Atp Notes
Atp Notes
Atp Notes
Modern architecture
Modern architecture or modernist architecture is a term applied to a group of styles
of architecture which emerged in the first half of the 20th century and became dominant
after World War II. It was based upon new technologies of construction, particularly the
use of glass, steel and reinforced concrete; and upon a rejection of the
traditional neoclassical architecture and Beaux-Arts styles that were popular in the 19th
century.
Modern architecture emerged at the end of the 19th century from revolutions in
technology, engineering and building materials, and from a desire to break away from
historical architectural styles and to invent something that was purely functional and new.
The revolution in materials came first, with the use of cast iron, plate glass,
and reinforced concrete, to build structures that were stronger, lighter and taller. The cast
plate glass process was invented in 1848, allowing the manufacture of very large
windows. The Crystal Palace by Joseph Paxton at the Great Exhibition of 1851 was an
early example of iron and plate glass construction, followed in 1864 by the first glass and
metal curtain wall. These developments together led to the first steel-framed skyscraper,
the ten-story Home Insurance Building in Chicago, built in 1884 by William Le Baron
Jenney. The iron frame construction of the Eiffel Tower, then the tallest structure in the
world,captured the imagination of millions of visitors to the 1889 Paris Universal
Exposition.
Architects also began to experiment with new materials and techniques, which gave them
greater freedom to create new forms. In 1903-1904 in Paris Auguste Perret and Henri
Sauvage began to use reinforced concrete, previously only used for industrial structures,
to build apartment buildings.[8] Reinforced concrete, which could be molded into any
shape, and which could create enormous spaces without the need of supporting pillars,
replaced stone and brick as the primary material for modernist architects. The first
concrete apartment buildings by Perret and Sauvage were covered with ceramic tiles, but
in 1905 Perret built the first concrete parking garage on 51 rue de Ponthieu in Paris; here
the concrete was left bare, and the space between the concrete was filled with glass
windows. Henri Sauvage added another construction innovation in an apartment building
on Rue Vavin in Paris (1912-1914); the reinforced concrete building was in steps, with
each floor set back from the floor below, creating a series of terraces. Between 1910 and
1913, Auguste Perret built the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, a masterpiece of reinforced
concrete construction, with Art Deco sculptural bas-reliefs on he facade by Antoine
Bourdelle. Because of the concrete construction, no columns blocked the spectator's view
of the stage. [9]
Notable architects important to the history and development of the modernist movement
include Frank Lloyd Wright, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Le Corbusier, Walter
Gropius, Konstantin Melnikov, Erich Mendelsohn, Joseph Eichler, Richard Neutra, Louis
Sullivan, Gerrit Rietveld, Bruno Taut, Gunnar Asplund, Arne Jacobsen, Oscar
Niemeyer and Alvar Aalto.
Building of a disaster
By Shahnawaz Khan
The valley of Kashmir falls in Seismic zone IV and V, with many experts of the view that a major earthquake is in
store for the region.
In 2005 an earthquake of 7.4 magnitude on Richter scale with its epicenter near Muzaffarabad in Pakistan
controlled Kashmir caused large scale devastation in Pakistan and Kashmir.
On the Indian side of Kashmir damage was limited to frontier areas of Uri, Karnah and Baramulla.
Distance from the epicenter helped major cities like Srinagar escape the throes of destruction in 2005, but the
dynamics of the active seismic zone demand earthquake sensitivity and preparedness.
Experts, however, say the region has never been as vulnerable to destruction in the event of a major quake as it
is now – thanks to changes in its building architecture over the last six decades.
“Ninety percent of the (new) structures which have come up in Kashmir will face the same fate that Muzaffarbad
structures faced in the event of God Forbid an earthquake,” says Saleem Beg, head J&K Chapter of INTACH
referring to the new residential houses that have come up in the last five decades.
Read this Interview with Saleem Beg
Concrete as a choice of construction has almost totally replaced Kashmir’s unique traditional architectures that
employed heavy use of timber in its structure along with bricks, mud mortar and stones.
Beg says that while Reinforced Concrete was a modern technology used in super structures worldwide, most
structures coming up in Kashmir use sub standard specifications.
“People who are happy with using slabs (RCC ceilings) are at a greater risk of loss in event of an earthquake.
Only those people who do it by standard specification would perhaps be secure. And how many people are doing
it,” said Beg.
“We have moved from a very efficient system to a very bad system,” says Iftikhar Ahmad Hakim, Chief Town
Planner Kashmir.
Hakim says the traditional architecture like Taq and Dhajji Diwari constructions followed standardized
specifications, and styles.
“Everything was standard, the window styles, the walls patterns. Nowadays it is wanton,” says Hakim.
As town planner Hakim is also annoyed that Srinagar has lost its unique identity the traditional houses gave the
city.
“The face of the city is changing. There is no pattern. Everything is random,” says Hakim.
Moreover, the requirements or essentials that led to the evolution of the systems in Kashmir were totally sidelined
with the introduction of new systems, says Beg.
Traditionally Kashmir’s houses could be divided between two major architectural systems, the Taq system and
Dhajji Diwari. Both make use of wood as an important structural element.
The efficiency of Kashmiri traditional architectural practices have been duly recognized by experts at national and
international level.
In the wake of Kashmir earthquake 2005, UNESCO in conjunction with UNDP, UN Habitat and other some other
organizations commissioned Prof Randoplh Langenbach of Conservationtech Consulting (US) to compile a report
on heritage value of Kashmiri architecture and construction techniques.
The report, ‘Don’t tear it down! Preserving the earthquake resisitant vernacular architecture of Kashmir’ was
published in 2009 and serves as a valuable resource on the richness of Kashmiri traditional architecture.
According to UNESCO the publication was meant to offset the common belief that these systems were obsolete
and inadequate for modern day life, and encourage conservation of Kashmir’s vernacular architecture through
increased understanding of its scientific and cultural attributes and its earthquake resistant features.
Langenbach uses his 25 years of experiences in earthquake zone areas including Kashmir to illustrate the
benefits of traditional Kashmir constructions over the contemporary concrete ones.
He writes, “Concrete construction requires more than just good craftsmanship: it demands an understanding of
the science of the material itself. The problem is that builders are often inadequately trained and thus do no fully
understand the seismic implications of construction faults. As a result potential disaster lies hidden beneath the
plaster….
Traditional buildings, even the ones that have survived earthquakes that felled nearby reinforced concrete
buildings, were not engineered. No calculations were made, and no plan for them were ever inspected, because
none were ever drawn. They were constructed by local masons with little or no formal training and without the
input of professionally trained engineers or building designers. They were built with a minimum of tools, with
locally acquired materials using a minimum of costly resources and they were held together with mimimum of
nails and fasteners...
Unlike traditional timber and masonry, reinforced concrete requires a high level of knowledge and skill even to
meet the basic level of capacity and ductility to ensure against collapse… From its inception, reinforced concrete
has captivated engineers and architects alike because of its capabilities yet in earthquakes its record has been
disappointing largely because of the pervasive quality control problems endemic to the material.”
Yet earthquake resistance has been only one advantage the traditional houses had over the concrete ones.
Thick walls raised in mud mortar and covered with a mud plaster, along with wooden ceilings, would also insulate
the residents from Kashmir’s harsh winters.
But as Town Planner Hakim says, “We have lost what we had, we lost focus somewhere.”
The danger of earthquakes and the soft building ground have had a great influence on the way people
traditionally built their houses. This combination of soft soils with earthquakes required buildings that can undergo
a certain amount inelastic deformation without losing their vertical load carrying capacity.
Historically Kashmir’s architecture shows preference for a ‘give’ or flexibility over strength and rigidity.
Taq
Taq construction is a bearing wall masonry construction with horizontal timber lacing embedded into the masonry
to keep it from spreading and cracking. It is usually configured with a modular layout of masonry piers and window
bays tied together with ladder like constructions of horizontal timbers embedded in the masonry walls at each floor
and lintel level. The masonry piers are thick enough to carry the vertical loads, and the bays may either contain a
window or a thinner masonry wall. The ladder-like sets of timber beams laid into the exterior and interior faces of
the walls are connected together through the wall either by floor beams, and joists or short connector pieces.
These horizontal ladder bands are located at the base of the structure above the foundation (das) and at each
floor and lintel level.
Taq construction gets its name from the modular layout of piers and window bays which are referred to as taq. A
building with a five sets of piers and bays, will be recognized as a five taq house, alternatively a measurement
system for such houses, with the masonry piers (Around 2 ft) and window bays (3-4 ft) almost always of standard
size.
An important factor in the structural integrity of taq is that the full weight of the masonry is allowed to bear on the
timbers, thus holding them in place, while the timbers in turn keep the masonry from spreading.
The masonry piers are around two feet thick and would usually have fired small bricks on the façade, and unfired
mud bricks in the interiors. The piers stood at a distance of three to four feet joined or separated from each other
by a window bay. The window bay would have a door, or a thinner wall, when a widow was not required at the
place. The whole elements were held together by the horizontal timber beams, helping the structure to act as one
unit, and at the same time keep it flexible enough to limit the damage.
An unusual element is the taq system is the existence of a deliberately unbounded butt joint between the masonry
piers and the wall and window panels.
The Taq system exploits the combination of a weak mortar, bricks and timber in a manner that the apparent
weakness of the structure becomes its strength. The structures hold good on soft soils as well as perform well in
earthquakes. Even if some part of the house give into stronger forces of natures, the architecture ensures that the
damage is not transmitted to the whole structure.
Dhajji Diwari
Dhajji Diwari is a wooden frame based structure, a variation of mixed timber and masonry construction type found
around the world in one form or another. The term dhajji diwari comes from Persian and literally means patchwork
quilt wall.
It consists of a complete timber frame that is integral with the masonry, which fills in openings in the frames to
form walls. The wall is commonly one half brick in thickness so that the timber and masonry are flush on both
sides.
The Dhajji frames usually platform frames meaning that each story is framed separately on the one below. The
floor joists are sandwiched between the plates.
Traditional is modern
While the presence of soft soils and the recurrence of earthquakes may have led to the evolution of Kashmir’s
unique architectural systems, there are many more reasons to have a closer look at them and encourage its
preservation and incorporation of the techniques in modern day constructions. While it may not be possible to
revert to traditional architectural systems altogether, given the gap in transfer of technology, and adaptation of
new systems with modern lifestyles, there is still need to incorporate modern needs and technologies into the
traditional knowledge system. There are enough reasons to encourage use of timber and mud mortar and
traditional architecture systems over reinforced and unreinforced concrete.
Earthquake Resistance: Taq and Dhajji Diwari construction systems have proven efficient is surviving
earthquakes, by the virtue of their flexibility or ductility. Damages, if any, are localized and not quickly transmitted
to whole structure. Survival rates of trapped persons in case of an eventual collapse are fairly high than in case of
a concrete building.
Energy Efficiency: The use of mud mortar, mud plaster, wooden ceilings (floor levelts), unfired bricks on the
inside, all these elements gave a Kashmiri traditional house a high degree of insulation from external
temperatures. It was essential to the survival in Kashmir’s harch winters with very low resilience on energy for
internal heating. Kashmir's modern cement and concrete houses are out of sync with its cold climate.
Health Issues: The cold and numb concrete houses have lead to an increase in people complaining of
orthopedic problems. Many blame this squarely on the new houses.
Sustainability and recyclability: The recyclability of material in wood and mud based houses is so much so that
one can even virtually think of dismantling a house brick by brick, and re-building it at another site brick by brick
from the same material. This is incomprehensible in a concrete structure. In fact a concrete house once razed is
nothing but debris that needs to be disposed off. While materials salvaged from damaged or even gutted
traditional houses can be put to use wherever required.
Environment Pollution: Cement production in itself puts strain on natural resources and creates a lot of
environmental pollutions. A number of cement plants have come up in Kashmir in the last few decades, most of
them are located in the vicinity Saffron rich Pampore town. Decline in Saffron production the area has been
attributed to dust emanating from cement plants. The state has been encouraging less use of timber in a bid to
save forests, but has not thought in terms of wood farming. In recent years it has encouraged import of timber.
TAQ OR TIMBER-LACED MASONRY BEARING
WALL CONSTRUCTION
Taq construction is a bearing wall masonry construction with horizontal timber lacing
embedded into the masonry to keep it from spreading and cracking. It is usually
configured with a modular layout of masonry piers and window bays tied together with
ladder like constructions of horizontal timbers embedded in the masonry walls at each
floor and lintel level. The masonry piers are thick enough to carry the vertical loads, and
the bays may either contain a window or a thinner masonry wall. The ladder-like sets of
timber beams laid into the exterior and interior faces of the walls are connected together
through the wall either by floor beams, and joists or short connector pieces.
These horizontal ladder bands are located at the base of the structure above the
foundation (das) and at each floor and lintel level.
Taq construction gets its name from the modular layout of piers and window bays which
are referred to as taq. A building with a five sets of piers and bays, will be recognized as
a five taq house, alternatively a measurement system for such houses, with the masonry
piers (Around 2 ft) and window bays (3-4 ft) almost always of standard size.
An important factor in the structural integrity of taq is that the full weight of the masonry
is allowed to bear on the timbers, thus holding them in place, while the timbers in turn
keep the masonry from spreading.
The masonry piers are around two feet thick and would usually have fired small bricks on
the façade, and unfired mud bricks in the interiors. The piers stood at a distance of three
to four feet joined or separated from each other by a window bay. The window bay would
have a door, or a thinner wall, when a widow was not required at the place. The whole
elements were held together by the horizontal timber beams, helping the structure to act
as one unit, and at the same time keep it flexible enough to limit the damage.
An unusual element is the taq system is the existence of a deliberately unbounded butt
joint between the masonry piers and the wall and window panels.
The Taq system exploits the combination of a weak mortar, bricks and timber in a
manner that the apparent weakness of the structure becomes its strength. The structures
hold good on soft soils as well as perform well in earthquakes. Even if some part of the
house give into stronger forces of natures, the architecture ensures that the damage is not
transmitted to the whole structure.
Earthquakes have occurred regularly over centuries in Kashmir and people have learnt to
live with it. Two old construction systems known as taq and dhajji-dewari exist here side-
by-side and both have tested quake-resistant features. The recorded cultural history of
Kashmir dates back 3,000 years. The oldest known remains of monumental buildings are
the earthquake-damaged ruins of early Hindu and Buddhist temples built of large blocks
of stone. Later medieval structures, some of them religious buildings constructed by the
Muslim community, were made of a more economical and lightweight combination of
mud, stone and brick, well tied together with timber. This construction system with its
use of masonry laced together with timber, which is mentioned in texts from the 12th
century, was the beginning of the urban architecture in the Vale of Kashmir as we know
it today. In our time, Srinagar and other cities and villages in Kashmir are distinguished
not only by their great monuments, but first and foremost by their vernacular residential
architecture. It is an architecture generated out of a distinctive use of materials and way
of building which are adapted to the local climate, culture and natural environment,
principally the soft soils and the earthquake risk in the region. At the beginning of the
19th century the systems evolved to become the two main traditional construction
systems: taq (timber-laced masonry) and dhajji dewari (timber frame with masonry
infill). In Pakistan, timber-laced masonry is known by the Pashto word bhatar.. Its
inherent qualities and great architectural expression, together with its unique
construction, are insufficiently recognized or considered important by the citizenry today.
Taq construction is a bearing wall masonry construction with horizontal timber lacing
embedded into the masonry to keep it from spreading and cracking. It is usually
configured with a modular layout of masonry piers and window bays tied together with
ladder like constructions of horizontal timbers embedded in the masonry walls at each
floor and lintel level. The masonry piers are thick enough to carry the vertical loads, and
the bays may either contain a window or a thinner masonry wall. The ladder-like sets of
timber beams laid into the exterior and interior faces of the walls are connected together
through the wall either by floor beams, and joists or short connector pieces.
These horizontal ladder bands are located at the base of the structure above the
foundation (das) and at each floor and lintel level.
Taq construction gets its name from the modular layout of piers and window bays which
are referred to as taq. A building with a five sets of piers and bays, will be recognized as
a five taq house, alternatively a measurement system for such houses, with the masonry
piers (Around 2 ft) and window bays (3-4 ft) almost always of standard size.
In older construction, form of timber-laced masonry, known as Taq has been practised. In
this construction large pieces of wood are used as horizontal runners embedded in the
heavy masonry walls, adding to the lateral load-resisting ability of the structure. Masonry
laced with timber performed satisfactorily as expected, as it arrests destructive cracking,
evenly distributes the deformation which adds to the energy dissipation capacity of the
system, without jeopardizing its structural integrity and vertical load-carrying capacity
The timber runners tie the short wall to the long wall and also bind the pier and the infill
to some extent. Perhaps the greatest advantage gained from such runners is that they
impart ductility to an otherwise very brittle structure. An increase in ductility augments
the energy absorbing capacity of the structure, thereby increasing its chances of survival
during the course of an earthquake shock
what makes timber-laced masonry work well in earthquakes is its ductile-like behaviour
as a system. This behaviour results from the energy dissipation because of the friction
between the masonry and the timbers and between the masonry units themselves.
Another important feature with timber-laced masonry is to understand that the mortar is
not designed to hold the bricks together, but rather to hold them apart. It is the timbers
that tie them all together. The benefits of energy dissipation are gained from the non
destructive friction and cracking that can take place in a masonry wall that is surrounded
and thus confined by the timber bands
Dhajji dewari is a timber frame into which one layer of masonry is tightly packed to
form a wall, resulting in a continuous wall membrane of wood and masonry. The term is
derived from a Persian word meaning “patchwork quilt wall”. The frames of each wall
consist not only of vertical studs, but also often of cross-members that subdivide the
masonry infill into smaller panels, impart strength and prevent the masonry from
collapsing out of the frame. Dhajji Diwari is a wooden frame based structure, a variation
of mixed timber and masonry construction type found around the world in one form or
another. The term dhajji diwari comes from Persian and literally means patchwork quilt
wall.
“In Kashmir traditional timber-brick masonry construction consists of burnt clay bricks
filling in a framework of timber to create a patchwork of masonry, which is confined in
small panels by the surrounding timber elements. This timber lacing of masonry, which is
locally referred as dhajji-dewari has excellent earthquake resistant features. The resulting
masonry is quite different from typical brick masonry and its performance in this
earthquake has once again been shown to be superior with no or very little damage. No
collapse was observed for such masonry even in the areas of higher shaking”. They go on
to explain the reason for this good behaviour: The presence of timber studs, which
subdivides the infill, arrests the loss of the portion or all of several masonry panels and
resists progressive destruction of the rest of the wall. Moreover, the closely spaced studs
prevent propagation of diagonal shear cracks within any single panel, and reduce the
possibility of out-of-plane failure of masonry of thin half-brick walls even in the higher
storeys and the gable portion of the walls. Dhajji dewari is timber frame construction
rather than masonry bearing wall construction. Thus the vertical loads are transferred to
the ground primarily, but not exclusively, through the frame. However, the masonry does
form an integral part of the structural system, sharing the vertical load path with the
timber frame.
Building constraints in residential and public
building
Introduction
A constraint is a condition, agency or force that impedes progress towards an objective or
goal.
Constraints should be identified, and described in as much detail as possible during the
early stages of a project, so that awareness of them and their potential impact can be
managed. This includes understanding the dynamics of the project, and how
different constraints interrelate.
There are a number of different types of constraint that can affect construction projects.
Design constraints
Design constraints are factors that limit the range of potential design solutions. In the
early stage of a project only some of these constraints may be known, while others
become apparent as the design progresses.
These could include (among many others):
Available technology, plant, materials, labour and so on.
The budget.
Specific performance requirements.
Site form, boundaries and conditions.
Neighbouring properties.
Access.
Planning and building regulations restrictions.
Completion date.
It is often argued that design constraints are helpful in the development of a design, as
they limit the number of feasible options and point towards an obvious solution. In the
absence of an constraints at all, it can be difficult to know where to start, or to justify
developing one particular solution in preference to any others.
Technical constraints
Technical constraints generally refer to the processes involved in completing construction
activities, and are often based on the practicality of building methods and standards. For
example, in constructing a foundation, the site must be leveled before excavation can take
place; then formwork can be placed as well as rebar before concrete is poured. Each task
must be completed before the next can begin; therefore each task acts as a constraint on
the next task.
Other technical constrains may relate to construction tolerances, space required
for builders work, available storage or handling areas, site access routes, co-ordination of
services and so on.
Economic constraints
Economic constraints relate to the project budget and the allocation of resources. If
the budget is inadequate, or is allocated inappropriately, then it can have a negative
impact on the success of the project in terms of quality, safety, functionality and
performance.
Construction projects are generally a balance between time, cost and quality. A change in
one will impact on the other two.
Economic constraints relate not just to the overall budget, but also to the cash
flow through the supply chain. Clients must have available funds to pay for works as they
proceed, and prompt payments must be made through the contractual chain. Cash flow is
one of the main causes of bankruptcy in the construction industry, and having to find
new contractors, subcontractors or suppliers part way through a project can cause very
significant delays and additional costs.
Management constraints
These can include particular shift patterns, overtime requirements, resource allocation,
safety procedures, working practices, and so on.
Legal constraints
Legal constraints refer to the many regulations that the activities and practices on a
construction project must conform to. These most commonly relate to employment law,
safety requirements, planning and building regulations requirements, environmental
requirements, and so on.
Failure to conform to legal constraints can have a considerable negative impact on a
project, both in terms of delay, financial penalties and possible criminal proceedings.
See Construction industry legislation and standards for more information.
Time constraints
These include key dates on the project schedule or project milestones. Conforming to
these date constraints is often very important in terms of the overall project completion.
Constraints can specify the earliest date on which a task should be completed (‘no earlier
than’); the date by which a task should be completed (‘no later than’); and the exact date
on which a task must be completed (‘on this date’).
Phased projects may include multiple start and completion dates, with penalties if dates
are missed.
Environmental constraints
Environmental constraints include limiting factors concerning geographical location,
geological features, hazardous materials, air pollution, excavation, noise, vibration,
traffic, tree and wildlife preservation, and so on. These can often overlap with
legal constraints.
Social constraints
Social constraints include factors that may arise as a result of wider interest in or
opposition to a project. Public concern and media pressure can often impose greater
scrutiny and tighter constraints on a project, and can sometimes result in major alterations
to the original plans.
These kinds of constraints on the part of the public are often labelled as ‘not in my
backyard’, or ‘nimbyism’.
Projects funded using public money are often subject to social constraints, as there tends
to be greater interest in cost escalations, delays and so on, such as in the case of high
speed 2 (HS2), or London’s Garden Bridge proposal which have caused much
controversy.
See stakeholders and consultation process for more information.
Third parties
Not every aspect of a project is within the direct control of the client or their project team.
Every project is dependent to some extent on third parties. It is important that these third
party dependencies are identified and that their potential impacts are understood,
quantified and managed.
Third party dependencies may include; central and local government, dependent projects,
unions, statutory authorities, statutory undertakers, archaeological or other surveyors, the
supply market and so on.
SUSTAINABLE ARCHITECTURE
Nowadays, due to a growing understanding of human interaction with nature, it is widely
accepted by the scientific community that consuming energy from non-renewable sources
has caused serious environmental damage. Among human activities, the construction
industry stands out as one of the sectors that consume more raw materials and energy,
this way, no society can achieve a sustainable development unless the construction sector,
which gives it support, goes through deep transformations. The production chain of this
sector has significant environmental impacts at all stages of its process… Any society
seriously concerned about this issue should put the improvement of the construction
sector as a priority [1]. Facing these circumstances, the actors in the construction sector
are trying to make their activities more sustainable, adopting the principles of bioclimatic
design, and looking for solutions in building materials that are less harmful to the
environment. Most environmentalists believe nowadays, , that is possible to reach a
balance between economic growth, social justice and environmental preservation, this
makes more sense than ever, since it promotes an economy based on a type of growth
that provides a sensible distribution of benefits and a more respectful use of natural
resources.
Sustainable architecture is architecture that seeks to minimize the negative environmental
impact of buildings by efficiency and moderation in the use of materials, energy, and
development space and the ecosystem at large. Sustainable architecture uses a conscious
approach to energy and ecological conservation in the design of the built environment.
The idea of sustainability, or ecological design, is to ensure that our actions and decisions
today do not inhibit the opportunities of future generations.
Sustainable architecture can be achieved by
1. Sustainable energy use
2. Sustainable building materials
3. Waste management
2. Wind turbines
The use of undersized wind turbines in energy production in sustainable structures
requires the consideration of many factors. In considering costs, small wind systems are
generally more expensive than larger wind turbines relative to the amount of energy they
produce. For small wind turbines, maintenance costs can be a deciding factor at sites with
marginal wind-harnessing capabilities. At low-wind sites, maintenance can consume
much of a small wind turbine's revenue.[7] Wind turbines begin operating when winds
reach 8 mph, achieve energy production capacity at speeds of 32-37 mph, and shut off to
avoid damage at speeds exceeding 55 mph.[7] The energy potential of a wind turbine is
proportional to the square of the length of its blades and to the cube of the speed at which
its blades spin. Though wind turbines are available that can supplement power for a
single building, because of these factors, the efficiency of the wind turbine depends much
upon the wind conditions at the building site. For these reasons, for wind turbines to be at
all efficient, they must be installed at locations that are known to receive a constant
amount of wind (with average wind speeds of more than 15 mph), rather than locations
that receive wind sporadically.
3. Solar water heating
Solar water heaters, also called solar domestic hot water systems, can be a cost-effective
way to generate hot water for a home. They can be used in any climate, and the fuel they
use—sunshine—is free.
There are two types of solar water systems- active and passive. An active solar collector
system can produce about 80 to 100 gallons of hot water per day. A passive system will
have a lower capacity.
WASTE MANAGEMENT
Waste takes the form of spent or useless materials generated from households and
businesses, construction and demolition processes, and manufacturing and agricultural
industries. These materials are loosely categorized as municipal solid waste, construction
and demolition (C&D) debris, and industrial or agricultural by-products.[22] Sustainable
architecture focuses on the on-site use of waste management, incorporating things such
as grey water systems for use on garden beds, and composting toilets to reduce sewage.
These methods, when combined with on-site food waste composting and off-site
recycling, can reduce a house's waste to a small amount of packaging waste.This is the
new techniques of sustainable architecture .
Green building
Green building (also known as green construction or sustainable building) refers to
both a structure and the using of processes that are environmentally
responsible and resource-efficient throughout a building's life-cycle: from siting to
design, construction, operation, maintenance, renovation, and demolition. In other words,
green building design involves finding the balance between homebuilding and the
sustainable environment. This requires close cooperation of the design team, the
architects, the engineers, and the client at all project stages. The Green Building practice
expands and complements the classical building design concerns of economy, utility,
durability, and comfort.
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a set of rating systems for the
design, construction, operation, and maintenance of green buildings which was
Developed by the U.S. Green Building Council. Other certificates system that confirms
the sustainability of buildings is the British BREEAM (Building Research Establishment
Environmental Assessment Method) for buildings and large scale developments.
Currently, World Green Building Council is conducting research on the effects of green
buildings on the health and productivity of their users and is working with World Bank to
promote Green Buildings in Emerging Markets through EDGE Excellence in Design for
Greater Efficiencies Market Transformation Program and certification.[4]
Although new technologies are constantly being developed to complement current
practices in creating greener structures, the common objective of green buildings is to
reduce the overall impact of the built environment on human health and the natural
environment by:
Efficiently using energy, water, and other resources
Protecting occupant health and improving employee productivity
Reducing waste, pollution and environmental degradation
Energy efficiency in architecture: An overview of design concepts
and architectural interventions
Buildings, as they are designed and used today, contribute to serious environmental
problems because of excessive consumption of energy and other natural resources. The
close connection between energy use in buildings and environmental damage arises
because energy intensive solutions sought to construct a building & meet its demands for
heating, cooling, ventilation & lighting cause severe depletion of invaluable
environmental resources.
However, buildings can be designed to meet occupant’s need for thermal and visual
comfort at reduced levels energy & resources consumption. Energy resource efficiency in
new constructions can be effected by adopting an integrated approach to building design.
The primary steps in this approach would be to:
Incorporate solar passive techniques in a building design to minimize load on
conventional systems (heating, cooling, ventilation and lighting)
Passive systems provide thermal and visual comfort by using natural energy sources
and sinks e.g. solar radiation, outside air, sky, wet surfaces, vegetation, internal gains
etc. Energy flows in these systems are by natural means such as by radiation,
conduction, convection with minimal or no use of mechanical means. The solar
passive systems thus, vary from one climate to the other e.g. in a cold climate an
architects’ aim would be design a building in such a way that solar gains are
maximized, but in a hot climate his primary aim would be to reduce solar gains,
maximize natural ventilation and so on.
Design energy-efficient lighting and HVAC systems (heating, ventilation and
air-conditioning)
Once the passive solar architectural concepts are applied to a design, the load on
conventional systems (HVAC and lighting) is reduced. Further, energy conservation is
possible by judicious design of the artificial lighting and HVAC system using energy
efficient equipments , controls and operation strategies.
Use renewable energy systems (solar photovoltaic systems/ solar water heating
systems) to meet a part of building load
The pressure on the earth’s nonrenewable resources can be alleviated by judicious use of
earth’s renewable resources i.e. solar energy. Use solar energy for meeting electrical
needs for a building can further reduce consumption of conventional forms of energy.
Building science
Building science is the collection of scientific knowledge and experience that focuses on
the analysis and control of the physical phenomena affecting buildings and architecture.
It traditionally includes areas such as building materials, building envelope, heating,
ventilation and air conditioning systems, natural and electrical lighting, acoustic, indoor
air quality, passive strategies, fire protection, and renewable energies in buildings. In
Europe, building physics and applied physics are terms used for the knowledge domain
that overlaps with building science. The practical purpose of building science is to
provide predictive capability to optimize the building performance of new and existing
buildings, understand or prevent building failures, and guide the design of new
techniques and technologies
Building science is the architecture-engineering-construction technology discipline
that concerns itself with the 'mainly detail-design' of buildings in response to naturally
occurring physical phenomenon such as:
the weather (sun, wind, rain, temperature, humidity), and related issues: e.g.
freeze/thaw cycles, dew point/frost point, snow load & drift prediction, lightning
patterns etc.
subterranean conditions including (potential for seismic or other soil + ground-
water activity, frost penetration etc.).
under the constraints of