The industry of Civil Engineering produces a lot of unwanted waste and pollutions. There are solid waste, air and even sound pollution during construction. In addition, for most structures, it will eventually be demolished and materials become waste. This is the reason why the topic sustainability has been so popular these years. The definition of sustainable development by Brundtland, 1987, is 'Sustainable development meets the economic, social and environmental needs and interests of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs and interests.' The biggest concern nowadays is considered to be resources as it is limited on the earth, however, human have unlimited wants. Also, running out of resources (for example construction materials) will mean that we are compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs and interests, which is not sustainable development according to above definition. There is a number of ways to create a sustainable civil product. The word 'green building' should remind you of something. Green building is a structure that uses process that is environmentally responsible and resource-efficient throughout a building's life-cycle. This can be done by reducing materials needed through improving designs and some innovations or tweak it a little bit, to use materials in a more efficient way. Make good use of natural energy, the most common one is to use natural lighting by installing large windows, which reduces electricity usage.
There are some houses called earth houses over the world which is based on this idea and maximises the potential sustainability. Earth houses, sometimes known as earth berms or earth sheltered home is an architectural sty...
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...s well as living on at least 10th floor. An earth house is more likely to be in countryside where transportation may not be as convenient. I would have to drive to work or school everyday which costs me more than public transport within a city. It also increases my personal CO2 output to the environment which might just cancel out with the energy saving ability of my earth house. The lack of experienced earth house builder means that it is going to be more expensive and time consuming when my houses needs to be repaired. Also, I am not convinced by the energy saving ability of it, since extra electricity is so likely to be needed to control humidity of the house, which a conventional house does not need to. Although I can see its durability in storm or earthquake is a very useful thing in some certain area, there are some cheaper and economically better alternatives.
“Houses are machines for living in,” as Le Corbusier once said. One could say that a building is one of the largest and most used machine in existence today. So why is it that this particular type of machine is so inefficient? A new precedent for design inspiration is needed to mitigate the impact that buildings have on the environment. A machine can be defined as a device that uses energy to perform an activity. Nature, which uses solar energy, can therefore be said to be the most sustainable machine. So why not use this as a model to base building design and construction off of? Biomimicry, or the study of nature’s models which are then imitated or used for inspiration, is a process to solve design problems.
Vernacular architecture in the Dominican Republic has proven to be energy efficient and provide high thermal comfort levels, but opposite to Passive House it relies on a completely open envelope that allows the air to quickly get in and out of the spaces. Unlike Passive House, Dominican vernacular architecture has no scientific proof rather than user experience, therefore is not scientifically rigorous to hold one over the other.
...e built (which the demand still remained unable to be met .1 So with these laws, the DIY houses were constrained into a small allotment, which was strictly limited to 1250 sqaure feet(115m2).limiting their total ground cover. 4 This resulted in the efficient house designs utilizing the little space offered. Australian Haccmaker remarked that space efficiency was the key. “A modern house uses every inch of space. Every inch has a purpose…a modern house is thrifty to build…roof lines are plain construction details…, which was strictly limited to 1250 sqaure feet(115m2) 4.
The purpose of this writing is to discus some of the materials and methods required and the various components that work together to create a dynamic self-sufficient home. The first concept discussed is the principle of thermal mass to maintain a constant temperature. Houses are built with south facing walls, typically glass, providing the energy from the sun required to heat the dense walls. These walls begin to emit heat once temperatures drop. During the summer time a combination of proper ventilation and moisture resistant roofs layered with soil and native plant life provided necessary summer shade. The density of the rammed earth tire walls provided enough mass in the structure and b...
Homes are no longer simply about living, they are built of course to live in, but they accomplish so much more. Although the design of home has evolved into a much different thing then what it once was, a home is still a home. We are beginning to realize that we went wrong when building houses of styrofoam and thin concrete slabs. We are beginning to see the value in antiquity. Just because a home is old does not mean that it needs to be razed to
Our world is often referred to as our home. We need it to survive, and it provides us with the resources that we need to live our lives as comfortably as we do. Yet, we don’t often take the time to consider our impact on our environment. Let’s say our earth is “literally” a house, could you live in a home that has been routinely and permanently damaged, sprayed full of insecticides, and even torn apart for someone’s personal use? This Idea is represented in Rachel Carson’s book “Silent Spring”.
This also comes from a lack of understanding. Homes are built in a every strict step by step by the book way that there is restriction for trying to find the next new idea. The food supply is also not perfect since it can only supplement the amount of food needed. There are some new designs that are more food focused in order to produce enough food for a family of four to eat year-round. However, they are very large and at times will take someone full time to make sure everything is being grown properly. Through my own research a sperate traditional greenhouse can be built in order to supply all the food needed. This also has issues since people consume more processed food versus grown food. The final issue I can think of is that since this house is constantly generating resources there needs to be people using the resources. This house is a living house that must be used on a monthly basis in order to create the steady inflow and outflow needed. Electricity is the only utility that is able to remain at max. The water must be used to prevent excess over flow, and the food must be eaten in order to prevent over
A natural building has the same concept to a green building but rather on a smaller scale and leans towards using natural materials that are obtainable locally. Green architecture and sustainable design are closely related topics. Sustainability can be described as fulfilling the needs of current generations devoid of compromising the capacity of generations to come meeting their needs.
There are 180,00 families in America living a sustainable lifestyle and roughly around 1.7 billion people worldwide living without depending on the grid. (Palameri 1; Perez qtd. in Wood 1). The number of Eco villages, sustainable and intentional communities are rising across the nation as more people are discovering that they possess a strong inclination to live in the same manner as the Amish. This phenomenon is becoming a progressively popular choice for people from all walks of life. Not only are environmentalists and survivalists escaping the city life in efforts to live off the grid, but single families and people who are seeking to explore a simplified lifestyle are also joining the trend.
The purpose of this research paper is to describe the significance of the cob house and why it should build to improve Thai environment. First, the paper will discuss the benefits of cob house. Second, it will focus on how cob houses protect from natural disasters. Finally, it will show why cob material will be able to build future home foundations.
A sustainable building, or green building, or green Architecture was fundamentally seen in so many ancient civilizations and traditional architectures. So it is no more a new trend except that in the present it is viewed through a new perspective and with a proper technological support (Pawar Satish, 2014). The ‘Building Sector’ is the major source of demand for energy and materials e.g. steel that also produce by-product greenhouse gases (GHG) which is also prone to rusting and other weather degrading factors. However, a low-cost and renewable resource for permanent construction could be based on ‘Bamboo’. In tropical regions, construction size Bamboo reaches full strength already after 3-4 years. Bamboo can be seen growing on hill sides and along roads and fields it does not encroach on agricultural land either. On the contrary, Bamboo can prevent erosion and even revitalize devastated rain forest soil. Local economy can be promoted at all steps in the supply chain of Bamboo. Bamboo can even be of great help to the whole world by its remarkable CO2 sequestrating capacity. Bamboo has historically been used as a building material due to its inherent properties, being regenerating, biodegradable, with high tensile strength, and
Although a home takes many years to begin to resemble a comfortable enviroment that we as humans set up to live within a sheltered structure; there are many problems that might be overt and some that we might not readily notice. In this essay I will examine some of the causes that make homes comfortable and bring us as a species closer to nature as well as the causes that might have a negative impact on our lives.
Sustainable buildings are becoming somewhat of a necessity in the world today. As the demand for green building develops, so does the demand for green building materials. Just as the old techniques and building materials seem to disappear in the assembly of things, they are now making a come back. Green building focuses on the efficiency of major resources like water and energy. As the cost for sustainable materials and products are on the decline, building green seems to be the most cost effective kind of design and construction. Looking specifically at green materials and their impact on the production of structures, it is evident that they are a prime choice for building material. The use of green materials should be promoted because they are better for the environment, more healthful for the consumer, and better for the economy.
For quite some time, life on earth has been nothing but peaches and cream for several people and because of people who live a non-sustainable life, it has left others with an indistinct outlook on earth’s future. Sustainability to me is doing things that will help prevent harmful things from happening to the environment now and in the future. With the support of the sustainability and more quality ways of living, the Earth Charter is gradually introduced. Through key research I will explain what the Earth Charter is and why it was founded, describe one of its four parts along with the goals and overarching philosophy, and share the impact it has on my life now and in the future.
Buildings consume a variety of materials in their construction. Green design reduces the dependence on resource intensive products and materials. Today, there are an increasing number of products available made from efficient, earth-friendly, or recycled materials. In a green building, consideration is also given to the construction process itself. Materials that minimize waste or can be recycled, help contribute to an efficient and environmentally sensitive construction process.