https://hdl.handle.net/10481/2756 Thu, 16 Apr 2026 15:09:59 GMT 2026-04-16T15:09:59Z https://hdl.handle.net/10481/112826 Modular and Industrialized Timber Housing in Europe: A Review of the Potentials of Local Poplar Wood Through the VICHO Project Framework Vergar Muñoz, Jaime; Martín Martín, Adelaida; Fernández Casas, Ignacio de Teresa; Martínez Ramos e Iruela, Roser; Martínez Monedero, Miguel Housing industrialization and modularization have gained traction as responses to two pressing challenges in the construction sector: the chronic shortage of affordable housing and the substantial environmental footprint of conventional building methods. Yet prevailing modular housing models in Europe remain constrained by dependence on global supply chains, production concentrated in large industrial operators, and insufficient adaptation to local material and territorial conditions. This article presents a state-of-the-art review of modular timber housing in Europe, examining technological typologies, market structures, and national regulatory frameworks. The methodology integrates a systematic literature and market review, a comparative country analysis, and an embedded case study. Findings indicate that the viability of modular timber housing depends not only on material performance but on its embeddedness in coherent industrial systems, business strategies, and regulatory contexts. Against this backdrop, the VICHO project is introduced as a case study exploring an open, proximity-based industrialization model that valorizes local poplar timber in southern Europe, in alignment with circular bioeconomy principles and the New European Bauhaus. https://hdl.handle.net/10481/112826 https://hdl.handle.net/10481/112825 Evaluating the Effectiveness of Video-Based Hybrid Learning in Architecture and Engineering: A Mixed-Methods Approach Bienvenido Huertas, José David; De la Hoz Torres, María Luisa; Aguilar, Antonio J.; Pérez Fargallo, Alexis The use of hybrid classes, where face-to-face classroom and asynchronous activities are combined in an online environment, helps save time and provides students with resources to study and review the materials. Although numerous empirical studies have analyzed the effectiveness of this teaching approach in university degrees in different areas of knowledge, conclusive results regarding academic performance and technical skill acquisition have not yet been provided in architecture and building engineering degrees. These disciplines require specific investigation due to their high visual and practical complexity. In this context, this study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of a video-based hybrid model to improve student performance. Using a mixed-methods design, hybrid teaching was implemented in the construction and installation subject (N = 119) during the 2022/2023 academic year. The results obtained were then analyzed with a holistic approach, including students’ performance, behavior, feelings, and opinions. The results have shown how using the hybrid classroom led to an improvement in student performance rate compared to the previous academic year with traditional teaching methodologies. These findings suggest that hybrid models are a viable solution to reduce high failure rates in technical degrees. https://hdl.handle.net/10481/112825 https://hdl.handle.net/10481/112529 Defining socio-climate-energy zones based on photovoltaic potential to support new standards for eliminating energy poverty in Chile Pérez-Fargallo, Alexis; Clavijo Núñez, Susana; Rubio-Bellido, Carlos; Bienvenido Huertas, José David; Serrano-Jiménez, Antonio Countries are facing contexts of high climatic and socio-spatial heterogeneity, where integrated territorial diagnostics to address energy poverty are essential. This research aims to evaluate the extent to which the current thermal zoning in Chile can discriminate among variables related to residential electricity consumption, photovoltaic generation potential, and poverty at the communal scale. Therefore, a replicable methodology has been designed and tested to build a socio-climate-energy zoning. 343 communes have been analyzed, combining information on residential electricity consumption, annual photovoltaic generation potential, and the number of people in poverty to examine their behavior according to the current thermal zoning. The contrast between zones is evaluated by descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and difference tests. The results show that current thermal zoning, by itself, discriminates among the socio-energy variables considered to a limited extent, including variables such as annual electricity consumption. Subsequently, the generation/consumption relationship is stratified into three ranges, and poverty is stratified into quartiles, creating 12 categories. This new classification allows building socio-climate-energy zoning as an alternative to the current thermal zoning, enabling the identification of vulnerable areas, the planning of photovoltaic energy programs, and, in general, the prioritization of interventions that integrate social vulnerability with local electricity generation and consumption. The association between the two dimensions is contrasted using Pearson's Chi-square test, and the results are represented cartographically. Overall, the proposed framework provides an operational tool for territorial energy planning and the design of differentiated policies, with the potential to adapt to other regions of the Global South. https://hdl.handle.net/10481/112529 https://hdl.handle.net/10481/112481 Execution of large-scale sustainable pavement with recycled materials. Assessment of mechanical behaviour and life cycle Rosales, Manuel; Rosales, Julia; Agrela, Francisco; López Alonso, Mónica; Cuenca Moyano, Gloria María It is important to achieve full-scale applications of recycled materials such as pavement concretes, with recycled aggregates and sustainable cements. The objective of this research is the study and full-scale implementation of a concrete road made from recycled by-products. This concrete road must exhibit a compressive strength in excess of 30 MPa (HA-30). A total of 5 different types of sections were included: a control section with conventional concrete, another with the application of Eco-Hybrid additions to the cement, two sections with replacement of aggregates, one with recycled materials from the processing of Mixed Recycled Aggregates (MRA) and the other with MRA and Biomass Bottom Ash (BBA) - and finally, a section replacing both aggregates with MRA and BBA with the use of Eco-Hybrid additions. Characterisation studies of the different materials and the design of the experimental sections were carried out in the laboratory. Dosages and consistencies were controlled at the plant and the mechanical behaviour in the short and medium term was measured externally. For the technical study of concrete behaviour, in situ sensors were included, obtaining monitoring results through temperature sensors and dimensional changes. In addition to a study of behaviour and durability, a life cycle assessment was made to measure the environmental impact of conventional concrete and mixtures with recycled materials using environmental and monetary parameters. The cement that included alternative supplementary cementitious materials at 25 % of the total showed comparable strength to conventional cement. Aggregate substitution of 35 %- 40 % resulted in a decrease in mechanical properties between 15 % and 25 %. The environmental impact was reduced between by 10–15 % in mixes in which Eco-Hybrid cement was used. This work is part of grant projects PDC2022–133285-C22 MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033/European Union “NextGenerationEU/ PRTR” and PID2019–107238RBC22 funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033. https://hdl.handle.net/10481/112481 https://hdl.handle.net/10481/112303 Climate-Resilient Design of Covered Historic Courtyards in Mediterranean Climates: The Role of Roof Geometry and Passive Strategies Under Future Scenarios Sáez Pérez, María Paz; Cabeza Prieto, Alejandro Covered courtyards are increasingly being adopted as a passive strategy for the climatic rehabilitation and adaptive reuse of historic buildings. However, their thermal behaviour is strongly conditioned by roof geometry, local climate conditions, and future climate warming, aspects that have not yet been comparatively addressed within a climate resilience framework. This study evaluates the energy and thermal performance of three representative roof typologies for covered historic courtyards—glazed dome, glazed flat roof, and south-facing sawtooth roof—across two Mediterranean climates of contrasting severity (cold continental and warm–dry), considering both current and future climatic conditions (2050–2080). Additionally, two design approaches are compared: a baseline design (BD), based exclusively on geometric configuration and standard glazing, and an enhanced passive design (EPD), which incorporates improved glazing, controlled natural ventilation, and seasonal solar control. Dynamic simulations using EnergyPlus/DesignBuilder are employed to analyse heating and cooling demands, free-running thermal behaviour, overheating risk, and the climatic robustness of each solution. The results show that roof geometry constitutes the dominant factor governing the long-term thermal resilience of covered courtyards, particularly under future climate warming scenarios, while enhanced passive strategies significantly mitigate cooling demand and overheating in the most penalised typologies. The south-facing sawtooth roof consistently exhibits the highest climatic robustness under free-running conditions across the analysed scenarios, whereas the glazed dome and flat roof solutions display greater climatic sensitivity and benefit more substantially from the application of enhanced passive design strategies. Overall, the results provide quantitative design criteria to support resilient interventions in historic covered courtyards in Mediterranean climates under climate change. https://hdl.handle.net/10481/112303