In order to be environmentally sustainable, buildings must adhere to several important principles. These principles include building location, materials selection, and indoor environmental quality. This article looks at a few examples to demonstrate these principles.
Environmental Sustainability
While sustainable design architecture is growing in popularity, it still makes up a small percentage of new construction. It’s easy to label buildings as “green” simply because they use solar panels or windmills. Still, the truth is that sustainability encompasses more than just the physical appearance of a building. It also encompasses social and economic processes, including the choices made regarding energy consumption. The key to sustainable architecture is identifying the needs and goals of your building’s life cycle and incorporating these into your plans.
One such project is CopenHill, a waste-to-energy power plant in Copenhagen, Denmark. It bills itself as the cleanest waste-to-energy plant in the world and features a facade you can climb. In addition to the power plant, the building is built so that you can hike across it and even ski on the roof. Ultimately, the goal is to minimize waste and maximize reuse and recycling. But implementing sustainable design architecture isn’t easy.
Material Selection
Sustainable Design Architecture projects have long sought to use environmentally friendly materials in their construction. Sustainable building materials (SBMs) are eco-friendly, high-performance materials that reduce the impact of a building on the environment. However, the selection of SBMs is far more complicated than choosing non-sustainable materials. Unlike conventional construction, sustainable building materials must be considered in multi-criteria decision-making models that balance environmental, economic, and social factors. Statistical tools and conceptual models can be used to analyze SBMs. Unfortunately, there are many incompatible criteria in material selection and analysis.
The bulk of building sustainability research has been conducted in industrialized nations such as China and Malaysia. However, few studies have adopted sustainable material selection criteria in developing countries such as Saudi Arabia. This research will help bridge this knowledge gap and provide a framework for future study. Ultimately, it will contribute to the practice of sustainable design architecture and construction. In addition, it will help develop guidelines that will promote sustainable materials in the construction industry.
Indoor Environmental Quality
In a sustainable building environment, good indoor environmental quality is an objective. It benefits occupants and helps managers avoid negative health impacts, liability, and bad publicity. By increasing indoor environmental quality, buildings can also increase the resale value of the building and reduce penalties to building owners.
