Sustainable Architecture
Lect. 3
Adama (ASTU) March 27, 2024
Henok A.
Activity 1
What is Sustainable architecture?
Definition
Sustainable architecture is the theory, science, and style of buildings
designed and constructed in accordance with environmentally friendly
principles and strives to minimize the number of resources consumed in
the building's construction, use and operation, as well as curtailing the
harm done to the environment through the emission, pollution, and waste
of its components.
Cont.
• Sustainable architecture are part of a global response to
increasing awareness of the role of human activity in causing
global climate change.
• Redesigning the design process
• Designed to reduce the overall impact of the built
environment on human health and the natural environment
Cont.
Sustainable architecture also present a way to attack the
inequity of global resource distribution by providing affordable
housing for the poor that is healthier, more resource efficient
and cheaper to own and operate.
• Locally available material
• thermal comfort,
• rain water harvesting
• Natural lighting and
ventilation
• People participation in
construction
Gando primary school, Burkina Faso
Diébédo Francis Kéré
Activity 2
Mention social, environmental and
economic sustainability of a building?
Social sustainability of buildings
• Improve quality of human life
• Make provisions for cultural diversity in development
• Ensure healthy and safe environment
• Seek integrational equity
• Flexibility
• Identity
• Affordability
• connectivity of peoples with the environment
Environmental sustainability of buildings
• Site adaptation
• Minimize pollution and Carbon emission
• Energy efficiency
• Material and waste reduction
• Water efficiency
• Green transport
• Healthy indoor environmental quality
• Biodiversity and greenery
Economic sustainability of buildings
• Minimum Life cycle coast
• Add market value
• Return on investment, Return on capital employed
• Internal rate return
• Durable
• Commercial viability
Impacts of building
Economic impacts
Environmental impacts Social impacts
To Builders:
Loss of open space & Increased compliance costs
Resource depletion biodiversity & waste disposal costs
Physical disruption Social Isolation
Increased car dependency To Owners:
Chemical pollution Decreased air quality Increased utility &
visual pollution maintenance costs
Unhealthy indoor To Occupiers:
environment
Loss of well being &
productivity
sustainable site development
• Site selection
• Site design development and management
• Transportation
• Storm water management
Storm water management
[Link] surface or permeable pavement
2. Vegetation
3. Green roof
4. constructed wet land
5. Infiltration trench
6. Grass strip
7. Grass swelled
8. Infiltration basin
9. Natural drainage with the topography
Green Building
• Green building is one of the popular trends in sustainable
architecture.
• It have its Owen parameter (rating system) used to measure the
objectives.
Activity 3
What are the Elements of Green Building?
Elements of Green
Building
Activity 4
How to achieve water efficiency?
Activity 5
What is indoor environmental quality?
we spend 90% of our lives in buildings.
indoor environmental quality (IEQ) c
• incorporates the conditions inside a building; air quality,
lighting, thermal conditions, ergonomics, visual comfort,
acoustic and their effects on occupants or residents.
• Buildings, as a kind of third skin.
Thermal comfort
It is the condition of mind
that expresses satisfaction
with the thermal
environment.
Psychometric chart help in
determining thermal
comfort zone excluding
subjective parameters
Relationship between Comfort Level and Performance Ability
Physical and mental performance capacity related to room
temperature was determined by researches
• it shows that, from room temperatures of about 25°C to 26°C
upwards, performance capacity noticeably decreases.
• From 28 to 29°C onwards, work efficiency clearly decreases.
Heat emission rates for a person as
it relates to surrounding environmental temperature. Performance capacity of a person
From a temperature of 34°C, the body can as it relates to room temperature.
exclusively emit heat via evaporation (sweating),
since the surface temperature of the human skin
is also 34 °C.
Relationship between Level of Well-Being and healthy
Indoor Climate
Influence factors for comfort level sensation indoors
passive design strategies for thermal comfort
• Building orientation
• Plan form
• Design elements (water body, courtyard and veranda)
for warm and humid climate, hot and dry climate)
• Roof form
• Fenestration (material, size, arrangement, shading
device)
• Roof and wall materials
• Vegetation
Visual comfort
The four parameters that define visual comfort are;
1. The source,
2. distribution,
3. tone/color and
4. intensity of light.
Acoustical comfort
• Why it matters and what are source of noise?
• The three fundamentals by which the acoustics of a place or a
space can be designed are indicated by ABC;
Absorb,
Block and
Cover.
Acoustic measure
• Zoning of site for quite and noise activities
• Arrangement of rooms
• solid walls, tree, material property,
• Balcony, courtyard, site measure
Open plan office experiment
Activity 6
What does it mean by durable and maintainable design?
Durable and maintainable design
• Durable design Long lasting design
• Design for Maintainability is the practice of integrating
operations and maintenance considerations into project
planning and design to achieve effectiveness, safety, and
economy of maintenance tasks during the lifespan of a facility.
Activity 7
How to achieve energy efficiency ?
passive solar design
Active solar design
Morocco is the largest concentrated solar power plant on
the planet and uses molten salt storage to produce
electricity at night
Day to day
activities
Eco-friendly material
• The first priority in material use is to prevent waste and
primary pollution; second is reuse, repair and recycle.
• Locally available (avoid transportation socio economic
benefit by using workers
• renewable sources.
• Durable and Non-toxic materials
Mention some eco-friend materials?
AshCrete
Advantage
Cost-effective
Low embodied energy
Durability
Workability
Resistance
water saving Drawback
Slower strength gain and longer
setting time
Seasonal limitations
Sustainability
The secret of the longevity of Roman architecture is ash-based concrete ©Robert
Harding Picture Library- [Link]
Timbercrete
• sequesters and stores carbon,
• Provides up to 6 times thermal insulation of conventional bricks.
• High fire safety rating,
• Great sound absorption qualities.
Straw Bales
Cork
bamboo
Activity 8
How can we reduce waste?
Waste reduction
• Reduce extraction of materials
• Reduce External Pollution and Environmental Damage
• Recycle and reuse
• Post-occupancy waste management should be a part of
the building design, which should provide a dedicated
space to store, segregate and recycle the solid waste.
Activity 9
What makes a building green?
What makes a building green?
• Minimal disturbance to landscapes and site condition
• Building Shape and Orientation
• Building Envelope
• Solar Protection, Noise Protection
• Glare Protection
• Daylight Utilization
• Innovative Tools
• Effective controls and building management systems
building rating system
In 1990, the first sustainable building rating system Building Research
Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) was
introduced in the UK.
Subsequently, in 1998, the LEED system in the United States was
adapted from the BREEAM system.
Nowadays, all the advanced countries of the world have a rating system
of buildings adapted from the above two systems or their own systems.
The purpose of these systems is to measure and rank buildings based
on sustainability indicators. Although the details of these systems are
different based on the characteristics of each country, they are similar in
general
The parameters of assessment of Green Buildings by various rating programs:
Rating
Systems for
Sustainable
Buildings
Reflection activity
• Share some of your habits which are not ecofriendly
• Imagine your house and share what sustainability features it
have
• What green building features can you incorporate in your
house recently from what you learn
Reading Assignment