• Journal of the Korean housing association
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.53-62
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• 2014

This paper investigates whether the use of Rainwater Harvesting Systems (RWHSs) to provide water for washing machines in Hong Kong residential buildings would be financially attractive. In such systems, rainwater is accumulated and reused for doing laundry, garden irrigation, flushing toilets, and even drinking. Thus, the analysis of RWHSs' financial feasibility is essential for construction projects. RainCycle is used to validate financial feasibility, considering particular circumstances and data relevant to the Hong Kong context. A range of different scenarios by adjusting three factors are evaluated: catchment area, water demand, and discount rate. It is suggested that $2,000m^2$ would be a suitable catchment area in a typical Hong Kong residential building and it is demonstrated how water demand and discount rate influence the financial performance of RWHSs. In particular, the financial performance of RWHSs is sensitive to discount rates. The results suggest that the RWH system would be worthwhile for buildings with a lower number of floors, but would barely achieve financial validation in Hong Kong's super high-rise residential buildings.

• Journal of the Korean housing association
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.11-22
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• 2010

In the urban area where rapid suburbanization trend continues, the role of mixed use building is controversial. It is argued that the mixed use building is an effective tool to recover residential function of urban core(urban regeneration). It is also argued that the building is a cause of serious urban problems, such as congestion, public service shortages. The fundamental purpose of this study is to examine the role of mixed use building in terms of urban growth management in Seoul. For this purpose, data of mixed use building from 1981 to 2007 are collected and analysed. The results show that most of mixed use buildings are located in either sub-centers or population losing areas, rather than traditional urban core. Therefore, it is hard to accept that the two controversial arguments. The mixed use building noncore areas in most cases. However, it dose help to increase population inflow in non-core areas. it is difficult to accept the public service assertion which states that super-high rise mixed use building causes public service congestion, because the building is built in population losing or demand decreasing area. Based on these findings this study suggests some policy alternatives such as urban service boundary or concurrency program to management urban growth.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.13 no.6
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• pp.2779-2788
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• 2012

The housing market is now difficult because of excess of the increase rate of housing and long-term recession but high-rise mixed-use buildings can mix residential facilities with various demand facilities focusing and they have the advantages to secure open space and excellent view by high-rise apartment. But there are problems by hindrance of skyline formation and height of buildings. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to suggest the height standard and the slenderness ratio to location types of Mixed-use Residential Tall buildings. For the method of the study, term arrangement through literature search and the precedent research survey were first done, the level of urban design and the details related to the height of buildings were done as the case research focusing on the 16 cases in Seoul. The following results were drawn by suggesting the height standard and the slenderness ratio by location type based on them. First, the height of mixed-use building by location type in the level of urban design gets higher starting from the secondary center of the city and can be suggested as from less than 150m to more than 200m. Second, the slenderness ratio shall be planned as more than 1:3 because the area of the ground level of mixed-use building is large unlike Mixed-use Residential Tall buildings and visual passage shall be placed so that unity of openness and group formation will be planned. Third, for the height related to Mixed-use Residential Tall buildings, amendment of the special architectural district system and the special law related to super high-rise buildings shall be enacted.