Exploring the Potential of Climate-Adaptive Container Building Design under Future Climates Scenarios in Three Different Climate Zones

Jingchun Shen, Benedetta Copertaro, Xingxing Zhang, Johannes Koke, Peter Kaufmann and Stefan Krause
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Jingchun Shen: Department of Energy and Built Environments, Dalarna University, 791 88 Falun, Sweden
Benedetta Copertaro: Department of Energy and Built Environments, Dalarna University, 791 88 Falun, Sweden
Xingxing Zhang: Department of Energy and Built Environments, Dalarna University, 791 88 Falun, Sweden
Johannes Koke: Institut für Duale Studiengänge, Hochschule Osnabrück, 49809 Lingen, Germany
Peter Kaufmann: Institut für Strukturleichtbau und Energieeffizienz gGmbH, 09113 Chemnitz, Germany
Stefan Krause: Institut für Strukturleichtbau und Energieeffizienz gGmbH, 09113 Chemnitz, Germany

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 12, issue 1, 1-21

Abstract: The deployment of containers as building modules has grown in popularity over the past years due to their inherent strength, modular construction, and relatively low cost. The upcycled container architecture is being accepted since it is more eco-friendly than using the traditional building materials with intensive carbon footprint. Moreover, owing to the unquestionable urgency of climate change, existing climate-adaptive design strategies may no longer respond effectively as they are supposed to work in the previous passive design. Therefore, this paper explores the conceptual design for an upcycled shipping container building, which is designed as a carbon-smart modular living solution to a single family house under three design scenarios, related to cold, temperate, and hot–humid climatic zones, respectively. The extra feature of future climate adaption has been added by assessing the projected future climate data with the ASHRAE Standard 55 and Current Handbook of Fundamentals Comfort Model. Compared with the conventional design, Rome would gradually face more failures in conventional climate-adaptive design measures in the coming 60 years, as the growing trends in both cooling and dehumidification demand. Consequently, the appropriate utilization of internal heat gains are proposed to be the most promising measure, followed by the measure of windows sun shading and passive solar direct gain by using low mass, in the upcoming future in Rome. Future climate projection further shows different results in Berlin and Stockholm, where the special attention is around the occasional overheating risk towards the design goal of future thermal comfort.

Keywords: upcycling container house; future climate scenario; energy-efficient operated living module; empty containers repositioning (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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