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Focusing on small houses has become one of the recent trends in housing design in Japan, as has been observed in many house design works. Periodical coverage can tell that the number of such works has clearly been increasing since the 90s, as compared with the 70s and 80s. The trend of small houses was also observed in the 50s. In those postwar years of economic growth, it was driven by the conditions of the time, such as supply and housing shortages and urban centralization. Today’s social conditions are significantly different from those in the 50s, and naturally, the whole concept of small houses has greatly changed from the past.

In this research, we evaluate the experiments of small houses, from the view of the idea of sustainability and open building concept. Specifically, the study compares the small houses of the 50s and those after 1990 to examine their differences or similarities in terms of size, structure and building systems. And thus clarify how industrialization and standardization reflect on these experiments.

The former period, most were constructed on wood, with traditional construction method. The purpose of design was rather how to adapt the industrialization to the traditional construction and how to realize the modern way of living in the smallest space, than fulfillment of flexibility. Moreover, low cost was also included in the design purpose. In latest examples, the “small” means “small building area” rather than “small space for life and minimal cost for construction” The experimental projects were conducted by the intention exploring new possibilities and diversities of space design, with various highly industrialized materials. The small houses after 1990 can be regarded as experimental efforts to explore new approaches to skeletons within the context of urban tissue.

Many a times, the information about the boundary heat flux is obtained only through inverse approach by locating the thermocouple or temperature sensor in accessible boundary. Most of the work reported in literature for the estimation of unknown parameters is based on heat conduction model. Inverse approach using conjugate heat transfer is found inadequate in literature. Therefore, the purpose of the paper is to develop a 3D conjugate heat transfer model without model reduction for the estimation of heat flux and heat transfer coefficient from the measured temperatures.

A 3 D conjugate fin heat transfer model is solved using commercial software for the known boundary conditions. Navier–Stokes equation is solved to obtain the necessary temperature distribution of the fin. Later, the complete model is replaced with neural network to expedite the computations of the forward problem. For the inverse approach, genetic algorithm (GA) and particle swarm optimization (PSO) are applied to estimate the unknown parameters. Eventually, a hybrid algorithm is proposed by combining PSO with Broyden–Fletcher–Goldfarb–Shanno (BFGS) method that outperforms GA and PSO.

The authors demonstrate that the evolutionary algorithms can be used to obtain accurate results from simulated measurements. Efficacy of the hybrid algorithm is established using real time measurements. The hybrid algorithm (PSO-BFGS) is more efficient in the estimation of unknown parameters for experimentally measured temperature data compared to GA and PSO algorithms.

Surrogate model using ANN based on computational fluid dynamics simulations and in-house steady state fin experiments to estimate the heat flux and heat transfer coefficient separately using GA, PSO and PSO-BFGS.

The Rolls‐Royce Trent 800, powerplant of the new Boeing 777 twinjet airliner, successfully completed a 150‐hour block endurance test, taking it closer to on‐schedule certification in January.

This study aims to evaluate the effect of probiotic provitamin A cassava hydrolysate with Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (hLGG) on weight and lipid profile of Wistar rats and its glycemic index using Wistar rats and human subjects.

Adult male Wistar rats (n = 40, 120–150 g) were orally administered provitamin A cassava hydrolysate with 1 × 10¹⁰, 2 × 10¹⁰ and 4 × 10¹⁰ CFU/g encapsulated or CFU/mL free Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG for 30 days, during which weight and lipid profile of rats were monitored. Blood glucose levels of rats and human subjects were also measured in Oral Glucose Tolerance Test to determine the Glycemic indices of hLGG.

Rats administered the highest doses of free or encapsulated hLGG [(4 × 10¹⁰ CFU) (PHE4 and PHF4, respectively)] had the lowest (18.2 ± 0.7 and 8.0 ± 0.6%, respectively, p < 0.001) percentage body weight gain compared to control (40 ± 0.6%). Lowest cholesterol and triglyceride (42.4 ± 0.5 and 44.4 ± 0.7 g/dL, p < 0.001, respectively) were observed in rats administered PHE4, with the lowest plasma glucose concentrations in PHE4 and PHF4 groups (43 ± 1 and 49 ± 0.7 g/dL, p < 0.001, respectively). Oral Glucose Tolerance Test for rats and human subjects showed lower peak blood glucose levels and glycemic indices in hLGG groups compared to controls in a dose-dependent manner.

Consumption of soft drinks, which supply non-nutritive energy, may lead to degenerative metabolic disorders such as obesity and diabetes. Beverages with probiotics such as Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG, on the other hand, offer a positive weight management approach. Development of non-dairy beverages such as provitamin A cassava hLGG is ongoing. Provitamin A cassava hLGG showed its ability to control weight gain, blood glucose levels and serum lipids. Thus, the beverage can be consumed as a healthy alternative to soft drinks and for weight management.

Mechanical ventilation with heat recovery (MVHR) is increasingly being promoted in the UK as a means of reducing the CO₂ emissions from dwellings, and installers report growing activity in the retrofit market. However, the airtightness of a dwelling is a crucially important factor governing the achievement of CO₂ reductions, and the purpose of this paper is to understand the technical implications of airtightness levels in an experimental dwelling, purpose built to typical 1930s standards, at the same time as gaining the users’ perspectives on airtightness and ventilation in their homes.

In‐depth interviews were carried out with 20 households to collect information on their retrofit and improvement strategies, attitudes to energy saving and their living practices as they impinge on ventilation. The experimental house was sealed in a series of interventions, leading to successive reductions in the air permeability as measured by a 50 Pa pressurisation test. The behaviour of a whole‐house MVHR system installed in the experimental house, was simulated using IES Virtual Environment, using a range of air permeability values corresponding to those achieved in the retrofit upgrading process.

In the house considered, air permeability must be reduced below 5 m³/m²h for MVHR to make an overall energy and CO₂ saving. However, to achieve this required a level of disruption that, on the basis of the views expressed, would be unlikely to be tolerated by owners of solid wall dwellings.

The paper is the first to combine results from a user‐centred approach to exploring the existing practices of householders with a simulation of the energy and CO₂ performance at different levels of airtightness of an experimental house in which MVHR has been installed.

Rural residential energy consumption accounts for 46.6% of total building-related energy consumption of China. In Northeast China, energy consumption for space heating represents a significant proportion of total rural residential energy consumption and has reached 100 million tce (tons of standard coal equivalent), or more than 60% of total household energy consumption. In terms of energy consumption per square meter of gross floor area, rural residential energy consumption for heating is more than that of cities (20kgce/m2). However, the average indoor temperature of most rural residence is below 10°C, much less than that in cities (18°C). Hence, it is an important task for Chinese energy saving and emission reduction to reduce rural residential energy consumption, while enhancing indoor thermal comfort at the same time.

Restricted by local technology and low economic level, rural residences currently have poor thermal insulation resulting in severe heat loss. This paper reports on research aimed at developing design strategies for improving thermal insulation properties of rural residences with appropriate technology. A field survey was conducted in six counties in severe cold areas of Northeast China, addressing the aspects of indoor and outdoor temperature, humidity, internal and external surface temperature of building envelop enclosure, and so on.

The survey data show the following:

1. Modern (after 2000) brick-cement rural residences perform much better than the traditional adobe clay houses and Tatou houses (a regional type of rural residence in Northeast China – see figure A) in overall thermal performance and indoor thermal comfort;

2. Among the traditional residential house types, adobe clay houses have better heat stability and thermal storage capacity than Tatou houses;

3. Applying an internal or external thermal insulation layer can greatly improve rural residential thermal insulation properties, and is an economical and efficient solution in rural areas;

4. In terms of roofing materials, tiled roofs show much better thermal insulation properties than thatch roofs;

5. Adopting passive solar techniques can form a transition space (greenhouse) against frigid temperatures, resulting in interior temperatures 5.91°C higher than the outside surroundings. It is evident that local passive solar room design offers significant heat preservation effects and lower cost ($12/m2), embodies the ecological wisdom of rural residents, and is therefore important to popularize.

The above experimental results can provide guidance in energy conservation design for both self-built residences and rural residences designed by architects. In addition, the results can also provide experimental data for energy-saving studies for rural residences in China.

We take Cumulative Prospect Theory (CPT) seriously by rigorously estimating structural models using the full set of CPT parameters. Much of the literature only estimates a subset of CPT parameters, or more simply assumes CPT parameter values from prior studies. Our data are from laboratory experiments with undergraduate students and MBA students facing substantial real incentives and losses. We also estimate structural models from Expected Utility Theory (EUT), Dual Theory (DT), Rank-Dependent Utility (RDU), and Disappointment Aversion (DA) for comparison. Our major finding is that a majority of individuals in our sample locally asset integrate. That is, they see a loss frame for what it is, a frame, and behave as if they evaluate the net payment rather than the gross loss when one is presented to them. This finding is devastating to the direct application of CPT to these data for those subjects. Support for CPT is greater when losses are covered out of an earned endowment rather than house money, but RDU is still the best single characterization of individual and pooled choices. Defenders of the CPT model claim, correctly, that the CPT model exists “because the data says it should.” In other words, the CPT model was borne from a wide range of stylized facts culled from parts of the cognitive psychology literature. If one is to take the CPT model seriously and rigorously then it needs to do a much better job of explaining the data than we see here.

Integrated design is a strategy to develop sustainable architecture projects incorporating multidisciplinary work and environmental performance assessments, which has provided significant advancement to public buildings in developed countries. This paper presents a review of some aspects of integrated design for the planning and construction of energy efficient housing in the south of Chile, as part of the reconstruction process following the earthquake on 27th February 2010. Firstly, a synthesis is made of the characteristics, implicit conditions, participants, steps, resources and expected results of an integrated design approach according to existing references. This is then contrasted with normal housing design practice in Chile according to current building regulations and interviews with professionals in the field. The design processes of experimental houses and housing projects that place specific focus on energy performance are then analysed, with follow-ups and interviews to review significant aspects. After examining those experiences, the authors identify some particular features and resources of integrated design that promote environmental improvements.

Under the concept that housing was an act instead of a product, John Habraken launched a campaign against mass housing in the 1960s. His counterattack was architecturally and institutionally developed afterwards, and fully expressed by the so-called Open Building, in which users could make decision regarding their dwellings and easily re-arrange them. A number of experimental projects were subsequently constructed worldwide.

After years, the actual situation of use of these projects is, to a certain extent, unknown. Their facades may have faded, their pipelines may be ageing, and the design may be out of fashion. Correspondingly, various changes are expected. Could these changes be controlled in the original design? Were these projects enhanced after the changes? Did the users have a positive response? These questions are far from being answered.

This article is based on the post-occupancy investigation of two Open Building projects, the “Molenvliet Project” in the Netherlands and the “Wuxi Experimental Project” in China, which played an exemplary role, especially in the early years. In this study, the users’ assessment of their living environment was highly emphasised, and the changes to the both exterior and interior were specifically recorded. The purpose of the investigation is to determine how the architects’ intention was practised, and to learn from them.

Revolving Doors Agency is currently developing an experimental housing project in Islington for prison leavers with mental health and multiple needs. The article summarises the strategic context and research that demonstrates the need for such services, provides an outline for a model of practice and provides recommendations for the development of housing options for vulnerable prison leavers.