Wk 8 - Sustainable Residential Buildings

In relation towards building a sustainable urban environment, many often think about infrastructure planning or any form of built elements within the city. However, residential houses take up a large portion within an urban setting, therefore, it would be more sensible to address the specific typology in order to archive a desirable outcome. 

A milestone archived by the Malaysia's First Platinum rating of GBI (Green Building Index) for a residential house, being the trend of sustainable residential buildings in Malaysia over the recent years. The S11 designed by ArchiCentre was awarded the highest level of sustainable ratings by the system. On top of that, it also won the Sustainable Design Award as well as the Residential Unit Award in 2011 Asia Pacific Design Centre Awards.  

The idea of tree-like canopy structure that shades spaces below it. As well as the concept of "evaporative cooling" to passively maintain thermal comfort of the occupant 

The idea of the house was to mimic a tree in the hot tropics, with a large insulated canopy roof providing wide shelter for the spaces beneath. Being located within an established old suburb of Petaling Jaya that was built in early 1960 that has been run-down over the years. First off, 5 significant existing trees were retained and the new house was built in accordances towards the placement of trees for shading purposes. Old materials were crushed and reused  from the previous house, materials such as clay bricks were carefully removed and clean for later purpose. 

Taking advantages of existing trees as natural shading elements. At the same time allowing natural indirect sunlight into the space that resulted in a significant reduction in artificial lighting requirement. 

Old bricks from the previous house were carefully removed and was used as a design feature. 

By capitalising on the tropical climate of Malaysia, the house has a clear north-south orientation for all its openings and windows to minimise heat gain during the day, which resulted in optimal thermal comfort that then led to a significant reduction in energy for cooling. Working hand in hand with roof insulation, design features as well as low-E laminated glass, the overall building envelope OTTV is 29.63.  Moving into the interior, the majority of the house has base finishes, raw off-form concrete walls and ceiling, low VOC paints etc. Subsequently, a double volume family room on the first floor houses a 7m high full sliding glass panel to maximise and capture cross ventilation at the same time allowing the spaces to be naturally lit during the day.

The double volume family space that houses a 7m tall sliding glass panel to capitalise natural cross ventilation. 

Being able to personally visit the house was an experience to remember. A sustainable house could be implemented effectively without the need to sacrifice architectural elements or quality. By understanding the contexts, orientation, shading, natural ventilation and materials presents an opportunity to reduce energy demand from a residential building. As buildings account for 40% of global energy usage, energy reduced by each individual housing could significantly reduce energy demand. Overall, the building stands as a successful step forward in sustainable architecture. While the building is not necessarily carbon-neutral and it's the high construction cost, I think people who are environmentally sensitive would appreciate the architect's attempt to promote sustainable residential building through building-site response.  

Resources : 

http://www.theedgeproperty.com.my/content/s11-house-wins-asia-pacific-design-centre-awards

http://www.archdaily.com/313041/s11-house-archicentre

Wk 8 - Urban Renewable Energy - A paradox

Sustainable Energy is often 1 of the hottest topic within the sustainable development topic of the 21st century. What is Sustainable Energy ? So Sustainable Energy is the efficient use of renewable energy sources that are ecologically sustainable. In short, a combination of demand reduction as well as renewable energy.  Among the sustainable energy production in Australia includes, Bio-energy in Rocky Point Queensland, Wind in Albany Western Australia, Solar Efficient Homes, Adelaide and so on. (Diesendort, 2015) 

Given its potential and growth in the industry, renewable energy is labelled as the mainstream technology in replacing the traditional fossil fuel powered energy in the recent years. Just almost a week ago (16th May 2016), Bloomberg announced that Clean power supplied  almost all of Germany's power demand, a policy to boost renewable energy while phasing out nuclear and fossil fuels. (Shankleman, 2016). Generating a surplus of 45.8 gigawatts to meet the demand of 45.5 gigawatts that turned the prices of electricity negative. Truly, a significant milestone that should set an exemplary to other counties. 

Let's assume that the advantages far out weight the disadvantages of using renewable energy and the path to sustainable development are a complex issue that has to deal from multiple perspectives. Somewhat, I find it  ironic that land resources have to be sacrificed in order to obtain renewable energy, for example, solar takes a huge amount of open unobstructed land to obtain direct solar when the goal of renewable energy is to sustain and retain natural resources to begin with. 

Source :http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/02597/solar-panels_2597461b.jpg 

With the increase of population in urban city, almost 430,000 hectares of agricultural land surrounding Melbourne and Sydney will be taken up by housing without taking into account land usage by renewable energy. With the saying of " There are always 2 sides of a coin" had lead me to further look at the environmental impact done by renewable energy, specifically in solar. 

Without understanding the bigger picture, many ... including myself would find it interesting that although the sun provides a tremendous resource for generating clean energy, the environmental impact that is associated with solar includes land use, habitat loss, water use as well as hazardous materials in manufacturing (if the total LCA is taken into consideration). While there are no direct global warming emissions and environmental impact associated with generating electricity from soalar, there are emissions with the other stages of the solar life-cycle such as manufacturing, transporation, installation, materials usage as well as landuse.


In summary, I would like to keep an nuetral stand point upon renewable energy such as solar due to my insufficient knowledge and expertise within the field. Although there are certain environmental drawbacks upon the implmentation of renewable energy, as well as I believe that there must be a reason that allow governments and policy makers to stand firm in pushing renewable energy as the alternative. Probably, it is because the environmental benefits outweight the negatives from using solar as well as traditional fossil fuel.

Resources:

Disendort, M, 2015, Sustainable Energy Solutions for climate change. 

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-05-16/germany-just-got-almost-all-of-its-power-from-renewable-energy

http://www.ucsusa.org/clean_energy/our-energy-choices/renewable-energy/environmental-impacts-solar-power.html#.V0AfJ_l95D8

Wk 7 - Transportation infrastructure VS sustainability

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, faces a challenge in how to grow economically and physically without creating an urban dystopia. The fact current population of the city itself is 1,7 million and is projected to reach 2.2 million by 2020 whilst tripling to 4.8 by 2050. Being a Malaysian citizen myself, I only recall myself taking the public transport no more than 10 times in my entire life (up till today). Evidently, only 20% of journeys in the city are made on public transport (Dudman,2014) On top of that, another 1000 new vehicles are registered in the city every day (Ngah, 2014) In fact, studies showed that people in Kuala Lumpur spend 250 million hours a year stuck in traffic jams.

(Source : http://kl.coconuts.co/2015/06/03/portion-sultan-iskandar-highway-collapses-kl-traffic-gridlocked)

Without the benefit of doubt, the luxury and conveniences of using private transportation are much more sensible in the given context of Kuala Lumpur, factors such as cost, punctuality, and accessibility of public transportation. etc. The World Bank's 12th Malaysian Economic Monitor report reveals that 17% of Malaysians living in cities uses public transportation, estimated two cars per resident compared to Singapore's 62% while Hong Kong's 89%. (Tan,2015) Nevertheless, personally, from my point of view, the there is a strong relationship between an urban sustainability development and its relationship to transportation infrastructure that has to progress simultaneously in order for a city to be sustainable.  

In this study above by Arthur D Little, Kuala Lumpur was ranked below average despite being rank # 27 in sustainability while Sydney was excluded from the study even though being named #1 in terms of sustainability and livability (PricewaterhouseCoopers, 2012) Therefore, this report raised an interesting question and correlation between sustainability and mobility.

The irony of Kuala Lumpur being label as the top 30 cities in terms of sustainability has a 21% below average mobility. Whereas, Sydney being excluded from the study despite being ranked top as the most sustainable and livable city. From my opinion, what's more, important that determines the sustainability of transportation is the convenience as well as the diversity of public infrastructure instead of mobility between destinations. Of course being working hand in hand with a proper legislative framework such as taxation on vehicle and fuels, cities with efficient transit would perform more effectively and sustainably. Take for example Singapore, with sensible urban planning, its diversity, and convenience of public transport allows their residents to travel throughout the country,  as Mayor of Bogota, Colombia believes that " An advanced city is not a place where poor move about in cars, rather, it is where even the rich uses public transportation. 

Resource 

http://www.theguardian.com/public-leaders-network/2014/sep/16/kuala-lumpur-a-city-in-traffic-gridlock-striving-for-sustainability

http://malaysiaretailnews.blogspot.com.au/2016/02/the-star-towards-sustainable-transport.html

Wk 7 - Eco Blink Reality

Every day, we are surrounded by countless advertisements, magazine covers show perfect photoshopped models, our food packages depict perfectly yummy salads while containing grey slush and consumers buy expensive lotions that promise a more "radiant skin". However, this situation is no different from any industry in the world, including construction field.

Here, we often see advert marketing their urban master plan design about living with nature, being one with nature. Without a doubt, my home country is the densest populated urban city in its region, with an estimated population growth to 4.8 million in 2050. 

Eco-city, The city of tomorrow
Source : http://www.klecocity.com.my/default.asp#.Vy6_ZoR95D8

Marketing Video     <-  ( Video of the marketing campaign can be accessed here )  

As urban sprawl started in early 2000, building high-rise residentials into the suburban area seem to be a common trend in Malaysia to solve the limitation of available land in the city. The ironic situation whereby hills, open agricultural lands are being cleared to make way for these "living with nature development". Upon looking into the development and projects, it saddens me to an extent, where mother nature is being stripped away at the same time being used as a marketing tool to attract consumers. It questions my role as a designer, where do our architectural voice stand in the developing economy where "How much will I (developer) gain in the project instead of  "What will my "developer or architect" project give back to the community and nature?"  The ecological footprint of humanity has far exceeded our earth's capacity ! 

We are using more than we should as well as we are damaging more than we replace ! 

Source : http://www.starproperty.my/index.php/articles/property-news/land-clearing-activities-in-selangor-stripping-away-precious-greenery/  

The picture above is the reality of what is left of once a natural hill at the suburbs of  Rawang due to development, 45mins away from the capital of Kuala Lumpur. Although policies and framework have been developed by the former prime minister to keep 50% of Malaysia's land area under forest cover at the first Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, however, studies and survey today showed only 30% is left. (Lim, n.d cited by Yip,2013) In my opinion, the project managers or architects should keep a close monitor of the site clearing process, in order to keep the damage to a bare minimum. 

With a series of apartments, commercial or offices design like this, I would certainly take caution unless a fundamental reassessment of design is made such as compliance to green rating tools , even the developers will soon be left with nothing to sell their "eco blink" advertisements. More importantly, question my ideology of my architectural position in the sustainable development of the country. 

Source: google maps

The actual development of the "concept master plan" today. 

Resources : 

http://www.starproperty.my/index.php/articles/property-news/land-clearing-activities-in-selangor-stripping-away-precious-greenery/ 

http://www.klecocity.com.my/default.asp#.Vy6_ZoR95D8

Wk 6 - Clean // Waste Energy

In July 2015, County of Los Angeles Department of Public Works reveals that over 13 million tons of materials get recycled annually, ranges from 9million tons of disposed trash, 45,000 gallons of used motor oil, 9000 tons of household e-waste and 10 tons of batteries respectively. 

Evidently, waste management continues to take a leadership role in modeling the overall ideology of sustainable management, in fact, CEO of waste management David Steiner explains that waste management is seizing every opportunity to turn waste into a resource that benefits our communities and the environment. 

Source : Waste Management, "Creating a Circular Economy, Sustainability Report Update 2015" Retrieved from the website http://www.wm.com/thinkgreen/index.jsp. 

Here, the company proposed the concept of "circular economy"that showed progressive results in their 2015 annual report. By funneling discarded materials back into the manufacturing process that imposed a mindset to use and reuse again, in a closed loop of innovation to avoid the extraction of new materials. 

So, I started to question myself, we as designers, how could our presence contribute further in reducing waste products apart from innovative designs and construction methods that involve the life cycle assessment of each individual materials during the design phase. Design to deconstruct to ensure all materials are able to be recycled after the end phase of a building,  as well as being eco-conscious about the resilience of each component of a building to prolong the overall life span. 

My research then led me into looking into a project by BIG architects, a groundbreaking innovation that not only turns city waste into energy, providing 97% of houses in Copenhagen heating and about 4000 people with electricity but also a destination for general public. Some argued that how can a "mountain of trash" be reimagined as well as being used as a public space ? 

Sources : http://www.archdaily.com/339893/bigs-waste-to-energy-plant-breaks-ground-breaks-schemas/51360fffb3fc4b01c3000082-bigs-waste-to-energy-plant-breaks-ground-breaks-schemas-photo

By thinking outside the box, he turned the whole factory into a giant public accessible ski slope that is not just a destination but also encourages public participation as a means of communication. Smoke rings that is emitted from the factory isn't just some form of decorative feature but instead, capitalising on human behavior of " if people don't know, they won't act" to expose how much of CO2 is being released into the environment. (5 smoke rings equals to 1 ton of CO2)

However, an environmental debate argues that those CO2 smoke would do more harm than good. Other than going against waste policy of recycling waste to reduce CO2, the burning of trash for power stunts effort to encourage recycling. (Rodrigo, 2013) On top of that, one possible drawback would be the high construction cost. A CAP study says that a WTE plant in the United States could cost between 100 million to 300 million to build, depending on the size that the cost of constructing might outweigh the advantages of the sustainable features. 

The Amager Bakke by BIG stands as a successful step forward into innovate sustainable architecture which reflects his "out of the box" solution in a complex situation. While the building is not necessarily carbon-neutral, and critics regarding the incineration of waste product would have a rebound effect. But, personally, I think people of sensibility, who recognize the building's attempts to reduce waste and take responsibility for the environment.  For me, the architect and the building recognizes that our current environmental needs and there are an elliptical challenge to the social norm, proving that what was conceive impossible from the past can be environmentally conscious and socially sustainable. 

Resources:

http://www.archdaily.com/339893/bigs-waste-to-energy-plant-breaks-ground-breaks-schemas

http://www.dezeen.com/2011/01/27/waste-to-energy-plant-by-big/

http://www.wm.com/thinkgreen/index.jsp

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/energy/2013/08/130801-amager-bakke-europe-waste-to-energy/

Wk 6 - Individual-ism in Sustainable Living

Urban Sustainable Living, a lecture by Patti Moreno

This short lecture I stumble upon is about a new yorker who is a writer and television host that changed how her community perceived in urban sustainable living within her neighbourhood. By designing an edible landscape and other sustainable living practices, not only she was able to address the composting and food availability on a city plot as well as reducing the overall carbon footprint of the area.  Personally, the key issue that we could take back in her lecture today was that she has proven to us that urban sustainable living is plausible, even at an individual scale, not as an architect nor an urban planner but as a responsible being towards the environment and community. 

Being practically lived and confined within a bustling urban context of New York her whole life with little to no reference to nature or how food is produced, in fact, the only place to connect with trees is in central park. It is till she moved into the suburbs with an abandon empty lot opposite her house, that she started the initiative to take responsibility to maintain and cultivate the land to improve the city and neighbourhood. 

Source : http://www.gardengirltv.com/gallery-pages/patti_moreno-main_garden.html

Evidently from the photo of the garden, it doesn't take a genius or some advanced technology to help contribute towards a sustainable environment by providing fresh air, it transformed a vacant lot into an environmentally friendly space that is "contagious".  The creator suggested that upon establishing the advantages of the garden, people around the area started to follow the trend and invested in the process that makes an impact towards the streetscape. This, however, would perpetuate the development of ecosystem services and enhancement of community cultural amenities that continuously build both social and ecological resilience through a virtuous cycle. ( McPhearson, 2013)

As part of developing more sustainable cities, I think this short lecture shows us that the human element is worthy of recognition as well into the equation. Sustainability is not merely confined to greenery, efficient construction systems or to innovation, it will necessarily also involve an understanding  of human relationships and experience within the urban neighbourhood. As an individual within a community, I believe that generating a successful neighbourhood within an urban fabric should mean creating an ecologically respectful built environment as well as a unique and delightful experience for the inhabitants and users are as important as urban planners.  

Resources : 

http://www.gardengirltv.com/
http://www.archdaily.com/51994/urban-sustainable-living-a-lecture-by-patti-moreno
McPhearson, Timon, Peleg Kremer, and Zoé Hamstead. “Mapping Ecosystem Services in New York City: Applying a Social-Ecological Approach in Urban Vacant Land.” Ecosystem Services (2013):11-26