Lecture 12: Green Architecture

Department of Architectural Engineering HISTORY AND THEORIES OF CONTEMPORARY ARCHITECTURE Lecture 12 Green Architecture | Department of...

Department of Architectural Engineering HISTORY AND THEORIES OF CONTEMPORARY ARCHITECTURE Lecture 12 Green Architecture | Department of Architectural Engineering | ARCH 366 History and Theories of Contemporary Architecture | 3 Cr H Sustainability and Sustainable Architecture Sustainability Means: Meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Sustainable (Green) Architecture Means: Architecture that seeks to minimize the negative environmental impact of buildings by efficiency and moderation in the use of materials, energy, and development space. Green Architecture The Green Architecture invites to decrease the energy consumption in the building through environmentally–responsive design. Most of the energy we use comes from fossil fuels. Coal, natural gas, and petroleum (or crude oil) are all fossil fuels. People burn fossil fuels to get energy. They use the energy to heat, cool, and light their homes and other buildings. Fossil fuels produce lots of energy. But burning fossil fuels also hurts Earth and people. Burning fossil fuels causes air pollution. Air pollution can make people sick with lung cancer, asthma, and other serious diseases. In addition, all fossil fuels contain carbon, a basic chemical. When burned, fossil fuels release their carbon in gas form. This gas, called carbon dioxide (CO2), rises up in the atmosphere. Because people have burned so much fossil fuel, the atmosphere holds more carbon dioxide than ever before. Green Architecture All this carbon dioxide traps Earth’s warmth. It causes temperatures on land to rise. This process is called global warming. Global warming has started to hurt Earth. Because of higher temperatures, ice is melting at the North Pole and South Pole. The melting ice has led to rising sea levels. Rising seas could flood islands and coastlines. As Earth warms, some plants and animals won’t survive. Global warming can also cause more extreme weather, such as floods, droughts, and hurricanes. To stop global warming, people must use less fossil fuel. Fossil fuels take millions of years to form. People use up fossil fuels much faster than nature can replace them. If people continue digging up fossil fuels, Earth will eventually run out of its supply. People are looking for alternative fuels that will not harm Earth. Green Architecture Green Architecture Sustainable (Green) Architecture Means: Architecture that seeks to minimize the negative environmental impact of buildings by efficiency and moderation in the use of materials, energy, and development space. Urban Sustainability is the idea that a city can be organized without excessive reliance on the surrounding countryside and be able to power itself with renewable sources of energy. The aim of sustainability is: 1. to create the smallest possible ecological footprint 2. to produce the lowest quantity of pollution possible, 3. to efficiently use land, compost used materials, recycle it or to convert waste-to-energy, 4. and to make the city’s overall contribution to climate change minimal. Green Architecture “Green” or “Sustainable” buildings are characterized by: efficient management of energy and water resources management of material resources and waste restoration and protection of environmental quality enhancement and protection of health and indoor environmental quality reinforcement of natural systems analysis of the life cycle costs and benefits of materials and methods integration of the design decision-making process  Sustainable Design Objectives Sustainable Architecture HOW? Sustainable Design Objectives Sustainable Architecture HOW? Areas of Sustainable design Green Architecture Energy Efficiency Small is Good Passive/Active Solar Design High Levels of Insulation Efficient Heating of Air & Water Efficient AC Systems Thermal Mass Natural Ventilation Efficient Lighting Building Materials Use of Renewable, Non Toxic Materials Use of Recyclable/Recycled Materials Locally Sourced to Reduce Transport  Menara Mesiniaga Ecological skyscraper Designed by: Ken Yeang 12 Many skyscrapers in Kuala Lumpur look like the skyscrapers in New York. They have the same boxy design. They tell the world that the people who work there are successful and powerful. But in a tropical city, a traditional skyscraper does not make sense. Its windows don’t open to let in fresh tropical breezes. And the hot temperatures outside heat up the building’s concrete year-round. In Kuala Lumpur, traditional skyscrapers must be air-conditioned constantly. 13 Menara Mesiniaga, Kuala Lumpur, 1992, designed by Ken Yeang (T.R. Hamzah & Yeang ) The Menara Mesiniaga is the headquarters for IBM in Subang Jaya near Kuala Lumpur. The building looks nothing like the boxlike skyscrapers of most cities. It is a complex, winding cylinder made of steel and aluminum. The outside walls contain many balconies and open spaces. This design gives Menara Mesiniaga a unique look and feel. The building has many windows, and they open and close. It also has open spaces between floors. The windows and open spaces let natural breezes flow in and out of the building. People say that the tower can “breathe.” 14 The tower’s many windows also allow sunshine to light the building during the daytime. These simple design features save a lot of electricity. Workers can do their jobs and be comfortable without turning on lots of lights or air conditioning. Menara Mesiniaga looks different than most other skyscrapers. And it provides a healthy and eco-friendly working environment. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Ctuy039kEg 15 It is always started by an intensive site analysis.  Windows facing the east and west have louvers. Louvers are similar to shutters. The louvers open and close to let in and block out sunlight. When the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, the louvers shade the windows from direct sunlight. This shade helps cool the building. It reduces the need for air-conditioning. Even the stairways and restrooms let in fresh breezes and sunlight.  Menara Mesiniaga has two large atriums, or inner courtyards. Native Malaysian plants grow inside the atriums. Some of the plants are tall trees and vines. They twist and wind up the atrium walls toward the roof and the balconies. A sunroof on top of the building provides the plants with light. The plants inside the tower provide natural shade. They help cool the building on hot days. The plants also improve air quality by releasing oxygen into the air. Clean air and fresh breezes are good for the health of people who work inside the tower.  Plants grow on balconies and in atriums 19 Covered walkways leading to offices. 21 Bed-Zed Housing Project, England, 2002, Designed by ZEDFactory & Arup engineers BedZED is the UK’s first large-scale, mixed use sustainable community with 100 homes, office space, a college and community facilities. Completed in 2002, this pioneering eco-village in south London suburbia remains an inspiration for sustainable neighbourhoods and our One Planet Living Communities across the world. The project was initiated by Bioregional, developed by The Peabody Trust in partnership with Bioregional and designed with architects, ZEDFactory (also based in BedZED) and Arup engineers. The homes range from one bed apartments to four bedroom houses. Half were sold on the https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60es4dTm8Q4 open market, one quarter were reserved for social (low cost) rent by Peabody and the https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCLehargbA4 remaining quarter for shared ownership, a lower cost way of owning a home. Bed-Zed Housing Project BedZED is near London, England. But the development is like a small village. It has eighty-two houses and fourteen apartments. It also has workspace for one hundred people, a day care center, and an art center. What’s special is how BedZED makes and uses energy. Alternative fuels come from the sun, the wind, and other sources. Sun and wind are clean energy sources. They do not create pollution. Designers of BedZED wanted to create buildings that used as little energy as possible. They wanted the energy to come from clean energy sources. At BedZED, solar panels collect the sun’s energy. Other devices turn this energy into heat and electricity for buildings. Bed-Zed Housing Project BedZED uses the sun in another way too. Most of the windows in the homes there face south. In the northern part of the world, the sun crosses the sky in the south. When the sun shines into south-facing windows, it gives extra warmth to homes. BedZED has a centralized heat and power plant (CHP). The CHP does not rely on fossil fuels to make heat. Instead, it burns tree branch waste from local trees. When burned, the branches release carbon dioxide. But the CO2 is offset, or absorbed, by the same trees the branches were cut from. The CHP uses the fuel to heat water. The heated water travels Solar panels on BedZED’s rooftops collect the sun’s energy. Colorful vents that draw in the through pipes to BedZED’s buildings. wind keep homes cool and deliver fresh air. Plants grown on rooftops continually absorb The hot pipes warm walls, floors, and carbon dioxide, helping to clean the environment. rooms in BedZED’s buildings. Bed-Zed Housing Project Residents enjoy little rooftop lawns and can grow their own vegetables and flowers if they wish. Bridges connect the buildings, enhancing the sense of community among the people who choose to call BedZED home. Bed-Zed Housing Project Bed-Zed Housing Project Clean, modern apartments have south-facing windows to bring in natural light and warmth. Below right: BedZED has on-site recycling facilities and its own clean energy power plant. Bed-Zed Housing Project Natural light floods a BedZED home during the daytime. Bed-Zed Housing Project How do you get rid of carbon? Trees and other plants absorb carbon dioxide. Plants need carbon dioxide to live and grow. So people can offset their carbon emissions by planting trees and gardens. The designers at BedZED have put gardens in interesting places— on the roofs of buildings. A garden on a rooftop is called a living roof. The living roofs at BedZED absorb carbon dioxide. They reduce the overall amount of carbon that BedZED releases into the air. Because of its design, BedZED uses a lot less energy than other places. The houses use 88 percent less heat than other homes in the United Kingdom. People in BedZED drive cars 65 percent less than other British people. That is a big carbon savings. An enclosed porch in BedZED sports many flourishing plants. Many people in this green community like to tend their own small gardens.  Bed-Zed Housing Project A living green roof Bed-Zed Housing Project Bed-Zed Housing Project: dream & Reality Despite its environmentally friendly features, BedZED still creates pollution. Some residents drive gasoline-powered cars. In addition, the CHP does not always work properly. When this happens, residents must use electric boilers powered by fossil fuels. BedZED still puts carbon into the atmosphere, but it also takes carbon away. Jean-Marie Tjibaou Cultural Centre, New Caledonia, 1998, Renzo Piano In 1989 an assassin killed Jean- Marie Tjibaou, New Caledonia’s leader. Tjibaou was a Kanak. He wanted New Caledonia to be free of French rule. After Tjibaou’s death, the French government wanted to honor Kanak culture. The government hired Italian architect Renzo Piano to design a place to showcase Kanak history and the Kanak way of life. People chose the name Jean- Marie Tjibaou Cultural Center to honor the slain Kanak leader.  Jean-Marie Tjibaou Cultural Centre The cultural center is a tribute to the Kanak people in many ways. Through its design, it honors their culture and history. It also honors nature and the idea of living in harmony with the environment. Jean-Marie Tjibaou Cultural Centre Builders completed construction in 1998. The design blends modern building techniques with traditional Kanak architecture. The center features ten wooden structures. Piano designed them to look like traditional Kanak great houses, or ceremonial houses. The tallest one is nine stories high. The houses are separated into three groups, called villages. Jean-Marie Tjibaou Cultural Centre The center is a place where researchers can study Kanak culture. It includes an outdoor auditorium. It also has rooms for visiting artists, lecturers, scholars, and students. Jean-Marie Tjibaou Cultural Centre This aerial photograph shows the wooden housing and the walkway connecting it.  Jean-Marie Tjibaou Cultural Centre Lush gardens surround the center. The gardens symbolize the history and culture of the Kanak people. One garden at the cultural center has a pond with a rock in it. The rock symbolizes the dropped tooth and the birth of the Kanak people. One of the gardens at the center grows banana trees and other native edible plants. Jean-Marie Tjibaou Cultural Centre Another garden displays the plants that Kanak people traditionally used as medicines. It also has yams, bananas, cabbage, and taro. Kanak commonly use these plants in cooking. A third garden displays plants that Kanaks typically grow near their homes. These include araucaria trees and coconut trees. A fourth garden has cordyline plants. When giving gifts to friends, family, or visitors, Kanaks place the items in the red leaves of this plant. The gardens are symbols of Kanak culture. And the plants serve the environment. They absorb carbon dioxide, reducing the center’s carbon footprint. Jean-Marie Tjibaou Cultural Centre The used Iroko wood in construction is very strong and durable. People sometimes use it to build boats. Iroko does not rot easily. It is hardy enough to withstand strong ocean winds.  Jean-Marie Tjibaou Cultural Centre Piano didn’t just want to protect the buildings from ocean winds. He wanted to use the winds to cool the buildings. The great houses have two layers of louvers. The outer louvers are made of wooden slats. After ocean winds filter through the slats, they reach the second layer of louvers. The inner louvers are made of glass. They automatically open or close, depending on the speed of the wind. The double louvers allow fresh air into the buildings. During violent storms, the louvers control how much wind enters the buildings. The louvers also force warm air upward toward the ceiling. This process helps cool the lower part of the buildings. Jean-Marie Tjibaou Cultural Centre Jean-Marie Tjibaou Cultural Centre Interiors  Masdar City, Abu Dhabi, Designed by Sir Norman Foster (Foster and Partners) Masdar City is being built by Masdar (Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company) & planned to be completed by 2030. The city will rely entirely on solar energy and other renewable energy sources, with a zero waste ecology. The city is designed to be a hub for clean technology companies. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NxD3ve1Sr98&list=RDLVNIaz61zpLfs&index=4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIaz61zpLfs  Masdar City Land Use Plan Masdar Institute of Science and Technology Commercial Light Industry Residential Car parking Entertainment Green spaces https://greenbuildingelements.com/masdar-city-sustainable- urban-living/ Masdar City Planners recognized that the biggest environmental gains come from some of the most passive, and least expensive, tools: the city’s (and buildings’) orientation (with regards to the sun and prevailing winds) and its form. Next most effective is building performance optimization, such as an efficient envelope and systems, and smart building management. Entire project has been constructed on a north - east axis – which offers the best options for naturally utilizing shading and breezes. A diagonal orientation Narrow streets and shaded alleyways minimize solar gain and glare. Masdar City Energy Management Masdar City minimises energy consumption by deploying best commercially available international energy efficient techniques and setting strict building efficiency guidelines in areas such as 1. insulation, 2. low-energy lighting specifications, 3. the percentage of glazing (i.e., windows) 4. optimizing natural light, 5. installing smart appliances, ex: building management systems 6. a citywide energy management system that interacts to manage the electrical load on the grid – all along the system, from the utility to the consumer. Savings Energy efficient design Energy generation from renewable resources Waste converted to energy Transportation Sequestration 100% Powered by renewable energy 170 MW Photovoltaics