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SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE, BUILDING
& SCIENCE
BUILDING SCIENCE 1 (BLD60803)
PROJECT 1: Case Study
(Identifying innovative passive design strategies)
LOCATION
The Pinnacle @ Bandar Sunway, Malaysia.
PREPARED BY:
Alex Wong 0303228
Chew Wen Lin 1007c10646
Chin Pui Man 0310331
Daniel Yap 0309100
Gan Chin Bong 0313738
Teo Kian Hui 0310165

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No Content Page
1 Introduction
1
2 Detailed Information
2-3
3 Appendix
4-8
4 Climate Data
9-12
5 Wind Analysis
13-14
6 Sun Path Case Studies and Psychometric Chart
15-16
7 Passive Design Features
17-23
8 Conclusion
24
9 Reference List
24-25
TABLE OF CONTENT

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The Pinnacle @ Sunway is located in Sunway Resort City Bandar Sunway, which
developed by Sunway Property. This is a 27 storey building that is chosen to be the
leading business around the state especially Petaling Jaya and Subang Jaya. In
addition, it has a floor plate of 25 thousand sq ft net that allows this building to be one
of the largest in Kuala Lumpur and Klang Valley. The building is located at strategic
location that is well connected to four major highways with excellent acces to all parts
of Kalng Valley that are Federal Highway, New Klang Valley Expressway (NKVE),
Shah Alam Expressway (KESAS) and North-South Expressway Central Link
(ELITE).
INTRODUCTION

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Project by:
Sunway Group Sdn Bhd
Building Address:
The Pinnacle
Persiaran Lagon,
Bandar Sunway
46150 Petaling Jaya
Selangor Darul Ehsan
Architect:
Perunding Alam Bina Sdn Bhd
Photo scource from: http://www.sunwayproperty.com/pd/pinnacle.asp
Figure 1: The Pinnacle
Photo scource from: http://www.sunwayproperty.com/pd/pinnacle.asp
Figure 2: Site plan
Detailed Information

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The Pinnacle is located in Sunway Resort City that holds the title of The First
International Award-Winning Green Township in Malaysia. This is a 27 storey
building that has a premier A office development with MSC status, Green office
building with GBI and BCA Green Mark Gold Accreditation. Besides that, The
Pinnacle is designed with connecting carparks to Sunway Resort Hotel and Menara
Sunway in that area. A pedestrain bridge linking both building, Sunway Resort Hotel
and Menara Sunway improve permeability of the users. In addition, this building is an
energy and water efficient through the use of high performance glazing, efficient
chillier plant system design and LED lights fitted throughout the building. It also has
rain water harvesting for irrigation and water efficient for sanitary features. The
building uses material that has low VOC (Volatile Organic Compound) paint and
adhesives and sealants. The Pinnacle Sunway project uses Virtual Design and
Construction (VDC) technology that has the Building Information Modelling (BIM)
and Integrated Project Delivery (IPD).
Green Design Features of the Pinnacle @ Sunway
Green desgin features that can be found in the Pinnacle building are
I. Low-E Double Glazing High Performance Glass
II. Horizontal Brise Soleil (Horizontal Multiple Blade Shading System)
III. Efficient Chiller Plant System Design
IV. Rainwater Harvesting for irrigation and water efficient sanitary

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Figure 4: Mezzanine Floor plan
APPENDIX
Figure 3: Ground Floor plan

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Figure 5: Level 1-12 Low Zone office layout
Figure 6: Level 13 Facilities Layout

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Figure 7: Level 13A Low Zone office layout
Figure 8: Level 15 Low Zone office layout

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Figure 9: Level 16-23 High Zone office layout
Figure 10(i) & (ii): Overhang Shade

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Figure 12: Pedestrian Bridge to Sunway Resort Hotel
Figure 11: Open air staircase

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Malaysia is located in the Southeast Asia. Malaysia has coasts along the South
China Sea. The country lies near the Equator on Latitude 4.1936ºN and Longitude
103.7249ºE. Because Malaysia is located near the equator, thus it has equatorial
climate with uniformly high temperatures, relatively light winds, high humidity and
abundant rainfall throughout the year.
Malaysia's climates are divided into two different seasons, which are the Northeast
Monsoon, and the Southwest Monsoon season. These two seasons are separated by
two short inter-monsoon periods.
Climatic difference happened because Malaysia has different altitude and the
exposure of coastal lowlands to the southwest and northeast monsoon winds.
Figure 13: Daily maximum and minimum temperature (ºc) chart
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
Daily Maximum (º)
Daily Minimum(º)
Climate Data

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Monthly maximum temperatures in Kuala Lumpur (which is known as the federal
capital) in Malaysia range between 31.5ºc to 33ºc. While for the minimum
temperatures ranges from 22.5ºc to 24ºc. From figure 1, December was the coolest
month throughout the year.
Figure 14: Average Sunlight and Average Daylight Chart
Malaysia receives sunlight throughout the year and it is very rare for
Malaysia to have full day of clear skies. Malaysia temperatures are
varying less than 2ºc annually.
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
Sunlight (Hours)
Daylight (Hours)

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Figure 15: Relative Humidity (%) chart
Relative humidity in Malaysia is in the range of 60% to 100% throughout the year.
Malaysia is a country where it has high level of humidity. It differs from 97% in the
morning and falls to 60% in the afternoon, when it is not raining.
Figure 16: Wet Days chart
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
Relative Humidity (AM)
Relative Humidity (PM)
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
Wet Days

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Malaysia is located on the near equator, thus the country experiences rainfall
throughout the year. As mention in the introduction, Malaysia climate is divided into
two seasons, which is;
A) Northeast Monsoon; which happens on the period of December to March. From
the chart, December achieved the highest value, which labeled as "wet phase" while
February has lower value that is labeled as "dry phase"
B) Southwest Monsoon; which happens on the period of June to September. From the
chart, this period has average number of wet days that rain usually last for most 2
hours.

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Wind Direction Percentage (%)
North 20
Northeast 14
East 6
Southeast 6
South 8
Southwest 5
West 16
Northwest 25
Table 1: Wind Direction for year 2013
Month Wind Force (kph)
January 6.8
February 6.4
March 6.2
April 6.7
May 7
June 7.3
July 6.6
August 7.7
September 6.9
October 7.3
November 6.2
December 6.6
Table 2: Wind Force for year 2013
Wind Analysis

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Wind Arrow of Malaysia
From the wind arrow chart, we can conclude that there is always strong wind
at the direction north-east while weaker wind at the direction south-east. The darker
blue represent longer period in hour, while lighter blue represent shorter period in
hour.

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Sun Path Analysis in the morning on 8 of May
Sun Path Analysis in the morning on 8 of May
Sun Path Analysis in the morning on 8 of May
Sun Path Case Studies

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Psychrometric Chart of Malaysia (same as Singapore)
From the chart above, we can conclude that to achieve thermal comfort, the
temperature and humidity of the place or area should reach within the yellow box
value showed above. The values inside the box stat that with the range of temperature
from 23 degree Celsius to 27 degree Celsius and the humidity value from 4 to 13 is
the thermal comfort zone. With the present data, a green building should have the
ability to maintain as a thermal comfort zone.
Psychrometric Chart

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Throughout this case study, two passive design features are pointed out from the
Pinnacle at Bandar Sunway. These two passive designs are:
I. Horizontal Brise Soleil (Horizontal Multiple Blade Shading System)
Figure 17: Shading devices of The Pinnacle
Tall building like Pinnacle often has a large exposing surface area towards
sunlight. Therefore, natural lighting is easier to obtain when compared to low rise
building in the surrounding. Meanwhile, it will also facing an important issue which is
the heat gain through the sun radiation. This problem can be solved by few different
methods. Two methods have been applied to overcome the enormous gain of heat.
Solar shading device is one of the passive designs that helps a building to admit
sunlight and to block it in a certain circumstance when it is beneficial. In Pinnacle, the
Passive Design Features

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Horizontal Brise Soleil Shading System is used on 70% of the surface of the building.
The shading is not extended out too much because of the orientation of the building
where sunlight does not shine directly at a low angle into the building. Extended light
shelf is used in Pinnacle to fully utilize the excessive sunlight as shown in the same
diagram above. Instead of providing shades, it also provides shading reflects the
direct sunlight into the in-door rooms to provide comfortable lighting.
Figure 18: Effect of Brise Soleil act as lightshelf
The figure 19 above show how the lightshelf works. As the material of the
light shelf is aluminium, the characteristic of create reflection have contribute in
lighten up the interior of the building. Thus, the beam of sunlight will not strike into
the building directly which create less heat radiation while produce a certain amount
of light towards the building. Therefore, electrical energy required for interior
artificial lighting can be gradually reduced which contributed in honoring this
building as a Green Building. Besides, in cooperate of using advanced glass
technology, Low-E Double Glazing High-Performance Glass, the sustaining of the
thermal comfort zone inside the building has greatly been achieve.

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Figure 19: Effect of Low-E Double Glazing High-Performance Glass
Figure 20: Effect of Low-E Double Glazing High-Performance Glass
High performance glass is essential to the energy efficiency. With most of the
Pinnacle building façade being filled with glasses, it certainly plays an important role
to how well it can save energy and at the same time being eco-friendly. At a tropical
country like Malaysia, most of the energy is consumed by using air conditioner to
cool our in-door building. Therefore, more energy is needed especially if the entire

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building facade is covered with glass because more heat will entire directly into the
building and thus the temperature will increase making the interior building feels
hotter.
Pinnacle has used double glazing that is not no common or suitable in tropical
country. When combined with low- Emission coating, it worked more than effectively
with U value of 1.2-1.8. (GBI).
Air is a poor conductor of heat; a double glazing had certainly done the job of
significantly reducing the heat from entering the building because heat is trapped
between the layers. Moreover, with the extra low-E coating, long wave infared
radiation is also reflected. In another way, it provides resistance to heat gain. Since
heat transfer cannot be stopped, it does drastically slow down the process of heat
transfer. This certainly cuts down the electrical bill when the spaces are cooler for
longer period of time and air-conditioning uses less energy. Besides that, lesser
greenhouse gasses are emitted therefore making it very environmental friendly.
With this, the comfort zone of 25ºc-28ºc can be easily obtained with a good
insulator such as the low-E double glazing to avoid heat transfer from outside the
building. In addition, thermal comfort is achieved.
II. Sky Garden @ level 13
The sky garden at Pinnacle, Sunway offers unobstructed views of Sunway
Resort City that is located at one corner of the building facing South-west. The sky
garden placed at level 13 provides a new relaxation to new height that facilitates
natural ventilation and free flowing air. The main function of this garden is for the
worker and nature to interact with each other. Because of the environment we live in,
there aren't much plantation and greenery around us, therefore, this building provides

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some greenery which can't be found throughout the city. In addition, it is able to
provide some fresh air and beauty towards the building itself.
(source: http://www.iproperty.com.my/propertylisting/1643414/bandar-sunway-office-forrent)
Figure 21: Sky garden; Sky lounge
Figure 22: Ventilation of wind at sky garden@ level 13
Due to the sky garden is facing the South-West, thus the sunlight is being
controlled during daytime. Therefore, the placing of sky garden plays a role on how it
can save energy and at the same time have high aesthetic value by providing a cooling
effect towards the surrounding of the garden.

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Malaysia is located in the Southeast Asia, the designed location of the sky
garden which is located towards South-west direction have maximize utilize the wind
ventilation during Southwest Monsoon. Therefore, an intensive green roof concept is
used to design the terrace surrounding the sky bar. The plants is based on the climate
and weather condition such as crawler types based plant for design, flowering plants
for beauty and small trees for cooling effects. With the carefully selected types of
plants and design, maintained is being reduce therefore the cost and hiring worker is
also being reduce at the same time. The density of the plants provide some shelter
from the rain which is also slowing down the heavy downfall especially during the
monsoon season.

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After some site visits to Sunway Pinnacle Office Tower, we found out that the
building is not fully completed for the wiring and electrician part. Due to that reason,
the building manager, Mr Kurma, can allow us to visit some part of the building.
Although we were limited from some spaces of the building, we still manage to
interview Mr Kurma. From what we were told, the building has a gold standard from
the Green Building for a reason. From the outside of the building, it doesn't look
much of a standout but when you reach the interior and take a closer look, the
building actually has the design and technology to support it as a green building. In
addition, this building is one of the first Green Building in Malaysia from what Mr
Kurma had said. From the visitation paid to the site, we get to know that this building
is a sub-branch from the main building at the side with an addition of Green
Technology apply into it. We were expecting the building to be done by the end of
last year 2013 but when we got there, it is only 95+% complete. Since then, we are
not allow to go up to experience the spaces on top. We suggested that they should
provide more shading effect from the main building to the new building because of
the weather in Malaysia. In addition, the ventilation for air is not as ventilated as we
thought and most of the lighting is not natural lighting but artificial lighting.
Conclusion

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1. Climate of Malaysia. (n.d.). Climate of Malaysia. Retrieved April 27, 2014, from
http://www.eoearth.org/view/article/151260/
2. Malaysian Meteorological Department. (n.d.). Malaysian Meteorological
Department. Retrieved April 27, 2014, from
http://www.met.gov.my/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=75&Itm
mid=1089
3. www.weatheronline.co.uk/weather/maps/city?LANG=en&CEL=C&SI=mph
MAPS=over&CONT=asie&LAND=MM&REGION=0027&WMO=48647&UP=
&R=0&LEVEL=160&NOREGION=1
4. Sunway SBN. BHD, December 2013, The Pinnacle Building Handbook,
Introduction, page 1, 5
5. Sunway Property, December 2013, The Pinnacle, Concept, (6 May 2014),
Retrieved From http://www.sunwayproperty.com/pd/pinnacle.asp#
6. Starproperty.my, 22 November 2013, The Pinnacle Sunway, A Prime Green Office
Building, Property News, (6 May 2014) Retrieved From
Reference List

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http://www.starproperty.my/index.php/articles/property-news/the-pinnacle-sunway-a-
prime-green-office-building-with-excellent-connectivity/
7. The (perfect) Pinnacle. (n.d.). Retrieved May 1, 2014, from
http://www.sunwayproperty.com/The_(perfect)_Pinnacle.aspx
8. Retrieved May 1, 2014, from
http://wongcy.iagent.my/default.aspx?p=ShowListing&pid=2580268
9. The Pinnacle Sunway, a prime green office building - Malaysia Premier Property
and Real Estate Portal. (n.d.). Retrieved May 1, 2014, from
http://www.starproperty.my/index.php/articles/property-news/the-pinnacle-sunway-a-
prime-green-office-building-with-excellent-connectivity/
10. Rainwater Harvesting Systems | Rainwater Harvester Tanks | OASIS. (n.d.).
Retrieved May 1, 2014, from http://oasis-rainharvesting.co.uk/