Asian Architecture Research Paper

STUDY OF GREEN BUILDING STRATEGIES IN GANENDRA ART HOUSE,PJ FOR ACHIEVING

SUSTAINABILITY.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

ASIAN ARCHITECTURE (ARC 2213/2234)PROJECT 1: CASE STUDY

Study Of Green Building Strategies In

Ganendra Art House,PJ

For Achieving Sustainability.

NAME : TAN WEN YEE STUDENT ID : 0315155

TUTOR : MS.SHAHRIANNE SUBMISSION DATE : 9 June 2015

1


SUSTAINABILITY.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Table of Contents Page

Abstract........................................................................................................................1

1.0 Introduction.......................................................................................................2

2.0 Green Building & GBI ......................................................................................4

3.0 Green Building Strategies....................................................................................5

3.1 Energy Efficiency……………………..…………………………………………………………….5

3.2 Water Efficiency…………………………….……………………………………………………..12

3.3 Materials…………………………………………..………………………………………………....13

3.4 Bioswales…………………………………………………………………………………………....14

4.0 Green Building Strategies bring Sustainability…………………………………15

5.0 Environmental issues…………………………………………………………….….17

6.0 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………….18

7.0 Reference………………………………………………………………………………………..….19

2


SUSTAINABILITY.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

ABSTRACT

Malaysia is allegedly in the midst of a ‘Green Building Revolution’, powered by the

awarding of ratings to architects who build sustainable buildings. The term ‘Green

Building’ has slowly becoming a new trend in architecture world and it is often related to

‘sustainability’. Strategies of achieving sustainability act as a very important consideration

in almost every building nowadays, in which to reduce the negative impact to our

environment by implementing green building strategies. The focus of this research paper

is to explore the desirable strategies that advocated by Ganendra Art House to create a

sustainable built environment that minimizes impact to ecology, at the same time,

improves human health and cost saving. In order to validate the research, various

literature reviews regarding green building and its strategies were conducted to enhance

the process. This building is the second project to receive a final certification from GBI

under the RNC category and sixth project overall, in Malaysia. Ganendra Art House is also

the first building that presents the unique green features such as wind chimney and

bioswales in that region. Thus this paper will aim on the green building strategies which

based on GBI system that lead to sustainability which including energy efficiency

(building orientation and envelope, renewable energy), water efficiency, the materials

(recycled and green material) being used and also the special features in this building.

The features of each category that the architect adapted in this building and the effect will

be discussed in this paper too. A more thorough analysis of Ganendra Art house shows

that the importance of adaptation of green building strategies in this building will help to

reduce pollution, environmental degradation and also to conserve minerals and resources

on Earth. Last but not least, full utilization of green building strategies in the building will

help to sustain the environment and the building itself.

3


SUSTAINABILITY.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

1.0 INTRODUCTION

The Ganendra Art House is a tangible symbol of the clients’ commitment to innovation,

sustainability and design. The space provides an inspired backdrop for showcasing an

eclectic range of art and design exhibitions, education programs and events, creating a

contemporary and accessible arena for contemporary art, and platform for cultural

encounter. The building is at the forefront of architectural style, boasting effective and

affordable design. The Ganendra Art House is the first space of its kind in the region and it

was designed by award-winning architect, Ken Yeang, act as an exhibition space that

embraces aesthetic and conceptual distinction, in line with contemporary art thought. It

also accommodates living and work spaces for artists and management who live on

premise.

The Ganendra Art house (one of the green buildings in Malaysia) is the first building to

present unique green building features such as wind chimney, bioswales in that region.

The architect has also adopted different green building strategies in this building.

4


SUSTAINABILITY.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

It is the second project to receive a final certification from GBI under the RNC category

and sixth project overall, in Malaysia.

This research paper aims to identify and analyze the green building strategies that were

implemented by the architect of Ganendra Art House in order to achieve sustainability in

which to reduce negative impact to the environment. This topic will be further explored by

responding to the following research questions :

Question 1 : What are 'Green Building' & GBI rating system?

Question 2 : What are the green building strategies that are applied on Ganendra Art

House?

Question 3 : How does the green building strategies bring sustainability to

the building?

Question 4 : What is the environment issues that green building strategies will help to

improve?

Question 5 : What are the other features of this building that will lead to sustainability?

5


SUSTAINABILITY.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2.0 GREEN BUILDING & GBI

Green Building is a new trend that leads us to a better future by improving

sustainability in a building yet still constituting a subset of existing building. The

numbers of Green Building are increasing rapidly in Malaysia due to the environmental

issue. In contrast to conventional building, "Green Building" design and construction

seek for an opportunity to use resources more efficiently, while creating healthier and

more energy-efficient homes and commercial buildings, while a successful green

buildings will leave a lighter footprint on the environment through conservation of

resources, at the same time balancing energy-efficient, cost-effective, low-maintenance

products for construction needs. In other words, green-building design involves finding

the delicate balance between homebuilding and a sustainable environment.

GBI is an environmental rating system for buildings developed by PAM and ACEM. It

is developed specifically for the Malaysian tropical weather, environmental context,

culture and social needs. GBI is created to define green buildings by establishing a

common language and standard of measurement, to recognize and reward

environmental leadership. Last but not least, transform the built environment to reduce

its environmental impact and ensure new buildings remain relevant in the future and

existing buildings. It is Malaysia’s first comprehensive rating system to evaluate the

environmental design and performance of Malaysian Building based on 6 key criteria:

Energy Efficiency (EE), Indoor Environmental Quality (EQ), Sustainable Site Planning &

Management (SM), Material & Resources (MR), Water Efficiency (WE), and Innovation

(IN).

6


SUSTAINABILITY.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3.0 GREEN BUILDING STRATEGIES

3.1 Energy Efficiency

Building Orientation

Ganendra Art House has adopted few green building strategies in order to achieve

sustainability without causing much environmental impact to the surrounding. One of

the green building strategies that were being applied by the architect in this building is

energy efficiency. It is achieved by optimizing the building orientation, making it more

comfortable to live in with less energy consumption. A well- orientated building

maximizes day-lighting and wind through the facades, reducing the need for artificial

lighting and air-conditioning.

The building configuration of Ganendra Art House is oriented based on the location’s

solar path north and south. As result, the front and back of the house is aligned while the

west hot sides faces the main noisy road. Besides, the generally open layout plan takes

into consideration the clients’ requirements for organic interaction between the various

spaces. All the spaces in this building are orientated to meet the aim and purposes

7


SUSTAINABILITY.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

respectively.

a) Entrance porch b)Bedroom

c) Kitchen d)Bathroom

The entrance porch in Ganendra Art house is facing north while the bedrooms and

bathrooms face the south that gives minimum exposure to the sun and therefore it is

more cooling compared to the other spaces. The rooms most used is better to be placed

on the side of the house that is orientated towards the sun such as, the kitchen is placed

at the west side, and it has minimum window openings to reduce solar heat gain from

8


SUSTAINABILITY.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

the west setting sun.

Other than that, the central courtyard, patios and study room face the east. West sun

is always hotter than east sun. The courtyard is shaded from the sun in the afternoon

and has a comfortable microclimate zone within the site, thus making it a good place to

chill and hang around.

Building Envelope

The building envelope is the physical separator between the interior and exterior of a

building such as wall, windows, door, floors and roof. A well-designed envelope will

respond to the local climate, for example the Ganendra Art House.

9


SUSTAINABILITY.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Photo (h) : Light grey façade of Ganendra Art House

The external finish of the building is light grey cement render. This light colour further

reduces heat gain by reflecting up to 50% of solar radiation, thus providing more

comfort to the users in the building.

The sound insulation property of hollow brick is better than a normal brick. For this

reason, the walls for west facing external walls are hollow bricks with double sand

bricks because the west side of the building faces the main noisy road as mentioned

above. Besides, the factor of safety for a hollow brick wall is also better than the normal

brick, as it is a better thermal insulator due to the presence of air in hollow units.

Photo (i)&(j):

10


SUSTAINABILITY.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Photo (k)&(l)&(m) : Sun-shading slabs and float glass windows

Photo (i)&(j):

11


SUSTAINABILITY.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The majority of the building’s windows have minimal openings with insect netting or

float glass windows. The main sliding door openings have grills with insect netting to

enhance natural ventilation and reduce solar heat gain at all times. The opening at

gallery on ground floor and first floor along with the placement of windows and doors

on opposite walls encourages cross ventilation in this building. Partial stack ventilation

is incorporated at these spaces via high and low openings in the external walls inlets,

designed to be as low as possible to provide airflow at occupants level. All window

openings and doors have vertical or horizontal concrete sun-shading slabs that extend

450mm from the wall, it helps to reduce glare to the internal spaces.

Roof insulation is the most practical and cost effective way to make the building more

energy efficient. Since the greatest amount of heat enters low -rise buildings through the

roof, 80% of the roof in Ganendra Art house is covered with Onduline roofing material

(made from cellulose bitumen) with roof insulation.

12


SUSTAINABILITY.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Renewable Energy

Photo(n)&diagram(a): Wind Chimney

Renewable energy systems can be used to supplement or eliminate traditional

heating, cooling, and electrical systems through the utilization of this natural energy.

Ganendra Art House has an innovative ‘wind chimney’ similar to the ventilating

chimneys used in the Middle-East, but it has never been used before in Malaysia. The

shaft consists of 360 degree openings at top to catch wind from all directions and is

internally partitioned to channel the wind down the shaft, with directed flow into the

spaces below. Besides, the extent of wind flow is manually controlled by operable glass

louvers at the base of the shaft.

13


SUSTAINABILITY.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Photo(o): View of wind chimney from the inside of the building

The ‘wind chimney’ is located within the main gallery and it is designed to function as

a down-draft shaft to channel the wind from the upper parts of the site at the roof level,

channeling the external wind down the shaft to the gallery spaces below to provide

comfort cooling and natural ventilation. Other than that, the wind chimney’s openings’

orientations were initially configured based on the prevailing wind directions from a

general wind rose for the locality. Temperature analysis & airflow distribution data were

calculated from the air velocity analysis, and therefore the results of these simulations

and models were used to re-design the wind chimney and to enhance its performance as

a ventilating device. Lastly, the post construction measurements will be carried out to

verify the effectiveness of the device.

3.2 Water Efficiency

Water acts as a very important element to a building and its user, and water usage in

another way is also connected to energy consumption as treating wastewater and

14


SUSTAINABILITY.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

heating water consume significant energy too, therefore reduction of water use can be

used as a strategy to reduce a building’s carbon and energy footprint.

Ganendra Art House uses water efficient water closets, shower heads, basin taps and

kitchen taps in order to minimize the usage of water in the building over a period of

time. Study shows that a flow rate of 2 litres/min at the wash basin taps in staff and

public toilets is sufficient for normal washing purpose. The lower flow rate will help to

reduce water consumption and save on the water bills. Ganendra Art House has installed

sensor taps with a flow rate of 2 litres/min and these taps also cut off water supply

when the hands are removed from under the tap, or when the preset timing of 30 or 60

seconds is reached, whichever is earlier.

Photo(p): Vegetation on site

Other than water fitting, water efficient landscaping is also one of the features that

being used in Ganendra Art House. In Malaysia, most of the water consumption

15


SUSTAINABILITY.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

contributes to outdoor (landscaping&vegetation) but it is different in this building, all

trees and shrubs that used for landscaping are native plants that require no artificial

irrigations, therefore decreases water usage in the building.

3.3 Materials

The usage of recycled materials and green materials represent one important strategy

in the design of a building as it promotes conservation of dwindling nonrenewable

resources. These materials are environmentally responsible because the impacts are

considered over the life of the product.

Using locally produced building materials shortens transport distances, thus reducing

air pollution produced by vehicles. Often, local materials are better suited to climatic

conditions, and these purchases support area economies. Hence, in Ganendra Art House,

no imported building materials or products were used. All building materials or

products depicted below have been extracted, harvested, or recovered as well as

manufactured within 500km form the project site.

Moreover, the re-bars and broken concrete blocks recovered from the demolishing of

existing building were retained for use in the construction of hand-rails. In addition, all

timber used for formworks and temporary works were re-cycled from the previous

projects undertaken by the Contractor. This can help to reduce the waste stream and the

demand on virgin natural resources.

Green materials that considered as environmentally benign materials are also used in

Ganendra Art House. VOCs are unstable, carbon-containing compounds that readily

vaporize into the air. When they enter the air, they react with other elements to produce

16


SUSTAINABILITY.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

ozone, which causes air pollution and a host of health issues including breathing

problems, headache, burning, watery eyes, nausea, and even cancer, thus low volatile

organic compound (VOC) paints are used for all internal walls in this building, so that

the indoor environmental quality remains. Additionally, the floors also have cement

render finish with a groove line patterns throughout. (there are no carpeted nor wooden

floors.) In order to reduce and eliminate the usage of toxic materials, no added urea

formaldehyde products, VOC adhesives or sealants were used in this building.

3.5 Bioswales (special green feature)

Diagram(b): Typical bioswale (http://imgbuddy.com/bioswale-diagram.asp)

Bioswales are sustainable drainage devices used here to remove silt and pollution

17

http://imgbuddy.com/bioswale-diagram.asp


SUSTAINABILITY.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

from surface water run-offs and to return surface water back into the ground to

recharge the groundwater and to enable the rainfall that falls on the land to remain on

the land and not drain away. This swaled drainage course has gently sloped sides that

are typically covered with vegetation. There are four bioswales located at the corners of

the Ganendra Art House. A connected sub-soil drainage system is located at the

courtyard, at the front driveway and at the entrance porch to expedite the absorbtion of

rainwater back into the local aquifer.

4.0 Green Building Strategies brings Sustainability

Sustainable design is a design ideology, which harbors the notion of sustainable

human and societal development. Sustainability can be defined in various ways. Every

individual will approach the issue of sustainability in a different manner depending

upon various factors, such as, sustainability goals, background, awareness, and economic

conditions. Sustainability is to ensure that our action today does not prohibit

opportunity of development to the future generation, in terms of resources. One of the

key aspects in sustainability is sustainable construction. Sustainable construction

practices are such that they are based on ecological principles, with no environmental

impacts, have a closed material loop, and have full integration into the landscape after

the service life of the structure is over. The concept of green buildings is the measure of

our efforts in attaining that idealistic sustainable construction practices.

The application of green building strategies on Ganendra Art House has successfully

18


SUSTAINABILITY.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

brings sustainability to itself and the environment as it minimizes the consumption of

active energy in the building, and optimizes passive energy, such as natural ventilation

and day lighting. Energy efficiency is one of the most important goals in terms of

sustainability, it is fully utilized in this building through materials, components and

different systems, including renewable energy. Indeed, sustainability not only cost

efficient but also allowed building to become a part of the environment, rather than stick

out from it.

All the natural resources around the world are having a crisis now as they are facing

depletion problem due to the rapid economic development and poor management. They

have had large destructive impact on the environment compared to 10 years ago. With

the aid of green building strategies, Ganendra Art House minimizes the usage of

nonrenewable energy for example air-conditioning, therefore reducing the usage of

energy and minerals that we need in that system. The implementation of green building

strategies in Ganendra Art house has help to conserve the minerals and other resources

on Earth indirectly and also to protect the biodiversity and ecosystem because ‘go green

‘ means to sustain the environment without disrupting natural habitat around it, small

disruption can also make an impact to the environment that will be much like a butterfly

effect, resulting worst outcome.

19


SUSTAINABILITY.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

5.0 Environmental Issues

The design, construction and maintenance of buildings have a tremendous impact on

our environment. The building sector is a significant contributor to air pollution and the

pollutants that cause climate change. The challenge then becomes to build smart so that

buildings use a minimum of nonrenewable energy, and produce minimal pollution, while

increasing the comfort, health, and safety of the people who work there, Obviously,

green building is the answer for this problem.

A carbon footprint is defined as total sets of greenhouse gas emissions caused by

organization, event, product or person, and it is the main factor to global warming,

greenhouse effect and other natural occurrences. Ganendra Art House uses green

building strategies to reduce the carbon footprint to the surrounding because the usage

of active energy in this building is minimized, thus releasing less carbon to surrounding

that cause environmental issue.

Moreover, non-toxic materials such as low VOC paints are used in this building too,

which causes less pollution, improves the air quality and helps to maintain the health of

occupants in the building in a long term. Environmental degradation is one of the largest

threats that happened to our earth today. However, the application of green building

strategies in this building will help to minimize this issue, as this green building

produces less waste, and cause less pollution, therefore indirectly it helps to maintain

the biodiversity of ecosystem on our earth.

20


SUSTAINABILITY.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

6.0 Conclusion

In conclusion, Ganendra Art House has managed to apply green building architecture

into the design of the building by applying green building strategies efficiently. There

are many considerations when it comes to building a green building and maximize all

the strategies in it. For Ganendra Art House, as for this report, it focuses on the green

building strategies such as energy efficiency, water efficiency, and different types of

materials. By maximizing the usage of the strategies, it will be able to contribute to

the sustainability of the building as it decreases the amount of active energy system in

the building. Besides, it will also help to minimize the environmental issues such as

pollution to our earth and maintain the biodiversity of ecosystem. Lastly, as this

research reveals the ways and benefits in achieving green building in a sustainable

way, it can serve as a reference for future designers or owners when they consider to

construct a sustainable green building.

21


SUSTAINABILITY.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Reference

1.Paola Sassi (2006). Strategies for Sustainable Architecture. New York : Taylor and Francis , pp 143-272 2.Francis D.K. Ching, Ian M.Shapiro (2014). Green Building Illustrated : Wiley

3.Michael Bauer, Peter Mosle, and Michael Schwarz (2009). Green Building :Guidebook for sustainable Architecture : Springer 4.What is a Green Building? : Governor’s Green Government Council. Retrieved 27 April 2015,from http://www.epa.gov/statelocalclimate/documents/pdf/ 12_8_what_is_green_GGGC.pdf

5.Ali, H. H., & Al Nsairat, S. F. (2009). Developing a green building assessment tool for developing countries –Case of Jordan. Building and Environment ,44:5, 1053-1064.

6. Betzwood Associates PC (2011). Do Green Homes Cost More to Build than Regular Houses.Company Website 2014. Accessed June 2014.

22

http://www.epa.gov/statelocalclimate/documents/pdf/12_8_what_is_green_GGGC.pdf

