SUSTAINABLE DESIGN

Samuel Kerongo
Email: samuelkerongoarwari@gmail.com
KEYWORDS RELATED TO
ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN

• Sustainable Development
• Sustainable Architecture
• Green Architecture
• Passive and Low Energy
Architecture (PLEA)
• Bioclimatic Architecture
• Climate Responsive Architecture
• Bio mimicry in Architecture
• Smart buildings
WHY PLEA?

• Stockholm meeting of 1972

• UN Brundtland Report (1986-
7) - Our common future
(A follow up of UN conference in
Stockholm of 1972)
a) Resource Depletion
b) Environmental pollution
• 1973 Oil crisis
• Global Environmental
Pollution
WHY PLEA?
a) CO2 emission - Global
pollution
b) Greenhouse gases - CO2, NO2
etc (leading to ozone layer
depletion and Global warming)
c) Fossil fuels (Burning of Coal, Oil)
d) CFC’s (Refrigerants in Air
conditioning) - ozone layer
destroying Chlorofluorocarbons
(CFCs) and
Hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs).
About 50% of all CFCs used are in
buildings.
• Climate Change
KEY WORDS RELATED TO ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN
INFLUENCES AND PHILOSOPHY
 KEY WORDS RELATED TO ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN
INFLUENCES AND PHILOSOPHY

Sustainable Development - development that meets the needs of the

present without compromising the ability of those in the future to
meet their own needs

What is Sustainability?
Meeting the needs of the present
without compromising the ability of
future generations to meet their own
needs.

World Commission on Environment and

Development
 KEY WORDS RELATED TO ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN
INFLUENCES AND PHILOSOPHY

Sustainable Design/Architecture - Reduces the negative impact on

the environment and human health, thus improving the performance
during a building’s life cycle. Careful consideration is given to
water, energy, building materials, and solid waste.
 KEY WORDS RELATED TO ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN
INFLUENCES AND PHILOSOPHY

Principles of Sustainability in Architecture

Economy of Resources - Reduce, recycle, and reuse natural
resources

Life Cycle Design - Structured methodology for the building

process

Humane Design - Harmony between humans and nature

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INFLUENCES AND PHILOSOPHY
Sustainable Construction - (also known as green construction or
sustainable building) refers to a structure, the construction process
and occupancy processes that are environmentally responsible and
resource efficient throughout a building's life-cycle from location to
design, construction, operation, maintenance, renovation, and
demolition.

Sustainable construction should also:

• Enhance living, working and leisure environments for
individuals and communities.
• Consume minimum energy over its life cycle
• Generate minimum waste over its life cycle
• Integrate with the natural environment
• Use renewable resources where possible
 KEY WORDS RELATED TO ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN
INFLUENCES AND PHILOSOPHY
Sustainable construction should NOT:
• Cause permanent damage to the natural environment or consume
a large amount of resources during construction, use or demolition.

• Cause unnecessary waste of energy, water or materials due to

short life, poor design, inefficiency or low standard construction
techniques.

• Create dependence on high impact transport systems with their

associated pollution.

• Use materials from threatened species/environments

 KEY WORDS RELATED TO ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN
INFLUENCES AND PHILOSOPHY
Sustainable construction should NOT:
• Cause permanent damage to the natural environment or consume
a large amount of resources during construction, use or demolition.

• Cause unnecessary waste of energy, water or materials due to

short life, poor design, inefficiency or low standard construction
techniques.

• Create dependence on high impact transport systems with their

associated pollution.

• Use materials from threatened species/environments

 KEY WORDS RELATED TO ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN
INFLUENCES AND PHILOSOPHY

Green Architecture - Green architecture, or green design, is an

approach to building that minimizes harmful effects on human health
and the environment. The "green" architect or designer attempts to
safeguard air, water, and earth by choosing eco-friendly building
materials and construction practices..
 KEY WORDS RELATED TO ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN
INFLUENCES AND PHILOSOPHY
Why Green Buildings are important?
The Global CO2 Emissions by Sector
1- Buildings (Electricity + Heat + Construction) = 47.5%
2- Transportation = 25%
3 - Land-Use Change & Forestry = 22%
4- Other = 5.5%
 KEY WORDS RELATED TO ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN
INFLUENCES AND PHILOSOPHY

LEED Green Globes

?

NAHB BREEAM GBCA

LEED India CASBEE Estidama

 KEY WORDS RELATED TO ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN
INFLUENCES AND PHILOSOPHY
- Leadership in Energy and Environmental
Design (LEED)

-Green Globes

- National Association for Home Builders

(NAHB) – For Homes

- Building Research Establishment

Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM)

- Green Star by Green Building Council Australia

(GBCA)

- LEED India

-Comprehensive Assessment System for Built

Environment Efficiency (CASBEE)

-Estimada
Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council (UPC).
 KEY WORDS RELATED TO ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN
INFLUENCES AND PHILOSOPHY

LEED BREEAM CASBEE

Date Introduced 1998 1990 2004

Ratings Certified / Silver Pass / Good / C / B- / B+ / A /

/ Gold / Very good / S
Platinum Excellent/
Outstanding

Assessment USGBC Trained Design /

assessors management
team

Third Party GBCi BRE Third Party

Validation Agencies e.g.
JSBC (Japan
Sustainable
Building
Consortium)
KEY WORDS RELATED TO ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN
INFLUENCES AND PHILOSOPHY
KEY WORDS RELATED TO ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN
INFLUENCES AND PHILOSOPHY
 KEY WORDS RELATED TO ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN
INFLUENCES AND PHILOSOPHY

Passive and Low Energy Architecture (PLEA)- a commitment to the

development, documentation and diffusion of the principles of
bioclimatic design and the application of natural and innovative
techniques for sustainable architecture and urban design.
 KEY WORDS RELATED TO ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN
INFLUENCES AND PHILOSOPHY
Active Systems

Photovoltaic Wind Turbines

Solar Water Heating

 KEY WORDS RELATED TO ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN
INFLUENCES AND PHILOSOPHY
Passive Systems

Trombe Wall Wind Catchers

 KEY WORDS RELATED TO ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN
INFLUENCES AND PHILOSOPHY

Differentiating Passive vs. Active Design

Passive design
results when a
building is
created and
simply works
“on its own”.
Active design uses equipment to
modify the state of the building,
create energy and comfort; ie.
Fans, pumps, etc.
 KEY WORDS RELATED TO ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN
INFLUENCES AND PHILOSOPHY

Bioclimatic Architecture - Design must first acknowledge regional,

local and microclimate impacts on the building and site.

COLD

TEMPERATE

HOT-ARID

HOT-HUMID
 KEY WORDS RELATED TO ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN
INFLUENCES AND PHILOSOPHY
Design Strategies in Hot & Dry Climate
• Large openings

• Windows area.

• Internal courtyard for cross

ventilation & thermal buffer

• Radiation barriers in the form of

canopies, chhajjas, long verandahs
etc.
 KEY WORDS RELATED TO ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN
INFLUENCES AND PHILOSOPHY
Design Strategies in Warm &Humid Climate
• Buildings should be narrow in
plan

• Large roofs with overhangs that

shade walls and to allow windows
open at all times
• The longer side of the building
should Orientated preferably in
East-West direction.

• Window should be on the North-

South direction
 KEY WORDS RELATED TO ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN
INFLUENCES AND PHILOSOPHY
Design Strategies in Warm &Humid Climate
• Buildings should be narrow in
plan

• The longer side of the building

should Orientated preferably in
East-West direction.

• Window should be on the North-

South direction

• Provide maximum cross

ventilation in the building
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INFLUENCES AND PHILOSOPHY
Design Strategies in Composite Climate
• Plan the building around the
courtyard.

• Reduce heat gain in the building

through building envelope.

• Plan water bodies

CROSS VENTILATION AT THE MICRO LEVEL
THROUGH OPENINGS

• cavity walls, terrace gardens, light

shelves.
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INFLUENCES AND PHILOSOPHY
Design Strategies in Temperate Climate

• Cavity walls, terrace

gardens, green roof,
light shelves

• Roof insulation using

insulation material,
china clay or clay pots
is advisable.
 KEY WORDS RELATED TO ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN
INFLUENCES AND PHILOSOPHY
Design Strategies in Cold Climate

• Glazing windows up to 25%

floor area

• Double glazing to avoid heat

losses during winter nights.

• Adopt Trombe walls.

• Sunspaces
 KEY WORDS RELATED TO ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN
INFLUENCES AND PHILOSOPHY
A Trombe wall is a passive solar building design where a wall is built
on the winter sun side of a building with a glass external layer and a
high heat capacity internal layer separated by a layer of air.
 KEY WORDS RELATED TO ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN
INFLUENCES AND PHILOSOPHY
Sunspaces: A ‘Sunspace’ is a south-facing glazed area located
outside of the main fabric envelope of the building.

• The space naturally heats and cools allowing daytime temperatures

to raise higher and night time temperatures to fall further than the
‘comfort zone’ temperatures of the adjoining living space(s).

• The addition of a sunspace can realise significant gains in energy

efficiency. This can amount to around 30% when compared with a
direct gain equivalent (1), though this varies according to climate and
latitude where buildings benefit from southern locations.

• Though unheated, sunspaces can provide additional living space

when natural conditions make them comfortable.
KEY WORDS RELATED TO ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN
INFLUENCES AND PHILOSOPHY
 KEY WORDS RELATED TO ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN
INFLUENCES AND PHILOSOPHY
Climate Responsive Architecture: Climate responsive
architecture takes into consideration seasonality, the direction of the
sun (sun path and solar position), natural shade provided by the
surrounding topography, environmental factors (such as wind, rainfall,
humidity) and climate data (temperature, historical weather patterns,
etc.) to design comfortable and energy efficient homes.
 KEY WORDS RELATED TO ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN
INFLUENCES AND PHILOSOPHY
Steps to Design Climate-Responsive Architecture:
• Determine the weather patterns, climate, soil types, wind speed
and direction, heating degree days and path of the sun. Look at the
water flows, habitat and geology of the site.
• Layout the building on the site. Using an integrative design process,
use a basic massing of the building layout to determine specifically
on site the most optimal location for the building to be situated.
• It’s all about the sun, so orient the building based upon cardinal
directions. The goal here is to maximize the amount of sun that
heats the space in the winter (hence using less energy to
mechanically heat) and decrease the amount of sun that cooks the
building in the summer (hence using less energy to mechanically
cool).
• Select the appropriate window areas and glazing types based on
orientation. South facing facades should utilize a window area
appropriate to its orientation and glazing should utilize a double or
triple paned glass
 KEY WORDS RELATED TO ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN
INFLUENCES AND PHILOSOPHY
• Building envelope design varies greatly by geographic area. When
designing the envelope of the building, factors such as insulation,
vapor barriers, and air barriers will vary radically depending on
whether the project is in the cold, snowy north, the hot and humid
south or the arid desert.
• Minimize the building footprint. Question the true needs of the
program. Do you need that much space?
• Design for natural ventilation. Since warm air rises, a building can
be cooled by designing for stack ventilation by drawing cooler air
from openings low in the building, while carrying heat away
through openings in the top of the space.
• Reduce the amount of energy used to cool and heat the building
can result in using natural systems, meaning the sun and the wind.
• Conduct Energy modeling, lighting models, daylighting studies,
computational fluid dynamics are all tools that designers can and
should use to understand how the design best integrates with the
local climate and micro-climate features specific to the site.
 KEY WORDS RELATED TO ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN
INFLUENCES AND PHILOSOPHY
Bio mimicry in Architecture: the imitation of the models,
systems, and elements of nature for the purpose of solving complex
human problems; biomimicry in architecture is the practice of
designing buildings and products that simulate or co-opt processes
that occur in nature.
 KEY WORDS RELATED TO ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN
INFLUENCES AND PHILOSOPHY
Smart Buildings/Architecture: A smart building is any structure
that uses automated processes to automatically control the building’s
operations including heating, ventilation, air conditioning, lighting,
security and other systems. A smart building uses sensors, actuators
and microchips, in order to collect data and manage it according to a
business’ functions and services. They include technologies such as:
• Automated systems.
• Intelligent building management systems.
• Energy efficiency measures.
• Wireless technologies.
• Digital infrastructure.
• Adaptive energy systems.
• Networked appliances.
• Data gathering devices.
• Information and communications networks.
• Assistive technologies.
• Remote monitoring.
KEY WORDS RELATED TO ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN
INFLUENCES AND PHILOSOPHY
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