Asian Architecture Case Study Report

Asian Architecture [ARC 2213/2234]
PROJECT 1: CASE STUDY
APPLICATION OF OPENNESS AS A DESIGN CONCEPT
TO ACHIEVE THERMAL COMFORT AT BELUM
RAINFOREST RESORT, PULAU BANDING
NAME: GERTRUDE LEE YUE SIEW
STUDENT ID: 0306265
LECTURER: MS ALIA
SUBMISSION DATE: 11 NOVEMBER 2014

APPLICATION OF OPENNESS AS A DESIGN CONCEPT TO ACHIEVE THERMAL
COMFORT AT BELUM RAINFOREST RESORT, PULAU BANDING
Paper Title
Table of Contents Page
ABSTRACT 3
1.0 INTRODUCTION 4
2.0 TROPICAL ARCHITECTURE 6
2.1 PASSIVE DESIGN STRATEGIES AND ELEMENTS 6
3.0 USERS AT BELUM RAINFOREST RESORT 8
4.0 OPENNESS AS A PASSIVE DESIGN CONCEPT 9
5.0 FACTORS AFFECTING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF
OPENNESS AS A PASSIVE DESIGN CONCPET TO 10
ACHIEVE THERMAL COMFORT
5.1 SITE OF BUILDING 11
5.2 ORIENTATION OF BUILDING 12
a. NATURAL LIGHTING 12
b. AIR FLOW AND VENTILATION 15
6.0 COMPARISON BETWEEN ENCLOSED SPACE AND OPEN 17
SPACE
7.0 CONCLUSION 18
8.0 REFERENCES 19
ARC 2213/2234 Asian Architecture 2

Abstract
The purpose of studying the design concept of the building is because the design
concept and the design elements of the building are important in order to achieve
thermal comfort of a building in a certain country. The building that was given to us as a
case study is the Belum Rainforest Resort, Pulau Banding, Perak, Malaysia. As our site
is located at an island, it is also important for the design element to be able to tackle
the urban heat island problem also. Tropical architecture is about how to achieve
thermal comfort through the use of passive design elements and not the type of design.
Passive design is a process of achieving thermal comfort level without using
mechanical systems. As for Belum Rainforest Resort, it has managed to apply tropical
architecture through its design elements for example the materials used, the green
roof, and the openness of the building and the openings of the building. Thermal
comfort of the buildings determines the satisfaction of the visitors is important in order
to allow a pleasant stay at the resort that is why the application of tropical architecture
is important. The most obvious design element that is found and incorporated in this
Belum Rainforest Resort building is the openness of the building. It is one of the major
design elements of this resort. In order for this design elements to enable the building
to achieve thermal comfort, a few issues has to be taken into consideration which are ,
how does the design concept function or help to reduce the heat gain in a space, how
does openness contributes to the sustainability of the building, size and how open is
the building, how the orientation of the building affects this design element, how the
wind direction affects this design element, how does this design element tackle the
urban heat island problem which also contributes to the thermal comfort of the building
and comparing the thermal comfort inside an enclosed space and open space.

1.0 Introduction
Belum Rainforest Resort is located at Pulau Banding, Perak, Malaysia. The site
that Belum Rainforest Resort is on is at the entrance to the 130 million years old Belum
Temenggor Rainforest. This 300,000 hectares rainforest remains one of the largest
untouched forest reserve in Peninsular Malaysia, it is also surrounded by the lake and
a picturesque landscape created by the magnificently framed hills overlapping each
other at the immediate context. It is one of Malaysia’s premier ecotourism holiday
destinations. Guest who visits or stays at this resort can completely relax and enjoy the
magnificent views.
Belum Rainforest Resort has a total of two phases. Shown in Diagram 1.1,
Phase 1 consist of the reception area, cafeteria and bar, restaurant, meeting halls, the
buildings where the superior rooms, deluxe rooms and the executive deluxe rooms are
located at. Phase 2, considered the newer phase as it was completed in 2013, consist
of the buildings where the deluxe suites rooms and traditional chalet area is located at.
Diagram 1.1 The two different phases in Belum Rainforest Resort

In these two different phases, their buildings have 2 different styles which can
be seen by the use of materials for their buildings and the design but at the same time,
the passive design elements are also applied in both the phases and how the architect
tackles the tropical architecture in both the phases. The design elements that can be
seen are the materials used, green roof, openings of the building and also the
openness of the buildings. From the topic chosen, openness is one of the most obvious
design concept applied to the buildings in both phases.
This paper will investigate how the buildings at Belum Rainforest Resort
manage to apply Tropical Architecture, how openness contributes to the thermal
comfort in the building and also how openness contributes to the sustainability of the
building. These issues will be explored by responding to the following research
questions:
1. What is Tropical Architecture?
2. What design elements is incorporated in Belum Rainforest building that is in
relation to Tropical Architecture?
3. How does openness contribute to the sustainability of the building?
4. What are the factors contributing to the effectiveness of openness as a design
concept?
5. Compare in terms of thermal comfort, the difference between enclosed space
and open spaces.

2.0 Tropical Architecture
The architect for Belum Rainforest Resort managed to apply Tropical Architecture
in the buildings in both phases. People always mistaken tropical architecture as a
particular design style but actually tropical architecture is define as a climate
responsive architecture, where architects specifically design the building, through the
use of passive design elements in order to achieve thermal comfort. ASHRAE defines
thermal comfort as ‘that condition of mind which expresses satisfaction with the thermal
environment’ which basically also means when a person feels comfortable in that
thermal environment. The user’s thermal environment can differ depending on the
user’s activity. The combination of environmental factors, such as air temperature,
radiant temperature and relative humidity, and personal factors, such as clothing and
metabolic rate, combine will result in the thermal comfort of a building. Tropical
architecture is also about tackling urban heat island effect problem. Urban heat island
effect is a phenomenon which addresses the higher temperature in metropolitan area
than in rural areas due to human activities and also higher number of buildings in an
area.
2.1 Passive Design Strategies and Elements
Passive design is a process of achieving thermal comfort without using
mechanical ventilation systems and also reducing energy use and environmental
impacts such as greenhouse gas emissions. This can be achieved by using renewable
energy sources of energy such as sun and wind to provide natural heating and cooling,
natural ventilation and also natural lighting in order to reduce the use of mechanical
systems in a building. Good passive design of a building ensures that users are
comfortable with the thermal environment that they are in. Besides the orientation of

the building which also affects the passive design of a building, the passive design
elements are also important in order to achieve a good passive design of the building.
Passive design elements are such as the use of materials, the sun shading devices
used, types of openings or fenestration and the openness of the building. These design
elements can also help the building to achieve a good passive design.
As for Belum Rainforest Resort, the types of passive design elements used in
the buildings in both phases are the types of materials used, the types of roof used, the
types of openings or fenestration and the openness of the building. By having these
passive design elements, Belum Rainforest Resort is able to reduce the amount of
mechanical systems used as the architect’s aim was to make this building an eco-friendly
building and also to allow the building to achieve thermal comfort. Furthermore,
it is important for the building to apply these passive design elements because besides
the location being at an island, Malaysia is a tropical rainforest climatic country.
Tropical rainforest climate are usually found in countries along the equator and typically
this climate is hot and wet throughout the entire season and between night and day,
the change of temperature is larger compared to the change of temperature throughout
the years.
Figure 2.1.1 Example of an Open Space at Phase 2 in Belum Rainforest Resort

3.0 Users at Belum Rainforest Resort
The type of users and the amount of users in a certain type of building is
important as they are also one of the factors that contribute to thermal comfort of a
building. The type of clothing used by a user is important as it is a personal factor
resulting in thermal comfort. Clothing helps to insulate a person from the exchange of
heat with the surrounding and it also affects the heat loss through the evaporating
process of sweat. Users have the choice to pick their clothes, for example if a person
feels cold, he can wear a jacket and if he feels hot after that, he can take off the jacket.
The types of users means that the types of activity done by a particular person. An
activity of a person is important as this will affect the metabolic heat rate of a person.
Heat will be produce by a person’s body through physical activity. For example a
person sitting down will feel cooler compared to a person running around.
Belum Rainforest Resort being an attraction for tourists from different parts of
the world who would like to explore nature and a getaway place for people will affect
the number of users at Belum Rainforest Resort. Besides visitors, there are also users
who work at the resort. All these users will have different types of activities which will
contribute to the thermal comfort. As for tourist, they are people who just visit the place
for as long as one day, they would usually relax and walk around the resort after their
activities outside the resort for example jungle trekking. The tourist would explore the
resort as well as enjoy the view. After a jungle trekking event, their metabolic heat rate
will increase as jungle trekking is an activity which exerts a lot of energy. As for hotel
guest who basically are people who stays at the resort for a few nights would normally
bring their family to the resort for a getaway to relax and also enjoy time with their
family. For them, their activity varies from just relaxing at the resort to doing activities
like jogging and cycling around the resort. So their metabolic heat rate will also vary.

Lastly for the services people, people who work at the resort, they would be going
around the resort working. They would be basically walking around half of the time
constantly therefore their metabolic rate will be constant but at a higher rate.
If we were to compare the thermal comfort of each of these users, and if they
were all at the restaurant space, the waiters’ metabolic heat rate would be the highest
compared to tourists and hotel guests because of the types of clothing they wear and
their constant activities that they are doing. As for tourist, even though after jungle
trekking activities, they will have time to cool down when they relax at the restaurant
and also they are able to choose the type of clothing they wear.
4.0 Openness as Passive Design Concept and Contribution to
Sustainability
As stated in my topic title, this paper would study more about the application of
openness as a design concept. As seen throughout Phase 1 and Phase 2 of the Belum
Rainforest Resort, the most obvious passive design concept of the buildings is the
openness of the building. Openness of a space means that a spaces which is
constructed in a way that there is no enclosure on the top or on the sides of the space.
Openness of a space is considered a passive design concept as it allows natural
lighting in the space and also natural ventilation in and out of the space. An openness
of a space can tell the level of privacy of a space. As this resort is meant for public,
except for the hotel rooms, most of the spaces are open to allow natural lighting and
natural ventilation in to the space reducing the amount of mechanical systems such as
lighting and air condition used in a space.
At Phase 1 of the Belum Rainforest Resort, openness of a space can be shown
at the reception/lobby area, cafeteria and bar area, toilet (sink area) and also at the
corridors of the buildings with the hotel rooms. At Phase 2, the open spaces can be

seen at the corridors towards the open decking and at the reading areas. As observed,
during day time, these spaces, both at Phase 1 and Phase 2 uses less mechanical
system as there is the source of lighting from the sunlight and also the wind to cool the
space down as well as ventilation in the space. Openness of the spaces as one of the
passive design concept shown in Belum Rainforest Resort contributes to the
sustainability of the buildings.
Figure 4.1 Cafeteria at Phase 1 of Belum Rainforest Resort
Figure 4.2 Open Space in Phase 2 of Belum Rainforest Resort

5.0 Factors Affecting the Effectiveness of Openness as a
Passive Design Concept to Achieve Thermal Comfort
Before even considering openness as a passive design concept, issues that have
to be considered in order to even come up with a building design. Factors such as
‘where will the site of the building be at?’, ‘how is the climate condition of the place?’,
‘how the building is going to be placed?’, and lastly, ‘how is the design concept going to
be applied to the building?’. These factors are important in order for the building to fit
to site and to enable to increase the effectiveness of the design concept as a passive
design concept to be able to achieve the satisfaction of the users and also the thermal
comfort of the building.
5.1 Site of the Building
The site of which the building is at is important as it is a factor that contributes to
the design of the building. The site itself can tell the type of climate that this particular
site, the sun orientation and the wind flow direction. The site of Belum Rainforest
Resort is located at Pulau Banding, Perak, Malaysia. Malaysia experience tropical
rainforest climate, climate which is hot and wet climate throughout the whole season.
The site for the resort is located at the point of where the East- West Highway cuts
through the island and the resort is orientated facing the Temenggor Lake. Looking at
this resort, the architect has analysed thoroughly the sun path and a wind direction on
site in order to incorporate the openness design concept to the buildings in Belum
Rainforest Resort.

Figure 5.1.1 Map showing the location of Belum Rainforest Resort
Source: maps.google.com
5.2 Orientation of the Building
The orientation of the building is also important to enable the design concept to
achieve its goal. As for Belum Rainforest Resort, the application of the openness as a
design concept will be affected by the orientation of the building. The sun path and the
wind direction will affect the orientation of the building as well as the openness as the
design concept.
a. Natural Lighting
The sun path direction contributes to the orientation of the building. We all know in
general that the sun rises on the east and sets on the west. The orientation of the
building and its design must consider the sun path in order to get a reasonable amount
of sun light and also have minimal solar heat gain as solar heat gain contributes to the
thermal comfort of the building. This application can be seen more in the buildings of
Phase 1. For Phase 1, besides the site having a lot of trees which helps as a
fenestration for the building and also having pitched, overhang roofs, the openness of
the building as a design concept has already been taken account for the orientation of
the building to allow reasonable amount of lighting entering the building in order not to

allow too much heat gain in the space. By allowing natural lighting to enter the space,
this can reduce the amount of lighting in the spaces as it increase the energy
consumption by the building and also contributes to the temperature of the space.
These can be seen in buildings used for the reception/lobby, cafeteria and bar, the
corridors of the resort hotel. The angles of the sun and how it affects each of the
spaces will be illustrated in the diagrams below and also pictures showing natural
lighting:
Diagram 5.2.a.1 Section showing natural lighting at the cafeteria at 6 p.m

Diagram 5.2.a.2 Section showing natural lighting at the reception at 9 a.m
Figure 5.2.a.1 Natural lighting at the cafeteria
Figure 5.2.a.2 Natural lighting at in the toilet

Figure 5.2.a.3 Natural lighting at the corridor of Phase 1 hotel
b. Maximum Air Flow and Natural Ventilation
In addition, the wind direction on site also contributes to the orientation of the
building. In Malaysia, the wind direction differs as this country will face two monsoon
winds. Starting late month of May to September, the site will face the South-West
Monsoon wind and starting November to March, the site will face the North-East
Monsoon wind. The orientation of the building for the maximum airflow and also for
ventilation is important as the openness is applied as a design concept. For the
buildings in Belum Rainforest Resort, the spaces of the building are open or not
enclosed at the sides. This design of the building will allow maximum amount of airflow
through the space. As for Phase 1, the openness of the space is designed differently
compared to Phase 2. The spaces of the buildings in Phase 1 is design in such a way
where the sides are not enclosed but it is covered by the roof whereas the spaces of
the building in Phase 2 differ from not being enclosed at the sides to being totally open.
The amount of airflow differs on the how open a space is.
As airflow is allowed in a space, natural ventilation will occur in the space. Natural
ventilation is a process of which the exchange of hot and cold air occurs as hot air is
less dense compared to cold air. Natural ventilation also can help in decreasing the

temperature in a space as well as improve the thermal comfort in the space and the
indoor air quality as this will affect the users in the space. At the resort, through
observation in both phases, the temperature of the spaces in the building is consistent
as there are enough openings in the spaces to allow airflow and ventilation to occur. In
order to increase the rate of ventilation in a space, fans are installed in certain spaces
as we cannot depend on the natural ventilation alone due to the number of users in the
spaces which will increase the temperature of the space and affecting the thermal
comfort in the building. By having all these open spaces, allowing air flow and
ventilation to occur, this will allow the decrease in mechanical ventilation system in the
building allowing the buildings in the resort to be sustainable and eco-friendly. The
diagram below will show the airflow in the cafeteria and reception:
Diagram 5.2.b.1 Section showing the air flow through the cafeteria

Diagram 5.2.b.2 Section showing the air flow through the reception
6.0 Comparison between Enclosed Space and Open Space
The buildings at the Belum Rainforest Resort are not all open spaces as there are
some private spaces which are also enclosed spaces for example the meeting room.
Enclosed space is a space which is covered at each side. Comparing both of these
spaces, an enclosed space will depend on lighting systems installed in the building
rather than the natural lighting whereas for open spaces, during the day they can use
natural lighting. In terms of thermal comfort, the enclosed space will not have much
ventilation which will affect the thermal comfort of the space as the bad air quality and
the hot air will be circulating in the space whereas open spaces will have more
ventilation. The enclosed space will rely a lot on the mechanical ventilation in order to
improve the air quality and the temperature of the space.

7.0 Conclusion
In conclusion, the buildings in Belum Rainforest Resort managed to apply tropical
architecture into the design of the building by using the passive design elements as
part of the design. The design concept of the building has a lot of factors that needs to
be considered in order for the building to achieve thermal comfort. For Belum
Rainforest Resort, as for this report, it focuses on the application of openness as a
passive design concept in order to achieve thermal comfort. The factors that affects the
effectiveness of the openness as a design concept is the site of the building, the
orientation of the building for natural lighting and also for air flow and natural ventilation.
By having openness as a design concept, it will be able to contribute to the
sustainability of the building as it decreases the amount of mechanical ventilation
system and lighting systems at the resort. Majority of the spaces in the buildings of the
resort are open spaces. Lastly, the openness of the spaces of the buildings in Belum
Rainforest Resort allows the user to enjoy the magnificent view of the site.

8.0 References
1. Allard, F. (1998). Natural Ventilation in Buildings: A Design Handbook. London:
James & James (Science ).
2. Awbi, H. (1991). Ventilation of buildings. London: E & FN Spon.
3. Baweja, V. (2008). A pre-history of Green Architecture: Otto Koenigsberger and
Tropical Architecture, from Princely Mysore to post-colonial London. Ann
Arbor, Mich.: UMI.
4. Designing Buildings Wiki Put all construction industry knowledge in one place.
Integrated, collaborative, free. (n.d.). Retrieved November 8, 2014, from
http://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Thermal_comfort_in_buildings
5. Hwa Bay, J., & Lay Ong, B. (2006).Tropical sustainable architecture: Social and
environmental dimensions. Oxford: Architectural.
6. Key features of designing a home with passive design. (n.d.). Retrieved
November 10, 2014, from http://www.level.org.nz/passive-design/
7. Rengel, R. (2003). Shaping interior space. New York: Fairchild.
8. Wong, N., & Chen, Y. (2009). Tropical urban heat islands: Climate, buildings and
greenery. London: Taylor & Francis.

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