the Erbaa County located in the North Anatolian Fault Zone in the TUBITAK Project,
it was stated again that the growth of the county toward the former settlement area
had to be prevented; and as a result of this, the zoning plan was renewed [6]. In
addition, alterations were made in the additional and revised zoning plans by imple-
menting spatial planning and risk-reduction works. With the additional and revised
zoning plans, the shortcomings of the previous plan were eliminated.

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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.87836

Author details

Aşina Kübra Aslan1*, Ertuğrul Karagöl2, Arzuhan Burcu Gültekin3, Şefik Taş4,

Emir Sunguroğlu3, Zekeriya Çelik5 and Eren Adıgüzel6

1 Republic of Turkey Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, Ankara, Turkey

2 Erbaa Municipality, Tokat, Turkey

3 Department of Real Estate Development and Management, Ankara University,

Ankara, Turkey

4 Van Metropolitan Municipality, Van, Turkey

5 Department of Coaching Education, Pamukkale University, Denizli, Turkey

6 Performans Building Inspection Company, Van, Turkey

*Address all correspondence to: asinacomert@hotmail.com

© 2019 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms
of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/
by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is properly cited.

819
ISBS 2019 - 4th International Sustainable Buildings Symposium

References

[1] Kasapoğlu A, Ecevit M. Sociological [10] Anonymous. The Archive of

Research of Earthquake. In: Sociology. Erbaa Municipality, Tokat, Turkey. (in
Ankara, Turkey: Sociology Association; Turkish). 2019
2001. (in Turkish)

[2] Ergünay O. “Disaster Preparedness

and Disaster Management Report”
Turkey Red Crescent Society General
Directorate of Disaster Operations Center
Report (AFO), Ankara, Turkey. Ankara:
Association Publications; 2002. p. 48

[3] Alkış A, Alkış Z, Batuk F, Bayram B,

Gümüşay Ü, Helvacı C, et al. Disaster
Emergency Management Information
System (DEMIS) Preliminary Evaluation
Report. Istanbul, Turkey: Yıldız
Technical University; 2002. (in Turkish)

[4] METU Disaster Management

Application and Research Center
[Internet]. 2008. Available from: http://
www.dmc.metu.edu.tr/DMC/index.
php?id=1_1_2

[5] Aktimur T, Ates S, Yurdakul E,

Tekirli E, Kecer M. Niksar-Erbaa and
Support Geology. Journal of MTA.
1992;114:36. (in Turkish)

[6] Keçer M. An example of shaping the

active plate boundary in the continental
area: Erbaa-Niksar basin and its
geomorphological evolution. Journal
of Geomorphology, Ankara, Turkey.
1990;18:11-18. (in Turkish)

[7] Topal T, Doyuran V, Karahanoglu

N, Toprak V, Suzen ML, Yesilnacar
E. Microzonation for earthquake
hazards: Yenisehir settlement,
Bursa, Turkey. Engineering Geology.
2003;70:93-108. (in Turkish)

[8] Saatçigil E. Yesterday's Today Erbaa.

Istanbul: Cumhuriyet Printing House;
1947. (in Turkish)

[9] Temiz Ş, Peynirci Ş. Erbaa (History,

Geography, Economics, Culture),
Erbaa, Turkey. (in Turkish). 1996

820
Chapter 66

Evaluation of Fire Safety Problems

in Energy-Efficient Buildings
Sevinç Çetin and Figen Beyhan

Abstract

For the last 40 years, the concept of sustainability which has busied the world
agenda has also affected the building sector, and in the built environment, design
approaches have emerged that aim to bring solutions to many problems, especially
energy. These approaches, which are supported by the legislations and the incen-
tives provided by the country policies, have also changed the characteristic of the
constructed buildings. In accordance with the intended objectives, these buildings
have many positive qualities, and it is significant to consider other risks based on
construction and design features in terms of sustainability. The most important
of these risks are fire and fire threat increasing with the architectural design or
application details. The aim of this study, which deals with this risk as a problem, is
to examine fire safety in buildings constructed with energy-efficient construction
principles and techniques and to investigate the ignition, spread, and control of the
fire. The performance-based design approach, which can be applied in the cases
that the fire safety measures restrict the design and have application difficulties,
will be examined.

Keywords: fire, fire safety, fire risk, energy, energy-efficient building

1. Introduction

Energy performance has become the important criterion in construction in the

last decade [1]. However, this is not the only criterion to be considered in the design
of buildings, but one among several others such as cost, space usage, accessibility,
human comfort, structural design, or fire safety. Indeed, design of the buildings
can be conceived as a multipurpose concern in which a global optimum is aimed
in relation to the combination of each of the considered criteria. The use of multi-
objective optimization techniques requires the application of quantitative analyses
in which an objective or target function can be “measured.” This sets the baseline for
performance-based designs, which require quantifiable variables to be applied [2].
Designers have concerns about the use of some design features used in energy-
efficient buildings, as they impact the building fire safety. For example, atriums are
an important design feature for providing natural light, but it is considered as a haz-
ard as it increases fire and smoke spread. Also, high ceilings can affect fire sprinkler
success. Further, the lightweight structure can reduce the structure strength, and
when a fire occurs, it collapses quickly [3].
In this study, the general benefits are achieved from energy-efficient build-
ing design features. Atrium, double-skin facade, photovoltaic panels, insulation
and materials, HVAC systems, skylights and solar tubes, high-volume/low-speed

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ISBS 2019 - 4th International Sustainable Buildings Symposium

(HVLS) fans, and natural ventilation were outlined. Their potential fire risks were
highlighted. Performance-based fire safety design approach and fire safety mea-
sures for these features were suggested to be updated.

2. Design features of energy-efficient buildings and fire risks

In this study, the following framework is developed for defining the energy-
efficient building features and their fire risks (Figure 1):

• Energy-efficient building features: conduct surveys of energy-efficient

buildings to collect data on double-skin facades, insulation and materials,
atriums, natural ventilation, HVAC systems, photovoltaic panels, skylights/
solar tubes, and high-volume/low-speed fans.

• Fire risks/hazards: conduct surveys of energy-efficient building design features

to collect data on fire risks/hazards of these design features.

• Performance-based fire safety design: present performance-based fire safety

design as a design solution of fire risks/hazards of these design features.

2.1 Double-skin facades

A double-skin facade system can be formed over a whole facade or just a

portion of it. It can be applied to all kinds of buildings. It can be installed to any
existing building with minimum adjustments. The double-skin facade system is
composed of three components: an outer skin, a ventilated space, and an inner
skin. The double-skin facade system has many advantages. One of the main
advantages is to reduce the energy used by buildings. It allows natural daylight
into a building for lighting, reducing the heat load. It also helps to reduce the
acoustic effect in a building. The double-skin facade spaces may reduce solar heat
gain and support heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems [4].
However, the structure of double-skin facade system can increase the fire risk as
shown in Figure 2 [5]. Smoke movement may cause glass damage on double-skin
facade, and this is the one reason of fire spreading in buildings with double-skin
facade [6, 7].

Figure 1.
Framework of the study.

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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.87836

In the case of a double-skin facade, the spreading of a fire along a facade, the
evacuation of the occupants, and the action of the fire fighters should be carefully
examined [6]. To summarize, designers should take into account the fire risks
mentioned in Figure 3 for fire safety of double-skin facades.

2.2 Insulation and materials

Insulation is considered one of the effective solutions to achieve saving energy in

buildings. While the use of insulating materials in buildings has resulted in energy
conservation, this use has also created fire risks. For example, some insulating
materials can contribute to the spread of a fire, while others produce smoke and
toxic gases. The amount of insulation in the walls and ceiling/roof of a room can
affect the rate of growth of a fire. Insulation will reduce heat transfer to other areas
(i.e., rooms), thereby raising the temperature in the fire room. Higher temperatures
in the fire room will accelerate the burning of materials in the room, resulting in an

Figure 2.
Migration of the fire through a double-skin facade [5].

Figure 3.
Fire risks/hazards of double-skin facades.

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ISBS 2019 - 4th International Sustainable Buildings Symposium

increase in the heat released into the room. The greater the amount of insulation,
the higher the temperature the fire in the room can be expected to reach. Insulation
may also affect the performance of heat-producing devices, such as electrical wires,
cables, and electrical fixtures. Insulation installed around the heat-producing
device can cause the device to become overheated; if the device becomes hot
enough, it can ignite combustible materials in contact with it. Insulating materials
may have an adverse health effect when they are handled or exposed to fire. Fires
in insulation materials can result in the release of toxic gases and smoke, which can
be fatal if present in sufficient quantities. Smoke can create problems for occupants
trying to evacuate the fire area. When some materials, such as fibrous glass, are
handled, occupants and others who contact it may experience skin irritation [3].
There are a lot of fires that have occurred or spread because of insulation materials,
including the 2009 Monte Carlo fire in Las Vegas and the GOP Taksim Training and
Research Hospital in Istanbul in 2018. These past events show that designers should
be more careful about the use of insulation materials on facades of the buildings. To
summarize, designers should consider the fire risks mentioned in Figure 4 for fire
safety of insulation and materials.

2.3 Atriums

Atrium is defined as two or more high gaps, consisting of a large and vertical
volume surrounded by a closed and surrounded area. There are many advantages
in having an atrium. With an appropriate design of glazed area of the atrium, heat
transfer through atrium can benefit the thermal comfort of the internal occupied
space. Utilizing daylight would provide better visual quality and reduce the energy
use on operating artificial lighting. Investment return can be also benefited from its
environmental performance and favorable appearance. Atriums may be surrounded
with glazing or open to some or all floors. However, fire hazards are associated
with this character. The space spanning several floors would become an effective
means for the spread of smoke in an event of a fire as illustrated in Figure 5 [8]. An
atrium prevents dividing the floors of a building with fire cells, so all atriums allow
fire spread between floors. An open atrium allows the passage of smoke between
floors and may reduce the amount of time occupants that have to escape from upper
floors. The rapid spreading of heat and toxic gases can cause life losses, human inju-
ries, and property damage [8]. A glazed atrium may allow fire to spread between
floors if the glazing breaks down in an uncontrolled fire [9].

Figure 4.
Fire risks/hazards of insulation and materials.

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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.87836

Spread of smoke is the most important concern in an atrium. Fire safety

sprinkler system, smoke curtain, and fire shutter could be installed for this spe-
cial building type. Other fire safety measures are smoke extraction system and
depressurization of an atrium space. Staircase pressurization system is efficient in
providing a smokeless escape route. When it is worked, pressure in the stairwell
is provided at a level higher than that in the atrium or other occupied spaces by
supplying a large quantity of air. Thereby smoke in a fire compartment of low pres-
sure would not move toward the escape route of high pressure [8]. To summarize,
designers should take into account the fire risks mentioned in Figure 6 for fire
safety of atriums.

2.4 Natural ventilation

Natural ventilation of buildings is more favorable in terms of energy conserva-

tion, economy, and health than other mechanical systems. However, the ability to
ventilate the building at the desired level by natural methods requires the following:
appropriate external air is reached to the building, this air is taken into the building
through the building shell, sufficient and appropriate air circulation in the building
is ensured, and the contaminated air is taken out of the building.
Air moves from the high-pressure (positive) zone to the low-pressure (negative)
zone. Velocity of the air movement, distribution of pressure zones in and around
the building, and pressure levels are important in providing the desired level of
ventilation with natural methods.

Figure 5.
Fire and smoke spreading in atriums [8]. (a) Fire at the atrium floor. (b) Fire at an adjacent space.

Figure 6.
Fire risks/hazards of atriums.

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ISBS 2019 - 4th International Sustainable Buildings Symposium

Natural ventilation provided in a building can create serious problems in terms

of fire safety. Stack effect is a way to provide natural ventilation. The heat rising
from a fire in a compartment will attract fresh air at rising speeds; it will contribute
to the growth and spread of the fire [10]. In a building with a good natural ventila-
tion, there are many vertical transitions and horizontal connection areas. For this
reason, designs with natural ventilation sometimes conflict with fire safety mea-
sures (especially when designers consider passive safety design for the buildings)
[11]. To summarize, designers should take into account the fire risks mentioned in
Figure 7 for fire safety of natural ventilation.

2.5 HVAC systems

The HVAC system is the technology to provide thermal comfort and accept-
able indoor air quality. HVAC is an important part of buildings especially hotels,
skyscrapers, hospitals, etc. It controls the temperature and humidity, using fresh
air from outdoors. During a fire, the time is important for occupant evacuation.
HVAC systems can be used to control/slow down smoke propagation on the fire
floor. Providing fresh air to the route of the evacuation is important to prevent
the occupants from breathing into the poison gases. HVAC systems can control
smoke conditions and heat change; therefore it is possible to make the building
safe in the event of the fire by using the HVAC operations [12]. It should be noted
that the effect of HVAC systems on the fire safety of the buildings has not been
much researched.
Fire and smoke compartments are made up in the buildings in order to prevent
spreading of fire and smoke during a fire. Fire compartments consist of walls and
ceiling, and so each must have the necessary resistance of fire. The ventilation chan-
nels of HVAC systems go through walls and ceilings and make the building unsafe
from fire. Fire protection must therefore be provided with other measures. When
a fire damper is used as shown in Figure 8, ventilation channels are isolated when
a fire occurs [13]. Studies conducted by NFPA in 1930 showed that to prevent the
passage of smoke, flame, and heat during a fire, dampers must be used in the HVAC
system [14].
To summarize, designers should take into account the fire risks mentioned in
Figure 9 for fire safety of HVAC systems.

2.6 Photovoltaic solar systems

Photovoltaic solar energy systems can be defined as panels for generating elec-
tricity from solar energy. Nowadays, it is one of the most important issues on devel-
oped countries because photovoltaic solar systems reduce energy use significantly
and important cost savings in electricity consumption [3]. However, photovoltaic

Figure 7.
Fire risks/hazards of natural ventilation.

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Evaluation of Fire Safety Problems in Energy-Efficient Buildings
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.87836

Figure 8.
Fire dampers help to prevent fire and smoke from spreading [13]. (a) Spreading of fire and smoke through
ventilation channels. (b) Protected by fire dampers.

Figure 9.
Fire risks/hazards of HVAC systems.

solar systems can cause fire hazards. The most likely cause of solar-related fires is due
to electrical component failures associated with photovoltaic solar system installa-
tions [15]. Target store fire in Bakersfield (2009) and a logistic company’s warehouse
fire in Burstadt (2009) are the larger rooftop fires that start on photovoltaic solar
panels and have gained a lot of attention [16]. During a fire, the risks associated with
photovoltaic solar system increase. If the photovoltaic solar system is on fire and
firefighters are attempting to extinguish the fire with a hose stream of water, the
energized panels can electrify the stream of water. This can result in firefighters pos-
sibly being electrocuted. To avoid this risk, firefighters can apply the stream of water
at a safe [15]. Finally, the presence of photovoltaic solar systems on rooftops can
increase the probability of a roof fire because of the problems with components such
as wiring to install photovoltaic solar system. In addition, when a fire occurs, the
presence of a photovoltaic solar system may increase the size of the fire. Designers
should take into account the fire risks mentioned in Figure 10 for fire safety of
photovoltaic panels.

2.7 Skylights and solar tubes

Skylights/solar tubes and daylight natural lighting systems contribute to the

economy of both users and countries by carrying daylight to places with zero
energy. Skylights/solar tubes minimize the need for the use of electric lighting
systems (artificial lighting) during daylight hours and provide lighting using
daylight. Skylights/solar tubes, which provide natural lighting with zero energy,
are nature-friendly and prevent carbon dioxide emissions. Skylights/solar tubes
also make a significant contribution to our quality of life as psychological and
physiological [17]. Solar tube passes through a roof space and other spaces. These

827
ISBS 2019 - 4th International Sustainable Buildings Symposium

joints and openings are the weakest points of roofs and fire compartments whose
essential function is to prevent fire from spreading across the building. These
unprotected vertical openings allow migration of fire and smoke [18]. Designers
should take into account the fire risks mentioned in Figure 11 for fire safety of
skylights/solar tubes.

2.8 HVLS fans

High-volume/low-speed fans are designed to provide energy savings by mixing

the air throughout the space [17]. They were developed to increase occupant com-
fort cost effectively or prevent stratification. With these fans, the air slowly circu-
lates a large amount. The air is pulled from above with the fan and pushed down in
the cone shape. Typical applications include industrial and commercial buildings
such as shopping centers, office buildings, fitness centers, and schools. When
they are applied in industrial and large buildings, it can be highly economical. But
HVLS fans can cause a lot of fire concerns. So, designers must take into account fire
measures about HVLS fans at the design stage of the buildings [17].
The National Fire Protection Research Foundation has studied the effects of
HVLS fans on fires in buildings [18]. According to the National Fire Protection
Research Foundation, sprinkler effectiveness is reduced in buildings with HVLS
fans, and the fans need to stop upon early fire detection before or on the acti-
vation of fire sprinklers to reduce the impact on fire spread. With HVLS fans
activation of smoke detection systems is also negatively impacted so designers
should consider this feature of HVLS fans when designing these systems [19]. As
a result, designers should take into account the fire risks mentioned in Figure 12
for fire safety of HVLS fans.

Figure 10.
Fire risks/hazards of photovoltaic panels.

Figure 11.
Fire risks/hazards of skylights/solar tubes.

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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.87836

Figure 12.
Fire risks/hazards of HVLS fans.

3. Necessity of performance-based fire safety design

Fire protection measures have generally been implemented through build-

ing codes and standards in the form of regulations listing various requirements
and have been developed over the years as new requirements have been added to
existing ones. Building regulations, in other words, prescriptive codes evolved
over the last century, have been continuing to be the primary means to determine
the acceptable building fire safety level. However, such codes are limited and
inadequate to evaluate the fire safety performance of fast-growing building tech-
nologies and innovative designs [20]. The necessity for architects to change their
design decisions in a way that adapts to traditional codes causes code require-
ments to be perceived as design constraints. In the 1980s this concern led to the
development of a flexible fire safety design method based on engineering calcula-
tion methods as an alternative approach to traditional approach, and functional
and performance-based approach has emerged for building and fire regulations.
Although this new approach has not yet been developed in our country, signifi-
cant progress has been made in countries such as Japan, Canada, America, and the
United Kingdom.
Performance-based fire safety design is the engineering approach for fire
safety design based on a numerical evaluation of design alternatives using agreed
engineering tools, methods, and performance criteria, based on determined fire
safety objectives and deterministic and probabilistic analysis of fire scenarios [21].
Performance-based fire safety design involves the transformation of functional and
technical requirements in the early stages of design into performance requirements
and design in accordance with these performance requirements. Performance eval-
uation of the design is done by using some methods (simulation tools, calculations,
measurement methods, etc.) These assessments are made to check whether the
expected performance of the building has been met, whether the accuracy of the
design results, and whether the desired performance goals are met [21]. The process
of performance-based fire safety design starts with determining the scope, goals,
and objectives of the project, establishing performance criteria, developing design
fire scenarios, creating preliminary designs, quantifying design fire scenarios, and
evaluating the compliance of preliminary designs with performance criteria. If the
evaluated design does not meet the performance criteria, it is returned to the begin-
ning of the process. If the design complies with the performance criteria, the final
design phase is started (Figure 13).

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ISBS 2019 - 4th International Sustainable Buildings Symposium

Figure 13.
Performance-based fire safety design process [21].

4. Conclusion

The fire industry has concerns about the use of new and innovative technologies
in energy-efficient buildings. Because energy-efficient building design features such
as complex indoor vertical spaces, double-skin facades, natural ventilation, and
high atriums increase the fire risks. In cases where fire cannot be controlled, it can
cause great loss of life and property and may cause loss of production/work inter-
ruption and undesired effects on the environment. A performance-based fire safety
design approach is recommended for conflicts between energy-efficient buildings
and fire safety has been suggested.
There is a worldwide movement from prescription-based to performance-based
fire codes so as to suitably address the new fire safety building design in our ever-
changing living environment. Yet, there are some difficulties in the application of
performance-based fire safety codes. The most essential one is how performance
criteria should be determined. These criteria include life safety of the occupant and
fire fighters, fire and smoke hazards, etc. Furthermore, there are still studies for
improving the accuracy of those field models, especially validation of the models.
In this study, fire risks of the energy-efficient building design features are
pointed out, and for the solution performance, base design is suggested. The reason
for suggesting the performance-based approach in fire safety is the expectation that
the designer will gain advantages such as being more flexible in design and decrease
the construction cost especially in energy-efficient buildings. Especially while fire
scenarios are being developed, the fire risks of these buildings will be anticipated so
the measures will be taken in the design stage.

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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.87836

Author details

Sevinç Çetin1* and Figen Beyhan2

1 Project Department, Ministry of Health, Ankara, Turkey

2 Department of Architecture, Gazi University, Ankara, Turkey

*Address all correspondence to: sevinc_ari@hotmail.com

© 2019 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms
of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/
by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is properly cited.

831
ISBS 2019 - 4th International Sustainable Buildings Symposium
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of Photovoltaic Systems [Internet].
2012. Available from: https://docplayer.
net/17995364-Understanding-the-fire-
hazards-of-photovoltaic-systems.html
[Accessed: 13-02-2019]
Evaluation of Fire Safety Problems in Energy-Efficient Buildings
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.87836

[17] Robbins AP. Building Sustainability

and Fire—Safety Design Interactions:
Scoping Study. Poriua, New Zealand:
BRANZ Study Report; 2012

[18] Tidwell J, Murphy JJ. Bridging the

Gap—Fire Safety and Green Buildings,
a Fire and Building Safety Guide to
Green Construction. USA: National
Association State Fire Marshals; 2010

[19] [Internet]. Available from: http://

www.klausbruckner.com/blog/do-hvls-
fans-risk-fire-safety/ [Accessed:
13-02-2019]

[20] Chow W. Fire safety engineering

and potential application of fire models.
International Journal of Engineering
Performance Based Fire Codes.
2003;5:92-102

[21] Hurley MJ, editor. SFPE Engineering

Guide to Performance-Based Fire
Protection Analysis and Design of
Building. 5th ed. USA: Springer; 2016.
p. 1237

833
Chapter 67

Fire Performance of Sustainable

Materials Made from Renewable
Sources
Sameer Hamoush, Ahmed Cherif Megri, Rasul Pasha
and Sajjad Sayyar Roudsari

Abstract

This paper presents the results of a fire test on newly developed green materials
made from renewable sources. It is known that fire resistance rating of a new mate-
rial is an important factor for material selection in buildings. The fire resistance
rating of structures, building components, or assemblies needs to be predicted
experimentally in agreement with the ASME E119 or UL 263 test procedures. The
material tested is a drywall partition system composed of 9 mm-thick MgO board
as the first layer on both sides and 9 mm-thick patented bamboo plyboard as the
finishes. The internal steel frame is comprised of steel stud C channel fixed to the
RSJ steel frame. The first layer of 9 mm-thick MgO board was laid horizontally over
the wall frame on both sides and fastened to the studs with screws. The test was
stopped after a duration of 120 minutes. The purpose of the test is to determine the
fire resistance of non-load-bearing drywall panel partition system when tested.
This paper describes the outstanding results related to the specimen performance
under the fire conditions. The results exceed the specified requirements of Clause 5
of BS 476: Part 22, for non-bearing wall, in terms of integrity and insulation.

Keywords: safety, fire protection, fire resistance, test process, insulation, integrity

1. Introduction

Building components need to have resistance to prevent excessive heat transfer,

noise, as well as the fire spread and smoke dispersion for a period of time to allow
the inhabitant to leave the building without casualty. Fire resistance is a component
characteristic that evaluates the building unit’s performance to survive and preserve
its structure and operation and/or its aptitude to bound fire in a definite space [1–3].
In general, fire resistance helps to prevent a fire from spreading throughout a
building or jumping between structures. In this paper, an experimental study was
performed for a system, data analysis, and test monitoring, based on a standard
for evaluating fire performance. This performance is assessed by the fire durability
time for the fire resistance test, to protect the building from the multiple risks and
losses caused by fire [2, 3]. To control the spread of fire, fire protection methods are
divided into active ones, such as sprinklers and passive ones, such as fire resistance,
both of which are incorporated into building codes. The building codes include a
variety of prescriptions as well as alternative solutions. Code tendencies generally

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ISBS 2019 - 4th International Sustainable Buildings Symposium

emphasize sprinkler installations or alternatively by providing trade-offs that

encourage their use. These active systems provide valuable protection, but they also
include trade-offs such as more fire separation zones and other modifications that
reduce the required wall and floor performance. There are two primary fire test
methods that are used to establish the fire ratings of components, at neutral pres-
sure and at positive pressure. The variance between the two test methods is related
to the location of a neutral axis plane in the test furnace. In the late 1990s, the
test method required in building codes was modified to be a positive pressure test
method. Later, this amendment has been adopted in Building Code Standardization
(UBC) and the International Building Code (IBC). The non-load-bearing drywall
board partition system is planned to be used in housing construction which is an
innovative and advanced patented structural panel that is composed of either
bamboo or the perennial grass, Arundo donax. Both raw materials are sustainable
and ecological and share similar mechanical characteristics. The importance of the
use of such materials “bamboo” and Arundo donax is coming from the fact that both
these materials are non-wood-based materials, which helps protect and safeguard
the forests. To demonstrate the importance and the quality of this new materials, a
certified test result comparison between this new material developed by the com-
pany Centric Infinity Board ™ and other traditionally used materials in buildings,
plywood, and OSB panels has been performed [4, 5].
Centric Infinity Board™ (the non-load-bearing drywall panel partition) evalua-
tion shows [4] that the new material is:

• Three times lighter and more heavy-duty than usually used plywood and ori-
ented strand boards (OSB)

• Water-resistant and perfect for use in marine applications

• Insect proof, including wood-destroying insects, and highly fire resistant

• More economically sound to manufacture than other used products, such as

plywood and OSB products

• Flexible for manufacturing of dimensional lumber and furniture making

Prior to 2000, US codes were developed by three organizations: the Building

Officials and Code Administrators, the International Conference of Building
Officials, and the Southern Building Code Congress International.
Later, the three organizations formed the International Code Council [6] to
publish 14 codes at that time, including the International Building Code (IBC).
Current US practice in the design of fire resistance structures relies primarily
on the requirements of current approved codes, which are generally based on the
original building codes, which are developed by a known organization. The codes
specify the required minimum fire endurance times (or fire resistance ratings) for
the construction components and recognized methods for predicting their fire resis-
tance ratings. Allowable methods for predicting fire endurance values comprise [7]:

• Qualification tests, which require the construction component to be subjected

to a typical fire exposure test in agreement with the process and conditions set
out in ASTM E 119 [8] or NFPA 251 [9]

• Approaches of analysis set by ACI/TMS 216.1 [10], ASCE/SFPE 29 [11], and

ANSI/AISC 360 [12]

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Fire Performance of Sustainable Materials Made from Renewable Sources
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.87836

In this article, a new construction was developed, and a fire resistance test was
performed for a firewall. On the basis of the experimental test, the data investiga-
tion and surveillance, associated with the corresponding standard, make it possible
to assess the fire resistance performance of this non-load bearing drywall board
partition.

2. Fire resistance test

2.1 Sample description

The test sample consisted of a symmetrical, non-load-bearing drywall

panel system constructed onto a test frame. The overall specimen size was
3000 mm × 3000 mm including a vertical gap of 40 mm wide along one edge to
avoid subjecting the sample to lateral stresses. The 40 mm vertical gap was filled
with ceramic fiber insulation. The drywall partition system was constructed from
9 mm-thick MgO board as the first layer on both sides and 9 mm-thick bamboo
plyboard as the finishes. The internal steel frame comprised of steel stud C chan-
nel fixed to the RSJ steel frame. The first layer of 9 mm-thick MgO board was laid
horizontally over the wall frame on both sides (Table 1) and fastened to the studs
with screws. This is repeated for the next piece of bamboo plyboard laid vertically
fixed to the MgO board and cut to sizes (see Figure 1) to accommodate over the
wall frame. The board was cut to suit where necessary to allow staggering of joints
for the first and second layers of the board. The inner core of the drywall panel
between the boards was filled with rock wool of the brand name “ThermalRock
S60,” with a nominal density of 60 kg/m3. All exposed joints were plastered flush
with joining compound.

2.2 Test process

The test assembly consisted of a symmetrical, non-load-bearing drywall panel

partition system. The drywall was constructed using steel studs as the inner

Display of MgO board on the test specimen Display of MgO bamboo plyboard on the test specimen

Table 1.
Details of the MgO board and bamboo plyboard display.

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ISBS 2019 - 4th International Sustainable Buildings Symposium

Figure 1.
Actual furnace average temperature/time curve.

framework sandwiched between 9 mm MgO boards and finishes with 9 mm
bamboo plyboard on both sides. The cavity between the MgO boards is filled with
rock wool of brand name “ThermalRock S60,” with a nominal density of 60 kg/m3.
The actual overall dimension of drywall panel partition was 3000 mm length, by
2960 mm width, by 111 mm thickness. A free edge clearance of approximately
40 mm wide filled with ceramic fiber was provided along one vertical side of the
constructed wall panel. The method used to determine the fire resistance of non-
load bearing structural members is in accordance with Clause 5 of ASME E119. As
a fire endurance test process, the system was installed in a vertical opening furnace
test frame prior to testing. The test exposes a specimen to a standard fire according
to the test procedure to reach the specified temperatures throughout a stated time
duration [2, 13–15]. The inspection was done during the construction of the wall to
verify its dimension used in the FPL laboratory only. The construction of the wall
was organized and carried out by Centric Intl. LLC.

2.2.1 Installation

This new system is used in buildings as partition and as a non-load-bearing

drywall system, which was placed using typical support, and the test sample
was cured under normal conditions and placed in front to be exposed to a flame
coming from the furnace prior to testing. The temperature on the other side, not
exposed to the fire of this system, was measured using 7 thermocouples Type K
Thermocouple (Chromel/Alumel).

2.2.2 Fire endurance test

The furnace goal is to provide the thermal exposure. This exposure is made by
the flame provided by the furnace burner that uses gaseous fuels for ignition. These
standard fire exposure conditions are dictated by the ASME code. The measure-
ment of the temperature is ensured using seven thermocouples evenly distributed
in the furnace. During the test period, the temperature control is made possible, by
regulating the amount of gas burner. The average temperature provided by the sev-
eral thermocouples existing in the furnace needs to be in accordance with the time/
temperature curve. One important condition is the necessity of the sample to keep
its shape and it not being destroyed by the flame. Also, it is ensured that there are no

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Fire Performance of Sustainable Materials Made from Renewable Sources
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.87836

persistent flames on the unexposed surface or loss of impermeability. For our test,
these prerequisites were met for 130 minutes after which the test was interrupted.

2.2.3 Performance criteria

The fire resistance performance of the specimen is mostly measured considering

two factors, integrity and insulation.
Integrity: the failure is estimated to occur when:

• There is a failure of the specimen or continued flame for at least 10 seconds on

the unexposed face.

• When voids or cracks permit flames or high-temperature gases to ignite flam-

ing or glowing of a cotton fiber pad.

• A gauge of 6 mm in diameter can be inserted through a gap into the furnace
and be moved into this space for a length of not smaller than 150 mm.

• A gauge of 25 mm in diameter can be inserted through a space in the furnace.

Isolation: Failure is estimated to happen when:

• The average temperature of the unexposed face increases by more than 140° C
from its initial value.

• The temperature recorded at any point on the unexposed face exceeds 180°C
above the initial average temperature of the unexposed face.

3. Test data and analysis

The experiment was stopped after a duration of 120 minutes at the requests of the
applicant, and a hose stream test was performed instantaneously with a duration of
184 seconds. The analysis and evaluation of the fire-resistant performance of this non-
load bearing panel partition system are based on the acquisition of experimental data
and the results of the investigations added to the national and international standards.
The graph in Figure 1 shows the actual temperature/time curve of the furnace
heating conditions in relation to the standard one.
Photographs of the test are shown in Plate 1 to 6 (Table 2). Photographs taken
using laboratory’s camera facing problem to retrieve data from the memory card.

3.1 Insulation

Failure is estimated to have occurred in one of the following cases:

a. If the average thermocouple-recorded temperature on the unexposed face

increases by more than 140°C above its initial value

b. If the average temperature measured by the thermocouples at any point on the

unexposed side exceeds the initial average temperature of the unexposed face
by 180°C

c. If an integrity failure happened

839
ISBS 2019 - 4th International Sustainable Buildings Symposium

Plate 1. Before the test (during the construction showing Plate 2. Before the test (time taken: 0 minutes)
the rock wool infilled and studs)

Plate 3. During the test (time taken: 95 minutes) Plate 4. During the test (time taken: 106
minutes)

Plate 5. During the test (time taken: 120 minutes) Plate 6. After the test

Table 2.
The photos of the non-exposed face of the sample [16].

3.2 Integrity

The new specimen board was exposed to fire, and during the 2-hour test period,
there was no collapse of this sample, no persistent flames on the unexposed face of
the board, and no loss of impermeability. The integrity of the material is considered
as a success. The photos of the non-exposed surface of the sample are illustrated in
Table 2.
In general, a defect in the integrity of the test structure is estimated to have
occurred during a breakdown or prolonged flame for a duration of time that
exceeds 10 seconds on the non-exposed surface. According to the impermeability

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Fire Performance of Sustainable Materials Made from Renewable Sources
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.87836

criteria, the failure is estimated to have happened when one of the subsequent
conditions was overcome:

a. When a cotton pad test is performed, the flame and/or hot gases cause a flame
and a glow of the cotton pad.

b. Where the use of a cotton pad is unsuitable, the collapse is estimated to have
occurred when:

• A hole of more than 6 mm in diameter and 150 mm in length, passing

through the furnace, exists or develops in the specimen.

• A hole in the furnace more than 25 mm in diameter occurs through or

develops in the sample.

4. Conclusion

In summary, the test performed on this new material has good integrity per-
formance (2.00 hours integrity), as well as the insulating material structure, and
results in good insulation performance (insulation 112 minutes). It has a decent
integrity performance. The specimen meets the requirements of BS 476: Part 22:
1987: for the following duration: Integrity: 2 hours: 112 minutes. The test was
stopped after 120 minutes at the request of the applicant.

Author details

Sameer Hamoush1*, Ahmed Cherif Megri1, Rasul Pasha2

and Sajjad Sayyar Roudsari1

1 Department of Civil and Architectural Engineering, North Carolina A&T State

University, USA

2 Centric LTD Building Green with Fiber, Seattle, USA

*Address all correspondence to: sameer@ncat.edu

© 2019 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms
of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/
by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is properly cited.

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ISBS 2019 - 4th International Sustainable Buildings Symposium
References
[1] BS 476: Part 22 “Method for
determination of the fire resistance
of non-load bearing elements of
construction: Clause 5–Determination
of fire resistance wall”. 1987
[2] Wu X, Liu JY, Xia Zhao X, Yang
Z, Xu R. Study of the fire resistance
performance of a kind of steel fire door.
Procedia Engineering. 2013;52:440-445.
DOI: 10.1016/j.proeng.2013.02.166
[3] Megri AC. Building load and energy
simulation programs and the design
process. International Journal of
Ventilation. 2007;6(2):177-192
[4] [Internet]. Available from:
Ckyibstech.com
[5] Centric Intl. LLC web page
[ınternet]. Available from: www.
centriccltd.com
[6] The Inter-Jurisdictional Regulatory
Collaboration Committee, Guidelines
for the Introduction of Performance
based Building Regulations (Discussion
paper); 1998
[7] Long T, Phan Therese P, McAllister
John L, Gross Morgan J Hurley. “Best
Practice Guidelines for Structural Fire
Resistance Design of Concrete and Steel
Buildings”, NIST Technical Note 1681.
2010. p. 218
[8] ASTM, Standard Test Methods for
Fire Tests of Building Construction
and Materials, E119-07a, West
Conshohocken, Pa.: American Society
for Testing and Materials; 2007
[9] NFPA. Standard Methods of
Tests of Fire Endurance of Building
Construction and Materials. NFPA 251,
Quincy, Mass.: National Fire Protection
Association; 2006
[10] ACI. Code Requirements for
Determining Fire Resistance of Concrete
842
and Masonry Construction Assemblies.
ACI/TMS 216.1-07, Farmington Hills,
Mich.: American Concrete Institute; 2007
[11] ASCE/SFPE. Standard Calculation
Methods for Structural Fire Protection,
ASCE/SEI/SFPE 29-05, Reston, VA:
American Society of Civil Engineers; 2005
[12] AISC. Steel Construction Manual.
13th ed. Chicago: American Institute of
Steel Construction; 2005
[13] Wu X, Liu J, Zhao X, Yu W, Wu Y.
Temperature and pressure controlling
analyzing about building elements fire
resistance test from GB/T 9978-2008.
China Building Materials Science &
Technology. 2009;3:94-99
[14] GB/T 9978.1-2008. Fire-resistance
tests Elements of building construction
Part 1: General requirements; 2008
[15] BS 476-20-1987 Fire tests on
building materials and structures—
Method for determination of the fire
resistance of elements of construction
(general principles); 1987
[16] Test Report NO: FPL 2017112074.
Fire resistance of non-loadbearing
elements of construction. Applicant:
Ecocentric Intl SDN. BHD., Test No.
2074; 2017. pp. 1-22
Chapter 68

Comparison of Design Criteria of

BREEAM and LEED Certification
in the Context of Healthcare
Buildings
Sevil Jahed and Cüneyt Kurtay

Abstract

Today, certification has evolved due to enhanced restricted resources and

energy consumption. These certifications provide to be sustainable by creat-
ing greener, sustainable, healthy, and liveable environment with these criteria
reformed in different topics. In this research, the most preferred and applied
Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM)
and Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification
researched and compared to the criteria and control systems they have established
for the sustainable sites and materials and resources in health-based hospital
buildings. Officially, data is collected from BREEAM and LEED certification
guideline, technical standards, resources, and credit library. Ultimately, LEED
and BREEAM certification encourages and provides a flexible method of assess-
ing projects for different countries. Therefore, in these certification strategy
designed to be ease of future adaptation and flexible to potential future construc-
tion and occupant requirement.

Keywords: healthcare buildings, BREEAM, LEED, sustainable sites, materials,

green building rating system, certification

1. Introduction

Green building rating systems are consensus based, market driven, and volun-
tary systems. They can be mentioned as performance standards in order to certify
the construction and design. Generally, the aim of green building rating systems is
to encourage durable, healthful, affordable, and environmental sound practices in
building design and construction. Also, systems protect and enhance biodiversity
and ecosystem services, build a green economy, enhance individual human health,
protect and restore water resources, reduce contribution to global climate change,
promote sustainable and regenerative material cycles, and enhance community
quality of life.
By looking at the most approved green building rating system, LEED and
BREEAM to create a comprehensive integration framework to guide a general
review to survey the theoretical foundation is chosen. In this paper, the features

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ISBS 2019 - 4th International Sustainable Buildings Symposium

of sustainable sites and materials subtitles in BREEAM and LEED assessment

tools and their principles are reviewed, evaluated, and compared from the
viewpoint of the sustainable assessment tools design. Generally, green building
rating systems overview, for LEED and BREEAM certification has a point and
credit structure. Also, this rating system carries a scoring to evaluate a buildings’
performance to determine its compliance with relative credits requirements.
In this study, we compared the assessment results of by two sustainable assess-
ment tools design methods of sustainable sites and materials subtitles in LEED
and BREEAM to understand the differences and similarities of the assessment
methods.
When the final goal for a high performance green building is to achieve a
certain certification such as BREEAM or LEED certification, some of most critical
issues will include such as which rating system is suitable and what is the difference
of the circumstances and documentation. In addition, the challenge to achieve
certification have extra costs and the fact that the rating systems is often dif-
ficult to understand what exactly required for a specific credit and difference and
similarity.
The aim of the research is to reveal common and different points of view, view-
points, and control systems under the headings of BREEAM [1] and LEED [2] on
sustainable sites and material in health-based hospital structures. Also, the intent
of this research is to understand the differences and similarities of the assessment
methods on high performance building. There are several titles in certification
and sustainable sites and materials and resources titles are chosen because of their
importance. LEED v.4 for building design and construction and BREEAM interna-
tional new construction 2016 systems in healthcare building are taken into account
in this research because they are latest versions. There are eight groups for the
LEED certification: indoor environmental quality, water efficiency, transportation,
materials and resources, sustainable sites, innovation, location and energy and
atmosphere and regional priority.
BREEAM certification is collected under 10 categories. These categories are
grouped under 10 headings as health and wellbeing, management, energy, water,
land use and ecology, transport, materials, waste, pollution, and innovation.
Kömürlü and others investigated LEED green building certification addressed water
efficiency issues in detail and established 10% of the total points available to the
water efficiency category. Thus, these two categories (i.e., indoor environmental
quality and water efficiency) have great impact on sustainability as they jointly
account for 25% of the total points available [3]. Yıldız and Arslan investigated
about some certification bodies worldwide, which measures the performance of
green buildings, and certified them in accordance with standards such as LEED,
BREEAM, GREEN STAR, CASBEE, and DNGB [4]. Wu and others have reviewed
the credit system in the “LEED” certification [5].

2. BREEAM and LEED certification

BREEAM international new construction 2016 systems on land use and ecol-
ogy and materials in health-based building collected under several titles. There
are different categories for the BREEAM certification, which are presented in
Table 1 [1].
LEED V4 for building design and construction on sustainable sites and
materials and resources in health-based buildings is collected under several titles.
There are different categories for the LEED certification, which are presented in
Table 2 [2].

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Land Credit Aim

use and
Site selection To promote use of previously contaminated or occupied site. In
ecology
(1 point) addition, encourage to avoid land which has not been before disturbed.
Ecological value of To promote development on site that already has restricted value
site and protection to wildlife. To protect existing ecological features from substantial
of ecological features damage during site readying.
(1 point)
Enhancing site To promote actions taken to enhance the site ecological value
ecology (1 point) consequently of development.
Long term impact on To reduce the long-term impact of the development and encompassing
biodiversity (1 point) area’s biodiversity.
Materials Life cycle impacts To promote the usage of strong and convenient life cycle evaluation
(1 point) tools and therefore the specification of building materials with low
ecological impacts through the life cycle of the construction.
Responsible sourcing To promote the identification and procurance of accountably sourced
of construction building products.
products (4 points)
Designing for To promote sufficient defense of liable elements of the construction
durability and and landscape, consequently reduce the frequency of replacing and
resilience (1 point) maximizing materials optimization.
Material efficiency To promote measures to optimize material effectiveness for reduce
(1 point) the ecological effects of material usage and waste without conciliatory
on constructional stableness, lastingness or servicing life of the
construction.

Table 1.
Credit and aim of land use and ecology and materials subtitles in BREEAM certification [1].

Sustainable Credit Aim

Sites
Construction activity pollution
prevention (prerequisite)
Environmental site assessment
(prerequisite)
Site assessment (1 point)
Site development-protect or
restore habitat (1 point)
Open space (1 point)
Rainwater management
(2 points)
Light pollution reduction
(1 point)
Places of respite (1 point)
Direct exterior access (1 point)
Heat island reduction (1 point)
To minimize pollution by controlling soil erosion, airborne
dust and waterway sedimentation.
To defend health of vulnerable populations by ensuring
which the site is assessed for environmental contamination.
To evaluate site conditions before design to value
sustainable alternatives to assess site, inform related
decisions about site design.
To keep existing natural areas and restore damaged areas to
provide habitat and encourage biodiversity.
To produce exterior open space that promotes interplay
with the environment, passive recreation, social
interaction, and physical activities.
To minimized runoff volume and enhance water quality by
replicating the natural hydrology. Make the water balance
of the site, based on historical conditions and undeveloped
ecosystems in the district.
To reduce night sky access, improve nighttime visibility.
To minimized consequences of development for people
and wildlife
By creating outdoor places to supply patients, staff, and
visitors with the health benefits of the natural environment.
To supply people with the health benefits related to direct
access to the natural environment.
To promote to minimized effects on human and
microclimates and wildlife habitats by reduction heat
islands.

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ISBS 2019 - 4th International Sustainable Buildings Symposium

Materials Collection and storage of
and recyclables (prerequisite)
Resources
Demolition and construction
waste management planning
(prerequisite)
PBT source reduction—
mercury (prerequisite)
Building life-cycle impact
reduction (5 Points)
Building product disclosure
and optimization—
environmental product
declarations (2 points)
Building product disclosure
and optimization—sourcing
of raw materials (2 points)
Building product disclosure
and optimization—material
ingredients (2 points)
PBT source reduction—
mercury (1 point)
PBT source reduction—copper
lead, and cadmium (2 points)
Medical furnishings and
furniture (2 points)
Design for flexibility (1 Point)
Demolition and construction
waste management (2 points)
To decrease the waste that is produced through
construction occupants and hauled to and staved in
landfills.
To decrease building and destruction waste staved in
landfills and incineration facilities through recycling,
reusing, and recovering materials.
To decrease mercury including products and apparatus
and mercury liberate by product exchange, recycling, and
capture.
To promote adaptable reuse and maximize the ecological
performance of products and materials.
To promote the usage of products and materials for which
life cycle knowledge is available and that have ecologically,
socially, and better economically life cycle effects.
To promote usage of products and materials for which life
cycle knowledge is available and that have ecologically,
socially, and better economically life cycle effects.
To promote the usage of products and materials for which
life cycle knowledge is available and that have ecologically,
socially, and better economically life cycle effects.
To decrease offer of persisting, bio accumulative,
and (PBTs) toxic chemicals related to the life cycle of
construction materials.
To decrease offer of persisting, bio accumulative,
and (PBT) toxic chemicals related to the life cycle of
construction materials.
To improve the ecological and man wellness performance
features related to medical and freestanding furniture.
Keep resources united with the building and direction of
construction through planning for elasticity and ease of
coming matching and for service life of ingredient.
To decrease building and destruction waste staved in
landfills and incineration facilities through recycling,
reusing, and recovering materials.

Table 2.
Credit and aim of sustainable sites and materials and resources subtitles in LEED certification [2].

3. Comparison of sustainable sites and materials criteria in BREEAM

and LEED certifications in the context of healthcare buildings

With BREEAM 2016, the LEED V.4 2017 certification was examined and the
criteria under each heading were examined in this section. The similarities and
differences were revealed by comparing the conditions of each item with each other.
Therefore, the titles, criteria, requirements, and scores that are important for two
different certifications have been determined.
There are several titles in BREEAM and LEED certification, but all topics are not
similar. Therefore, sustainable sites, and materials subtitles can be considered as the
mutual titles of these certifications. Subtitles on sustainable sites and materials sub-
titles in BREEAM and LEED certification are given in Table 3. By Table 3, LEED and
BREEAM certification on sustainable sites, and materials subtitles have been com-
pared on a similar and different topic basis. Subtitles are compared to the relevant
topic in table. Titles in Table 3 with the same contents are given in the same line.

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Sustainable BREEAM LEED

sites
Site Selection Environmental site assessment
Site assessment

Ecological value of Site development—protect or restore habitat

site and protection of
ecological features
Enhancing site ecology
Long term impact on
biodiversity

— Open space

— Light pollution reduction

— Places of respite

— Direct exterior access

— Construction activity pollution prevention

— Rainwater management

— Heat island reduction

Materials Designing for durability Design for flexibility

and resilience

Life cycle impacts Building life-cycle impact reduction

Material efficiency Building product disclosure and optimization—environmental

product declarations
Building product disclosure and optimization—sourcing of
raw materials
Building product disclosure and optimization—material
ingredients
Responsible sourcing of —
construction products

— Furniture and medical furnishings

— PBT source reduction—mercury

— PBT source reduction—lead, cadmium, and copper

— Construction and demolition waste management

— Construction and demolition waste management planning

— Storage and collection of recyclables

Table 3.
Comparison of sustainable sites and materials subtitles and criteria in BREEAM and LEED certifications.

Table 3 shows that in sustainable sites heading some titles are similar such as
ecological value of site and protection of ecological features, enhancing site ecology,
long term impact on biodiversity, and site development—protect or restore habitat.
Additionally, some titles are similar like as site selection, environmental site assess-
ment, and site assessment. Also, the other titles are different from the others such
as light pollution reduction, open space, places of respite, rainwater management,
construction activity pollution prevention, heat island reduction, and direct exterior
access topics. Moreover, in materials heading shows some titles are similar such as
material efficiency white building product optimization and disclosure—environ-
mental product declarations, building product optimization and disclosure – sourcing
of raw materials and building product optimization and disclosure – material ingredi-
ents. Also, the other titles are different from the others such as furniture and medical
furnishings, pbt source reduction—mercury, pbt source reduction— cadmium,

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lead, and copper, demolition and construction waste management, demolition and
construction waste management planning and collection and storage of recyclables.
In Table 4, the rules, methods, standards and regulations that must be followed
in order to apply on sustainable sites issues in BREEAM and LEED certification are
given according to the subheadings.
In Table 5, the rules, methods, standards, and regulations that must be followed
in order to apply on materials issues in BREEAM and LEED certification are given
according to the subheadings. As it is understood from table, different documents,
table values, the calculation methods, and requirements are used as reference for the
same headings for the rules to be followed in BREEAM and LEED certification [6, 7].
Therefore, in the BREEAM and LEED green building rating systems, titles have
met several different general expressions, limit values, programs, attachments,
online template, checklist table values, and calculation methods that are used in
order to meet the criteria mentioned in the systems.

BREEAM (Land use and ecology) LEED (Sustainable sites—SS)

Site selection
• Table percentage of proposed
development’s footprint on previously
developed land
• 74 National planning policy framework
Environmental site assessment
• Phase I environmental site assessment in ASTM E1527–05.
• If pollution is suspected, Phase II environmental site assess-
ment in ASTM E1903–11.
Site assessment
• Site assessment worksheet guidance
• LEED v4 Q&A: sustainable sites guidance
• Performance benchmarks and guidelines 2009, prerequisite
2.1: site assessment.

Ecological value of site and protection of Site development—protect or restore habitat

ecological features
• LEED v4 Q&A: Sustainable sites guidance
• Ecological value in BS 15837: 2012 by
• Sustainable sites initiative (SITES™) standards
the qualified arboricultural list or SQE
• Natural resources conservation service, web soil survey
• Relating ecologist’s report to
standards
BREEAM–Guidance Note 13.
• Land trust alliance accreditation standards
• Table BREEAM checklist for defining
land of low ecological value • U.S. EPA ecoregions standards
Enhancing Site Ecology
• Table percentage of recommendations
within ecology report implemented
Long Term Impact on Biodiversity
• Table additional measures for the
improvement of long-term biodiversity
• ‘Identification and Management of
Contaminated sites, A methodological
guide’, UNEP and ADEME
— Open space
• LEED v4 Q&A: Sustainable Sites Guidance

— Light pollution reduction

• LEED v4 Q&A: Sustainable sites guidance
• Visual photometric tool guidance
• Model lighting ordinance user’s guide guidance
• IES TM-15-11, addendum A standards.
• International dark sky association (IES/IDA) model lighting
ordinance user guide and illuminating engineering society.

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BREEAM (Land use and ecology) LEED (Sustainable sites—SS)

— Places of respite
• FGI 2010 guidelines for construction and design
— Direct exterior access
• Credit enhanced indoor air quality strategies
— Construction activity pollution prevention
• LEED v4 Q&A: Sustainable sites guidance
• EPA construction general permit standards
— Rainwater management
• For federal projects under part 438 of the energy
independence
• U.S. Environmental protection agency (EPA) technical
guidance
— Heat island reduction
• Cool roof rating council standard (CRRC-1)
• ASTM standards E903 and E892
• Lawrence Berkeley national laboratory SRI calculator
• CRRC rated products directory
• CRRC rapid ratings

Table 4.
Subtitles on sustainable sites in BREEAM and LEED certifications documents [1].

BREEAM (materials) LEED (materials and resources—MR)

Designing for durability and resilience Design for flexibility

• Table applicable building elements, environmental
factors and material degradation effects to consider
Life cycle impacts
• Table percentage of BREEAM Mat 01 calculator
points achieved and credits awarded
Material efficiency
• BS 8895-1:2013 Designing for material efficiency in
building projects
• BS 8895-2:2015 Designing for material efficiency in
building projects
• WRAP. Designing out waste
• Use interstitial space, provide programmed soft
and shell space equal to at least 5% of DGA.
Building life-cycle impact reduction
• PCR Committee Process & Resources: Part B
Summer 2017 | Guidance
Building product disclosure and optimization
environmental product declarations
• PCR committee process & resources: Part B
summer 2017 | guidance
• BPDO calculator v06 | calculators
• Does this Item count as a product? Guidance
• Refinements in materials & resources
Building product disclosure and optimization—
sourcing of raw materials
• BPDO calculator v06 | calculators
• Does this item count as a product? Guidance
• Refinements in materials & resources
Building product disclosure and optimization—
material ingredients
• HPDC guide to LEED V4 credit achievement
LEED resources
• BPDO calculator v06 | calculators
• Does this item count as a product? Guidance
• Refinements in materials & resources

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BREEAM (materials) LEED (materials and resources—MR)

Responsible sourcing of construction products —

• Table scope assessment, common building element
designation and location and use categories
— Furniture and medical furnishings
• Furniture and medical furnishings calculator
v02 | calculators

— PBT source reduction—mercury

• PBT source reduction calculator calculators

— PBT source reduction—lead, cadmium, and

copper
• comply with ASTM B828 2002
• use ASTM B813 2010
• meets the California AB1953 standard
— Construction and demolition waste management
• CAL Green alternative documentation guidance
• LEED v4 construction and demolition waste
calculator v02 | calculators

— Construction and demolition waste management

planning
• Guide for space planning for waste/composting
guidance
• CAL green alternative documentation guidance
• Defining waste streams videos

— Storage and collection of recyclables

• Guide for space planning for waste/composting
guidance
• CAL green alternative documentation guidance
• Defining waste streams videos

Table 5.
Subtitles on materials in BREEAM and LEED certifications documents [2, 8–10].

4. Conclusion

BREEAM certification consists of 10 main criteria and the buildings examine

some of the main criteria and indicate to which building the specific criteria are
included. In the LEED certification, there are eight main headings and the hospitals
are separated as a separate topic title. This section of the assessment criteria is speci-
fied or score calculation is required. LEED and BREEAM certification have point
changes for the same criteria. This means different weights are given to the same
criteria [11, 12]. LEED and BREEAM sustainability assessment methods are differ-
ent on sustainable sites and materials in health-based hospital buildings. LEED has
been evaluated over nine points and four different certificates have been awarded
while the BREEAM evaluation system has evaluated over four points and has six
different certificate types. There are several different and similar sub-headings
on sustainable sites and materials title in the LEED and BREEAM certification.
In addition, some criteria are not found in the other certification [13, 14]. In the
BREEAM and LEED certifications, it has been determined that is either the general
expression limit values or the use of certain computer programs or table values, the

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calculation methods are used in order to meet the criteria mentioned in the sustain-
able sites and materials in both systems. BREEAM general intent from land use and
ecology category is encourages habitat protection and enhancement of long-term
biodiversity for the construction’s site and neighboring land. Issues in this part
associate to the reclaim of brownfield sites or low ecological evaluation, extenua-
tion, and enhancement of ecology and long-range biodiversity management. LEED
general intent from sustainable sites category is encourages about the environment
neighborhood the construction, with credits that are accentuate the vital relation-
ships among construction and ecosystem services. BREEAM and LEED certifica-
tion comparing similarity and differential to the criteria and control systems on the
sustainable sites in health-based hospital buildings are by the following.
In terms of similarity in BREEAM and LEED certification on site selection and
assessment issue in BREEAM that is the site selection title. This issue includes previ-
ously occupied land and contaminated land parts option. Also, these options have
been adopted as nationally recognized guidance for risk assessment, appraisal of
contaminated land and site investigation. Requirements are available in the nation-
ally recognized code of regulations. Moreover, in LEED certification environmental
site assessment issue includes remediating the site to meet residential standards of
national, state or local environmental protection agency region. Site assessment issue
includes document assessment or site survey that includes the following information:
topography, hydrology, soils, vegetation, climate, human use, and human health
effects. In terms of similarity in BREEAM and LEED certification on site ecology,
biodiversity, and habitat issue in BREEAM that is ecological value of site and pro-
tection of ecological features title. This issue includes Ecological value of site and
protection of ecological features parts. Relating ecology reports to BREEAM guidance
is available on the BREEAM website in guidance note 13. Enhancing site ecology
issue includes recommendations and reports of ecologists and contributes increasing
parts about ecological value. Also, for assessment criteria and issue applied, the SQE’s
(suitably qualified ecologist) report highlighting information needed in guidance
note 13 completed by the ecologist. Long-term impact on biodiversity issue includes
preliminary investigation, site investigation report instruction, and options for
remediation instruction parts. Additionally, in LEED certification site development -
protect or restore habitat issue include on site restoration and financial support parts.
Additionally, about sustainable sites initiative performance benchmarks 2009 and
guidelines, restore soils disturbed during construction credit 7.2: natural resources
conservation service is available. In terms of differential in BREEAM and LEED certi-
fication on sustainable sites titles in LEED is the - heat island reduction issue includes
non-roof and roof (non-roof measures, high-reflectance roof and vegetated roof)
and parking under cover parts. Open space issue includes the criteria of site develop-
ment-protect or restore habitat and contain elements of human interplay. Moreover,
outdoor space must be physically accessible. Light pollution reduction issue includes
up light BUG rating method, up light calculation method, light trespass BUG rating
method, light trespass calculation method parts. Additionally included maximum
vertical illuminance at lighting boundary, by lighting zone, internally illuminated
exterior signage and exemptions from up light and light trespass requirements parts.
Places of respite issue must be outdoors, or be located in interior atria, conditioned
spaces, solaria, or greenhouses. Additionally, all areas and outdoor areas must meet
the certain requirements. Direct exterior access issue includes requirements of credit
places of respite strategies that are directly neighboring to clinical areas. Additionally,
spaces meet the requirements for outdoor air contamination concentrations list in
credit enhanced indoor air quality strategies. Rainwater management issue includes
percentile of rainfall events and natural land cover conditions parts. Construction
activity pollution prevention issue includes requirements of the 2012 U.S. construction

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general permit (CGP) environmental protection agency (EPA). Additionally, there is

not any credit in this issue in BREEAM.
In terms of similarity in BREEAM and LEED certification on life cycle issue in
BREEAM is the – life cycle impacts issue includes environmental product declara-
tions (EPD). Also, in LEED certification building life-cycle ımpact reduction
issue include points for reuse of building materials and whole-building life-cycle
assessment options. In terms of differential in BREEAM and LEED certification
on materials and resources titles in BREEAM that is responsible sourcing of con-
struction products issue includes sustainable procurement plan and responsible
sourcing of construction products options. Moreover, there is not any credit in this
issue in LEED. About PBT source reduction titles in LEED is the–mercury issue
that includes criteria for rated life of low-mercury lamps and maximum mercury
content of lamps. Additionally about lead, cadmium, and copper issues include
specify substitutes for materials manufactured with lead and cadmium, but there is
not any credit in this issue in BREEAM.
Consequently, in these certifications, each country seems to have implemented
applicable national codes and regulations according to their social and technical
structures. Therefore, other countries need to revise in consideration of these
systems and match of own country’s circumstances.

Author details

Sevil Jahed1* and Cüneyt Kurtay2

1 Department of Architecture, Karabuk University, Karabuk, Turkey

2 Department of Architecture, Gazi University, Ankara, Turkey

*Address all correspondence to: arch.sevil.j@gmail.com

© 2019 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms
of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/
by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is properly cited.

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References
[1] BREEAM International New
Construction, England [Internet]. 2016.
Available from: http://www.webcitation.
org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.
breeam.com%2F&date=2018-03-20
[Accessed: 07-01-2018]
[2] LEED v4 for Building Design and
Construction, USA [Internet]. 2017.
Available from: http://www.webcitation.
org/query?url=https%3A%2F%2Fnew.
usgbc.org%2F&date=2018-03-20
[Accessed: 07-01-2018]
[3] Kömürlü RK, Asli P, David A.
Assessment of indoor environmental
quality and water efficiency in green
building certification system in
developing countries. Smart and Green
Buildings Symposium; May 2013;
Ankara, Turkey
[4] Yıldız N, Arslan H. Comparative
analysis of sustainable building evaluation
and certification system through a process
approach. In: Smart and Green Buildings
Symposium; May 2013; Ankara, Turkey
[5] Wu P, Song Y, Shou W, Chi H, Chong
HY, Sutrisna MA. Comprehensive
analysis of the credits obtained by
LEED 2009 certified green building.
Renewable and Sustainable Energy
Reviews. 2017;68(1):370-379
[6] Awadh O. Sustainability and
green building rating systems: LEED,
BREEAM, GSAS and Estidama
critical analysis. Journal of Building
Engineering. 2017;11:25-29
[7] Jahed S. Comparison of design
criteria in healthcare building according
to international BREEAM and LEED
certification systems [Unpublished
M. Sc. thesis]. Ankara: Gazi University
Graduate School of Natural and Applied
Sciences; 2018
[8] Suzer O. Analyzing the compliance
and correlation of LEED and BREEAM
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by conducting a criteria-based
comparative analysis and evaluating
dual-certified projects. Building and
Environment. 2019;147:158-170
[9] Cole RJ, Valdebenito MJ. The
importation of building environmental
certification systems: International
usages of BREEAM and LEED. Building
Research and Information.
2013;41(6):662-676
[10] UNEP and ADEME. Identification
and Management of Contaminated
Sites. A methodological guide. ADEME
ed. Paris [Internet]. 2005. Available
from: http://www.unep.fr/scp/waste/
land.htm
[11] National Planning Policy
Framework [Internet]. Available from:
www.gov.uk/government/publications/
national-planning-policy-framework--2
[12] BS 8895-1:2013 Designing for
Material Efficiency in Building
Projects—Part 1: Code of Practice for
Strategic Definition and Preparation
and Brief. BSI; 2013
[13] BS 8895-2:2015 Designing for
material efficiency in building
projects—Part 2: Code of Practice for
Concept Design and Developed Design.
BSI; 2015
[14] WRAP. Designing Out Waste:
A Design Team Guide for Buildings
[Internet]. Available from: www.
wrap.org.uk/content/designing-out-
waste-design-team-guide-buildings-0
[Accessed: 03-11-2015]
Chapter 69

Sustainable Buildings from the

Perspective Environmental
Bioethics
Nesrin Çobanoğlu

Abstract

Today, modern cities are one of the main reasons for current environmental
problems. For the solution of these problems, it appears as a necessity to trans-
form the buildings, which are the building blocks of cities, into sustainable
structures and also to assign environmental bioethical responsibilities on both
individual and society levels. In terms of sustainability, it is important to under-
stand that only a human-centered perspective will not be sufficient; therefore,
while constructing and using sustainable buildings, the designing should be
based on an environmental bioethics value system. Thus, while constructing
sustainable buildings, the environmental bioethics value system should be taken
as basis, as well as conservation of energy and human needs. For a sustainable
life, sustainable buildings are required within the scope of biopolitics created
by adopting environmental bioethical values. Sustainability generally refers to
the dynamic situations where systematic needs can be fulfilled in the long term.
However, in the ecological context, sustainability can be used to define healthy,
self-renewable, no waste-generating, durable, and flexible ecosystems. A sustain-
able socio-ecological system must include acceptable norms in terms of ethics in
addition to these characteristics.

Keywords: environmental bioethics, sustainable building, ethics, future generations,

sustainability

1. Introduction

In general, environmental bioethics is the systematic study of moral relations

between people and their natural environment. The theory of environmental ethics
has to explain what these rules are, to whom and to what people have responsibili-
ties, and to demonstrate how these responsibilities are justified. These buildings
have ecological responsibility and resource productivity throughout their life cycle
from design to construction, operation to maintenance, and renewal to destruc-
tion. Those buildings which are designed on the principle of minimizing the solid,
liquid, and gas wastes as well as the renewable consumption of resources such as
energy, water, and building materials can be regarded as sustainable buildings.
When constructing sustainable buildings, it is important to design them within the
framework of environmental bioethical values.

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2. Environmental bioethics

While trying to find answers to open-ended questions in human-to-human

relations, the ethics makes assessments based on “good” and “bad,” limiting the
responsibility aspect, which is an important component of it, only to human beings.
Based on the bioethical concept, the scope of human responsibility covers all living
beings such as animals and plants, whereas in terms of environmental ethics, this
scope is extended to the relationship with the ecosystem with all its components
such as air and water [1].
In the past, the philosophy of values was used to examine the dilemmas in a
narrow space and a narrow period of time, whereas, today, with the reflection
of unlimited, fast, and apparent developments in technology, future generations
and universal concepts have also appeared as the determinants of those dilemmas.
Environmental bioethics should be closely related to social policies, environmental
problems, and bioethical concepts.
There are two main approaches in the environmental ethics. The human-
centered “anthropocentric” perspective values the ecosystem as a means of human
benefit; on the other hand, the environmental ethics, with an “ecocentric” point of
view that adopts the ecosystem as an objective and considers it as the central fact,
places the responsibility on human beings while subjectivating the environment
due to its own value. They used to defend that the value system was only valid for
humans as living beings who think and who are responsible for their behaviors and
the subject of values could not be anything other than humans; therefore, living
beings other than humans (environment, animals, air, ecosystem as a whole, etc.)
could not exist within our world of values due to their values resulting from their
own existence and adopted as an objective. Within the scope of environmental
ethics, it is defended that, as a result of intellectual developments, the ecosystem
is the subject of ethics, not only because of human benefit but also because of its
inherent value. Accordingly, the concept of environmental bioethics examines the
ethical issues that arise in the network of relations between all living beings and the
ecosystem [1–3].
As in other areas, in environmental terms, the right action is the result of knowl-
edge that follows the interest. “Sliding on ice,” which is a bioethical term, should
also be considered in terms of environmental ethics. (Sliding on ice is a concept of
bioethics that expresses the possibility that the steps we take in good faith toward
the right action may lead to catastrophic consequences for the humanity and future
generations in cases where we cannot predict all the consequences of the action.)
Lack of knowledge or interest results in environmental disasters. The birth of
environmental ethics, in fact, is a result of human beings’ efforts to survive.
Environmental ethics can be addressed at the universal, professional, and
individual levels as the activities of states and countries. In this era, people are
unable to fully utilize the life potential due to malnutrition, pollution, and diseases
resulting from the deterioration of the ecosystem and social services. In addition to
the deterioration of the social services, the ecosystem contains important threats to
this integrity and health. Although it is increasingly accepted that the social system
and ecosystem cannot function fully and properly, there are very few attempts for
the sustainability of both systems. Within the framework of ethical approaches for
assuring sustainability, applied ethics is in the nature of guiding ideas for establish-
ing a sustainable society that will enable people to reintegrate with the ecosystem
and human health.
As a general definition, the subject of bioethics is life, not only human life, which
is the main subject of medical ethics, but also the life of all organisms that exist in
the nature. The subject of environmental ethics is the nature with all its living and

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nonliving elements. Perhaps the subtle distinction between bioethics and ecocentric
ethics, or shortly environmental ethics, can be understood by defining the distinction
between life and nature. When we examine the concepts in terms of content, nature
has a meaning that also involves life. Nature is a habitat that ensures the continuation
of life, nurtures it, protects it, transforms it, and enables it to reproduce itself on its
own. A nature without life can exist, whereas a life without nature is out of question.
What gives birth to life is nature. At this point, in terms of meaning, it would not
be wrong to say that many thoughts are within the bioethical environmental ethics,
as also believed by human beings. However, from a practical point of view, life has
to recognize and cover all elements of nature, for it cannot sustain itself without
preserving nature. A view which places life in the center cannot isolate itself from its
nature. In other words, bioethics is a wide area that includes environmental ethics.
The future of the bioenvironment endangered by human actions is an impor-
tant issue of our time. This issue has also an ethical dimension. The existence of
humanity is closely related to and dependent on all life on earth. In that case, how
can we reconcile the rapid destruction of life (or bios) with our existence? At this
very point, it becomes necessary to shift to the bio-centered, in other words life-
centered, perspective. This transition, as mentioned earlier, has to take place in
every aspect of life. People should not put themselves in the heart of every decision
they take or every policy they apply, but they must put life, which they are part of
themselves, in the center.
Bioethics is a concept that has emerged as a result of such a requirement.
Nevertheless, as we cannot think of a life that is without any environment, the
environmental bioethics appears as a concept in the intersection of environmental
ethics and bioethics. In the solution of the current global ethical problem sets that
we encounter during the formation of social policies, we must create a sustainable
future with the biopolitics based on the concept of “environmental bioethics.”
In order to create sustainable living spaces, ecological cities, and sustainable
buildings of the future, first it is important that the structural elements which
constitute the management systems of societies adopt this concept. So as to have
an ecological city model, environmental bioethical values and political culture of
the urban society must be formed. Lack of environmental bioethical value and
inadequate level of organization of democratic elements can be mentioned among
the most dominant reasons for the gap between what is known to be best for the
environment in human actions and what is actually applied [4–6].

3. Sustainable buildings as an environmental bioethical value

Sustainable buildings are the product of the biopolitics, which are primarily
formed by a holistic environmental bioethical approach. Based on the fact that the
idea sets the action, sustainable buildings can be accepted as the practical reflection
of environmental bioethics and biopolitics. While trying to find answers to open-
ended questions in humans to human relations, ethics used to make assessments
based on “good” and “bad,” limiting the responsibility aspect, which is an important
component of it, only to human beings.
With the concept of bioethics, the scope of human responsibility has been
extended to their relationship with the ecosystem together with all its components
such as animals, plants, air, and water. Mankind is part of the nature, not the center
of it. But they are responsible against the whole. In each decision taken, bioethics
requires that minimum harm be given to the other life forms; the ecological cycles
not be broken, to the extent it is possible; and the interference be at the minimum
level. The first step is to internalize the respect for other life forms [1–3].

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Sustainable buildings will destroy the environment much less than today’s
urbanization models. Reducing the destruction can also be considered within the
scope of protection. Sustainable buildings that protect and improve the environ-
ment indirectly can thus be considered a bioethical value.
Urban life is the search of a heterogeneous society, which must live together,
for ways to live in the best and most harmonious way. What is best is relative.
The values generated and shared by urban people also generate the system of
values of urban people. Urban social values and individual values are in mutual
interaction [5–8].
As defined in the Cultural Dictionary, “Through values, people become aware
of their social relationships, goals and historical roles. With the help of values,
they find a place within the community; they form their own interests, norms,
life styles, world views, etc. individually. Values act as the active driving force of
human actions in the process of social life” [9]. In this case, urban values are the
material and mental driving force of the facilities of individuals in the urban life
and ultimately of the society to realize themselves toward the best. “The best,”
which is represented by the values in the ecological city, is expected to include the
decisions that respect the ecological balances and life in the world, namely, the
practice of environmental bioethics.
The system of values functions through the transformation of the good behav-
ioral rules within that society into normative rules and supervision of these rules
via a system of sanctions, and these values are respected. These two mechanisms,
namely, the expectation of roles and sanctions, are adopted by the institutions that
ensure the order of the society. If there is an established bioethical point of view
in the value system, the society, and the individual, self-sacrificing efforts for the
ecological city can be continuously developed [9].
It can be said that such a society that has adopted the idea of environmental
bioethics represents the ideal of ecological society. According to Aykut N. Çoban
[10], the political project of environmentalism is the establishment of an ecologi-
cal/sustainable society: However, the problem with transition to such society is the
assumption that the material structures such as the economy can be transformed
by changing ethics/beliefs, which is an exaggeration of the change of individuals’
ideas. Other dynamics which affect the development of cities, such as globalization,
economy, and politics, are inevitably important. Nevertheless, there are many good
and bad examples in the history that show how ideas are directing societies [8, 10].
Considering sustainable buildings as a purpose; taking all kinds of legal, politi-
cal, and technical decisions for this purpose; and, consequently, the realization and
expansion of the ecological city are closely related with the system of individual and
social values. Most of the time, the reason for the gap between knowing and apply-
ing the truth is the lack of knowledge of ethical values. Tekeli expresses as follows
the necessity for integrating theories of education and democracy: “Every theory of
democracy that does not relate the theory of education to itself is incomplete.” The
desired education is an education nourished by philosophy and art, where especially
children and young people will learn how to think, question, and learn [2].
According to Arvanitis, the aim and responsibility of bio-education is “to
revive the spirit of humanity to reverse the established value judgments that lead
to significant environmental destruction.” Bio-education strengthens the idea of
integrating environmental concerns to each human effort and enables us to become
aware of the interdisciplinary nature of environmental protection [11].
Especially in the sustainable buildings to be constructed in cities, it should be
considered as a bridge of communication between pets, urban people, and other
bios. The value that children should gain through pets is to respect the unique
worlds and needs of animals [12].

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It is important that sustainable buildings be addressed in terms of environmental

bioethics, instead of a human-centered perspective. This is critical so that the urban
environmental problems can be comprehended deeply and widely and can be over-
come rather than achieving superficial successes. Thus, besides the future of human
beings, sustainable buildings should be defended as a requirement of environmen-
tal bioethical consciousness and responsibility. If a human-centric view is adopted
while designing an ecological city constructed with sustainable buildings, even if
physical arrangements are realized, it will not be possible to understand and resolve
the mental, economic, and political relations which are the source of environmental
problems. The difference between preserving other lives by seeing them as means
and respecting their essential value in terms of ecological balance is important. It
is especially important when it comes to interests, because it will determine our
decisions, preferences, and priorities. While taking a decision to destruct a wildlife
area, whose material value cannot be measured, for the sake of urban income as a
measurable instrumental value, it can simply be sacrificed by attributing a purely
instrumental value to it. However, our point of view will differ when we attribute an
essential value [6–8, 12–14].

4. Conclusion and evaluation

Considering the fact that right to life is valid for all living beings all over the world,
all practices that threaten this right can be characterized as being against the bioethi-
cal values. Today, the main reason behind the environmental problems is the erosion
of global bioethical values. Therefore, the environmental damages caused by today’s
construction practices concern not only the cities they are in but the whole world.
Sustainable buildings, by definition, are compatible with ecosystem, sustainable and
self-sufficient in terms of resource utilization, and are compatible with environmen-
tal bioethical values.
Building construction, which has been seen as the source and symbol of
civilization throughout the history, is controversial today with the existing risks of
destructing the civilization. Today, in the world and in Turkey, the root of urban
and environmental problems is based on rapid and unplanned industrialization,
the fact of continual profit, and not using the technology for the benefit of humans
and nature. In this regard, the cities where the majority of human population
resides have turned into places that are alienated to the humans as a result of con-
sumption society, “developments” based on continual profit, and raid and plunder.
The most important urban problems of our time, namely, poverty, immigration,
housing problem, infrastructural deficiencies, and environmental pollution, are
the products of a system, which is based on capital needs, not on human life and
needs. An understanding based on environmental bioethical values will ensure
sustainability of life.
Migration from rural areas to cities and cheap labor have always been encour-
aged in line with the needs of capital. Today, the urban living environment in our
country is characterized by unplanned construction, illegal housing, and poor
urban people. Turkey’s urbanization level is found to be 55.4% in 1990. And today,
92.3% of Turkey’s population live in cities and towns [15]. Environmental problems
have increased to a non-negligible level through urbanization that has evolved
mainly by this way. The increase in population and urbanization will also increase
urban environmental problems. The ecological city model and sustainable build-
ings are the products of such a search. The international nature of the capital has
become more important in recent years, and the need for capital restructuring
with the economic crisis in the 1970s has brought up the capital accumulation and

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the dimensions of this accumulation process in terms of social classes and space.
Therefore, the city has gained a special importance as the focus of capital accumula-
tion. In order to achieve the goal of transforming the modern cities that emerged in
the Industrial Revolution into ecological cities, it should also be aimed to ensure the
economic, political, social, and environmental justice. Because just like the rings of
the chain in the ecological cycle, these are all interconnected.
It is obvious that the sustainable buildings are a requirement in the world and
in Turkey. A system should be developed where renewable energy resources can be
used easily in the buildings and the technology which enables that can be mounted
to all kinds of buildings. Development of such system is technically possible and is a
must in terms of environmental bioethics.

Author details

Nesrin Çobanoğlu
Department of Medical Ethics and History, Gazi University, Ankara, Turkey

*Address all correspondence to: nesrinc@gazi.edu.tr

© 2019 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms
of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/
by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is properly cited.

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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.87836

References

[1] Çobanoğlu N. Theoretical and Longing for Another World (Compiled

Applied Medicine Ethics. Ankara,
Turkey: Eflatun Publishing House;
2009. p. 242. (In Turkish)
[2] Carson R. Silent Spring. Boston: The
Riverside Press Cambridge; 1962
[3] Jardins JR. Environmental Ethics
Introduction to Environmental
Philosophy (Translated by Ruşen Keleş).
Ankara: İmge Bookstore; 2006. p. 18.
(In Turkish)
[4] Jean R. City and Folk. Ankara,
Turkey: Ütopya Publications; 1999. p. 9.
(In Turkish)
[5] Kuban. Istanbul an Urban History:
Byzantion, Constantinopolis. Istanbul:
Türkiye İşbankası Kültür Yay; 1996
by Ayşegül Mengi), Imge Bookstore,
Ankara; 2007. p. 294. (In Turkish)
[12] Gazi S, Çobanoğlu N. Reflection
of Urban Culture Elements in Cities as
a Biological Value, Planlama Journal,
TMMOB Chamber of City Planners
Publication, Ankara; 2008/1-2. p. 19. (In
Turkish)
[13] Newman P, Jennings I. Cities as
Sustainable Ecosystems. Washington,
D.C., USA: Island Press; 2009. p. 15
[14] Bacaksız TS, Çobanoğlu N. Turkey’s
Biopolitical Policies within the scope
of Ecological Buildings, International
Sustainable Buildings Symposium
(ISBS); 26-28 May 2010; Ankara,
Turkey. (In Turkish)

[6] Register R. Ecocities: Rebuilding [15] [Internet]. Available from:

Cities in Balance with Nature. Revised ed. http://www.tuik.gov.tr/PreTablo.
Canada: New Society Publishers; 2006 do?alt_id=1059

[7] Tekeli I. Participatory Democracy

and Civil Society Organizations.
Ankara: Publication of Social
Democracy Association; 2004. p. 10. (In
Turkish)

[8] Dewey J. Freedom and Cultur,

(Translation. Günyol V.). İstanbul:
Remzi Publishes; 1987. (In Turkish)

[9] Cultural Dictionary, (Translated and

Edited by Aziz Çalışlar), Altın Kitaplar
Publishing House; 1983. p. 66. (In
Turkish)

[10] Çoban NA. Articulation

of Ideological Elements of
Environmentalism. Journal of Political
Sciences Faculty. 2002;57(3):28-30.
(In Turkish)

[11] Agni Vilavianos Arvanitis,

Biopolitics: Establishing a Vision and
Hope Society, Tribute to Rusen Keles
Series, Environment and Politics

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Chapter 70

Sustainable Urban Design and

Urban Empires
Hulki Cevizoğlu

Abstract

In this chapter, structural changes (both building and human structures) in

metropolises in our age, which is defined as late modernity, postmodernity, or
fluid modernity, are discussed. Discriminatory growth between cities, primate city
formations, growth, collapses, depressions, migration, marginalization, freedoms,
gentrification studies, security, surveillance and sustainable urban design, and
environmental policies are among the main research topics. In addition, a new
concept is introduced to the literature as “Urban Empires.”

Keywords: urban empires, modernity, structural change, freedom, sustainable urban

design

1. Introduction

Bauman argues that his sociology is “a way of thinking about human world.”
Mills places “sociological imagination” at the basis of sociological thought and
analysis. When the developmental process of the modern society is taken into
consideration, the place of the classics introduces the problematic of “how society
needs to understand its historical origins” [1].
This presentation aims to discuss the realities experienced in the contemporary
world with the sociological theories of the classical period by referring to the con-
cepts such as “poverty, hunger, new colonialism, migration, technological changes,
globalization, inequalities, polarization of economic sources, and human rights.”

2. Transformation

The title above does not include Kafka’s “Metamorphosis,” it rather naturally
includes social and urban sociological transformation. The world has evolved from
the bipolar world of the “cold war” period to the unipolar world upon the dissolu-
tion of the Soviet Union. Later, the electronic and internet revolution has made
the world a “global village.” The geographical, physical, economic, and electronic
borders are shattered. In the expressions of Hardt and Negri, the “Empire” has been
formed:
The hegemony has achieved a new form, and this form is composed of a series of
national and supranational organs united under one type of governing logic. This
type of new global hegemony is the thing we call the empire [2].

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The age of empire has started after passing through the twilight of modern
sovereignty. Contrary to imperialism, the empire does not create a center of power
based on land; it also does not rely on fixed borders or obstacles. The empire is a
mechanism of government without a center and home including the whole globe
into its own open and expanding borders. The empire manages hybrid identities,
flexible hierarchies, and multiple exchanges through its changing commanding
networks [2].
These developments have made the already existing metropolises in the liberal
world more important. Besides the developments at the global level, at the local
level, “urban empires” are formed which are called as metropolis. While including
the stock exchange, centers of finance and international trade, and company head-
quarters, they also continue to be centers of political attraction. Being a metropolis
does not just mean getting crowded populations; at the same time, it also means
being one of the capitalist centers.
Metropolitanization also means hegemony of majority and destruction of homo-
geneity. In the previous centuries, everything about the physical environment was
thought by taking the physical environment having homogeneity and cohesion of
identity into consideration. The homogeneity of the past now has become a dream.
The cities are becoming heterogeneous considerably both in the social and cultural
meaning [3].
The metropolises (urban empires) have turned into the application grounds of
“society of control” and “biopower” if we use the Foucauldian concepts. These urban
empires include not just “lethal weapons” just it happens in the global Empire of
Hardt and Negri, they also naturally include styles such as “moral intervention” and
“corporate intervention.” Crowds exist in the “urban empires” called metropolis,
however it is debatable whether the “public” exists or not. I believe the words that
Deleuze has said in general terms, “The public does not exist anymore, or it does not
exist yet … the public is missing” [2] are also valid for the metropolitan life.
This point is exactly the place where Bauman and Lyon’s concept of “liquid
surveillance” comes into play. The contemporary modern societies appear so
changeable that it may be argued that these societies are at the “liquid” state.
Contemporary citizens, workers, consumers, and travelers who are always on the
move but lack certainty and limits realize that their movements are monitored,
watched, and followed. The current situation can be described as “late” modernity,
“postmodernity” or in a more colorful way “liquid” modernity [4].
One of the sociologists who made great contributions to the development
of urban sociology by analyzing the impact of metropolises on the individual is
Simmel. Simmel indicates that in “modernity which he perceives as the scientific
and technological age,” the individual has lost its inner security, and experienced a
tension anxiety and panic originating from the excitement and complexity of the
modern life. According to Simmel, who indicates that this anxiety is most definitely
observed in the urban life, the chaos, competition, disloyalty of the metropolises
against personal relations, and thoughts push the individuals into desperation and
bring them to the edge of neurosis [5]. According to him, perhaps there is no other
spiritual phenomenon which is directly related to the metropolis than the attitude
of “blasé” [5]. The city establishes a deep contrast between itself and the small town
and rural life regarding the sensual bases of spiritual life with its whole economic,
occupational and social pace, and variety with each passage from the street. The
metropolis obligates the individual, as a creature who is addicted to differences, to con-
sciousness more than required by the rural life [5]. First and foremost, the increase
of intellectuality in the metropolis appears to originate from this. Thus, stupid
people who are not intellectually very bright generally do not get tired of the world [5].
According to Simmel, “the life in metropolises is actually intellectualist.”

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3. Urban empire of Istanbul

Since the 1950s, Turkey has experienced a salient economic growth and
industrialization which took place due to foreign debt because of mechanization
in agriculture and thusly formation of unemployment in rural areas and the new
economic policy of the Democratic Party of Turkey which came to power attempt-
ing to connect with the international capital. The need for labor was attempted to
be met by the migrant unemployed coming from the rural areas. The migration
from the rural areas to the cities increased as employment was created for those
who were coming to the cities through migration. This situation has created a
problem in our country just like it happens in all metropolises of the world. The
development in Istanbul, which is Turkey’s metropolis: The leather, textile, and
cement businesses gathered at Zeytinburnu due to the decisions taken regarding
“spatial location of industries” sometime before that. There was no room at the
rooms for singles, and the population shifted to those places surrounding the
industrial core. Initially, makeshift barracks were made, and as inspections are not
sufficient, settlements have started in agricultural areas. The factory owners were
happy because the workers have found such solutions, and this did not affect the
wages and the workers were able to come to work. The second biggest ghetto zone
was Taşlıtarla which was established next to Eyüp and Rami which were large-
and medium-sized industrial complexes, and the district of Kağıthane followed
Taşlıtarla which developed industrially [6].
Currently, many cities have become metropolises in Turkey. Among those,
Istanbul competes with other cities of the world. Cities which have exceeded a certain
size are called metropolises. In every country, the concept of metropolis changes
according to the population. In the feudal period, the neighborhoods and cities
formed around bazaars used to be the centers of agricultural products and commerce,
they have become the centers of industry in the capitalist period. In capitalism, which
means the separation from the feudal period where the workplace and residence
used to be united, the population has shifted from the urban centers to the suburbs
where living expenses were cheaper. Initially, the middle class and upper middle-class
suburbs emerged on the steamship and railway route where people who work at the
center of the city and later returned their homes at the night (Suadiye, Erenköy ya da
Emirgan, Yeniköy, Yeşilköy). Later on, the industrial suburbs are created alongside
with the residential areas around the industries which outflowed the city (Paşabahçe,
Alibeyköy, Mahmutbey region) [7].
Today, Tokyo is the largest metropolis of the world with a population more than
30 million; however, it is estimated that Mumbai in India and Shanghai in China
will become giant metropolises with populations exceeding 40 millions [3]. One of
the characteristics of metropolitanization is that it creates stratification and makes
the lower and upper income groups more salient. Over time, this separation reflects
on the locations of residences and according to stratification, upper, middle-, and
lower income group areas are formed [7].
Direction of urbanization towards metropolises in underdeveloped countries
takes place in two forms. The first one is the excessive growth of the single big city
against other. Examples of such cities which are “Primate City” are Cairo, Caracas,
Tehran, Santiago, Karachi, Dakar, and Istanbul (“Single big urban law” is the con-
ceptualization of Mark Jefferson [8]). The second one is based on the existence of a
relationship between the sizes of the city and the rank order of those cities in terms
of size. There are no big differences between the biggest city and the second and
third biggest cities. This situation stands out in places which are ruled by decentral-
ization [9]. (“Primate City” is the city which is disproportionately larger than others
among the cities in a country or a region.) It is the city which gathers the biggest part

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of the country where the political, intellectual, or economic life is concentrated. It

is the city which is dominant in the settlement order of the country. This is called
the king impact. In some countries, its number may be more than one while in some
other countries it does not exist.
The level of information obtained through new technologies has become an
economic commodity, due to the means of communication each section of the
economic commodity has started to be manufactured in a different country, and
this has caused the transformation of the Fordist industry. Currently, the depen-
dency of the manufacturing and industries is at the lowest level, spatial preference
has become flexible, and the global centers used to be a few but they have increased
since the 1990s and they have spread all around the world. The metropolises that are
attached to the global system become salient. And the spaces that are unable to join
the network continue their traditional structures [10].
The phenomenon of metropolitanization brings to mind Lewis Mumford’s thesis
about the city. According to Mumford, there is a process which follows the “growth”
and “collapse” period. It would turn into metropolis from the polis, and later into
megapolis and finally into necropolis, namely a graveyard city [10].
This view conflicts with Simmel’s views. According to Simmel growth, conflict
and separation feed the metropolis: the metropolitan type human develops an
organ that would protect itself against threatening currents and disharmony at the
external environment that would separate it from its roots. It provides its reactions
with its brain, not with its heart. Here, it undertakes an awareness whose spiritual
privilege increase. Namely, the metropolitan life is at the basis of the increasing
awareness and dominance of intelligence/intellectualism of the metropolitan
human… The thing which appears as a direct separation in the metropolitan life is
just one of its most basic types of socialization [5]. According to Simmel, metropoli-
tanization is also freedom!
It may be said that the things that make the metropolis as the center of freedom
are its direct size and abundance of number of people by thinking the universal
historical connection between the expansion of the periphery and the personal
internal and external freedom [5]. The cities, which are smaller than Istanbul,
Ankara, and Izmir that are the three big metropolitan cities in Turkey, are becoming
big cities by getting migration after the 1980s.

4. Migration, marginalization, and depression locations

The metropolises have many problems including primarily the overpopulation

and other problems related to overpopulation. Among those problems, air pol-
lution, security, traffic, health problems, high cost of living, and dehumanization
stand out. The urban depression areas are formed which are separated from the
cities due to migration, poverty, and unemployment. The manufacturing facilities
such as the industrial facilities and workshops are moved to outside of the city and
the depression locations emerged in places where the business areas are vacated.
Problems are observed in the urban center originating from the poor residential
areas where the migrants heavily reside. These inner city areas which are attractive
for migrants and low-income sections are the places where poverty becomes perma-
nent. In Istanbul, locations such as Eminönü, Süleymaniye, Kasımpaşa, Gedikpaşa,
Balat, and Tarlabaşı have become depression areas [11].
The most basic theories that explain migration are the push and pull theories. The
pushing impact of the living conditions in the rural areas and the pulling impact
of the better real wages urge people to move to the big cities, and again high cost

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of living, unemployment, inability to benefit from services push people to the big
cities. Although nowadays, internal migration has relatively decreased, the previous
problems still continue. Those who come to the cities from a culture where com-
munity structure and face to face relations dominate live in neighborhoods where
fellow countrymen are intense in number and they form new communities and
fellow countrymen associations. For instance, approximately one-third of all civil
society associations in Ankara are fellow countrymen associations and foundations
[12]. When a group of fellow countrymen establishes an association, other groups
which are in interaction with that specific group of fellow countrymen also engage
in a race of status [13].
In the neighborhoods, from time to time collective settlements also lead to
formation of subcultures [14]. These groups, communities, or fellow country-
men associations are “buffer mechanisms and institutions” as conceptualized
by Mübeccel Kıray; they also prepare the ground for illegal relations. Among the
reasons that lead the immigrants into crime are lack of education, inability to get
attached to the system as well as their perceptions of clan and community. The
perception which is those who are among them (“us”) and those who came to the
city previously (“others”) forms the cultural bases of and legitimize the crime and
creates a criminal subculture [15].

5. Gentrification

The concept of gentrification has achieved a different meaning than it used to

have in the 1970s. It refers to regaining the urban areas both by protecting and
refunctioning them. The Business Improvement Districts in New York have been
getting New York rid of waste, stench, and drug dealers in a way that might be
called as “gentrification of the streets”. In the meantime, the public spheres of the
city are gradually closed for the disadvantageous sections of the society such as the
poor, elderly, homeless, unemployed, and street vendors [16].
According to Simmel, “the metropolis has always been the place for economic
exchange and financial economy”. The plurality and concentration of economic
exchange here signify the tools of exchange which may not be provided by the
insufficiency of trade in the rural areas:
Money only deals with the things that are common for everyone: it requests
value of exchange and reduces all kinds of characteristics and individuality to the
question of “how much?” … The money, which is the equivalent of various things,
has become the most frightening equalizer, because money expresses all kinds of
qualitative difference between things with the question of “how much?” Money …
becomes the common denominator of all values [5].
In his work titled “Philosophy of Money,” Simmel argues that economic
exchange is a type of social interaction. In societies where money economy is
dominant, life has a “calculative” character. As money quits being a means and
becomes the goal itself, it creates the sensation that “everything has a price, and
everything is for sale” [17].
The new middle class increases gradually and in the globalizing informational
society, the unskilled labor is no longer needed. This unskilled labor is gradually
pushed to the informal sector and the new urban poor are created. Gentrification,
which starts especially in Istanbul and continues intensely constitutes the most
important contemporary problem. Gentrification first started in the district of
Kuzguncuk. And the first big attempt after that was the Tarlabaşı demolitions of
Mr. Dalan who was the mayor of the Metropolitan Municipality of Istanbul [18].

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6. Security and conclusion

A significant portion of the well-known scientists and philosophers of the eigh-

teenth and nineteenth centuries used to be against masses attempting revolts or having
the potential to revolt by seeking freedom and humane living conditions [19]. However
nowadays, let alone following demonstrations, even the thoughts have become readable
by those who hold the surveillance tools of the state in their hands if we state the situation
in the Althusserian and Foucauldian terms.
Moreover, people have been subjected to “voluntary surveillance.” Many devices
that we use for self-beneficial has now turned into benefitting those who monitor
with the behavior of voluntary surveillance (we may also call it “voluntary servi-
tude” as stated by Etienne de La Boetie in 1550). (The concepts of “self-beneficial”,
“surveillant-beneficial” and “voluntary surveillance” belong to me—HC.) The
ban-opticons have replaced the panopticons. (Pan-opticon: It means all (pan)
and surveillance (opticon).) It is the construction model of the prison that the
British Jeremy Bentham has found in 1785. In this system, the convict stays in his
cell with a hidden camera where light is allowed to pass in a way that his shadow is
visible to the guard. Thus, the person is directed by allowing him to think that he
is being monitored constantly. Ban-opticon: It means liquid (ban) and surveillance
(opticon). It is do it yourself type of surveillance. The purpose is keeping away
more than keeping inside. (Instead of disciplining, the preventive concerns are in
the forefront—HC.) The tools of “do it yourself ” type of surveillance are the credit
cards, cellphones, e-mails, Whatsapp, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, all kinds of
internet use, ATMs, televisions, Google, Yandex, parking cards, store cards, club
or professional membership cards, license plates, national identification numbers,
tax and real estate transactions, hospital and school records, medicines taken from
the pharmacy, cameras at public locations, city surveillance cameras, namely every
moment of “modern” (!) life… If you want to get rid of surveillance and monitor-
ing and if you do not want to be the slave of the master, you need to resign from the
modern (!) life. Individuals who form the society perceive/are made to perceive the
modernity offered to them not as the Pandora’s Box, but rather as Zeus’s Cornucopia.
(Cornucopia: It is the carob bean that Zeus, the chief god in the Greek mythology,
sucked which later turned into a request box which is filled by itself—HC).
Charles Darwin, who looks into the future with fear and argued that the only
solution was to stop the masses by controlling them, has put forward a causality
relationship which the capitalist world uses the most in justifying itself. Fear has
emerged the necessity for controlling the masses by coercion out of the masses [19].
The locations of depression pose a threat. The new economic order and the
information society have pushed those who fail to obey this out of the system fast,
and the disempowered sections have started to display the tendency of ghettoiza-
tion and marginalization. Ghetto: A general name for the section of a city which is
inhabited by any minority of a city. In the medieval times, the foreigners had to live
under surveillance in certain neighborhoods. Groups such as the Jews used to live
at the periphery of the city lacking public rights [20]. However, within the scope of
sustainable urban design, environmental policies and applications, this question comes
to mind: It is a clear fact that some of the neighborhoods of the city are neighbor-
hoods of misery. However, does this justification make the political, technocratic,
and architectural authorities and/or powers right while they pressure those living in
those places in the name of realizing conditions which they define as “better accom-
modation standards”? [3].
The “liquid surveillance” technologies, in the words of Bauman and Lyon, have
increasingly become widespread in the US and European metropolises and they
replace the social life and this pushes both the Western societies and the groups

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within them to ghettoization and creates the danger of becoming introverted

further. (Bauman defines the liquid modern society as “a mechanism which tries to
make a life full of fear more livable”) [4].
Agier … was right in placing the urban ghettos into the category of “exile cor-
ridors”. All of the legal and illegal residents of such places have the same defining
characteristics: All of them are unnecessary. All of them are rejects and leftovers of
the society. In short, they are waste [4].
Authorities who try to solve the problem of security in the urban empires
(metropolises) where the masses are intense, have started to employ “voluntary
surveillance” besides the methods of surveillance, monitoring and regulation. From
now on, the liberty, equality, and fraternity demands of the society which need to
be for all sections of the society are responded by public works.
While debating the “International Sustainable Structures” elaborating the
subject from the perspective of the dimensions that we have mentioned above,
namely the “social structures”, would provide a holistic approach besides analyzing
the subject from the perspective of “buildings”.

Author note

This concept belongs to the author.

Author details

Hulki Cevizoğlu
Popüler Bilim Dergisi, Ankara, Turkey

*Address all correspondence to: hulkicevizoglu@cevizkabugu.com.tr

© 2019 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms
of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/
by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is properly cited.

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ISBS 2019 - 4th International Sustainable Buildings Symposium
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