Concept of sustainable building

1. CONCEPTS OF A SUSTAINABLE
BUILDING
SEM IX
ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES
ASSIGNMENT NO.1
Ruchira Deshmukh
Paridhi Dodiya
Nikita Karpe
Yash Patil
Viraj Saple

2. Maximize natural light
What is natural light?
Natural lighting, also known as daylighting, is a technique that
efficiently brings natural light into your home using exterior
glazing (windows, skylights, etc.), thereby reducing artificial
lighting requirements and saving energy.
Types of natural lighting in Architecture:
 Diffuse and uniform light: coming from larger and more regular
openings, for example: strip windows around a room.
 Direct light: from the direct sunlight at the desired location on the
floor or other surface.
 Zenith light: from the ceiling like a skylight.
 Reflected light: from any surface and redirected into space.
Bendigo Hospital by Bates Smart
Benefits of natural light:
1.Conservation of energy- proper use of natural lighting can reduce the
cost of energy consumption up to 40%.
2.Enhancing the quality of spaces-proper integration of natural lighting
into built-up space increases the value of space. The spaces look larger,
and large openings let the natural flow of greenery inside the building.
3.Prevents growth of fungi-the rooms without proper natural sunlight do
tend to the growth of fungi, molds, and home to insects. This results in
the room being uncomfortable, gloomy, and bad smell may come from
the room.
4.Improves physiological well-being-natural lighting has a lot of biological
importance as sunlight triggers production of Vitamin D on our body.
5.Improves psychological well-being- natural lighting improves our mood,
enhances morale, increases energy levels, lower rates of
stress-related sick calls.

3. Name-Phillips Exeter Library
Location-New Hampshire [United States]
Architect-Louis Kahn,1972
Area-12321 sq.
 In the study area of the library, Louis Kahn used wood planks to define a smaller space
for each individual next to the window.
 The best thing about each space is that they have an independent lighting source.
 The cubicles are placed at the periphery to receive ample sunlight, significance is
given to each cubicle by allocating them sliding windows at desk height so that
readers can experience exterior views as well.
 Kahn used Exeter brick on the exterior of the nine story
building, a material made in Exeter itself and a design factor
that was important to the Academy.
 He also used stone and slate in the interior, and finished
certain aspects of the library in natural wood.
 The wood contrasted the stone by giving the spaces a sense
of warmth and a glow that welcomed readers when the
natural light flooded upon this natural material.
 The main floor with 70m height immerses itself in natural
light from clearstory windows at the top.
 The massive cross-concrete beams diffuse light and reflect
into the atrium that provides exaggerating and dramatic
effects.
Phillips Exeter Library, USA

4. Church of Light (Ibaraki Kasugaoka Church)
Shi,Japan
Tadao Ando Architects and associates,1999
Arch. Style-Modern architecture
 For Ando, the Church of Light is an architecture
of duality – the dual nature of existence –
solid/void, light/dark, stark/serene.
 The intersection of light and solid raises the
occupants awareness of the spiritual and
secular within themselves.
 “In all my works, light is an important
controlling factor,” says Ando.
 The volume of space is defined by the light.
 The profiles of the apertures from where the
light introduces into the interior also convey
religious meaning next to its physical presence.
 The natural light enters the chapel by the
crosscut apertures of the concrete wall.
 The horizontal opening perfectly rests with the
joints of concrete blocks, and the vertical one
runs from the floor to the ceiling, creating a
strong contrast between light and dark.
 Light acts as a focal point due to its
significance, as the rest of the space is empty.
Church Of Light ,Japan
Abstract prismatic
concrete volume
which is crossed by an
oblique concrete wall
and into whose dark
interior the light
penetrates in a poetic
way through the cross
that is cut out on the
altar wall.

5. Green roofs & Biowalls
What is green roof?
Green roofs also known as ‘vegetated roofs’ or ‘living roofs’ are roofs that are covered
entirely or partially with vegetation growing over a waterproof membrane.
 A green roof system is an extension of the existing roof which involves, at a minimum,
high quality waterproofing, root repellent system, drainage system, filter cloth, a
lightweight growing medium, and plants.
 Provide habitats for plants, insects, and animals that otherwise have limited natural
space in cities.
 Designs are site specific depending on climatic conditions, slope, access, structural
capacity and intended usage.
Types of green roof system:
Camelview Village
David Hovey
Scottsdale, Arizona, United States
Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust
Belzberg Architects
Pan Pacific Park, Los Angeles, California, United States
Extensive green roof
 Green protection layer for
roofs with little load-bearing
capacity.
 Shallow soil suitable for less
demanding plants.
 Self regenerating plants.
 Low maintenance
 Substrate depth: 60-120mm
Semi intensive green roof Intensive green roof
 Green roof with deeper
soils, planted with grasses
and shrubs
 higher maintenance
 Substrate depth:120-
250mm
 Roof garden with
permanent irrigation and
deep soils, suitable for
lawns, shrubs, and trees,
walkways, and even
playgrounds and pools.
 Regular/Highest
maintenance
 Substrate depth:150-400mm

6. Olympic sculpture park, Seattle A continuous
constructed landscape
for art, the
uninterrupted Z-shaped
"green" platform rises
over the existing
infrastructure to
reconnect the urban
core to the revitalized
Seattle waterfront.
Name- Olympic sculpture park
Location- Seattle, United States
Architect- Weiss/Manfredi architecture/landscape/urbanism
Size- 392,040 sq. Ft
Client- Seattle Art Museum
 A former oil-transfer facility transformed into the Seattle Art Museum’s
Olympic Sculpture Park.
 Connects three separate sites and accommodates the existing road and
railway.
 An urban sanctuary where art, nature, and infrastructure harmoniously
coexist.
 An 18,000-square-foot exhibition pavilion provides space for art,
performances, and educational programming.
 From this pavilion, the pedestrian route descends to the water, linking
three new landscapes of the northwest: a dense temperate evergreen
forest, a deciduous forest, and a shoreline garden.
 Throughout the park, landforms and plantings collaborate to direct, collect,
and cleanse storm water as it moves through the site before being released
into the bay.
Olympic Sculpture Park is a project in which architecture, landscape and
urbanism come together to offer a response that goes beyond solving an
infrastructure problem.

7. California Academy Of Sciences, San Francisco
Name- California Academy Of Sciences
Location- San Francisco, United States
Architect- Renzo Piano, Stantec Architecture
Size- 37,000 sq.
 Houses an aquarium, a planetarium, a natural history
museum and research and educational facilities,
features a "green" roof and numerous sustainable
features.
 The mission statement of the Academy, “To Explore,
Explain and Protect the Natural World”, (combined with
the mild San Francisco climate) made this project ideal
to incorporate sustainable design strategies.
Design & sustainability
 Piano’s goal was to create a sense of transparency and connectedness between
the building and the park through both a careful selection of materials and a
thoughtful arrangement of space.
 Living roof—a 2.5 acre expanse of native California plants and wildflowers that
creates a new link in the ecological corridor for wildlife.
 The location of spaces in relation to daylight and ventilation, the efficient use of
water and the run-off from the roof, as well as the generation of energy are
integral to the building design.
 The living roof, which reduces storm water runoff by up to 3.6 million gallons of
water per year.
 The roof is bordered by a glass canopy containing nearly 60,000 photo voltaic
cells, which will produce up to 10 percent of the Academy’s annual energy
needs.
 The green roof extends beyond the perimeter walls and becomes a glass
canopy providing shade, protection from the rain.
Inspired by the Golden Gate Park surroundings and the hills of
San Francisco when designing the California Academy of
Sciences’ new building.

8. What is a Bio Wall?
 Bio-walls are the vibrant and proven way to green a vertical surface.
 The greenery literally gives a built structure a living skin with dynamic design
opportunities.
 Bio walls are a pivotal and environmentally sustainable development tool for new and
existing building owners to embrace and transform urban spaces into living, thriving
habitats.
 The thousands of plants that make up a living wall help reduce temperatures of a
building, reduce noise levels and improve air quality and well-being for workers and
shoppers alike.
 Bio-walls not only look stunning on building exteriors and interiors, but they transform
the aesthetics and ambience of the street, office spaces and surrounding areas, not to
mention the health benefits.
Aesthetic appeal
Quick installation
Versatile functionality of living,
breathing and architectural aspect
Modular system using mature plants
Advantages of bio-walls:
How they help to improve livability:
Reduces urban heat island effect
Lowers building energy consumption
Increases urban bio-diversity
Improves air quality
Helps to reduces noise pollution
Enhances natural beauty
Connects to nature

9. Green Wall Systems
 Panelmodular system
 Tray system
 Free standing walls
Plants are pre-grown into panels that can be
used inside or outside, and in any type of
climate.
 Plants are pre-grown off-site and inserted into
the wall, which allows for a great degree of
design flexibility, especially since trays can be
easily removed and replaced. Typically cheaper
than panel systems, tray systems are most
commonly used in interior settings. An
excellent example of a tray green wall system is
Sky's Versa wall.
 With tray systems, each individual tray is
designed to hold a measured amount of water,
which means that plants do not have to
compete for hydration. Also, because of the
orientation of the trays, neither soil nor water
spills forward, which makes them suitable for
indoor environments.
Trays are designed to
hold a measured
amount of water for
each individual plant.
plants do not compete
for water.
This means no soil
spills out of the wall
and no water spills
forward. This
assures that the
Green wall be neat
and spotless.
Typical watering
times are every 7-
10 days
depending on
wall size.
Water can be
recycled or
drained off at the
bottom.
Freestanding walls:
 They can also be used as partitions or room
dividers.
 They can be placed against a wall or in the
middle of a room, and are ideal for
temporary spaces or floor plans that
change over time.

10. Edmonton International Airport (Edmonton, Canada)
Devocion cafe (Brooklyn, New York)
 The two-story
green wall is
also a huge
draw, and it’s
appropriately
on theme.
 The garden
includes
several coffee
plants native
to Colombia,
as well as
some more
generic
philodendrons
and ferns.
 This is one of the largest
Living Walls in Canada
and to our knowledge
the first and the largest
inside any airport
terminal in the world.
 Many of the plant
species chosen are
epiphytes, which means
that in their natural
habitat they live above
the ground and without
any soil.
 This colourful vertical garden
draws inspiration from high
altitude cloud formations,
which make sense, since it is
located in an airport.
 The wall opens in the arrivals
hall of Edmonton
International Airport in
2012,and its been beguiling
travellers ever since.
 The designers consulted
scientific studies to select
plants that absorb air
pollutants best, incorporating
nine out of the 10 species
recommended by NASA into
the wall.

11. REFERENCES
https://www.architecturaldigest.com/gallery/green-roof-living-roof-designs
http://www.2030palette.org/green-roof/
https://worldgreeninfrastructurenetwork.org/key-definition-green-roof/
https://livingroofs.org/introduction-types-green-roof/
https://www.weissmanfredi.com/projects/386-seattle-art-museum-olympic-sculpture-park
https://www.archdaily.com/6810/california-academy-of-sciences-renzo-piano
https://thearchspace.com/8-fascinating-examples-of-natural-light-and-shadows-as-architectural-
concepts/#6_Zollverein_School_of_Management_and_Design
https://www.devocion.com/pages/devocion-cafe-williamsburg-brooklyn-ny
https://horttrades.com/the-biowall-a-natural-air-cleaning-
system#:~:text=Sprouting%20from%20research%20into%20long,designed%20for%20air%20quality%20improvement.
https://www.archdaily.com/search/all?q=CHURCH%20OF%20LIGHT&ad_source=jv-headerhttps://www.archdaily.com/63683/ad-classics-exeter-
library-class-of-1945-library-louis-kahn?ad_source=search&ad_medium=projects_tab