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 wellbeing 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

The Building ecosystem

input building output

building materials

used materials wasted heat. CO2, CO, SO2 gray water, sewer waste, recyclable materials warm air polluted air storm water

energy
water consumer goods solar radiation wind rainwater

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

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.

In order to facilitate construction, temporary roads may need to be built This causes permanent damage to existing vegetation, wildlife & topography

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

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 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

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 highrise 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