Tropical Sustainable Architecture: Social and Environmental Dimensions

312 Pages·2006·10.32 MB·English

by  Joo Hwa Bay

TROPICAL SUSTAINABLE ARCHITECTURE
Social and Environmental Dimensions

TROPICAL SUSTAINABLE
ARCHITECTURE
Social and Environmental Dimensions
Joo-Hwa Bay and Boon Lay Ong
AMSTERDAM • BOSTON • HEIDELBERG • LONDON • NEWYORK • OXFORD
PARIS • SANDIEGO • SANFRANCISCO • SINGAPORE • SYDNEY • TOKYO
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CONTENTS
Foreword vii
Preface xiii
About the Authors xv
1 Social and Environmental Dimensions in Tropical Sustainable Architecture:
Introductory Comments 1
Joo-HwaBayandBoon-LayOng
Part I Architectural and Environmental Theories 15
2 Rethinking Design Methodology for Sustainable Social Quality 17
AlexanderTzonis
3 The Selective Environment: Environmental Design and Cultural Identity 29
DeanHawkes
4 Green Design in the Hot Humid Tropical Zone 45
KenYeang
Part II High-rise High-density Living 57
5 Socio-Environmental Dimensions in Tropical Semi-open Spaces of High-rise
Housing in Singapore 59
Joo-HwaBay,NaWang,QianLiangandPingKong
6 BEAMs and Architectural Design in Singapore Public Housing 83
Boon-LayOngandChi-NguyenCam
Part III Building and Planning Requirements 99
7 Policy and Evaluation System for Green Building in Subtropical Taiwan 101
Hsien-TeLin
8 In Search of a Habitable Urban Space-Built Ratio: A Case Study of Building and
Planning Regulation in Dhaka City 125
Q.M.Mahtab-uz-Zaman,FuadH.Mallick,A.Q.M.AbdullahandJalalAhmad
vi Contents
Part IV Urban Environmental Impacts 149
9 Designing High Density Cities – Parametric Studies of Urban Morphologies and
their Implied Environmental Performance 151
EdwardNg,Tak-YanChan,VickyCheng,NyukHienWongandMeiqiHan
10 The Urban Heat Island Effect in Singapore 181
WongNyuk-HienandChenYu
11 Tropical Urban Street Canyons 201
EliasSalleh
Part V Experimental Sustainable Projects 219
12 Tropical and Traditional: Inventing a New Housing Model for the Old 36 Streets
Quarter in Hanoi, Vietnam 221
ShoichiOta
13 ECOPET 21: An Innovative Sustainable Building System for Ecological
Communities in Tropical Regions 241
JoséRobertoGarcíaChávez
Part VI Critique on Tropical Architecture 265
14 Is Sustainability Sustainable? Interrogating the Tropical Paradigm in
Asian Architecture 267
AnomaPieris
Index 287
FOREWORD
Often, a group of individuals may come together from different
disciplines in a conference to share their expertise and knowledge
around a particular topic or idea. Less often, a conference pro-
ceedings or publication follows. In rare instances, the published
proceedings contain sufficient relevance and substance to be a
touchstone of significant development of those ideas well into the
future. This publication is such a volume.
The authors and contributors to this volume raise relevant ques-
tions and offer significant and promising answers of how best to
build in the tropical climates. This publication frames the terms for
a continuing productive investigation of these ideas. This volume
makes a very significant contribution in defining unique qualities
and contributions of tropical sustainable architecture.
The terms of sustainable development and design have been
variouslydefinedandarenowwellknownaspartoftheinternational
dialogue to protect earth’s resources, defined as equal portions of
social equity, economic opportunity and environmental responsi-
bility.Thesegoals–avidlydebatedatthe1992UnitedNationsEarth
Summit held in Rio de Janeiro – are essentially a call to “future
fairness.” Like all great architecture – sustainable architecture is
that which is enduring, empowering, and inspiring, appropriate to
particular climates, resources and cultures.
The theme of this volume is to define and develop what is
most unique and potent in a tropical sustainable architecture. The
challenge is set forth in the Preface in a set of questions by edi-
tors Joo-Hwa Bay and Boon-Lay Ong. Their questions demand an
in-depth look at what it means to design and build in tropical areas
in ways that are sustainable.
The contributors to this volume offer significant experience and
knowledgeaboutdesigningbuildingsintropicalclimates. Thechap-
terscontainamyriadofapproachestodesigningbuildingsandurban
viii Foreword
complexes most appropriate and unique to tropical cities, regions
and populations.
Some of the proposed designs and ideas are known. Others are
new. Some are founded on practice, carefully documented and
observed. Others are revealed by new means of analysis, includ-
ing computer simulation and visualization. Each of the chapters
in this volume offers new insight and knowledge useful for prac-
tice. The sum of the chapters makes the case that defining what is
unique about tropical sustainable architecture is a productive focus
for present and continuing research and practice.
In “The Selective Environment,” Dean Hawkes describes an
approach to design that is, like nature, selectively adaptive to
specific local climate and environmental influences. Among the
characteristics of Selective Environments is the notion of “free-
running” buildings, a term to describe buildings where climate
conditions are varied during the day and during the seasons. This
variation he notes is more generally preferred over the more stan-
dardized and uniformly air-conditioned interiors. He advocates and
givesexamplesofbuildingswith“buffers”whichexperiencespace,
light, wind and time variations between the exposed outdoor
climate and the enclosed and conditioned interiors.
In “Green Design in the Hot Humid Tropical Zone”, Ken Yeang
clearly summarizes what is most difficult to describe, a way of
thinking about designing in the tropics, which he terms ecodesign,
“designing the built environment as a system within the natural
environment.” Yeang makes it simple: “We start by looking at
nature.” He argues that this way of “holistic thinking” extends to
the building surround, its context in physical, social and economic
terms, recognizingtheclientandbusinessofabuildingasessential
partners.
Most of the ensuing chapters investigate particular topics and
elementsofarchitectureofthetropics.Joo-HwaBayandco-authors
offer a careful study of verandas in high-rise buildings, which indi-
catesthesocialamenityandclimaticvariabilityandcomfortoffered
by well-designed veranda configurations. Their analysis demon-
strates that well-designed spaces in and around buildings provide
benefit by even the slightest variation of light, shade, temperature,
breeze and greenery. Their design guidelines exemplify the transla-
tion of complex research into terms easily understood and applied
to practice.
Boon-Lay Ong and Chi-Nguyen Cam add to the microclimatic
level of discussion in their investigation of high-rise buildings. Their
research indicates that improvements for comfort, such as natural
lighting and ventilation, can be achieved by thoughtful design –
they too use the term holistic design – without adding to cost.