1. Ecological Building
By T A Vijayasanan
Term Project for ME 599
Submitted to: Prof. Steven Skerlos
2. 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
3. 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
4. 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
5. 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
6. 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
7. 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
9. 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
11. 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
12. 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
13. 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
14. 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 Wright’s “Falling Water” is a good example
of how to build in harmony with Nature
15. 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.
17. 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 building’s
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
18. input building output
The Building ecosystem
building
materials
energy
water
consumer
goods
solar radiation
wind
rainwater
used materials
wasted heat. CO2, CO,
SO2
gray water, sewer
waste, recyclable
materials
warm air
polluted air
storm water
19. 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
20. 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 building’s 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 Murcutt’s 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.
21. 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 SO2, CO2, CO and NOX 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
22. 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
24. 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 façades 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
26. 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
27. 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
28. 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
29. 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
30. Ecological Building
The early & mid 20th
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
31. Ecological Building
Late 20th
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
32. 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