Sustainable Buildings AE 790

Assignment #5

By: Mark Cartella & Carly Litofsky

Outline

Sustainability Defined Life Cycle Design Operations Renewable Resources Reflection Conclusion Questions

Sustainability Defined

Sustainability – “The ability to provide for the needs of the world's current population without damaging the ability of future generations to provide for themselves. When a process is sustainable, it can be carried out over and over without negative environmental effects or impossibly high costs to anyone involved.”www.sustainabletable.org/intro/dictionary/

Sustainable Design – “Sustainable design or building “green” is an opportunity to use our resources efficiently while creating healthier buildings. It provides cost savings to all through improved human health and productivity, lower cost building operations, and resource efficiency—and it moves us closer to a sustainable future.” - http://www.ciwmb.ca.gov/greenbuilding/

Sustainable Building – “A sustainable building, also known as a green building, is a structure that is designed, built, renovated, operated, or reused in an ecological and resource-efficient manner. Green buildings are designed to meet certain objectives such as protecting occupant health; improving employee productivity; using energy, water, and other resources more efficiently; and reducing the overall impact to the environment.” - http://www.ciwmb.ca.gov/greenbuilding/Basics.htm

Life Cycle

Steps toward a sustainable building are made in each phase of a building’s life cycle

Design* Construction Operation* Renovation Etc.

Design

The design process is crucial in the creation of a sustainable building

The building must be designed with the ability to help further the goal of self-sustainability

Design Considerations

A designer must consider: Window size, placement, and type Floor to ceiling heights Aesthetics; efficiency can be

beautiful

Design Alternatives

A designers view on conservation: Ideas of using the “rubble” from a

destroyed building to give it new life Utilizing materials found on site Lebbeus Woods

Operations

Statistics – Current Buildings Root of 30% of all green house

emissions Produce 136 million tons of waste

annually Consume 36% of total energy produced

in U.S. Consume 65% of total amount of

electricity produced

Operations

Actions New ways to use current energy –

through new innovations of current technology

Development of new energy sources (i.e. hydrogen, biomass)

Use of renewable energy sources (i.e. solar, hydro, wind, geothermal)

Hydrogen

Most plentiful element on Earth When isolated, can produce clean

burning fuel Can be used for both electricity and

transportation Viewed by many experts, on a large

scale, to be the only true replacement to fossil fuels

Bioenergy

Derived from stored biomasses animal waste, plant matter, agricultural residue, landfill methane, and much more

Very versatile Can be used in the energy forms of

steam, heat, or electricity, but also can be converted to a fuel for direct combustion, and co-firing.

Solar

Derived from the sun to produce clean burning fuel through utilization of photovoltaics

Constantly replenished Two forms

Passive – windows, skylights Active – devices such as boilers and

furnaces being ran off of electricity produced by solar cells

Hydro

Derived from natural movement of water which is then converted into electricity

Accounts for 10% of United States’ total energy production

Increase in utilization is unlikely due to dwindling numbers of new available sites and strong opposition from environmentalists.

Wind

Fastest growing renewable resource Just until recently have wind turbines

and other energy producing wind devices been implemented into the actual building design

Dependant on climate and weather conditions

Intrusive to environment

Geothermal

Originates from heat within the Earth Obtained through thermal conduction Energy can be harnessed in the form

of hot water or steam Two uses

Direct – heating of building or drying food Indirect - production of electricity

through a generator to distribute power.

Reflection

Wise energy choices are just the beginning. A building must be:

Aware of itself Aware of its environment Aware of its own effects on the

environment

Aware of itself

Awareness of energy its energy needs

Awareness of system capabilities Such awareness can be achieved

through the use of technology Sensors Databases Robotics

Aware of its environment

Understand external conditions in order to make efficient system adjustments

Decrease the need to design all systems for extreme conditions

Aware of how much energy is available to it at any given time

Awareness achieved through technology including innovative software and sensor networks

Aware of effects of environment

Take steps toward reducing impact Note when more emissions are made Note what positive impact it can have

on its neighboring community or society at large

Can it produce extra energy and put it to a humanitarian use?

Conclusion What is an intelligent building?

An intelligent building is a self sustaining structure independent of all outside variables in which appeases all stakeholders’ needs in the most efficient manner possible through out its entirety.

An intelligent building is one which utilizes various methods (including technology) in order to improve comfort, increase efficiency, reduce impact, and improve the building process in order to effectively serve its purpose as a structure.

Is a sustainable building an intelligent building? YES! A sustainable building, through adaptive computer

technology, would produce all required necessities throughout its entire life cycle while efficiently utilizing resources and having a minimal impact on its surroundings; thus achieving “Intelligence”!

Works Cited

Green Building Design and Construction Home Page http://www.ase.org/ http://www.advancedbuildings.org/ http://www.crest.org/ http://www.iisbe.org/iisbe/gbc2k5/teams/canada/ILC/

ILC_pg5.htm http://www.intelligent-systems.info/wisan/Sensor

%20network.jpg http://www.realloghomes.com/showcasehomes/

The_Galaska_Home_10_6.html http://www.nef.org.uk/Images/co2tonne.gif Woods, Lebbeus. Radical Reconstruction. New York:

Princeton Architectural Press, 1997

Questions

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