Civil Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
3.2 Micro- and Meso-Level Factors
The second-level factors may be considered as the micro level and these depend
upon those at the macro level.
It is obvious that in order to design and realise a high-quality passive house
project, it is necessary to take care of its efficiency from the initial brief to the end
of maintenance. The entire process must be planned and executed taking into
account the specific goals of the participating parties. The designing and planning
procedure must include multiple criteria optimisation, not only of the separate
processes and decisions, but also of the whole life cost of the passive house. This
must take into account the needs expressed by the parties involved in the project.
In order to efficiently design and implement projects in the built environment, it
is necessary to investigate as many of the possible alternative solutions for each
variable and to select the most rational one. The selected variables are then
combined into one efficient project. Hence, the efficiency of a project will depend
to a very great extent not only on the selected variables, but also on micro, meso
and macro factors affecting them.
The level of efficiency and the scope of activities of the built environment
depend on the next micro variable factors:
• information system of built environment,
• building's life cycle energy analysis,
• energy use in the built environment,
• pollution and health in cities,
• real estate losses as a result of sea-level rise,
• education and training,
• types of contracts,
• briefing process,
• design process,
• manufacture process,
• construction process,
• maintenance process,
• facilities management,
• holiday travels,
• festivals,
• etc.
As an example, further on we shall briefly discuss some above-mentioned
micro-level factors (building's life cycle energy analysis, energy use in the built
environment, pollution and health in cities, real estate losses as a result of sea-level
rise, holiday travels, Cherry blossom festivals).
