BY RUBINI KAMALAKARAN
L
ast
week, we highlighted
the need in taking a
balanced approach if we
hope to promote
sustainability as a way of life,
deeming it necessary for the
survival of the humankind.
Imperative to the cause is the
consideration of humans and
the environment, in some equal
measure. In that sense, we find
the definition of sustainable
architecture espoused by John
Bulcock, architect and founder
of DesignUnit, to be a close fit:
striving for psychological and
physical well being of humans
and reduced impact on nature.
He proclaims, “It is obvious
to most that zero energy buildings
and buildings using low carbon
materials are sustainable. It is less
obvious that to be sustainable, a
building must be psychologically
stimulating. If a building has no
mind or soul behind it, it becomes
an economic activity and can be
harmful to our psychological
well-being, no matter how
sustainable the materials used or
energy efficient it is.”
Following up from last week, we
look at a couple more projects by
Design Unit that employs "passive
design", an approach that works
with the environment by leveraging
on the natural climate and settings of the
development site.
Dama zAmya, Phuket
At the planning stage, no mains water,
sewerage or electricity was available at this
remote island site. Therefore this 8,000 sq ft
villa, named "Dama zAmya" was designed to
be totally self-sufficient in terms of services
i.e. rainfall and well to supply all water needs
– drinking included – treating its own
sewerage and producing its own electricity
fromPV and a wind turbine. The east-west
oriented site, falling by 21 metres from the
road, part of a redundant rubber plantation,
opens to panoramic ocean views to the north
and rainforest vistas to the south and east.
The villa consists of two non-parallel blocks,
housing the living plus sleeping spaces, with a
link block housing the entrance, reception and
a gallery. A cantilevered swimming pool and
deck also connect the two main “living” blocks
further down the hillside.
Designed as a passive house, the building
“hugs” the steep sloping site allowing the
natural contours of the terrain to run - around,
between and over the house, integrating the
landscape and villa. The grass covered roofs,
which help to cool the micro climate also
creates gardens for entertaining. Encouraging
outdoor living, its open concept maximises
contact with nature as well as the ocean and
rainforest views. The view of the ocean is not
immediately revealed upon entering the home
but is controlled and framed to be discovered
as the house is explored. A pond at two levels,
highlighting and drawing us towards the
house entrance, creates a pausing place
adjacent to the front door. Upon entering, the
ocean is partially noticeable through a green
courtyard that separates the kitchen and living
spaces. This attracts us into the main living
spaces of the house whereupon the panoramic
ocean views are revealed.
Scientific measurements of the villa reveal:
Thermal Temperatures:
The house is
thermally comfortable the bulk of the time
and when benefitting from the air flow from a
breeze or a fan, thermal comfort can be
achieved 100% of the time. As the house has
been designed to take advantage of natural
ventilation and is situated on a breezy hillside,
the need for air-conditioning is minimal.
Natural Light:
Light shelves along the
perimeter of the ceiling have been used
throughout the building to provide a base of
diffuse daylight for the spaces. All windows
have operable perforated roller blinds for
manual control of the daylight without
blocking the view out. The average daylight
levels for all the rooms fall within the usable
range of 100 – 2000 lux except for certain
peaks due to the morning sun, which can be
blocked out using the manual blinds.
Resource Usage:
This house is 31%
more energy efficient than the reference
house. Moreover, the house is self-sufficient
with natural water from rain, eight months of
the year.
Since moving into the villa in July 2009, the
occupants have acknowledged that
the experience is about as close to
living outdoors as one can get.
They also recorded that:
•
The internal house
temperature closely follows
the external air temperature.
The house cools down far
more quickly at night than any
other place they have lived in.
•
The entire house has abundant
natural air flow on most days.
Even on days where there is
only a light breeze, there is
sufficient air flow through the
house to keep interiors
comfortable without the need
for air conditioning. On the
few days when the air is still,
ceiling fans are adequate to
keep rooms comfortable.
•
Having lived in the tropics for
eight years, in eight different
residences in four different
countries, this is the first
house that does not use air
conditioning at all.
•
Do not use artificial
lighting during the
day anywhere in the
house.
Solar Chimney
House, Kuala
Lumpur
Creating the desired
amount of space, privacy
and contact with nature
for this home was a
challenge. This was due
to the small site in a tight
suburban location.
However, it came with the
benefit of a mature tree
belt at the rear. The
split-level house is
formed by two different
height blocks at half level
height difference. The space
between a triple volume
light-filled entrance space or
“atrium” is the house
circulation that allows
visual connection between
all floors. This also acted as
a solar chimney to ventilate
the whole house using
natural convection (refer
to figure 1).
Some other elements
incorporated into this home
include:
Concrete fins
Off-form concrete fins
form slot openings. Cast as
thin and delicate as engineers’ allow,
they create light edges to concrete
roof planes forming spaces below of
ever-changing shadow and light, shade
and sun. It defines space as part of the house
and part of the garden.
Structure andmaterials
Structure and materials give expression
to the building, explaining what it is,
what it is made of and how it is
put together. This makes the logic of the
building visible, therefore giving it honesty.
Materials such as off-form concrete,
fair-face brick, timber, steel etc are used –
materials that express themselves for what
they are. A small palette of materials to
create a calm uncluttered ambience
with lowmaintenance costs. No use of
cladding finishes that hide the building
structure, or a clutter of materials that
destroy space.
Bamboo sunscreen
Not only does the bamboo sunscreen
create dancing displays of light and shadow,
the embodied energy of bamboo is very low
as compared to hardwood, concrete, recycled
steel and virgin steel.
Besides incorporating passive or active
design, other efforts can be made to reduce
one’s carbon footprint. Recycling is one of
the most effective yet simplest efforts.
Refer to the recycling station system
below for easy reference. To viewmore
examples of sustainable architecture, visit
.
Retrieved from Design Unit website
Lin Ho/PIX
Gary Dublanko/PIX
Gary Dublanko/PIX
X
X
Please email your queries to us:
ON
friday
Nov 29, 2013
>Homes thatworkwith the environment
throughpassivedesign andgivebuildings a
mind and soul of its own
In
harmony
with
n
a
t
u
r
e
Figure 1
how it works:
Recycling bins installed in existing trash room
at each floor makes it easy for people to
recycle.
Recyclables separated in:
Bin for bottles and cans
Small basket for batteries and CDs
Shelf for paper and cardboard
Cleaners earn extra pocket money by selling
recyclables to recycling companies.
Cost for implementation
RM7.40 per apartment
lessons learned
Cleaners happy with recycling system as
they can earn extra pocket money
Label the bins and use lid for all bins, as
people otherwise might throw all trash in
the bin without a lid
RECYCLING STATION system for condos by gregers reimann/ien
consultants
BATTERIES
AND CDs
trash
paper and cardboard
bottles
and cans
PART 2
CUT AND KEEP
INSIGHTS
