SUSTAINABLE ARCHITECTURE

ASSIGNMENT -3
Guidelines for Architectural Design & Layout
1. Scope :-
Guidelines covers parameters required for planning & design of
buildings respect to sustainable development.
2. Approach to Sustainability :-
• Creating built environment respecting principles of
sustainable development.
• The various climatic, sun path movements, annual wind
directions along with rainfall need to be considered while
designing .
• The building envelope creates harmonious development
when neighbourhood poses one of the biggest challenges
in selection of building materials, technologies and
practices.
• Encouraging and harnessing building materials out of
agricultural, industrial and bio-wastes.
• Environment-friendly and cost-effective.
• Encouraging the use of traditional technologies and local
vernacular architecture .
3. Energy Efficient Design and Processes:-
• Climate sensitive buildings, with higher thermal comfort
and lower energy consumption.
• Reduce the hard paved areas on the site and try to retain
the mature trees.
• Use of low energy or passive heating or cooling measures
help to ensure the overall thermal comfort of the building.
4. Site Design and Development :-
• Establish if there are any protection areas such as
floodplains; forest department areas; water bodies such as
sea, lakes, rivers, wetlands, tributaries and/or streams;
public parks and recreation areas .
• A well-planned and optimally oriented building relates well
to its site and the climate.
• Carefully planned building placement shall also minimize
storm water runoff, habitat disturbance, protect open
space, and reduce the risk of soil - erosion.
• Deciduous trees planted on the south side will lose their
leaves in the winter and allow natural light to enter the
house, while evergreen trees planted on the north side will
provide shade from the summer sun.
5. Building Orientation and Shading :-
• The building shall be oriented with the long sides facing
north and south whenever the site and location permit
such orientation.
• Balconies and open terraces should be built on the south
side of the house, where direct sunlight will permit their
use for more hours during the day and more days during
the year .
• Likewise, the garage, store rooms and other areas that are
less frequently used should be situated at the northern
 part of the house, where they will act as buffers against
cold winter winds.
• Wind is the another environmental factor that should be
considered which can be used to design a building that can
take advantage of summer breezes for passive cooling, as
well as shield against adverse winds that can further chill
the interior on an already cold winter day.
• Best location for solar access will vary from site to site
depending on site shape, orientation and topography, and
shading from trees and neighboring buildings.
6. Design strategies for Day lighting :-
• To reduce the heat gain while ensuring the adequate
natural day lighting.
• Daylight comprises both skylight, and sunlight .
• More windows can be provided on EAST &WEST directions
to reduce the insolation values.
• Shading of window can drastically reduce the heat gain
through sun.
• Size of the window determines the amount of day light
and solar radiation coming inside.
7. Design strategies in a Cold climate :-
• Design according to the site slopes, and Orientation should
preferably be in north - south direction .
• Longer walls should face north & south to receive more
solar heat during winter months.
• Glazing windows up to 25% floor area .
• Adopt Trombe walls as they are a very useful passive
heating system. They requirelittle or no effort to operate,
and are ideal for cold climates.
• Provide glass covered atrium and central spaces .
8. Design strategies in a Composite climate :-
• Increasing cross ventilation of internal rooms by
providing them around the courtyard.
• Plan water bodies on the bigger sites for cooling .
• Provision of cavity walls, terrace gardens, green roof, light
shelves .
• Reduce heat gain in the building through building
envelope.
• Wind towers can work very effectively .
• Water bodies like ponds and lakes act as heat sinks and
can also be used for evaporative cooling.
• Cooling measures such as geothermal cooling and earth
tunnel cooling is an effective way of cooling .
9. Design strategies in a Warm & Humid climate :-
• Orientation should be preferably in North-South
direction for habitable rooms.
• Longer walls should face north & south so that
shorter sides are exposed to direct sunlight.
• Maximum cross ventilation in the building .
• Openings should be provided with suitable
protection like sunshades, chhajjas etc. from Sun and
rain.
• Windows area should be 15 to 20 percent of floor
area.
 • The sill height of windows should be low. Fixed
windows should be avoided.
• Ventilation can also be improved by providing stack
effect.
• Exposed surfaces like roofs and terraces need be
insulted with good insulation material.
10. Design strategies in a Hot & Dry climate:-
• Longer walls of building should face north & south.
• The day lighting of architectural space utilizes diffuse
light from the sky dome.
• Large openings with heavy shutters should be
provided on northern and western faces .
• Windows area should be at least 15 to 20 percent of
floor area.
• Internal courtyard caters for cross ventilation &
thermal buffer.
• Suitable radiation barriers in the form of canopies,
chhajjas, long verandahs etc.
• Wind towers can work very effectively in hot and dry
types of climate .
• In hot dry climates interior surfaces should be light
colored but not so bright as to cause visual
discomfort.
11. Design strategies in a Moderate climate:-
• Buffer spaces like the store rooms, staircases, toilets etc
are located on the eastern and western facades.
• Living areas like bedrooms may be located on the eastern
side .
 • Provide light colored external surfaces.
• Improve the cross ventilation either through solar chimney
or through stack effect.
• Design of the openings is according to the local wind
patterns.
[Link] in Overall Embodied Energy of
Building Materials :-
• Embodied energy is total energy consumed in mining,
processing, manufacturing, transportation and installation
of each unit of a material .
• Promote the use of low energy materials in interiors to
maintain indoor air quality through the use of low VOC
paints.
• More than 70% of total material used in the building
interiors should be low energy.
• Wood is not considered under this category while
Bamboo, coir etc are low energy materials.
• Reusability is a function of the age and durability of a
material.
• The biodegradability of a material refers to its potential to
naturally decompose when discarded.
[Link] approach to Water supply, water
waste and solid waste Management:-
• Adoption of treatment and processing before disposal and
adopting waste to energy technologies..
• It will not only reduce the quantity of wastes but also
improves its
quality to meet the required pollution control standards.