An Architect's Guide to Designing for Sustainability - Part Two
“Absorptance” – is the ratio of the radiation absorbed by a surface to the total energy falling on that surface (Mendler and Odell, 2000).
“Absorption” – is the process whereby a porous material extracts one or more substances from an atmosphere (Mendler and Odell, 2000).
“AECB” – refers to the Association for Environmentally Conscious Building.
“Aerobic treatment” – is the removal of organic pollutants in wastewater by bacteria, requiring oxygen with water and carbon dioxide as the end results of the treatment process. Processes include trickling filtration, activated sludge, and rotating biological contactors (Mendler and Odell, 2000).
“Ambient lighting” – is the lighting throughout an area that produces general illumination (Mendler and Odell, 2000).
“Ambient temperature” – is the dry bulb temperature of the medium (air, water or earth) surrounding people, objects or equipment (Mendler and Odell, 2000).
“ASHRAE” – is the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air Conditioning Engineers (Mendler and Odell, 2000).
“Biodegradable” – means capable of decomposing into elements found in nature within a reasonably short period of time after customary disposal (Mendler and Odell, 2000).
“Bioretention” is the management and treatment of stormwater runoff within a shallow depression, using a conditioned soil bed and plant materials to reduce runoff and to treat and infiltrate it where it originates. The method combines physical filtering and absorption with biological water treatment processes (Mendler and Odell, 2000).
“BRE” – refers to the British Research Establishment Ltd.
“BREEAM” – refers to the Building Research Establishment’s Environmental Assessment Method.
“Brownfield” – is abandoned, idle, or underused industrial and/or commercial facilities/sites where expansion or redevelopment is complicated by real or perceived environmental contamination (Mendler and Odell, 2000).
“Building envelope” – is the enclosing of conditioned spaces by building elements through which thermal energy may be transferred to and from the exterior or to and from unconditioned spaces (Mendler and Odell, 2000).
“Building integrated photovoltaics” – means a portion or portions of a building envelope (walls, roofs, and fenestration) that incorporates photovoltaic materials that generate electricity (Mendler and Odell, 2000).
“Carbon dioxide” – is a colourless, odourless gas that is a known contributor to global warming. Overexposure may cause headache, dizziness, restlessness, increased heart rate and pulse pressure, and elevated blood pressure. Also used in the manufacture of carbonates and as a propellant in aerosols (Mendler and Odell, 2000).
“Commissioning” – is defined by ASHRAE Guideline 0, The Commissioning Process as “a quality-oriented process for achieving, verifying, and documenting that the performance of facilities, systems, and assemblies meets defined objectives and criteria”. Commissioning is therefore an ‘umbrella’ process for all the planning, delivery, verification, and managing risks to critical functions performed in, or by, facilities. Commissioning uncovers deficiencies in design or installation using peer review and field verification. Commissioning also accomplishes higher energy efficiency, environmental health, and occupant safety and improves indoor health quality. Commissioning is a quality assurance-based process that delivers preventive and predictive maintenance plans, tailored operating manuals, and training procedures. Essentially the commissioning process formalises review and integration of all project expectations during planning, design, construction, and occupancy phases by inspection and functional performance testing, and oversight of operator training and record documentation.
“Construction Phase” – incorporating Mobilisation (let the building contract, appoint contractor, issue production information, arrange site hand-over, and review contractor’s proposals), Construction to Practical Completion (administer the building contract and provide contractor with further information as necessary), After Practical Completion (administer the building contract after practical completion, resolve defects and make final inspections). The importance of this phase is to be found in the inspection of the expected performance standards to ensure compliance.
“Contaminant” – is a foreign or unwanted physical, chemical, biological, or radiological material in a product or in the environment (Mendler and Odell, 2000).
“Daylight strategies” – are strategies that aim to use natural light to minimise the use of artificial lighting during the day (Mendler and Odell, 2000).
“Deconstruction Phase” – incorporates either the partial or complete deconstruction of the facility. Deconstruction involves at least three phases either partially or fully: decommissioning, dismantling, and disposal.
“Ecological deficit” means the amount by which the ecological footprint of a population exceeds the biological capacity of the space available to that population. The national ecological deficit measures the amount by which the country’s footprint (plus the country’s share of biodiversity responsibility) exceeds the ecological capacity of that nation.
“Ecological footprint” means the measure of how much productive land and water an individual, a city, a country, or humanity needs to produce all the resources it consumes and to absorb all the waste it generates, using prevailing technology. This land could be anywhere in the world. The Ecological Footprint is measured in ‘global acres [hectares]’.
“Ecological integrity” – means a natural system that has a self-correcting ability when subject to disturbance (Mendler and Odell, 2000).
“Ecosystems” – means the interaction of organisms from the natural community to one another and their environment (Mendler and Odell, 2000).
“Embodied energy” – means the amount of energy expended for production and transportation plus inherent energy at a specific point in the life cycle of a product (Mendler and Odell, 2000).
“Emission” – means a pollutant gas, particle, or liquid released into the environment (Mendler and Odell, 2000).
“Feasibility Phase” – incorporating Appraisal (the identification of client’s requirements, of possible constraints on development and the preparation of studies to enable the client to decide whether to proceed and to select the probable procurement method) and Strategic Briefing (preparation of strategic brief by or on behalf of the client confirming key requirements and constraints). The purpose of this stage is to clarify the project objectives and determine the best way of proceeding. This is a critical stage as it requires the identification of all the issues impacting on the sustainability of the project, clarifying these impacts and their implications with the client, and obtaining the necessary approvals to proceed with the prerequisite interventions, or not. It is critical that the appropriate goals are identified, that the correct strategies are prepared to achieve the goals, and that the necessary research is done to support the strategies. For these reasons the guidelines emphasise the importance of ‘design’ in achieving sustainable development.
“Formaldehyde” – is a poisonous, reactive, flammable gas with a pungent suffocating odour. It combines readily with many substances and polymerises easily. Formaldehyde may cause irritation of the eyes, nose, throat, and respiratory system, tearing of eyes, burns of the nose, coughing or bronchial spasm, and allergic reaction. Generally used in wood products, plastics, fertilisers, and foam insulation (Mendler and Odell, 2000).
“Grey water” – is wastewater that is collected from sinks, showers, baths, and air conditioning condensate, and is treated for reuse.
“IAQ” – refers to an Indoor Air quality in which there are no known contaminants at harmful concentrations. Strategies that can be used to improve indoor air quality include source control (eliminating potential contaminants at source), source isolation (isolating potential contaminants) and source dilution (utilising ventilation and filtration to dilute contaminants) (Mendler and Odell, 2000).
“Life Cycle” – incorporates the use of and alterations to the facility throughout the whole life cycle of the facility. Despite the best efforts at designing and constructing a sustainable facility it can only remain so if it is operated responsibly and maintained properly. The use of toxic cleaning materials can undo all the efforts aimed at achieving a high standard of indoor air quality; failure to test sensor control points can compromise energy efficiency; and poor training can lead to early system failures. Facilities must be operated and maintained with the security, safety, health, comfort, and productivity of their occupants in mind, and with an understanding of the next generation’s need to reuse and recycle building components. The importance of this phase is to be found in the assessment of the efficacy of the strategies, over time, at achieving the goals.
“Life cycle assessment” – means assessing the entire life cycle of the product, process or activity, encompassing extracting and processing material; manufacturing, transporting and distribution; use, reuse and maintenance; recycling and final disposal (The Society of Environment, Toxicology and Chemistry, 1993).
“Non-potable water” – means water that is used for irrigation, cooling towers, toilet flushing, and related uses.
“Occupancy sensor” – means a device that detects the presence or absence of people within an area and causes any combination of lighting, equipment, or appliances to be turned on/off or adjusted accordingly.
“Particulates” – are fine solid particles of dust, spores, pollens, dander, skin flakes, mite allergens, cell debris, mould, mildew, mineral fibres, or solids escaping from combustion processes that are small enough to become suspended in the air (Mendler and Odell, 2000).
“Performance targets and indicators” – refers to targets and indicators included in Best Practice Guides published by organisations such as BREEAM, AECB and others (Halliday, 2000).
“Pervious paving” – is paving material that allows water to penetrate to the ground below.
“Photovoltaic” – refers to the generation of electricity through the exposure of solid-state cells to visible or other radiation (Mendler and Odell, 2000).
“Potable water” – means water that is used for drinking and cooking purposes.
“Pre-construction Phase” – incorporating Outline Proposals (commence development of strategic brief into full project brief, prepare outline proposals and estimate of cost, and review procurement route), Detailed Proposals (complete development of project brief, prepare detailed proposals, and prepare application for full developmental control approval), Final Proposals (prepare final proposals sufficient for co-ordination of all components and elements of the project), Production Information prepare production information in sufficient detail to enable tender or tenders to be obtained, and apply for statutory approval), Tender Documentation (prepare and collate tender documentation), and Tender Action (identify and evaluate potential contractors and/or specialists, obtain and appraise tenders, and submit recommendation to the client).
“Rainwater harvesting” means the concentrating and collecting of rain falling on roofs and grounds for direct use or storage. Water is collected or harvested from patios, driveways and other paved areas. Also harvested is the flow of water from the roof and from catchments such as gutters. Buildings can be designed to maximise the amount of catchment area, thereby increasing rainwater harvesting possibilities.
“Renewable resources” – are resources that are capable of regeneration at a rate greater than its rate of depletion (Mendler and Odell, 2000).
“Sustainable development” means development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs (The World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987).
“VOC” means Volatile Organic Compound including Formaldehyde, Vinyl chloride, 4-phenylcyclohexene (4-PC), Styrene, Benzene, Methyl ethyl ketone, Toluene, Xylenes, Trichloroethylene, Isophorone, Methylene chloride, Ethylbenzene, Phthalate esters, Acrolein, Acrylonitrile, Acetone, Carbon tetrachloride, and Tetrachloroethane (Mendler and Odell, 2000).
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