Browsing by Author "Niskanen, Aino, Prof. Emerita, Aalto University, Department of Architecture, Finland"

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Ilmastoitu ? moderni : Sisäilman hallinta sotien jälkeisessä toimistoarkkitehtuurissa
(2024) Linnanmäki, Seija
School of Arts, Design and Architecture | Doctoral dissertation (monograph)
Buildings account for nearly 40 % of our final energy consumption today. The biggest single user of energy is air-conditioning (AC) with a remarkable 10–15 % proportion of the total amount. Exact quality of indoor climate is a characteristic feature of 20th Century modern architecture. The social, political, economic, hygienic, aesthetic and cultural objects of AC had significant values for 20th Century modern architecture. Air conditioning has been enhanced for beneficial reasons such as healthy, work efficiency, thermal comfort, convenience, and energy efficiency of buildings. However, AC increases the use of electricity and has a negative impact on global warming and climate change. This study discusses the processes of design and building work in terms of the three main elements of the Theory of Social Practices, materia, competence and meanings. To analyse the role of air-conditioning in modern architecture, materia, I chose two case study buildings, built in Helsinki, Finland 1949–1953: the Head Quarters for the Industrial Centre (architects Viljo Rewell and Keijo Petäjä) and Voimatalo commissioned by Imatran Voima Oy (architect Aarne Ervi). At this time, mechanical ventilation was considered obligatory for office buildings, whereas natural ventilation, a traditional Finnish method of ventilation, was not permitted. The early stages of air-conditioning and Modern Movement architecture before the World War II form a background for the analyses of the competence and co-operation between architects and new profession of HVAC-engineers. The study was comprised of contemporary and research literature, archives of relevant companies and the Museum of Finnish Architecture as well as building archeological observations from the architectural and technical point of view. Office rooms in the Industrial Centre were air-conditioned by famous American Carrier Conduit Weathermaster System. The first large deployment of this type in Europe, was recommended by HVAC-engineer Torsten Kranck who visited building sites of New York skyscrapers in 1950. The air-conditioning industry for thermal comfort and convenience started in 1953 after a licensing agreement between the Carrier Corporation, Syracuse, New York and the State Metal Works and Aircraft Factory, Tampere, Finland was signed. The meanings of new technology were highlighted due to the Carrier Units imported to Finland at a time of depression, currency regulations and war reparations to Soviet Union. The third part of this study encourages people to find ways for buildings and occupants to work together in support of sustainable living and the mitigation of climate change. The demand for easy life and all-year convenience has resulted in energy-consuming world where better energy efficiency is pursued by new, even more electricity using technology with poor material efficiency as Elizabeth Shove has highlighted. People are more tolerant of thermal conditions than the ASHRAE Standard static model suggests. We need to try instead behavioural, physiological and psychological adaptation of the Adaptive Thermal Comfort model created by Fergus Nicol, Michael Humphreys and Susan Roaf.