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Accessibility to housing is crucial for people with disabilities as it provides them with equal opportunities and allows them to live independently. A systematic literature review has been conducted to understand the current research on accessibility in housing for people with disabilities in Latin America. The study analysed 56 papers and used co-word analysis to identify common themes and topics within the documents. The results of the analysis showed that Brazil (61%) is the country with the most research on the subject, physical disability, at 36%, is the impairment most analysed, and interventions or analysis for the older people (45%) in their homes is the most researched type of population. The co-word analysis revealed that topics such as policy, regulations, the use of technologies, ergonomics interventions, and architectural criteria or barriers to the daily life of disabled people were frequently discussed in the papers. Although this work shows a substantial and growing increase in research on housing for people with disabilities in Latin America, it also demonstrates the importance of increasing research on other types of impairment, such as visual and cognitive-intellectual disabilities, and including children, caregivers, or even young adults.

espanolSe propone la reutilizacion de material plastico en reemplazo del agregado fino en la fabricacion de bloques de hormigon. Se analiza el comportamiento tecnico, economico y medioambiental de la propuesta, a traves de ensayos mecanicos, comparacion de precios del mercado y calculo de huella carbono. Tecnicamente se encontro que las probetas de hormigon con un 10% de reemplazo PET tienen propiedades mecanicas acorde con la normativa chilena para bloques no estructurales, lo que permitiria la construccion de muros no estructurales. El analisis economico muestra que este bloque es altamente competitivo en comparacion a los productos presentes en el mercado chileno. Finalmente, el calculo de la huella carbono en las diferentes etapas de su ciclo de vida presenta una disminucion en la etapa de extraccion de materias primas. EnglishIt is proposed the reuse of plastic in concrete blocks in replacement of fine aggregates. The technical, economic and environmental behavior of the proposal is analyzed, through mechanical tests, comparison of market prices and calculation of carbon footprint. Technically it was found that concrete specimens with 10% PET replacement have mechanical properties in accordance with Chilean regulation for no-structural blocks, which would allow the construction on non-structural walls. Economic analysis shows that concrete blocks is highly competitive compared to the products already on the Chilean market. Finally, the carbon footprint calculation on life cycle shows a decrease in the extraction stage of raw materials.

espanolEl principal objetivo de este estudio es reutilizar el hormigon de desecho de practicas academicas y plasticos reciclados tipo PET (Polietileno Tereftalato) para la conformacion de jardineras. Se propuso un diseno innovador de solerillas con pesos que oscilan entre 15 y 25 kg. Se caracterizan las mezclas de hormigon (0, 0,5 y 1,0% PET) y se hace un analisis de los aspectos de sustentabilidad de la solucion. Los resultados indican que es posible alcanzar la resistencia minima a la compresion de 15 MPa para todas las mezclas estudiadas. Con esta solucion, se reutilizan 6 toneladas de hormigon al ano, promoviendo el reciclado de hasta 40 botellas PET por solerilla, evitando anualmente la emision de 40,66 kgCO2 y el consumo energetico de 1.345,40 kWh. Se concluye que la solucion de elementos prefabricados tipo solerilla para la construccion de jardineras es una alternativa para reducir hormigones en estado fresco que se desechan y para reciclar plastico del tipo PET. EnglishThe primary objective of this research study is to reuse waste concrete discarded from academic teachings and to recycle PET (Polyethylene Terephthalate) plastics to make garden planters. An innovative design of concrete curbs is proposed with weights ranging between 15 and 25 kg. Concrete mixtures with different PET additions (0, 0.5, and 1.0%) are characterized experimentally and an analysis of sustainability solution aspects is performed. The results show that discarded concrete can achieve the minimum resistance to compression of 15 MPa for all the mixtures studied. Using this solution, it is estimated that six tons of concrete are reused per year, up to 40 PET bottles per concrete curb are recycled, 40.66 kg of CO2 emissions are avoided annually, and 1,345.40 kWh of energy consumption are saved. It is concluded that the concrete curb mixture developed from recycled materials to make garden planters is an excellent alternative to reduce waste concrete and to recycle PET plastics.

The energy consumption of buildings accounts for 22% of total global energy use and 13% of global greenhouse gas emissions. In this context, this study aims to evaluate the energy, economic, and environmental performance of housing in Chile built according to the Passivhaus (PH) standard. The standard was applied to housing in eight representative climate zones with a single-family residence as reference. The analysis incorporated passive strategies, which are considered as pillars of the PH. The energy performance was analyzed using the Passive House Planning Package software (PHPP), version 9.6a. The results showed that when every passive strategy is implemented, the heating energy demand decreases by 93%, while the refrigeration demand is nonexistent. These results were achieved through a 37% increase in the overall initial budget investment, which will be amortized over an 11-year period. In this way, the primary energy consumption is reduced by 32% and, correspondingly, CO2 emissions are reduced by 39%. In modern Chile, it is difficult (but not impossible) to incorporate PH. However, governmental programs and aids could represent an initial step. Therefore, this research will help to identify strategies for incorporating PH in Chile, with the aim of improving the energy performance of housing.

The constant increase in the requirement for electric energy on the part of the service sector has driven the development of tools for the analysis of energy data regarding the management of buildings. Particularly university campuses are made up of buildings for different purposes and uses. Therefore, this work proposes to develop a method capable of providing clear and easy-to-understand information to track electricity end-use by means of two-dimensional graphs. The aim of the method is to analyse the data of the electricity consumption of one or several buildings and compare them with regard to their surface areas and uses, as well as to obtain a correlation with the outdoor temperature. The visual analysis of the building electricity consumption in the campus ‘Sciences et Technologies’ of the University of Bordeaux in France is based on graphs which include electricity use intensity, time series of daily electricity consumption, scatter diagrams of consumption versus heating degree-days, and boxplots for daily consumption profiles. This analysis permits characterising the electricity consumption of the different types of buildings and determining a trends of energy end-use in the short as well as in the long term.

The amount of time people spend inside buildings is significant. Indoor environment quality deficiencies in some of these buildings may affect the health of its users. Therefore, a systematic literature review has been conducted to assess the quality of indoor environments in existing buildings in Latin America. The objectives of this review are (1) identifying countries and building types whose indoor environment quality has been analyzed the most, (2) identifying most used evaluation strategies, (3) identifying comfort types and most evaluated variables, and (4) determining whether or not Latin American buildings are comfortable and what local factors contribute to that effect. From the 100 selected papers for this analysis, it was noted that Brazil and Argentina led the studies on residences and schools. It was also noted that hygrothermal comfort was the most analyzed comfort type, with temperature and humidity leading the number of studies. Finally, this review shows a lack of studies including buildings whose users are sensitive to indoor environmental quality, such as nurseries, senior homes, or health facilities. Additionally, there is a sustained discrepancy between objective measuring methods and user perception. Furthermore, a detailed analysis of 88 buildings shows that in Latin America, 67.5% of buildings are uncomfortable; thus, it is necessary to improve the designs and regulatory standards, to educate users, and to improve building monitoring management at the operational stage.

Faced with implementing policies that seek to improve the energy efficiency of housing and reduce the impact of CO2 emissions, several countries are introducing (unilaterally or by international agreement) energy certification systems that allow the effects of these policies to be evaluated. This study aims to compare the energy efficiency certification systems in Spain and Chile, identifying convergent and divergent parameters, enabling the existing gaps to be identified and improvements noted for both systems. To do so, 20 sample dwellings in Santiago de Chile were evaluated, along with the local calculating tools in both countries. The analysis considered the aspects of regulation, its reach, the characterization of the models and the necessary indicators. The comparison identified, among others, differences such as obligatory implementation of the system, a study of the existing buildings in the focus area, the prevailing indicators for evaluating the effects of the buildings, the low incidence of mixed energy systems in the Chilean system and the possibility of proposing and evaluating improvements in the Spanish system. As a result, higher energy requirements and greater CO2 emissions were identified in the Chilean system, reaching differences of 42 kWh/m2/year in consumption and 14 kgCO2/ m2/year in emissions with regard to the Spanish qualification. The results of this comparison have facilitated the identification of improvements that will increase the evaluation standards of the Chilean system.

Concerns regarding the use of energy and the environmental impact are commonplace in the construction sector as buildings require adaptations that are both sustainable long-lasting. This article focuses on the university campus that seeks to achieve high levels of sustainability, whilst at the same time also satisfying different generations´ comfort requirements. As part of the research for this paper the authors undertook surveys in two universities in France and one in Chile, and this information was then complimented by tests in-the-field. Indicators were identified that should be closely considered when undertaking campus refurbishment.