1. Project 1: My Community My Commitment
ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABLE DESIGN
BLD60203
Group Members
Student ID
Adrian Seow Chen Wah
0314331
Ho Tze Hooi
0314179
Ling Siaw Zu
0313593
Soo Xiao Wen
0314130
Chan boon Haw
0313667
Lai Sze Chun
0313797
Hooi Wei Xing
0318523
Chang Wei Jian
0318252
rahmat Aidil Maula
0311462
Pua Zhi Qin
0314073
Pua Kai jin
0313995
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“My Community My Commitment” Project Proposal
Photo 1.1: The facade of the orphanage
The concept of environmental-community service is important and has developed in the past few years. There are thousands of organizations all over the world that engage and hold millions of young people all through the world. People of all age groups, with a maximum number of youth are involved in the process of community service.Environmental-community-based organizations include; social service organizations, non-profit providers and associations that engage both young people as well adults as volunteers. The process is beneficial both for the individuals as well as the society. Environmental-Community service can be defined as a service that is performed for the benefit of the public. Environmental-Community service is a commitment. Basically, community service is a way for a person to give back to a community and help them to have a happy life which they live. There are many ways of giving back to the community.
“My Community My Commitment” is a project that aims to instil and expose the young members of society with a strong sense of communal responsibility, engagement and skills. The project’s target is to develop the young generation into morally and ethically strengthened leaders who will bring about change utilizing creative and sustainable approaches.
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1.1 OBJECTIVE OF THE PROJECT
1. To show that recyclable materials is best used to conserve the environment.
2. To help the one who is in need desperate need.
3. Showing things learnt and used in reality.
4. To design an eco-friendly usable furniture.
1.2 ORGANIZATION
Many research were performed in order to pinpoint particular organizations that truly were in need of assistance. In conclusion, the organization found and deemed most suitable is an orphanage located in Klang Utama called Klang Utama Caring Center.
Most of the children there were abandon by their parents and fortunately it was due to Mrs Maha who is the person in charge that care was able to be provided to the young children such as shelter, protection, love, everyday necessity and a place to call home.
Even with our help and assistance, it was lucky that they are others who contributed by donating funds to them regardless of their financial ability, sex, age and status quo. There are still a lot of people who stayed neared the area and even those who lived much further provided their help in different forms. Some gave the orphanage food, some gave drinks, some gave items that were useful and some even gave a helping hand due to the kids being too young to do the various house chores.
Besides all this kindness received, Ms Maha's family as helped these poor kids by cooking their meals, washing their clothes and even providing financial aid to buy toys for the children to shower with love, happiness and most importantly, companionship, which is one of the most crucial needs of the children
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1.3 REASON WHY WE ENGAGED THE SITE
A few months ago, near the end of august. One of the houses used as a shelter for the children in Klang Utama Caring home has burned down leaving 41 children between the age of 8 - 21 years old homeless.
Because of this unforeseen incident, these poor kids were forced to cram into two small bedrooms as they standby whole a new shelter to be found. On the other hand, the damaged house will need to secure people to help covering the money used for rental and the bills that are projected for the next 12 months.
We were motivated emotionally to provide help after hearing the unfortunate news and so we immediately contacted with the home's caretakers (Ms. Maha) to discuss on how we were able to offer assistance to them.
With the new information obtained after discussing, we knew that they are going to move into a temporary rental house near the current main house. Because the newly rented house is still new and empty, hence it lacks furniture. So, we provide.
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A. Kitchen Cabinet
Photo 2.1: Boy’s dormitory Photo 2.2: Kitchen at the newly rental house
Due to the burnt down boys’ dormitory, they have rented a house temporary for the accommodation of the boys. As everything was burnt down, no furniture was left and thus they need sponsors for furniture.
B. Cabinet under the sink
Photo 2.3: Kitchen basin area
The newly rental house’s kitchen does not provide the cabinet covering the piping. Without covering it, the kitchen does not look nice and it is also very dangerous; children will be running around and might go inside and play. Thus, a cabinet under the sink is needed before they move in.
C. Vinyl Banner Awning
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Photo 2.4: Our group mate trying to fix the problem
The built roof was not sufficient to shelter the kitchen from rain pour as the opening of the kitchen outer façade for ventilation purpose is very huge.
2.2 PROPOSED SOLUTION
A. Kitchen Cabinet
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Photo 2.5: Our proposed design for the cabinet
A series of kitchen cabinet were actually proposed. We have chosen the best design with the consideration of availability of materials, sustainability, saving cost etc.
At the end, we decided to use wine box which can be found from the wine factory and connect it together with plywood as the base. By using wine boxes and plywood we could save cost because it is free, we are reusing the material transforming it from a useless box into a cabinet which can place stuff in it.
B. Cabinet under the Sink
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Photo 2.6: Cloth design covering Photo 2.7: Wooden cabinet idea
We proposed two designs, which are cloth covering and wooden cabinet. After discussing with the care taker and due to sustainability and safety issue we decided to use the wooden cabinet idea.
C. Vinyl Banner Awning
Photo 2.8: Banners awning which we can find all around
By using Banners as awning we can solve the water splashing in problem. Vinyl banners are made out of PVC and foam coat, which are like plastic; will not decompose itself easily. Therefore we decided to reuse banners for the awning.
2.2PROBLEM SOLVING
A.Kitchen Cabinet
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We got wine boxes from factory and we are trying to improvise it into a readymade kitchen cabinet. Before stacking the boxes we designed and made a base using cut pallets as well as plywood. We gone through a period of brain-storming and designing to make sure the base is stable and strong.
1. Wine boxes that we bought back. 2. We shellac the surface of the box and sand it.
3. Nailing a cute wooden pallet with plywood. 4. Doing a structure to make sure it is stable.
5. Arranging the boxes in different ways. 6. Nailing the wine boxes to the base we did.
B. Cabinet under the sink
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We are just students and we do not have the skill to build the cabinet in a correct way so we decided to find technician. We raise fund to pay the technician.
1. Putting the structure in first. 2. Measuring the length
3. Cutting board and screwing in hinges. 4. Screwing hinge to place opening in.
5. Ready to be use.
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Fund Raising
In order to pay the technician for the cabinet, we have chosen to sell goodie bags to raise funds. We managed to reach our target and the extra fund we raised was given to them.
Photo 2.9: Goodie bags with snacks for fund raising
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C. Vinyl Banner Awning
We got banners from Taylor’s and we hang the banners using ropes in order to prevent the water from going in.
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As can be seen from the table, natural wood has negative CO2 emission per meter square of product. This is due to plants take in CO2 during photosynthesis and therefore CO2 is trapped in the material, which would contribute to green house gases. Moreover it actually reverses global warming by taking in green house gases and releases breathable oxygen.
The timber cycle shows that wood itself, a raw material is already the product of itself , without much processing or engineering, therefore having low embodied energy which is environmental friendly and contribute to sustainable build and design.
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In the “Current end-of-life scenarios for three common construction materials” showed that only 13% of timber are actually being reused and more than half of it are left in the landfill to decay or burnt, releasing the trapped carbon dioxide and other green house gases into the atmosphere.
B. Shellac
Shellac is a natural product made from mixture of secretion from the female lac bug with a solvent such as alcohol, it is very safe once dried and hardened. Based on the life cycle assessment of shellac, although having low environment impact, it can’t be reuse nor recycle. Fortunately it is able to protect and prolong the lifespan of the wooden cabinet which in fact decrease our carbon footprint.
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C. Steel Nails
As can see from the table, manufacturing of steel required massive amount of energy and the energy used would be redundant when left unused as it is often extra nails and screws are given for DIY furniture. Therefore, we collected unused nails and screw to be used in this project, saving the embodied energy used for the old nails as well as the one we intended to buy.
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WORK PROGRESS
4.1 WORK DISTRIBUTION
Name
Before
During
After
Hooi Wei
Site Visit
Site Visit
Collecting
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Xing
Proposal
Selection of Site
Transporting
Construction of the cabinet
Awning Installation
Applying Shellac
Sanding the wood
donation
Report
Pua Zhi Qin
Site Visit
Designing of cabinet
Request for Professional help
Site Visit
Photo taking
Construction of the cabinet
Awning installation
Sanding the wood
Collecting donation
Report
Video editing
Pua Kai Jing
Site Visit
Designing of cabinet
Provide Materials (Wood Pallet)
Site Visit
Video taking
Construction of the cabinet
Sanding the wood
Installing the cabinet
Collecting donation
Report
Video editing
Ling Siaw Zu
Site Visit
Designing of cabinet
Site Visit
Construction of the cabinet
Sanding the wood
Collecting donation
Report
Buying
Packing
Colby Ho
Site Visit
Fund Raising ideas
Provide Materials
Site Visit
Construction of the cabinet
Awning installation
Sanding the wood
Collecting donation
Report
Kenneth Chang
Site Visit
Fund raising ideas
Site Visit
Transportation
Construction of the cabinet
Awning installation
Collecting donation
Report
Chan Boon Hiaw
Site Visit
Selection of Site
Request of
Site Visit
Construction of the cabinet
Collecting donation
Report
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permission
Applying Shellac
Sanding the wood
Installing the Cabinet
Adrian Seow
Site Visit
Proposal
Request of permission
Site Visit
Construction of the cabinet
Applying Shellac
Sanding the wood
Installing the cabinet
Collecting donation
Report
Buying
Packing
Rahmat Aidil Maula
Site Visit
Fund raising ideas
Awning installation
Site Visit
Installing the Cabinet
Collecting donation
Report
Lai Sze Chun
Site Visit
Designing of the awning
Site Visit
Construction of the cabinet
Awning installation
Sanding the wood
Installing the Cabinet
Collecting donation
Report
Buying
Packing
Soo Xiao Wen
Site Visit
Selection of Site
Designing of cabinet
Site Visit
Construction of the cabinet
Applying Shellac
Sanding the wood
Collecting donation
Report
Buying
Packing
4.2 MONTHLY SCHEDULE
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SEPTEMBER2014 SUBJECT ESD PERIOD
MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SAT/SUN
1
2
3
4
5
6/7
1
- went to
KlangUtama Caring
home to have a look
at the condition of
the burnt down
house
- We are requested
to build a simple
kitchen cabinet to
exchange with their
burnt down cabinets
Site Visit
8
9
10
11
12
- started designing the
cabinet
13/14
2
Proposal
15
16
17
18
19
20/21
3
- measured the
kitchen area
- the caretaker also
requested an
awning for kitchen
Measurements
22
23
- Designs are
finalize after we
confirmed the
materials.
24
25
26
- A improvise
cabinet had been
install in the rental
house.
27/28
- Cabinet
component has
been built and was
assembled on site
- Done the awning
4
Finalize
Design
Opening
Ceremony
Cabinet &
Awning
W
29
- Beautify the
cabinet & Awning
30
5
Paint
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OCTOBER2014 SUBJECT ESD PERIOD
MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SAT/SUN
1
2
3
- Job has been
assigned among the
group members. -
Report started
4/5
1
Report
6
7
8
9
10
11/12
2
13
14
15
16
17
18/19
3
20
21
22
-Distributing Report
Proposal
23
24
25/26
4
27
28
29
30
31
1
5
2
3
4
5
6
6
- Buying snacks for
fund raising
- Packing
- started selling
snacks and collect
donation
- started selling
snacks and collect
donation
- started selling
snacks and collect
donation
NOV
Fund Raising Fund Raising Fund Raising Fund Raising
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6.1 SPONSORS
Mr. Song Peng Wei - RM 50
Chinese Society - A box of snacks
6.2 VOLUNTEER
Mr. Hooi Soon Mee
Contribution: Advisor of kitchen cabinet
Mr. Tan (Carpenter)
Contribution: Installation of Basin cabinet
Mr. Lim (Carpenter)
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Contribution: Installation of Basin Cabinet
Taylor’s community
Contribution: Donation
Wei Xing Brother
Contribution: Offer help when building cabinet
We would like to thank Ms Suja for guiding us to make the correct decisions and providing the orphans in the orphanage clothes to wear. Besides that we would like to thank the people of Taylors who were willing to listen and donate to the orphanage. It was very unfortunate that they’re house got burned down but there are still lots of people out there who are willing to give a helping hand but not sure how to help and that’s where we come to place. Nevertheless, we would like to thank everyone who contributed to this paying it forward project for Klang Utama Caring Home.
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7.1 Community
When we first started this project, we didn’t know much about NGO (Non- governmental organization). They are organizations that are neither a part of a government nor a conventional for-profit business. Usually set up by ordinary citizens, NGOs may be funded by governments, foundations, businesses, or private persons. Sometimes, these organizations need desperate help in terms of funding or material items such as food, clothing or a home, so therefore they will have to ask for help from the public. And most of the time, nobody will be bothered to donate or help them because of the lack of knowledge of these NGO’s.
So, it became our mission to raise awareness of the importance NGO’s the public and also to make them realize that these organizations are not always supported or funded by the government, so they rely heavily on donations and goodwill from the public. We achieved this by going around campus asking for donations of any amount and telling them about the orphanage and how we as humans and the community can stand together to help these organizations when they are in need. We also told them ways of helping needy organizations without chipping in large sums of money. Even if we can’t afford to donate money, we as a community can at least organize a project to build something out of recycled materials for them. In our case, we used disposed coin boxes to make a kitchen cabinet It is true that to some people, donating money to charity is counted as a waste of money, but at the end of the day, we are actually helping them in a very big way. Although true, those donations are the very being that keeps the organizations running. It is very important for the community to understand why these unfortunate children are brought in by the orphanage, also their wants and needs. Aside from food, clothing and shelter, these children also need love and care from people which are
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usually not available. We want the people to not only donate but also to give some love and care to these children by spending time with them.
7.2 Sustainability
Sustainability comes in many shapes and forms but ultimately, one common ground that unites all of it which can generally be simplified as “ system and processes that are enduring”. If the criteria is met, the form or product in question can be classified as sustainable and hence comply with the criteria of sustainability for the future.
In our project, many of our proposed designs were intended to fully make use of concepts that utilizes sustainability in its design and development. With that said, elaboration on our designs are provided below. 1. Wooden Cabinet The wooden cabinet itself consist of multiple materials which are capable of sustaining itself for years such as the wooden palette that was used as the base and the wooden boxes used as the shelves. It should be known that the screws and nails used to construct the cabinet are obtained from the property of team members participating in the project hence cost was minimized.
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1A: Wooden palette
The wooden palette was designed to act as the base of the cabinet to provide stability and support. Wooden palettes were obtained from a construction site that were under a relative of one of our team members hence we had connection on our side. The construction site itself has many unused palettes so our request to take a few palettes of their hands were gladly complied. Once transported to our work site, the palettes were in a condition where major alterations to make it useable were necessary. The palette itself was sawed to remove unwanted components, sanding was done in order to smoothen out the smooth edges and refine it and finally shellac was applied to give a nice finishing to it in order to ensure it is long lasting. It is used and designed into a base as the pallet itself is built to carry heavy loads therefore by using its strong structure, we transform it into a strong cabinet base with plywood skeletal provided for the durability as well as the safety of the children.
1B: Wooden boxes Wooden boxes used in our design were to provide a platform to hold and support objects that the user intends to hold which essentially means a shelves. The wooden boxes were originally wine boxes that had been discarded after fulfilling its purposes. Request to obtain the boxes will initially met with difficulty due to the value the boxes offer even without its original purposes being used. However, one of our team members has successfully acquired a huge bulk of wooden wine boxes which provided a great sense of relief to our anxiety that we could not procure a number of this boxes. The boxes were sanded and clean thoroughly to smoothen out the rough edges and soon after shellac was applied to give it a finishing to protect it from the environment and allowed it to be enduring and long lasting.
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2. Awning
The awning composed of banners that were obtained from various sites that could offer spare banners that were not in used. The banners here were just tied and mounted on to the facade and nailed firmly down to the ground to prevent it from loosening. The banner are water resistant and tough hence they are able to resist the rain and any tough weather conditions that will test its endurance and thats why the design of the awning is sustainable.
7.3 Design and Creativity
Having a place that house for approximately 15 kids and adults are of course would cause a problem for them to place stuffs and their needs in their unit. As we discovered more about the house, the idea of designing the cabinet came up by some of the group members, Pua Zhi Qin and Pua Kai Jing. Diagrams below show how is it being design to fit the kitchen area also the one that has been attached below the sink.
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Diagram above showing the process of placing the wooden boxes using paper rectangles.
Both picture above showing the hands on trial and error of wooden placement as well as final design of wooden cabinet.
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Diagram illustrate how the three main compartments of base, skeletal and storage are made into a cabinet. The Base is made of one quarter of pallet due to the space constraint in the kitchen. The plywood act as a skeletal support for the cabinet to make sure it lean and stand align with the wall as well as provide a platform for the boxes to be screwed on. The storage is made out of wooden boxes that is arranged into an order that provide positive and negative spaces for storage. Bigger item that cant be fitted into the boxes can be places on the negative spaces as shown in diagram.
The cabinet that we build using the wood pallet are so convenient to be used where it has quite a lot of spaces to place stuffs that are needed such as those kitchen tools and others. Having such a multiple storey of compartment would be easy for the user to reach and put their stuffs easily without any struggle.
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With the help of Mr Tan and Lim, the placement of the cabinet below the sink is much more easier and faster that we thought it would be. With very simple and sleek design suggested by Pua Zhi Qin and Pua Kai Jing. It is kept at a minilalist design with just a flat surface and a round steel handle to minimize wear and tear especially in a house full of energetic children. It took about less than an hour to install all the separated parts and attach it to the existing sink area as many tools had been used such as laser measuring device, electrical drill and saw as well as many years of experience which we have no ability and resources to perform.
It is just an addition for the empty compartment spots below the kitchen table. We design a stack to be attached as it will be more helpful to organize the placements of stuffs below the Kitchen Table. Also a simple sleek design of the Closure for it due to protect the things inside from dust.
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REFLECTION
When we first started, we totally had no idea on what we're going to do, or who to help. After searching on those who're needy on the internet, we've decided to help klang utama caring home. This is a very normal orphanage, with a very unfortunate encounter happened not long ago. One of their houses got burned down by fire, for luckily no one was hurt during the incident. We're glad that we're approved by our
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lecturers in helping this orphanage because this shows how great people they are to give us the approval to complete this important task. During the project, we've realized that these poor children really need alot of love and companionship, which we're trying to provide them. We've also learnt how to build a shelf using recycled items, because by doing this, not only we'll save the environment, we can also maximized our imagination by creating something incredible. Teamwork and friendship is also one of the lessons we've learnt while we're building the shelf and the shelter for them. Without this important factor, none of all this would've happened. By working as a team, we can do things faster, better, and more effective. When we're doing the fund raising activity, we've also gained more knowledge and experience from it such as interaction with the public and communication with strangers. It is such bliss to find that people around actually support us by buying our stuff and donate money to us just to raise the fund to help the orphanage. This is the power of love and sympathy given by them and it is very important in society nowadays. There is just so much things that we've gained from this type of project and we felt touched to know that there are still so many good people that are willing to help the needy community. As our conclusion, we would like to say that this type of projects is a must to be given to all the younger generations, in order to show love to everyone, and also to create a better world.
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Hendrickson, Chris, et al. "Peer reviewed: economic input–output models for environmental life-cycle assessment." Environmental science & technology32.7 (1998): 184A-191A.
Joshi, Satish. "Product environmental life‐cycle assessment using input‐output techniques." Journal of Industrial Ecology 3.2‐3 (1999): 95-120.
Pearnchob, Nantharat, and Roland Bodmeier. "Dry polymer powder coating and comparison with conventional liquid-based coatings for Eudragit< sup>®</sup> RS, ethylcellulose and shellac." European journal of pharmaceutics and biopharmaceutics 56.3 (2003): 363-369.
Perez-Garcia, John, et al. "An assessment of carbon pools, storage, and wood products market substitution using life-cycle analysis results." Wood and Fiber Science 37 (2005): 140-148.