The duration, frequency and intensity of climate change are increasing. Adaptation to climate change is oftentimes perceived as a local concern. Vulnerable groups at the margins try to find nature-based ways to cope with extreme urban climate change events with diverse direct and indirect adaptive strategies in absence of government interventions. From this study's investigative approach in Cairo, Egypt we draw results preliminary from interviews with locals and observational walks in three vulnerable areas in the same urban zone. Research revealed that adaptation can be political, demanding that locals sometimes make hard choices, especially during the absence of government intervention. Nevertheless, some of the adaptive strategies observed can be promoted as mainstream sustainable nature-based adaptation. The discussion reflects some social and economic dimensions that affect local adaptation synergies. This study hopefully contributes to the understanding of how the capacity of individual homeowners can help mitigate climate change risk through the implementation of their own physical and psychological adaptive strategies. In addition, it bears relevance not only for countries sharing similar climates, economic conditions or similar social norms, but also for general adaptation strategies that might support ecosystem-based or nature-based adaptation or tailor-made scenarios for locally applicable adaptation to climate change.

In 2023, we conducted a case study of the climate transition process in Malmö, Sweden. Just transition (cf. Paris Agreement) and climate justice underscored as constructs current disparities among neighbourhoods in Malmö, in terms of climate change consequences as well as of consumption-based greenhouse gas emissions.

Interviews, document analysis, observations and interactive workshops were used with a transdisciplinary explorative approach. To address phenomena and processes that transgress conventional social and nature-oriented divides, we adopted an ecosocial lens, which brought to the fore measures that integrate environmental solutions while also responding to human needs and social values. In our examination of cases, we identified ecosocial innovations and explored their transformative potentials. 

Our findings highlight the importance of place, or “topos” (in Latin). Places that provide residents and households with social encounters, knowledge sharing, services and practical functions (i.e. sharing of resources such as repairing skills, borrowing opportunities, community gardening, etc.) support changes in everyday practices and values involving relations, well-being, and use and distribution of resources. Each such place is a heterotopia, with Foucault a utopia that is real, in that it differs from and critically reflects other sites in which we live and positions that we occupy. 

Ecosocial heterotopias seem to have the potential to fundamentally support transitions at the individual and household level. Interpreting “human well-being” in a literal sense as being well situated – in a place as well as within ecological limits – we conclude that ecosocial heterotopias would constitute powerful tools for just transition in urban settings.

In the face of escalating environmental concerns and resource limitations, the building sector plays a pivotal role, necessitating sustainable and adaptive solutions. This paper presents an experimental research project in Sweden that addresses pressing global challenges of climate change and resource scarcity through the innovative design and construction of a regenerative tiny house, known as the Z Free Home. The Z Free Home is based on the integration of 7 R (Refuse, Reduce, Rethink, Reuse, Renewable, Regenerative, and Respect) and 11 Z (Zero Energy, Zero material waste, Zero waste water, Zero emissions, Zero deforestation, Zero toxins, Zero poverty, Zero injustice, Zero exclusion, Zero ignorance, Zero displacement) principles. This paper provides an overview of the design and design development stages, with a primary focus on the current methodological stage for the building structure and construction. The paper aims to contribute to the discourse on regenerative architecture by offering a practical and experimental solution to mitigate the impact of climate change and environmental degradation. By emphasizing the sustainable principles embodied in the Z Free Home, this research seeks to inspire a paradigm shift in the construction industry, fostering a future where architectural endeavours align harmoniously with the imperative challenges of our times.

Throughout prehistory, earthen architecture has played a pivotal role in establishing a sustainable and easily maintainable built environment, showcasing humanity's capacity to design and construct intricate structures using eco-friendly and cost-effective materials. This special issue underscores the enduring significance of earthen architecture in our historical and contemporary understanding of sustainable building practices.

Cooling is becoming an essential commodity in our modern lives. Cooling is not just important for human comfort but also essential for prolonging the shelf life and quality of almost everything from food to vaccines. The need for cooling is increasing due to the impacts of climate change. In the building sector, specifically housing, we still rely mainly on high-tech air-conditioning systems which normally run-on fossil fuel energy for electricity. The increasing demand for cooling is driving up the increase in emissions and pollution. Global warming is becoming inevitable, and the world will need to expand access to cooling technologies while enforcing energy efficiency, low-carbon energy, and phasing out harmful power sources. Despite the beneficial innovations in the energy sector are unlocking, cooling is still energy abusive. This “Stay Cool” project intends to make cooling systems more environmentally friendly. In this study, innovation plays a vital role in offering low-tech and low-cost cooling solutions for both hot and cold climates. Two Nordic countries in a cold climate, Sweden and Denmark, and two African countries in hot dry climates, Egypt and Namibia, are used as case studies for application and testing. A hands-on experimental passive cooling system made from traditional shisha clay funnels for the hot and dry Egyptian climate was first tested in an urban living lab for proof of concept. Several shapes and sizes of clay funnels were investigated and tested for their performance in cooling. The clay funnels were first measured and simulated for their efficiency in accelerating airflow inside residential units and their ability to enhance air velocity if combined with cross-ventilation strategies. The simulation results showed significant enhancement in airflow and air speed inside the test room compared to conventional windows, while the monitored test cells showed an average reduction in indoor temperature of 5 °C and an average humidity reduction of 40%. Based on onsite monitoring, three different design proposals were developed to enhance the performance of the eco-cooler. After testing the design proposals, onsite prototypes will be tested as a continuation of the pilot case. We aim to reach a reduction of indoor air temperature by up to 10 °C. 

PANDEMIN, DOKTORSTUDENTERNAS MOTIVERING OCH HANDLEDNINGSROLL

PhD Forsknings- och handledningsprocessen går igenom olika steg av upp- och nedgångar, demotivation och stress. Oväntade situationer, såsom Covid-19-pandemin, och dess betydande inverkan på det dagliga livet och deras arbetssituation och forskningsprocess, sätter ny press på PhD-studenter. Denna studie syftar till att undersöka Covid-19-pandemin påverkade på doktorandmotivation, handledningarnas strategier och vikten av handledare för att stödja studenter att hantera demotivation och stresssituationer. I den här studien har vi genomfört en webbenkät, med öppna frågor och frågor i Likertskala bland doktorander. Dessutom intervjud vi handledare vid Malmö Universitet. Enligt undersökningsresultatet har pandemin påverkat doktorandernas forskningsmetoder, kommunikationsfrekvens och effektivitet med sina handledare, tillgång till kontoret och laboratorium samt motivation att skriva och avsluta sin doktorsavhandling. Stress, nya livs- och familjeprioriteringar, osäkerheten i fältarbete och forskningsmetoder, isolering, skepsis mot vikten av deras forskning och mindre kontakt med handledare och kamrater har nämnts som orsaker till demotivering. Dessutom visade undersökningsresultaten att de flesta respondenter betonade vikten av handledarnas roll i deras motivation. Budskapet från denna studie är att ge tillräckligt med feedback, att sätta realistiska mål, tidshantering, ömsesidig förståelse, omtanke och stöd, flexibilitet och tillgänglighet, regelbundna och informella möten samt positiva attityder är väsentliga faktorer i doktorandhandledning under stressade situationer. Resultaten pekar ut de mest effektiva handedningsstrategierna under tuffa situationer som pandemin, vilket kan vara lärdomar för framtida liknande händelser. Men resultaten tog också upp elevernas olika behov och vikten av medvetenhet och uppmärksamhet på elevernas olikheter under handledning och mentorskap.

The Ph.D. research and supervision process passes through different momentums of ups and downs, demotivation, and stress. Unexpected situations, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, and its considerable influence on daily life and their working situation and research process, put new pressures on Ph.D. students. This study aims to investigate the COVID-19 pandemic on doctoral motivation, the supervisions' strategies, and the importance of supervisors in helping students tackle demotivation and stress situations. In this study, we conducted an online survey, including open-ended and Likert scale questions, distributed among the doctoral students and interviews with supervisors at Malmö University. According to the survey result, the pandemic has affected the doctoral students' research methodological process, communication frequency and efficiency with their supervisors, access to the office and laboratory, and motivation to write and finish their doctoral thesis. Stress, new life and family priorities, the uncertainty of fieldwork and research methods, isolation, skepticism about the importance of their research, and less connection with supervisors and peers have been mentioned as their reasons for demotivation. In addition, the survey results showed that most respondents emphasized the importance of the supervisors' role in their motivation. The message from this study is that the clarity of feedback, setting realistic goals, time management, mutual understanding, caring and support, flexibility and availability, regular and informal meetings, and positive attitudes are essential factors in doctoral supervision under stressful situations. The findings pinpoint the most efficient supervision strategies during challenging situations like the pandemic, which can be lessons for future similar events. However, the results also addressed the students' different needs and the importance of awareness and attention to the students' differences under supervision and mentoring.

In hot dry regions, the building envelope receives abundant solar radiation, which contributes to heat stress and indoor thermal discomfort. To mitigate overheating inside spaces, cooling is the main basic requirement during most of the year. However, due to the harsh climatic conditions, buildings fail to provide passively the required comfort conditions. Consequently, they are fully dependent on-air conditioning systems, which are huge energy consumers. As roofs are exposed to the sun throughout the daytime, they are estimated to be the main source of heat stress. In return, they can contribute significantly to achieve optimum comfort and energy savings when efficient design strategies are used in an early design stage. To examine the potential for cooling load reduction and thermal comfort enhancement by using cooling roof techniques in residential buildings, a study was performed in the city of Biskra (southern Algeria). Accordingly, an in-field measurement campaign was carried out on test-cells during five days in summer. Three different cooling roof techniques were addressed: (a) cool reflective white paint (CR), (b) white ceramic tiles (CT) and (c) a cool-ventilated roof (C-VR). These roofing alternatives were investigated by monitoring both roof surface temperatures and indoor temperatures. Comparative analysis showed that a cool-ventilated roof is the most efficient solution, reducing the average indoor temperature by 4.95 °C. A dynamic simulation study was also performed based on TRNSYS software to determine the best roofing system alternatives in terms of thermal comfort and energy consumption, considering the hottest month of the year. Simulation tests were run on a base-case model representing the common individual residential buildings in Biskra. Results showed that a double-skin roof combined with cool-reflective paint is the most efficient roofing solution. By comparison to a conventional flat roof, meaningful improvements have been achieved, including reducing thermal discomfort hours by 45.29% and lowering cooling loads from 1121.91 kWh to 741.09 kWh.

In recent years, the need for affordable sustainable housing has increased. At the same time, there has been a gradual rising interest in compact living. With the mounting impacts of climate change, a new way of thinking is needed to develop more resilient and climate responsive ways of living that are compact, affordable, and climate-conscious. In response to this need, the idea of a ‘Z-Free Home’ was born. The ‘Z-Free Home’ is a tiny mobile house equipped with essential passive and eco-cycle systems that achieves nine zero targets. The main design and construction concept is based on circular design and a return to nature life cycle principles. In this paper, the architectural design concept, building energy modelling, and simulation for the Z-Free Home design proposal is discussed. This paper describes the concept design and design development phases together with building modelling and simulation. A focus was made on the use of virtual reality in design development assessment as a new method for evaluating passive and eco-cycle systems. The results show that it’s possible to achieve nine different zero goals while the analysis illustrates the challenges in achieving them. The paper also described the next steps planned for the proof of concept, i.e., the 1:1 house model. The project is ongoing, and it aims at a full-scale physical prototype as a proof of concept for the zero targets. The ‘Z-Free Home’ is designed for the cold Swedish climate but could be more widely applicable in other mild climates as well as hot climates.

 In hot dry climates, employing passive cooling roofs systems can providecooling needs with less amount of electrical energy. Furthermore, when focusing onliving spaces in terms of indoor thermal comfort and energy performance issues,occupant’s interaction with the building should not be underestimated. Recent studieswith occupant-based focus have shown that human behaviour significantly impactsenergy consumption, even more than building design. Likewise, understandingoccupant’s interactions within buildings plays a key role in enhancing the indoorenvironment performance. To examine the potential for cooling load reduction andthermal comfort enhancement by using cool roofs in residential buildings, a study wasperformed. Considering a sample of twelve multi-story houses located in the city ofBiskra (southern Algeria), thermal comfort conditions were analysed on the basis of apost-occupancy evaluation (POE) survey and in situ recorded measurementscampaign. The POE household survey indicated that out of 43 respondents, 54%perceive indoor thermal conditions as “hot” during summer period, while 79.33% ofthem operate HVAC device day and night. Using interviews, the study also exploressocial acceptability toward implementing passive roofing techniques. Results showedthat cool roof and cool tiles were the best accepted systems with 100% and 90% votedstrongly agree. Furthermore, the potential of thermal comfort and energy-efficiencyimprovements due to cool roofs was investigated through a dynamic simulation usingTRNSYS software. Results indicated that air temperature was reduced by an averageof 4.11°C to 3.28°C, and cooling loads have decreased to 508.60kWh/m² and384.54kWh/m² respectively during the hottest period of summer. Therefore, user-centric satisfaction as a research method would enhance future buildings design.

Circular Design for Zero Emission Architecture and Building Practice: It is the Green Way or the Highway presents the main concepts of circular architecture and building design, focusing on emerging trends in zero-emission buildings, particularly zero- and minus- carbon practice. The book is structured around practical design solutions, including research-based passive solutions for extreme climates. It discusses passive and low carbon cooling and heating and natural ventilation, lifecycle assessment and life-cost analysis. The book presents examples and case studies from innovative low-tech to high-tech approaches, covering a wide spectrum of climate zones to show lessons learned and proof of concept.

Vulnerable groups of people such as climate refugees are discussed, alongside how vernacular architecture can help introduce practical methods into low-carbon building practices. This book presents theoretical and practical coverage of circular design for zero emission architecture and building in relation to the global challenges of climate change and extreme weather.