Energetic Characterization of Building Evolution : A Multi-perspective Evaluation in the Andean Region of Ecuador

This book analyses the evolution of the construction systems and the required materials in Ecuador from 1980 to 2020, from different perspectives including environmental, economic, thermal behaviour, modulation design, and integrity of construction. It focuses on the relationship between energy and the evolution of construction in the Andean region of Ecuador. The theoretical framework of the book shows the extent of quantitative data collected from several sources and experimental data from studies carried out in local buildings. It gives a heritage-environmental perspective of building materials from Cuenca city, which has received the nomination of Cultural Heritage of Humanity. This book will help construction industry professionals, architects, and designers to make sustainable decisions for future construction, focused on different components of a building. Readers can extract a set of guidelines aimed at solving thermal, environmental, aesthetic, and even heritage issues of the construction sector of this region, from the specific perspective of building materials. This book is a translation of an original German edition. The translation was done with the help of artificial intelligence (machine translation by the service DeepL.com). A subsequent human revision was done primarily in terms of content, so that the book will read stylistically differently from a conventional translation Foreword 6 Contents 9 About the Editor 10 The Construction Evolution and Their Energectic Impact in Andean Region Buildings 11 1 An Energy Perspective in the Construction Sector 12 1.1 Embodied Energy 13 1.2 Boundary Conditions 14 1.3 Calculation Methods and Uncertainties 14 2 Production and Consumption of Energy in Ecuador 16 3 Change of Building Systems at the National and Local Levels 24 3.1 Changes in Construction Systems in Ecuador 25 3.2 Changes in Construction Systems at Local Level 27 4 Change of Construction Systems and the Variation of Embodied Energy 29 4.1 Construction Systems in Each Period of Analysis 34 4.2 The Impact of Material Changes on the Embodied Energy of Buildings in the Andean Region of Ecuador 41 5 Conclusions 53 References 54 The Constructive Evolution of the Envelope. The Impact on Indoor Thermal Conditions in Andean Regions 59 1 Traditional Architecture and Climatic Conditions 60 2 Thermal Comfort and Materials in Traditional Housing 65 2.1 Thermal Comfort in the Andean Region 65 2.2 Materials in the Andean Region 67 3 Weight Reduction in Construction Materials 69 4 Thermal Impact of the Construction Systems Change 71 5 Results 77 5.1 Results by Periods 78 5.2 Overall Results 81 6 Conclusions 83 References 84 Construction Development, Economic Evolution, and Environmental Impact in Ecuador 88 1 Introduction, Concept, and Process 89 1.1 Introduction 89 1.2 Concepts 90 1.3 Methodology 92 2 Economic Evolution of Ecuador 92 3 History of Construction at the National Level 98 4 Relationship Between Economic Evolution, Construction, And Energy Sector 100 4.1 Results 100 4.2 Discussion 104 5 Conclusions 106 References 107 Constructive Sincerity and Bioclimatic Architecture 110 1 Introduction 111 2 The Material in Architecture 113 3 Pure Positions in Front of the Material 115 4 The Material in Bioclimatic Architecture 118 5 Constructive Authenticity and Bioclimatic Architecture 120 6 Conclusion 123 References 124 Materials from a Heritage Perspective 126 1 A General Level of Valuation Perspectives 127 2 Cuenca City: Architecture, Building Materials, and Historical Process 130 3 City of Cuenca: Energy and Life Cycle Approximation of Three Historic Materials 138 3.1 Adobe 142 3.2 Stone 143 3.3 Brick 144 References 146