LECTURE 2 ECO DESIGN AND GREEN BUILDINGS Eco
LECTURE # 2 ECO DESIGN AND GREEN BUILDINGS
Eco Design History & Background q. The roots of eco design can be traced at least to the 1920 s, when architect and designer Richard Buckminster Fuller drafted plans for structures, cars and other objects that promoted a wise use of resources. q. This preventive approach consists of taking environmental criteria into account from the design and product improvement phases alongside conventional criteria such as cost, quality, technical feasibility and market expectations. q. Today, innovators take the concept of eco design to a whole new level, creating lighting, appliances, furniture etc.
Eco Design q. ECODESIGN assumes the effect a product has on the environment should be considered and reduced at all stages along the product life cycle. q. ECODESIGN products are "flexible, reliable, durable, adaptable, and reusable". In addition to proving economical reasonability and social compatibility, these products represent an ecological necessity. q. ECODESIGN aims at advancing prosperity while reducing "environment spending". q. The combination of eco design and energy labelling is considered as one of the most effective policy tool in the area of energy efficiency.
Goal of Eco Design The goal of eco design is sustainability, which simply means that these products are built, used and discarded in a way that doesn't pose a significant threat to the environment. HOW'S THAT POSSIBLE? Sustainability is accomplished through the application of three concepts: 1. "Cyclic" refers to the production of goods from materials that are either compostable or recyclable. 2. "Solar" means that products are made using renewable sources of energy. 3. And finally, any byproducts of manufacturing released into the environment should be "safe, " or nontoxic.
Green buildings – a step towards eco design Chatterjee (2009) defined: the "green building practice” is a process to create buildings and infrastructure in such a way that minimize the use of resources, reduce harmful effects on the ecology, and create better environments for occupants. Green buildings exhibit a high level of environmental, economic, and engineering performance. These include energy efficiency and conservation, improved indoor air quality, resource and material efficiency, and occupant's health and productivity. Kamana and Escultura (2011) defined “sustainable building” or “green building” as an outcome of a design which focuses on increasing the efficiency of resource use - energy, water, and materials - while reducing building impacts on human health and the environment during the building’s lifecycle, through better location, design, construction, operation, maintenance, and removal. Deuble and Dear (2012) stated that green buildings, often defined as those featuring natural ventilation capabilities, i. e. low-energy or free-running buildings, are now at the forefront of building research and climate change mitigation scenarios.
Comparison between Green buildings and non green buildings Building Type Green Buildings Non-Green Buildings Energy Consumption Low High Indoor Environment Quality Very Good Emissions Low High Waste Management Highly Efficient Building Material Environmentally Friendly Not Environmentally Friendly Project Practices Sophisticated Normal
7 Steps of Green Construction 1. Preserving the terrain/vegetal coverage: Most construction project managers still choose the easiest and most destructive option of clearing all vegetation from a construction site. We must understand that any trees (especially grown ones) are valuable in terms of biodiversity and ecosystem services, and take a long time to regrow. It makes more sense to preserve them on site and to adapt the sustainable construction design in consequence. Furthermore, building projects should promote rooftop gardens and vertical green walls. 2. Maximizing natural cooling/heating: In warm climates, it is very important during the design stage to plan for maximizing the use of natural air flow and cooling. This can be achieved in a range of ways, starting from buildings dispositions and how they are conceived to amplify and capture air breezes. There also a number of passive ways to capture wind and create air flows within buildings through a chimney effect.
3. Maximizing natural lighting: Another very important aspect to consider at the design stage is the maximum use of natural lighting. The best way to achieve this is once again through good design that takes into account aspects such as building orientation, open concept and the type of material used. Whatever can be done to naturally brighten indoor spaces will reduce the need for artificial lights at a later stage. The vast majority of buildings use artificial lighting during daytime simply because lighting aspect is not considered during the design process.
4. Choosing core sustainable construction materials: Most buildings today use unsustainable materials such a conventional concrete for their core construction. There are now a number of alternatives, including modified cement that contains a high percentage of recycled material (e. g. fly ash), materials from more sustainable sources (e. g. bamboo, pine trees from well managed plantations) or raw materials from natural sources such as clay (e. g. mud bricks). Moreover, certain construction techniques can significantly reduce the use of structural steel (e. g. Ferrocement) and the amount of material used. But probably one of the simplest alternatives is to start to integrate a much greater proportion of reused materials in new construction projects; even today the vast majority of materials at demolition sites is being wasted. In addition to these measures, much more research is required to develop more sustainable materials.
5. Retrofitting’s: Once a building’s design and core construction is complete, numerous factors such as appliances and materials still need to be considered. As a general rule any appliances going into such a project should have fewer environmental impacts than similar products on the market. Certain organizations identify and certify such products using eco-labels, energy and water efficiency labels, etc. , and a wide range of certified products are now available for developers to choose from.
6. Energy and resources independence: Most locations still rely on fossil fuel based electricity. It makes little sense for a sustainable building to source its energy from such supplies, which are putting a heavy load on our environment. There are now options to build construction projects that are completely off-grid and rely on a combination of renewable energy sources such as solar, wind and geothermal. With a good design, it is easy to produce more energy than a building actually needs. Pushing the concept further, some buildings are starting to explore the idea of producing part of their food supplies on site or nearby the structures. Vertical farming and eliminating the reliance on external sources is key for the buildings of the future.
7. Management: Last but not least, even if a building is well designed and retrofitted with environmentally friendly features, the human factor still plays an important role in how resources are used. It is therefore important that any sustainable building is managed in an environmentally friendly way and operates according to clear environment management guidelines.
Conclusion Green buildings will only take off when more attention is given to training the people involved in the development of buildings, including architects, developers and designers. Government support through stricter legislations and incentives will drive the movement forward. We must shift from the current environmentally destructive construction projects to some that provide long term benefits both to the environment and society. A combination of good design and smart, efficient technology is the formula to adopt; and designing buildings with sustainability in mind from the beginning should be compulsory. On a last note, we must understand that sustainable buildings don’t only make sense in terms of reducing the environmental impact, but they also increasingly make good business sense for the security and savings that can be achieved.
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