This research explores the dynamic relationship between mural painting and sustainable development, emphasizing the ability of mural art to influence public consciousness and address pressing environmental and social issues. Mural painting serves not only as an artistic expression but also as a medium of communication capable of sparking awareness and engaging communities on multiple levels.
The study traces the historical evolution of mural art, demonstrating how it has shifted from a purely humanistic form to one that supports ecological consciousness and reflects cultural and aesthetic values in shared urban spaces. It broadens the concept of the environment to include cultural and social contexts, aligning with contemporary understandings of sustainability as a comprehensive approach that meets current needs without endangering future generations.
Central to the research is the exploration of how mural art can contribute to sustainable development through the use of environmentally friendly materials, recycled resources, and innovative artistic techniques. These methods enhance both the visual and ethical dimensions of murals, making them tools for environmental responsibility and community engagement.
By analyzing select case studies, the research shows how murals have been effectively used to promote environmental messages, encourage sustainable behaviors, and contribute to the revitalization of public spaces. These examples demonstrate that when mural painting is strategically aligned with sustainability objectives, it becomes a powerful force for urban development, cultural identity, and social transformation.
In conclusion, the study affirms that mural art, when integrated with sustainable practices, holds significant potential as a vehicle for public awareness, artistic innovation, and constructive change in contemporary society.
Abstract The energy consumption in buildings and especially residential buildings is immensely affected by the design of urban open spaces around these buildings. Many countries including Egypt have been witnessing rapid growth in residential complexes while the effect of urban design on microclimate and energy use is not given appropriate considerations. Accordingly, this has contributed to the massive increase of energy consumption. Many studies have been conducted for analyzing the effects of urban features of open spaces (variables) and their values on the microclimate. A set of values for one or more variables were addressed in each of these studies and their effect on urban microclimate and energy use were measured. However, such effects were diverse and dispersed. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to identify the optimal settings of urban features of open spaces that contribute to reducing energy consumption in buildings and achieve outdoor thermal comfort in the context of urban open spaces in residential complexes. In order to achieve this goal an extensive and thorough literature review is conducted for classifying and analyzing the impacts of different values of each urban feature of open spaces on energy use and thermal comfort. The urban features of open spaces in residential complexes are classified into five categories: urban morphology, street pattern, urban density, building distribution, and urban canyon. There are various subvariables for each category with corresponding range of values which are classified into different sets. Each set corresponds to the same urban pattern and climate zone. The results of these sets and categories are comparatively analyzed in order to identify the optimal values that contribute to reducing energy consumption in buildings and achieve outdoor thermal comfort. The outcome of this extensive comparative analysis is resulted in the form of five main urban patterns (that are dominantly used in residential complexes), for the two climate zones in Egypt (hot arid, and hot humid) along with the optimal urban design features of these five main urban patterns. The outcome of this research paper is presented in a matrix format that graphically presents these urban patterns and the optimal values of the urban open space features (variables) along with the indicators of energy consumption and outdoor thermal comfort. This matrix provides architects and building designers with a useful and friendly design guide that can be used at the early phases of urban design and can help them to achieve energy efficient and comfortable urban-open spaces in residential complexes. Such design guide will contribute in improving the awareness of designers at the early phases of the design process and direct their designs to be energy conscious and efficient prior to the detailed design phase wherein energy simulation is time-consuming and expensive.
Energy expenditure represents a major component of the operational cost in tourist resorts in Egypt mainly due to the cooling energy used in buildings. The amount of solar radiation received from the Sun (direct, diffused, and reflected radiation) per unit area on the building facades surrounding the urban open-spaces in these touristic resorts contributes to the solar heat gain that is directly reflected in the cooling energy required in these buildings. Therefore, reducing the solar radiation is extremely important to reduce cooling energy. The highest reduction of solar radiation can be obtained by determining the most appropriate design configurations of urban open-pace.
This paper aims to: (a) investigate the impact of different design configurations of urban open-spaces on reducing total solar radiation on surrounding building facades, and (b) to compare the effect of design configurations on each other. To achieve this goal, the dominant types of urban open-spaces are identified and simulation scenarios are developed. Computational simulation is conducted to calculate the total solar radiation gained by facades of surrounding buildings. Then, a comparative analysis is conducted to identify the effect of urban design configurations individually, and collectively on each other. Accordingly, the most effective building design configurations of urban features of open-spaces on reducing solar radiation are determined. The results obtained in this paper showed that changing the values of height to width Z:X (aspect ratio) in linear types of urban open-spaces and changing the values of width to length X: Y (space proportion) in clustered types of urban open-spaces have the greatest impact of reducing total solar radiation gained by surrounding buildings facades. The outcome of this paper provides designers with specific guidelines that can be used in the early phases of urban design to achieve energy-efficient urban open-spaces of touristic resorts in the hot arid climate.
