ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

Introduction

Sustainable development means meeting the needs of the presentwithout compromising the ability of future generations to meet theirown needs. Sustainable development covers three dimensions which oneof it is environmental issues. Environmental issues are more likely toprovide abundance of living places and building workplace for allusers or workers especially during planning of building design.Nowadays, architecture and team project are now fully discover theawareness and pursuing more solutions regarding environmental issues.Thus, we can see variety of design tend to promote green buildingenvironment in order to reduce global warming.

An environmentally responsive design process adds the elements ofintegrated building design, design and development of environmentaldesign guidelines that must be incorporated into the projects from thevery beginning and carried throughout the project phases of thebuilding. There are many elements of environmental issue that we needto take into account which involve land use and impact on ecology,support resource management, portable water consumption, emissions toair, emission to land/solid waste, emission to water, impacts onadjacent/properties, non-renewable energy/consumption and portablewater consumption.

Land Use and Impact on Ecology

First of all, land use and impact on ecology playing main roles inpre-design building seeking with the need to implement sustainable andefficient development. By that, project teams need to consideredappropriate site selection include reuse or recovery of existingbuildings. There are many factors that could prevent you fromdesigning building on a piece of land that range from zoningrestrictions to unstable soils. The location chosen, orientation andlandscaping of building can affect the ecosystem, transportationmethods and energy used. We could not be able to change demographic ofland but we can modify the land in order to meet our needs by notdestroying the green environment. Therefore, it is recommended to have

design guidelines to promote sustainable and green buildingenvironment.

Characteristic of appropriate site selection should:-

1. Control flora and fauna of ecological system

2. Near urban resources (e.g. supermarket, public transportation,educational)

3. Land structure that can withstand number of population

4. controls stormwater runoff and erosion

5. promote smart transportation choices

6. Improve the biodiversity of the site by introducing flora/faunawhich will help contribute to the sustainability of the site overtime.

The site of sustainable building should control the flora and fauna ofour ecological system. It is important to prevent global warming toarise such as flash floods, soil erosion, landslides, high intemperature and more. Nevertheless all the worries can be avoided bycarry out :-

(Combined Heat and Power Partnership, 2014)

An environmental impact assessment (EIA) as part of planningapplication process for certain projects according to Townand Country Planning Regulation 1999.

Governmental agencies and private organizations should haveenvironmental policy that supports the project goals(Anthony Bernheim, 2004)

Installation of green roof

Inappropriate site selection

Green rooftop

Support resource management

Next environmental issues are on support resource management thatinvolves water conservation, energy conservation, materialsconservation. In first principle of sustainable design, designer isconsidered to reduce the use of energy in form of electricity whichmay drives the largest environmental impacts in the construction andoperation of buildings. (Environmental Issues & Building Design,2012) According to an article from Environmental News Network, forone-story structure of building with a green rooftop, cooling costscan be cut by 20% to 30% compare with the use of air conditioningthat contribute to drop on 3-7 °C temperature. So, green rooftop is

Most of the green roofing companies utilize at least some recycled materials in theirvarious product components.

Conserves energy and allow the

one good example in conservation of energy. The uses of solar accesspanel and made modest improvements in HVAC efficiency also implementto reduce energy recommendedly .

For material conservation, it is advisedly to reuse buildingmaterials that can help divert 430 tons of perfectly good buildingmaterials from landfills (EcoBuilding Bargains, 2014). Besides that,we can also minimize material use in order to promote green buildingenvironment. Other recommendations are by using local materials andmethods and ensure proper sizing of materials/components (R. MohamadZin, 2012).

Solar access panel

Water conservation technologies and strategies are often the mostoverlooked aspects of a whole-building design strategy. There are a number of strategies that can be employed to reduce the amount of water consumed at a facility. In general terms, these methods include:-

System optimization (i.e., efficient water systems design, leak detection and repair)

Water reuse/recycling systems (Gray water and process recycling system)

Water-efficient plumbing fixtures (ultra low-flow toilets and urinals, low-flow and sensored sinks and water-efficientdishwashers and washing machines)

Methods to reduce water use in HVAC systems. (Bourg, 2010)

The following list of measures describes the technologies, strategies, and techniques that can be specified in the design phase of a new construction project to reduce facility water use.

Another environmental issue that might also involve in sustainable building is portable water consumption. Reducing potable water requirements through conservation technologies and reclamation/recycling/reuse strategies is a core element of a sustainable facility design initiative. By minimizing water requirements, the facility is reducing the impacts on the entire waterinfrastructure including:-

reduction in groundwater pumping, reduction of water treatment and its associated energy and

chemical usage,

In addition, reductions in on-site energy use and chemical treatmentmay be reduced. The result is obtaining the most use from the least amount of water with the least impact, and may also result in reducingor eliminating the need for development of additional costly water resources in the future.

Moreover, the generation of significant amount of emissions ofair from building construction process has led the promotion ofcontrolling emissions for implementing sustainable developmentprinciples in the built environment. The emissions incurred duringvarious stages include carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, sulphurdioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide, non-methane volatile organiccompounds and particulate matter. Mostly, carbon dioxide (CO2) are themost highly gas that emit from the building, and according to UnitedStates EPA, 70% of electricity uses are generated by coal-firedelectrical power plants and produce 250 – 900 kg of CO2 depending onthe mix of coal, nuclear, hydro and other sources of fuel.

Thus, carbon dioxide are known as one of the greenhouse gas(GHG)and can cause global warming to the Earth. However, there are possiblesolutions to control greenhouse gas(GHG) which are called carbonbalance. It is an evaluation that facilitates the identification ofthe items responsible for the most emissions, and therefore to carryout the most relevant actions to reduce impact on climate change.Moreover, if carried out during the design phase, the carbon balanceprovides a unique reference so that greenhouse gas emissions can beranked in order to choose materials with less impact on the

environment. It is a tool to measure the implementation of sustainabledevelopment.

(The benefits of having a meter, 2013)

References

Environmental Issues & Building Design. (2012). Retrieved November 23, 2014, from http://sustainabilityworkshop.autodesk.com/buildings/environmental-issues-building-design

EcoBuilding Bargains. (2014). Retrieved from Center foor Eco Technology: http://ecobuildingbargains.org/

Anthony Bernheim, W. R. (2004). Pre-Design Issues. Pre-Design.

Bourg, J. (2010, July 23). Water Conservation. Retrieved November 23, 2014, from Whole Building Design Guide: www.wbdg.org/resources/water_conservation.php

R. Mohamad Zin, R. Z. (2012). Integration between sustainanble design and Constructability. Sustaining the World with Better Structures & ConstructionPractice.

(Carbon Balanced Certification, 2013)

Environmental Issues & Building Design. (2012). Retrieved November 23, 2014, from http://sustainabilityworkshop.autodesk.com/buildings/environmental-issues-building-design

Carbon Balanced Certification. (2013). Retrieved November 1, 2014, from Carbon Balance Consulting: www.carbonbalanceconsulting.com.au/carbon-neutral-certification

The benefits of having a meter. (2013, June 24). Retrieved December 1, 2014, from Thames Water: http://www.thameswater.co.uk/your-account/16968.htm

Combined Heat and Power Partnership. (2014, 11 4). Retrieved December 1, 2014, from United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): www.epa.gov/chp/basic/

EcoBuilding Bargains. (2014). Retrieved from Center foor Eco Technology: http://ecobuildingbargains.org/

Anthony Bernheim, W. R. (2004). Pre-Design Issues. Pre-Design.

Bourg, J. (2010, July 23). Water Conservation. Retrieved November 23, 2014, from Whole Building Design Guide: www.wbdg.org/resources/water_conservation.php

R. Mohamad Zin, R. Z. (2012). Integration between sustainanble design and Constructability. Sustaining the World with Better Structures & ConstructionPractice.