Ecological Building

By T A Vijayasanan




Term Project for ME 599
Submitted to: Prof. Steven Skerlos
Contents
The term project
what is the problem?
why is it important?
what has been done?
what i am going to do?
Environmental impacts of building
Sustainable built environments
Attributes of environmental sustainability
The technology of Ecological Building
Basic Principles & Measures
Examples & Ideas

Introduction
Environmental considerations the primary driver for future
architectural design
Buildings affect the ecosystem
Since the end of WWII, there has been a high demand for new buildings, be it
urban, suburban or rural areas
Construction of new buildings imposed a significant burden on the environment
A continuous and cyclical flow of resources occur in a building
The input and output elements for a building include materials, energy, natural
resources like water, consumer goods, waste, etc.
These input and output elements have diverse environmental implications
The term project
What is the problem?
Human habitation is a prime reason for the irreparable environmental
degradation we are witness to today
Built forms not only exhaust valuable natural resources but also pollute the
environment
Poorly designed buildings result in a loss of the local eco-system
Cities are responsible for the ecological damage on a regional and national scale

Lack of knowledge about the impact of design on the environment and a lack of
enthusiasm among many architects to adopt sustainable methods

A probable reason for the lack of popularity of sustainable design is the high-
initial costs of design and construction

The term project
Why is it important?
The sheer magnitude of buildings that have being constructed in every part of the
world, magnifies the impact architecture has on the environment
Also, the rapid urbanization, especially in developing countries
The effect of high concentration of built forms in urban settings add up on the
environment

The issue of environmental degradation due to built form, is critical because, its
ill-effects drastically minimized by adhering to strong design principles, common
sense & technological innovation


The term project
What has been done?
There is a tremendous body of literature with respect to sustainable architectural
design
In many universities and research organizations, sustainable design is a primary
thrust area
There are a few architectural firms that practice architecture using sustainable
principles

Significantly, government bodies have put legislations in place that are the first
steps towards sustainable human habitation
These efforts have been ably complemented by an informed media and public
The term project
What am i going to do?
The first step is to understand the impact of built form and human habitation on
the environment
A review of the relevant literature and research works in the field of sustainable
architecture/ eco-design
A look into the principles, strategies and techniques adopted by sustainable
architectural practices

to present relevant material as an educational module
Environmental impacts of building
Environmental impacts of building
Shortage of building materials
Historically, building materials like wood, brick, adobe were procured locally
High construction volumes during the last 30 years have drastically depleted
naturally available resources
Ex: due to scarcity of structural lumber, wooden architecture has become a rarity

Concrete-masonry structures represent the majority of low-rise residential and
commercial buildings
Steel is used as the primary structural material in high-rise buildings

The substitution of natural materials like wood with materials like steel may solve
the short term resource shortage problem but should not be considered as the
ultimate solution


why do some
buildings sit
lighter than the
others?
Environmental impacts of building
Noise, vibration, dust and traffic
disruptions
Noise, vibrations and dust are
major sources of environmental
pollution due to construction
activity
Building types such as industries
and theatres must be zoned
carefully to prevent adverse
impacts on people working/living in
the surrounding areas

Construction methods and design
principles employed must ensure
the above sources of pollution are
minimized or eliminated completely


Environmental impacts of building
Food wastes
In dense urban sprawls, the management of organic food waste is a major
problem and poses a challenge to the environment
Grinding and disposing of food waste into the sewer increases the content of
organic materials so high that it becomes difficult to treat at water treatment
plants

Releasing untreated/improperly treated sewer has adverse impacts on water
bodies in the ecosystem
In many countries, it is required by law to separate organic food wastes from
other domestic solid wastes

Methods, such as composting, to treat organic wastes in ways beneficial to
nature must be adopted and improved further
Environmental impacts of building
Water pollution
Single-family homes in rural communities, in
most parts of the world, are not connected to
municipal water treatment systems
Sewer generated from these buildings reach
creeks, rivers and lakes through surface run-off
The same water bodies may be the primary
source for fresh-water withdrawal for major
cities downstream
Currently most people in cities rely on bottled
water for drinking as they cannot drink
municipal water without domestic treatment

The release of untreated sewer from rural
communities upstream is a major cause for this
low quality water problem
Drinking water business is
profitable these days
Environmental impacts of building
Disruption of the natural
landscape
Buildings disrupt natural
landscape
Many buildings are designed with
complete disregard for its
topography and surroundings
Although they may not cause
physiological harm to people and
the environment, they ruin the
visual quality of nature

Building on sensitive natural areas
must be judiciously regulated
F L Wrights Falling Water is a good example
of how to build in harmony with Nature
Environmental impacts of building
Disappearing green spaces in
urban areas
Urbanization is a world-wide
phenomenon with over 50% of the world
population living in urban areas
Sub-urban farmlands and forests are
encroached by ever expanding
residential and commercial zones

Green spaces (parks, gardens) are
becoming increasingly scares in urban
areas
Lack of green space deteriorates the
physical, visual and psychological well-
being of human residents and
immeasurably hurts the local and the
regional eco-system
Protecting green areas must be high on
our priority list

Destruction of green spaces creates
the heat-island effect
This causes night time temperatures
remains uncomfortably high in many
cities, causing an increase in electricity
consumption for air-conditioning.

Sustainable built environments
Sustainable built environments
The flow of materials
A building is a part of the global ecosystem
There is a continuous flow of resources, natural and manufactured, through the
building
The flow begins with construction and continues throughout the buildings
lifespan to create an environment for sustaining human wellbeing and activities
This flow of materials can be
divided as upstream or the input
& the downstream or the output

The materials going into a
building will come at some point of
time.
This is called the law of
material flow conservation

Eden Project by Architect Nicholas Grimshaw
makes use of minimum material
input building output
The Building ecosystem
building
materials
energy
water
consumer
goods
solar radiation
wind
rainwater
used materials
wasted heat. CO
2
, CO,
SO
2
gray water, sewer
waste, recyclable
materials
warm air
polluted air
storm water
Sustainable built environments
The flow of materials
For any material, its form before entry into a building
after exit is different
This transformation of material from input to output is
caused by many mechanical processes or human
interventions
These inputs and outputs have diverse environmental
impacts
Strategies to reduce impact on
the ecosystem:
- Input reduction methods that ensure
minimal flow of non-renewable
resources into a building.
- Output management that include
proper waste management like recycle,
reuse, etc.
Paper house by architect Shigeru Ban uses
cardboard and recycled paper
Sustainable built environments
Building material considerations
Extraction, processing, manufacture and
transport of building materials are energy
intensive processes
The energy consumed by building
materials in these processes is called
embodied energy

The use of alternative building materials
having low embodied energy is one way of
reducing a buildings environmental impact

In order to facilitate construction,
temporary roads may need to be built
This causes permanent damage to existing
vegetation, wildlife & topography
Architect Glen Murcutts house for an
aborigine family in Australia
Building is lifted off the ground to minimize
environmental impact. Sustainable methods
such as use of locally available materials
employed.
Sustainable built environments
Energy considerations
The building requires a constant flow of energy

Environmental impacts due to energy
consumption by buildings occur primarily away
from the building site: in the process of
generating power and harvesting of energy
resources
coal-fired electric power plants emit
pollutants such as SO
2
, CO
2
, CO and NO
X

into the atmosphere
nuclear power plants generate radioactive
wastes
hydropower plants require a dam and a
reservoir, the construction of which result in
the discontinuation of the river ecosystem
and the loss of habitats for humans, animals
and plants


House R128 by Werner Sobek
in Stuttgart uses completely
recyclable materials, produces
no emissions and is self sufficient
in terms of energy requirements
Sustainable built environments
Water requirements
Water is required for the purposes of
drinking, cooking, washing, flushing of
toilets, etc.
Water supplied to the building requires
treatment and delivery, which consume
energy
Waste water or sewer from buildings can
be classified as
gray water: does not contain high
concentration of contaminants
black water: contains very high
concentration of contaminants
Consequently, gray water requires
minimal treatment before it can be reused
Installation of sanitary fixtures such as
low-speed showerheads, smaller size
toilet tanks and high-pressure flushing
systems reduces water consumption

Innovative landscaping and drip-irrigation
systems contribute to water conservation
Landscaping at the Salk Institute at La Jolla,
CA by Louis Barragan, employs methods to
conserve water and achieves beautiful spaces
Impact of built form on the water cycle
Sustainable built environments
On-site natural resources
Natural energy on-site, such as solar
radiation, wind, air, rainwater and ambient
heat or cold has implications on the design
process
These natural resources can be harnessed
for optimal performance of the building
Incident solar radiation is the most
abundant energy source for buildings and
provides heat & light
Vernacular buildings reveal ingenious
architectural solutions for dealing with
the sun and other climatic conditions
Passive solar architecture offers
design schemes to harness solar
energy using building faades and
structures
Prevailing wind conditions for cooling and
ventilation has tremendous implications on
architectural design
Rainwater harvesting can be beneficial in
arid regions and urban areas



Well Articulated windows in Hawa
Mahal, Jaipur provides cool breeze
in a desert area
These typical Kerala (India) houses
use rainwater harvesting methods
and pitched roof for shading
Ecological Building
Ecological Building
What can be learnt from history?
In the past, human beings lived in harmony
with their environment
Comfort requirements were different
Small population meant ample space,
modest requirements, low energy
needs and emissions
Waste products mostly recyclable &
bio-degradable
Mobile communities
Low threat to the environment
Nomadic life & sparse requirements
drove the architecture of the past and
made it sustainable
Ecological Building
Buildings in cold climates characterized by:
Small windows that allowed little light into spaces resulting in minimal heat
gains/loss and cooling/heating loads
Building mass with high thermal storage capacities
Low standards for heating and sanitary systems



These castles in Europe use small fenestrations to minimize heat loss
Ecological Building
Buildings in temperate zones
characterized by:
Tendency to locate living areas
underground to utilize coolness of the
earth and create ventilation through
buoyancy
Small window & roof elements
minimizing heat transfer
Use of narrow courtyards to promote
ventilation
Fine grained cities that cause mutual
shading
Use of water as an architectural
element

Ecological Building
The Industrial Age is characterized by:
Migration of ever increasing population
from rural to urban areas
Extremely poor living conditions for most
people
Industrialization & rapid advances in
technology
Increased demands for energy met through
use of coal & gas
Sharp increase in emissions; indiscriminate
dumping of wastes
No efforts to protect environment, conserve
natural reserves
BEGINNING OF AN ENVIRONMENTAL
CALAMITY
Alarming number of industries,
poor living conditions, deteriorating
environment mark the industrial era
Ecological Building
The early & mid 20
th
century is
characterized by:
Urbanization, technological development,
industrialization, concentration of labor in
cities at a frantic pace
Concentration of workplaces in small areas
Shortening of distances for communication
& information
Maximized utilization of available spaces
An architecture & technology that pays no
respect to the environment & energy
consumption
A false sense of Man has overcome
nature
Skyscrapers, fully automated climate
control
New York the city of skyscrapers
Ecological Building
Late 20
th
century architecture
characterized by:
Renewed search for elegant architectural
solution with respect to energy use,
environment & ventilation
Facades designed for natural ventilation
Creation of climate buffer zones (halls
and atria)
Improved heat insulation & sun
protection
Implementation of energy recovery &
waste treatment systems
Major energy crisis in 1973
Architects, engineers & clients turn to
ECOLOGICAL BUILDING DESIGN
Commerzbank headquarters
in Germany by Architect
Norman Foster uses garden
terraces every 12 floors
Menara Mesiniaga by Ken Yeang
in Malaysia is a revolutionary high-
rise building design using
sustainable principles
All things are connected like the blood that
unites us, We did not weave the web of
life. We are merely a strand in it. Whatever we
do to the web, we do to ourselves.
-Chief Seattle