CHILE - Green buildings in Chilean public higher education: a trend or a must-have in university strategic guidelines? [Scholarly Article - International Journal of Sustainable Development & World Ecology, July 2022]

Title:

Green buildings in Chilean public higher education: a trend or a must-have in university strategic guidelines?

 

Authors:

Claudia Mac-lean, GAIA Antarctic Research Centre, University of Magallanes, Punta Arenas, Chile

Pablo Núñez-Cárdenas, Horticulture & Floriculture Centre, Institute of Patagonia, University of Magallanes, Punta Arenas, Chile

Bárbara Rodríguez, Department of Architecture, Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism, University of Chile, Santiago, Chile

&

Cristian Aldea, GAIA Antarctic Research Centre, University of Magallanes, Punta Arenas, Chile; Department of Sciences and Natural Resources, University of Magallanes, Punta Arenas, Chile

 

Published:

International Journal of Sustainable Development & World Ecology, 3 July 2022

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13504509.2022.2095452?journalCode=tsdw20

 

Abstract:

Green buildings have gained increasing relevance and market share in recent decades. Also, higher education institutions are progressively incorporating the conceptualisation of sustainable development by greening campuses. Thus, given the construction sector relevance in climate change mitigation and the role universities have to play as models for society, the purpose of the present paper is twofold. First, the authors develop a baseline study to determine the extent to which green buildings’ features and certifications are being incorporated in public Chilean higher education institutions, as a first of its kind effort in the higher education sector in Chile. Second, the authors explore the opportunities that can support the advancement of campus greening through green buildings deployment on university campuses in Chile. This study follows a qualitative strategy approach in the form of a survey design based on the UI GreenMetric World University Ranking that was administered through an online questionnaire to representatives who hold the position of Sustainability or Infrastructure Heads in public universities, which are united in the Chilean State Universities Consortium. The main findings suggest a general maturation process of green building features´ incorporation on campuses at Chilean public higher education institutions in early or transitional stages. The leading indicators relate to open space, pedestrian paths, and efficient appliances, whereas the reported performance is lower with respect to sustainability budget, zero emission vehicles, and greenhouse gas emission reduction programmes. The opportunities identified for promoting the implementation of green buildings relate to three entrenched dimensions: research, promotion, and public policy.

Current approaches for preventing environment-associated contamination in healthcare facilities: a systematic literature review by open access database [Scholarly Article - Architecture, Structures and Construction, Aug 2022]

Title:

Current approaches for preventing environment-associated contamination in healthcare facilities: a systematic literature review by open access database

Authors:

Vitória Sanches Lemes Soares, Sheila Walbe Ornstein & Ana Judite Galbiatti Limongi França 

Published:

Architecture, Structures and Construction, 1 August 2022

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s44150-022-00063-8

Abstract:

This article presents a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) whose objective is to identify aspects related to the built environment of Emergency Rooms (ERs) and healthcare facilities that interfere with infection by respiratory diseases. The SLR presented is a relevant part of ongoing research dedicated to discussing the built environment’s role on contamination, considering the COVID-19 pandemic scenario and the ER of the University Hospital of the University of São Paulo (USP), sited in São Paulo city, Brazil, as a case study. The results of this SLR showed that the main aspects discussed in the selected articles are: Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) systems; disinfection and hygiene; layout and spatial organisation; air curtain and air purification; natural ventilation; door opening; and surface material. As major findings, the importance of properly designed mechanical ventilation systems and of the parameters’ control for the maintenance of Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) are highlighted. In addition, the existence of isolation rooms; periodic assessments based on guides and protocols; self-sanitising materials surfaces; and environmental design strategies are presented, together with the development of technologies, often incorporated into hospital furniture. Thus, as contribution, the article highlights the importance of the association of several measures related to the performance of the built environment to minimise respiratory infections in healthcare environments. As a limit of this research, only open access articles and reviews from 2017 to 2021 were considered, so that the article reveals trends in this field of study, not covering the entirety of content.