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N. Hamza

The University of Newcastle, School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape, Faculty Member

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I am a Professor of Architecture and Building Performance in Newcastle University UK. My research over the last 25 years looks at how the buildings and their urban environments how build impact behaviours and our wellbeing

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Université libre de Bruxelles

Kansas State University

Ucla

Wirtschaftsuniversität Wien

Giuseppe Mazzeo

Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR)

Raphael Zagury-Orly

Institut Catholique de Paris

Silvia Fernández Cacho

Instituto Andaluz del Patrimonio Histórico (IAPH)

Juan Carlos Santa Cruz Grau

Universidad de Concepción

Destefanis Sergio

University of Salerno

Ronald Mendoza-de Jesús

University of Southern California

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Papers by N. Hamza

Urban Wind Turbines Integration in the Built Form and Environment

Educating the designer: An operational model for visualizing low-energy architecture

Building and Environment, 2007

Awareness of the need to integrate sustainability at all levels has recently been gaining momentu... more Awareness of the need to integrate sustainability at all levels has recently been gaining momentum in education to meet pedagogical university policy, government and employers' expectations. Within the School of the Built Environment at Northumbria University, an integrated project base has been adopted for second year students. The project is based on integrating three modules, where on completion the students would be able to adopt a relational thinking process taking energy conservation right into the design phase. A questionnaire was conducted at the end of the academic year on 12 students to assess the pros and cons of the integrated project work. This paper intends to disseminate an operational model for integrating teaching and assessment between three modules dealing with design, assessing environmental performance and visualization, which have traditionally been taught and assessed separately, to achieve a low-energy house.

Renewable energy adoption in an ageing population: Heterogeneity in preferences for micro-generation technology adoption

Energy Policy, 2011

Many countries are endeavouring to supply more of their energy from renewable resources. Such cou... more Many countries are endeavouring to supply more of their energy from renewable resources. Such countries are also experiencing an aging population with a greater proportion of people aged Z 65 years. This demographic shift may reduce the uptake of renewable energy, if older person households are less inclined to accept change and adopt new technologies. This paper assesses whether such households have different behavioural responses to energy efficiency compared to the rest of society and investigates whether micro-generation renewable energy technologies are less likely to be adopted by these households. It uses conditional logit and mixed logit models to investigate the impact of age of household on primary heating adoption, and also to assess the impact of older households on the installation of discretionary micro-generation technologies (solar thermal, solar voltaic, and wind power) to supplement existing heating and lighting systems. Results indicate that primary heating choice is not affected but that older person households are less inclined to adopt micro-generation technologies.

Temporary Uses and Regeneration of Historic Contexts, The Case of Attaba Market, Cairo

Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences, 2020

Recent redevelopment methods consider activities as the core of catalytic regeneration strategies... more Recent redevelopment methods consider activities as the core of catalytic regeneration strategies in decaying settings with value. Urban catalysts approaches recently focus on temporary uses in pilot projects. This paper discusses temporary uses and cultural activities impact on urban regeneration strategies, turning old historic market buildings located in contexts of value into social and cultural catalysts to their surrounding contexts. The methodology includes three parts: the first part discusses temporary uses as catalysts in contexts of value, the strategies adopted to turn historic markets into social and cultural catalysts, and the role of different stakeholders in temporary uses strategies. The second part reviews an Egyptian 19 century market building "Attaba vegetable market" as a potential catalyst in Attaba historic district facing heavy urban growth threatening area character. The third part develops an approach to allow experimental and temporary activities...

Pivoting Hegemonies, Urban Grids, and Socialities

Routledge eBooks, Jul 12, 2022

Sustained Liveability: A Framework Beyond Energy Conscious Building Conservation of Market Halls

International Journal of Architectural Research: ArchNet-IJAR, 2017

Market halls are commonly found in contexts of cultural and heritage value. Positioned in urban ... more Market halls are commonly found in contexts of cultural and heritage value. Positioned in urban centres and transport networks, these unique buildings were originally constructed in the 19th century to ensure better food distribution in growing European cities, then copied to other territories such as Egypt. We argue that leaving market halls, with their large spanning structures and indoor open space, for dilapidation is a lost opportunity for sustaining community engagement, and educating the public on the original sustainability, neighbourhood regeneration and cultural thinking that underpinned these buildings. The proposed framework extends current sustainable ‘heritage conservation frameworks’ beyond concepts of adding renewable energy technologies, recycling and sustainable goods movement, to ‘sustaining liveability and social inclusion’. We argue that market halls offer the opportunities to merge the daily activities of buying and selling food with creating local creative ...

The Journal of MacroTrends in Technology and Innovation

by Theo Zaffagnini and N. Hamza

Assessment Of Outdoor Thermal Comfort In Urban Microclimate In Hot Arid Areas

Building Simulation Conference Proceedings

Building Height And Urban Configuration Effects On Wind Flow Above A Barrel Vaulted Roof

Building Simulation Conference Proceedings

Energy-efficient retrofitting and energy consumption in a historic city centre – an example from Lhasa

disP - The Planning Review, 2014

Abstract The conservation of historic buildings and urban environments can have the potential to ... more Abstract The conservation of historic buildings and urban environments can have the potential to improve the quality of life, stimulate economic development and reduce carbon emissions from energy consumption. However, given increasing expectations of indoor thermal comfort and an increasing dependency on modern living technologies, energy consumption in the urban historic environment is expected to rise. This paper examines the retrofitting of windows to historic buildings and issues of energy consumption and carbon emission in Lhasa's historic city centre, focusing on the relationship between energy use and window retrofitting. First, the thermal performance of a traditional Tibetan building in Lhasa is simulated and examined. Second, four window types for retrofitting are evaluated through computer modelling and their impacts on energy consumption are compared. Finally, the energy demand and carbon emission of the whole historic city centre with various window types are estimated and compared. In terms of energy efficiency and historic preservation, current single-layered window retrofitting practices perform badly, while windows with wooden frames and secondary glazing may achieve better performance. The approach offers the opportunity to halve the energy consumption and carbon emissions in the Lhasa historic city centre.

Double versus single skin facades in hot arid areas

Energy and Buildings, 2008

... The reflective glazing properties are also chosen to be selective to increase daylight penetr... more

Editorial: Special issue on CAAD and innovation

Editorial: Special issue on CAAD and inn... [paper 2012/14]. ...

Simulation Of Natural Ventilation In Hospitals In The Presence Of Harmattan Dust And Mosquitoes: A Conundrum

by N. Hamza and Mohammed Mohammed

Building Simulation Conference Proceedings

Assessment of roof shape, building height and urban configuration on the siting location of roof mounted wind turbines. Towards an environmentally responsible architecture

Natural Ventilation in Hospitals of Semi-Arid Climates: A Case for Excluding Mosquitoes and Harmattan Dust

Natural Ventilation in Hospital Wards of Semi-Arid Climates: A Case for Acceptable Indoor Air Quality and Patients’Health

Indoor Summer Measurements to Validate Simulated Air Temperature Predictions in Hot-arid Climate Region

Building Performance Simulation Visualization as Investment Decision Making Enablers for Sustainable Buildings

ABSTRACT Increasingly, companies strive to deliver project sustainability and indoor environments... more ABSTRACT Increasingly, companies strive to deliver project sustainability and indoor environments that are conducive to increasing human productivity in corporate buildings. Corporate environmental policies are underpinned by a strong nexus between business needs in an uncertain and resource constrained world, societal awareness, and governmental targets to decrease the economy&#39;s carbon footprint. Building Performance Simulation (BPS) is a key enabler for the realization of sustainable buildings, providing quantification of building performance for different design alternatives. Building performance simulation clearly has a role to play in the trend towards sustainable corporate buildings. Yet, it is ultimately in the boardroom that key decisions on investments in buildings are made. Boardrooms are arenas for human/social interaction as well as platforms for expert decision making. The decisions made on the board typically have different attributes, with performance needing to be balanced with other important issues such as cost, safety, capacity and others. This paper explores how BPS results and their visualizations can aid key investment decision making in the boardroom regarding sustainable buildings. It uses an expert interviewing methodology to collect information from BPS experts in the field at senior management levels operating in large scale international companies and presenting BPS results to clients globally. Findings indicate that BPS experts often exchange knowledge by selecting and visualizing information from larger datasets of BPS results. They may use sophisticated information visualization techniques to overcome perceived cognitive limitations and information overload in the boardroom. It concludes that taking BPS results into the boardroom is a specialist and critical undertaking. While experts presently use advanced BPS visualizations to retain their competitive edge in the market, the interviews reveal that the level of economic funding for the project is changing methods in communicating building performance predictions in the boardroom

Thermal And Daylight Performance Of Double Skin Facades In Hot Arid Areas

ABSTRACT In Egypt, adoption of the “International Style” of building has changed the profile of e... more ABSTRACT In Egypt, adoption of the “International Style” of building has changed the profile of energy consumption, user aspirations and building technologies. Energy consumption has risen by 6-7% per annum, with work places consuming 7% of the total energy consumption of the country. This paper investigated the use of double skin facades in hot arid areas’ using a dynamic building simulation software to predict the thermal and daylight performance of Double Skin facades in hot arid areas under sunny sky conditions. Previous simulations predict the possibility of reducing cooling demands in office buildings in hot arid areas if a selective double skin facade is used. The reductions on cooling loads in rooms range between 19%-40% depending on the visual characteristics of the exterior glazing of the double skin façade. A possible 40% reduction in cooling loads is achieved when reflective glazing is used, on the exterior surface of the double skin. Daylight availability has been simulated using Radiance software. Results indicate that during direct solar radiation hours on the west and east facades, glare can not be avoided. But for providing appropriate levels of daylight for increasing productivity and the use of VDUs at the room depth a spectrally selective glazing is needed.

CFD modeling as a tool for assessing outdoor thermal comfort conditions in urban settings in hot arid climates

Urban Wind Turbines Integration in the Built Form and Environment

Educating the designer: An operational model for visualizing low-energy architecture

Building and Environment, 2007

Awareness of the need to integrate sustainability at all levels has recently been gaining momentu... more Awareness of the need to integrate sustainability at all levels has recently been gaining momentum in education to meet pedagogical university policy, government and employers' expectations. Within the School of the Built Environment at Northumbria University, an integrated project base has been adopted for second year students. The project is based on integrating three modules, where on completion the students would be able to adopt a relational thinking process taking energy conservation right into the design phase. A questionnaire was conducted at the end of the academic year on 12 students to assess the pros and cons of the integrated project work. This paper intends to disseminate an operational model for integrating teaching and assessment between three modules dealing with design, assessing environmental performance and visualization, which have traditionally been taught and assessed separately, to achieve a low-energy house.

Renewable energy adoption in an ageing population: Heterogeneity in preferences for micro-generation technology adoption

Energy Policy, 2011

Many countries are endeavouring to supply more of their energy from renewable resources. Such cou... more Many countries are endeavouring to supply more of their energy from renewable resources. Such countries are also experiencing an aging population with a greater proportion of people aged Z 65 years. This demographic shift may reduce the uptake of renewable energy, if older person households are less inclined to accept change and adopt new technologies. This paper assesses whether such households have different behavioural responses to energy efficiency compared to the rest of society and investigates whether micro-generation renewable energy technologies are less likely to be adopted by these households. It uses conditional logit and mixed logit models to investigate the impact of age of household on primary heating adoption, and also to assess the impact of older households on the installation of discretionary micro-generation technologies (solar thermal, solar voltaic, and wind power) to supplement existing heating and lighting systems. Results indicate that primary heating choice is not affected but that older person households are less inclined to adopt micro-generation technologies.

Temporary Uses and Regeneration of Historic Contexts, The Case of Attaba Market, Cairo

Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences, 2020

Recent redevelopment methods consider activities as the core of catalytic regeneration strategies... more Recent redevelopment methods consider activities as the core of catalytic regeneration strategies in decaying settings with value. Urban catalysts approaches recently focus on temporary uses in pilot projects. This paper discusses temporary uses and cultural activities impact on urban regeneration strategies, turning old historic market buildings located in contexts of value into social and cultural catalysts to their surrounding contexts. The methodology includes three parts: the first part discusses temporary uses as catalysts in contexts of value, the strategies adopted to turn historic markets into social and cultural catalysts, and the role of different stakeholders in temporary uses strategies. The second part reviews an Egyptian 19 century market building "Attaba vegetable market" as a potential catalyst in Attaba historic district facing heavy urban growth threatening area character. The third part develops an approach to allow experimental and temporary activities...

Pivoting Hegemonies, Urban Grids, and Socialities

Routledge eBooks, Jul 12, 2022

Sustained Liveability: A Framework Beyond Energy Conscious Building Conservation of Market Halls

International Journal of Architectural Research: ArchNet-IJAR, 2017

Market halls are commonly found in contexts of cultural and heritage value. Positioned in urban ... more Market halls are commonly found in contexts of cultural and heritage value. Positioned in urban centres and transport networks, these unique buildings were originally constructed in the 19th century to ensure better food distribution in growing European cities, then copied to other territories such as Egypt. We argue that leaving market halls, with their large spanning structures and indoor open space, for dilapidation is a lost opportunity for sustaining community engagement, and educating the public on the original sustainability, neighbourhood regeneration and cultural thinking that underpinned these buildings. The proposed framework extends current sustainable ‘heritage conservation frameworks’ beyond concepts of adding renewable energy technologies, recycling and sustainable goods movement, to ‘sustaining liveability and social inclusion’. We argue that market halls offer the opportunities to merge the daily activities of buying and selling food with creating local creative ...

The Journal of MacroTrends in Technology and Innovation

by Theo Zaffagnini and N. Hamza

Assessment Of Outdoor Thermal Comfort In Urban Microclimate In Hot Arid Areas

Building Simulation Conference Proceedings

Building Height And Urban Configuration Effects On Wind Flow Above A Barrel Vaulted Roof

Building Simulation Conference Proceedings

Energy-efficient retrofitting and energy consumption in a historic city centre – an example from Lhasa

disP - The Planning Review, 2014

Abstract The conservation of historic buildings and urban environments can have the potential to ... more Abstract The conservation of historic buildings and urban environments can have the potential to improve the quality of life, stimulate economic development and reduce carbon emissions from energy consumption. However, given increasing expectations of indoor thermal comfort and an increasing dependency on modern living technologies, energy consumption in the urban historic environment is expected to rise. This paper examines the retrofitting of windows to historic buildings and issues of energy consumption and carbon emission in Lhasa's historic city centre, focusing on the relationship between energy use and window retrofitting. First, the thermal performance of a traditional Tibetan building in Lhasa is simulated and examined. Second, four window types for retrofitting are evaluated through computer modelling and their impacts on energy consumption are compared. Finally, the energy demand and carbon emission of the whole historic city centre with various window types are estimated and compared. In terms of energy efficiency and historic preservation, current single-layered window retrofitting practices perform badly, while windows with wooden frames and secondary glazing may achieve better performance. The approach offers the opportunity to halve the energy consumption and carbon emissions in the Lhasa historic city centre.

Double versus single skin facades in hot arid areas

Energy and Buildings, 2008

... The reflective glazing properties are also chosen to be selective to increase daylight penetr... more

Editorial: Special issue on CAAD and innovation

Editorial: Special issue on CAAD and inn... [paper 2012/14]. ...

Simulation Of Natural Ventilation In Hospitals In The Presence Of Harmattan Dust And Mosquitoes: A Conundrum

by N. Hamza and Mohammed Mohammed

Building Simulation Conference Proceedings

Assessment of roof shape, building height and urban configuration on the siting location of roof mounted wind turbines. Towards an environmentally responsible architecture

Natural Ventilation in Hospitals of Semi-Arid Climates: A Case for Excluding Mosquitoes and Harmattan Dust

Natural Ventilation in Hospital Wards of Semi-Arid Climates: A Case for Acceptable Indoor Air Quality and Patients’Health

Indoor Summer Measurements to Validate Simulated Air Temperature Predictions in Hot-arid Climate Region

Building Performance Simulation Visualization as Investment Decision Making Enablers for Sustainable Buildings

ABSTRACT Increasingly, companies strive to deliver project sustainability and indoor environments... more ABSTRACT Increasingly, companies strive to deliver project sustainability and indoor environments that are conducive to increasing human productivity in corporate buildings. Corporate environmental policies are underpinned by a strong nexus between business needs in an uncertain and resource constrained world, societal awareness, and governmental targets to decrease the economy&#39;s carbon footprint. Building Performance Simulation (BPS) is a key enabler for the realization of sustainable buildings, providing quantification of building performance for different design alternatives. Building performance simulation clearly has a role to play in the trend towards sustainable corporate buildings. Yet, it is ultimately in the boardroom that key decisions on investments in buildings are made. Boardrooms are arenas for human/social interaction as well as platforms for expert decision making. The decisions made on the board typically have different attributes, with performance needing to be balanced with other important issues such as cost, safety, capacity and others. This paper explores how BPS results and their visualizations can aid key investment decision making in the boardroom regarding sustainable buildings. It uses an expert interviewing methodology to collect information from BPS experts in the field at senior management levels operating in large scale international companies and presenting BPS results to clients globally. Findings indicate that BPS experts often exchange knowledge by selecting and visualizing information from larger datasets of BPS results. They may use sophisticated information visualization techniques to overcome perceived cognitive limitations and information overload in the boardroom. It concludes that taking BPS results into the boardroom is a specialist and critical undertaking. While experts presently use advanced BPS visualizations to retain their competitive edge in the market, the interviews reveal that the level of economic funding for the project is changing methods in communicating building performance predictions in the boardroom

Thermal And Daylight Performance Of Double Skin Facades In Hot Arid Areas

ABSTRACT In Egypt, adoption of the “International Style” of building has changed the profile of e... more ABSTRACT In Egypt, adoption of the “International Style” of building has changed the profile of energy consumption, user aspirations and building technologies. Energy consumption has risen by 6-7% per annum, with work places consuming 7% of the total energy consumption of the country. This paper investigated the use of double skin facades in hot arid areas’ using a dynamic building simulation software to predict the thermal and daylight performance of Double Skin facades in hot arid areas under sunny sky conditions. Previous simulations predict the possibility of reducing cooling demands in office buildings in hot arid areas if a selective double skin facade is used. The reductions on cooling loads in rooms range between 19%-40% depending on the visual characteristics of the exterior glazing of the double skin façade. A possible 40% reduction in cooling loads is achieved when reflective glazing is used, on the exterior surface of the double skin. Daylight availability has been simulated using Radiance software. Results indicate that during direct solar radiation hours on the west and east facades, glare can not be avoided. But for providing appropriate levels of daylight for increasing productivity and the use of VDUs at the room depth a spectrally selective glazing is needed.

CFD modeling as a tool for assessing outdoor thermal comfort conditions in urban settings in hot arid climates