Asian Architecture Case Study Paper

The Effectiveness of Incorporating Green Design Features as a Strategy to Achieve Thermal Comfort in PJ Trade Centre Building

Asian Architecture [ARC2213/2214] Project 1: Case Study

“THE

EFFECTIVENESS

OF

INCORPORATING

GREEN DESIGN FEATURES AS A STRATEGY TO ACHIEVE THERMAL COMFORT IN PJ TRADE CENTRE BUILDING.”

NAME: Nur Aiman binti Mohamad Shakir STUDENT ID: 0311759 LECTURER: Mr. Koh Jing Hao SUBMISSION DATE: 9th June 2015

Asian Architecture [ARC2213/2214]

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The Effectiveness of Incorporating Green Design Features as a Strategy to Achieve Thermal Comfort in PJ Trade Centre Building

The Effectiveness of Incorporating Green Design Features as a Strategy to Achieve Thermal Comfort in PJ Trade Centre Building

Table of Contents

Page

Abstract ........................................................................................................................ 3 1.0 Introduction ......................................................................................................... 4-5 2.0 Design Intentions.................................................................................................... 6 3.0 Green Design and Thermal Comfort Factors .......................................................... 7 4.0 Open Space Systems ........................................................................................ 8-10 5.0

Type of Materials Used .......................................................................................11 5.1

Red Mud Over-Burnt Bricks ................................................................. 11-13

5.2

Concrete Vent Blocks .......................................................................... 14-16

5.3

Fair-faced concrete .............................................................................. 17-19

6.0 Vegetation and Landscape ...................................................................................19 6.1

Plaza, Sky Terrace and Sky Garden .................................................... 19-21

7.0 Conclusion ............................................................................................................22 8.0 References ...................................................................................................... 23-25

Asian Architecture [ARC2213/2214]

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The Effectiveness of Incorporating Green Design Features as a Strategy to Achieve Thermal Comfort in PJ Trade Centre Building

Abstract Malaysia is considered to be under tropical climates where it has hot and humid climates. One of the main problems that inhabitants facing in the modern building are heat accumulations. Therefore, the use of mechanical devices is an option for them to serve their comfort but unfortunately it gives a huge impact towards our environments. Due to this problem, it has given birth to the green building and green architecture movements thus give the idea of having sustainable architecture. Green building or green architecture is a building design that sensitive towards environments in terms of the building construction and design that need to be considered for now and for the future. The objective of this research paper is to study and investigate the effectiveness of incorporating Green Design Features in PJ Trade Centre building design and how this features help to achieve thermal comfort in the building in order to improve the well-being of both users and nature. The green design features that could be easily found in PJ Trade Centre are the type of materials they used. They used raw local building materials like red mud over-burnt bricks, concrete vent blocks and fairfaced concrete. They are also have a lot of open space inside their building which can see through the plaza, the circulation corridors and the in-between building spaces to allow the cross-ventilation goes freely inside of the building.

The last green design features that are easily be noticed are they have a lot of vegetation at the plaza, sky terraces in between the towers and the sky garden on the rooftop. Overall, these features help the PJ Trade Centre achieve highest goal of having a fully sustainable building design and blend in well to the site context and able to adapt in our tropical climate in order to achieve thermal comfort in the building for comfort users. To improve the validation of the research, literature reviews based on the various sources regarding Green Design or Green Architecture was conducted to enhance the process.

Asian Architecture [ARC2213/2214]

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The Effectiveness of Incorporating Green Design Features as a Strategy to Achieve Thermal Comfort in PJ Trade Centre Building

1.0 Introduction PJ Trade Centre is a Grade A office developed by Tujuan Gemilang Sdn Bhd. The project was completed in December 2009 and now all the towers are fully occupied. The building is situated against a hillside backdrop on the 5.4-acre piece of land that is nestled at the entrance of Damansara Perdana. It comprises of a 21-storey tower (Tower A) and another three 20-storey towers (Tower B, Tower C and Tower D.

Compared to any other office buildings design, the architect Kevin Mark Low intelligently designed this PJ Trade Centre where the building has low-tech appearance but yet still undeniably has modern looks too. Moreover, PJ Trade Centre is significantly sustainable and refreshingly harmonious within the local context instead of focusing on the usual Western-style office design as we can see throughout the Malaysian cities.

The development concept of PJ Trade Centre is totally based on Malaysian context of humidity, hot temperature, local building materials and construction practices. The passive design of PJ Trade Centre features are by allowing a plenty of natural light, cross-ventilation, has energy efficiency and ecofriendliness. This green design features would be under passive design and these

energy-efficient

and

eco-friendly

design

features

lead

to

lower

maintenance costs.

The highlights of this building design are its ability to achieve and maintain a high sustainable in terms of energy usage and also to ensure the users comfort by incorporating the Green Design Features inside of the building. The design elements play an important role in incorporating aesthetic values along with the eco-friendly architecture.

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The Effectiveness of Incorporating Green Design Features as a Strategy to Achieve Thermal Comfort in PJ Trade Centre Building The first highlight of Green Design Features that PJ Trade Centre has would be the open spaces to allow the cross-ventilation go freely in the building space. The second highlights are the consideration of using simple locally produced materials for its surface like red mud over-burnt bricks, concrete vent blocks and fair-faced concrete for the walls. The last highlight would be its ecofriendly features can be evidenced by The Plaza, a 2.5-acre lushly landscaped garden with tall trees as well as the 12 Sky Terrace units with wall creepers and hanging vines.

The paper aims is to put forward the topics of how the Green Design Features do helps in terms of achieving thermal comfort in PJ Trade Centre building by responding to the following question: 1) What are the characteristics of Green Design Features?

2) What are the factors that affect the thermal comfort in the building itself?

3) What was the design intention of PJ Trade Centre?

4) Why and how the Green Design Features incorporated in the PJ Trade Centre building design?

5) How does each Green Design Features act as a solution to improve the thermal comfort inside the PJ Trade Centre building?

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The Effectiveness of Incorporating Green Design Features as a Strategy to Achieve Thermal Comfort in PJ Trade Centre Building

2.0 Design Intentions Generally, the design intentions play a key role to produce an outstanding outcome based on the direction to design the space and building structure that are able to fully-functioned and also have an aesthetically value at the same time.

In Tujuan Gemilang website (PJ Trade Centre Developer) stated that, “With PJTC, the idea was to offer a new paradigm for office development. It is based on the use of simple local materials and local construction methods to create an office development that is suited to the local culture, climate and context.”

The building should be environmentally-friendly and energy-efficient, minimizing the use of air-conditioning. It should stress simplicity, design economical and unpretentious, as well as have a strong connection to nature. As we can see the façade are not plastered nor painted neither on the walls or ceilings. One of the aim of the architect when he designed PJ Trade Centre, he wanted to create a building that will weathered naturally and gracefully in the harsh Malaysia tropical monsoon climate that required minimal maintenance of the façade and the building able to withstand for a long period.

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The Effectiveness of Incorporating Green Design Features as a Strategy to Achieve Thermal Comfort in PJ Trade Centre Building

3.0 Green Design and Thermal Comfort Factors Green Design or Green Architecture is an approach to build the building that minimizes harmful effects on human health and environment. Therefore, Green Design Features are the features that have been incorporated in the Green Building Design to ensure that the building is more sustainable and consume less energy for its functioning. The characteristics of Green Design features should has a ventilation system that is designed for efficient heating and cooling. Furthermore, it should be minimal harm to natural habitat and use local materials by using woods and stones. Lastly the space should be efficiently used.

The factors that affect thermal comforts in the building itself are mainly the humidity, radiant heat, temperature, and air flow. The secondary factors are coming from human which are the type of clothing they wear and the metabolic heat because of the humansâ€&#x; movements.

Basically throughout the investigation, the reasons the Green Design Features incorporated in PJ Trade Centre are to ensure there is natural cooling in the building in order achieve thermal comfort for user needs without depends on the usage of air-conditioning that will cost a lot for its maintenance. This is due to the factor of Malaysia has hot and humid climate throughout the whole year.

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The Effectiveness of Incorporating Green Design Features as a Strategy to Achieve Thermal Comfort in PJ Trade Centre Building

4.0 Open Space Systems In PJ Trade Centre, they are applied the concept towards greeneries, openness and use more of natural ventilation in order to minimize the usage of mechanical air-conditioning system in the building. Based on the opening definition, it is required for visual and spatial continuity. Besides, the opening should also offer views from the room or interior space towards exterior or outdoor and the most important they must able to allow the natural ventilation in the building space areas.

(Santamouris, 2006) Natural ventilation is the process of supplying outdoor air and removing air through an indoor space by natural means, meaning without the use of a fan or other mechanical system. The process goes through when it uses outdoor airflows caused by pressure differences between the building and itâ€&#x;s surrounding to provide ventilation and space cooling. When the natural ventilation circulates in the building spaces, they are able to remove the heat temperature occurred inside of the building and replace with the fresh air. This whole process is a form of passive design in architecture as it is not fully depends on the mechanical and electrical supply to ventilate the building.

Figure 1: Floor Plan at the Ground Floor

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The Effectiveness of Incorporating Green Design Features as a Strategy to Achieve Thermal Comfort in PJ Trade Centre Building The blue shaded area as shown in Figure 1 showing the open space area that can be seen at the Ground Floor area. The building masses were configured to create an east to west pressure differential for effective cross-ventilation. (Dr Veronica, 2015)

PJ Trade Centre carefully explores the transitional open

spaces, from the Plaza, to the circulation corridors, to the in-between spaces within the built form.

Figure 2: The corridor at the lobby

Figure 3: Even though the main

that connects the four towers.

lobby is surrounded with the high glass wall, there is some parts they leave

it

open

to

allow

the

ventilations.

This 9-meters height ceiling in the corridor at the Ground Floor allow to remove the heat temperature that accumulates in the building and replaced with the cool and fresh air from the outside.

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The Effectiveness of Incorporating Green Design Features as a Strategy to Achieve Thermal Comfort in PJ Trade Centre Building

Figure 4: Operable doors at the main lobby entrance that are usually open in order to ensure that ventilation can goes inside the building.

Figure 5: Perforated Floor Deck that has been used where the ventilation able to circulates well through every floor levels in PJ Trade Centre.

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The Effectiveness of Incorporating Green Design Features as a Strategy to Achieve Thermal Comfort in PJ Trade Centre Building

5.0 Type of Building Materials Used 5.1 Red Mud Over-Burnt Bricks

Figure 6: The space at the west elevation of PJ Trade Centre

The main building materials that are used in PJ Trade Centre is red mud over-burnt bricks. This can be easily noticed on the walls and floors. In classes of the bricks, they used second class of bricks where these bricks are ground moulded and burnt in kilns. The characteristics of this second class brick are the edges may not be sharp and uniform. It is usually used for the construction, which are going to be plastered but in PJ Trade Centre they leave it as uncovered without any plaster layering.

Red mud over-burnt bricks are obtained by hand moulding the good clay into a block, where it needs to be dried first under the sun and then burnt in kiln or clamps. This is the oldest building materials and block to replace stone materials. Furthermore, red mud over-burnt brick is a raw material.

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The Effectiveness of Incorporating Green Design Features as a Strategy to Achieve Thermal Comfort in PJ Trade Centre Building The properties of red mud over-burnt bricks are it has properties of water absorption thus makes the brick in wet conditions. But unfortunately, the water absorption should not be more than 20 percent by weight. In addition, they are good in thermal conductivity where as its ability to reduce the amount or speed of heat transmitted through the materials. Red mud over-burnt brick has low thermal conductivity where it is used to shield a volume against loss or entrance of heat by radiation, convection or conduction and it is used as thermal insulation.

Thermal insulation is the process of insulating against transmission of heat. With all of these properties, the red mud over-burnt bricks able to cool down the building especially during the hot days.

Figure 7: In between empty spaces at the lobby, where the red mud over-burnt brick could easily found.

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The Effectiveness of Incorporating Green Design Features as a Strategy to Achieve Thermal Comfort in PJ Trade Centre Building

Figure 8: Red mud over-burnt brick on the wall and floor at the Ground Floor lifts area

Compared to any other building materials like concrete, bricks generally perform better thermal insulation property.

Besides, the thermal mass and

moisture that the brick able to absorb can help to keep the temperature inside the building relatively constant. In other words, brick absorbs and releases heat slowly and thus keep the building cool during day-time and warm during nighttime. Therefore, the architect makes the red mud over-burnt as the main building materials in PJ Trade Centre due to its good performances.

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The Effectiveness of Incorporating Green Design Features as a Strategy to Achieve Thermal Comfort in PJ Trade Centre Building

5.2

Concrete Vent Blocks

In PJ Trade Centre, as the west elevation receives the most sunlight during the day-time, concrete vent blocks are mostly applied on this side as it is the most suitable faรงade to put the light and air permeable barrier in order to reduce the heat gain into the building. The concrete vent blocks innovation can turn away the sight from outside and inside and as well it able to allow the natural ventilation and increase the day-lighting without generating overheating.

Figure 9: Concrete Vent Blocks on the West Faรงade of PJ Trade Centre.

(J.Khedari, 2002)

The average air change is about 30 to 70 that

demonstrate the good ability of the new prototype of concrete vent block to improve indoor conditions. However, the advantages of this prototype of concrete block are numerous. It can be installed at any position of the wall in the building.

When low wind pattern occurred, stack effect is happened because of the temperature difference between the outside and inside of the building. Difference is created between air densities and pressure gradient will develop along the vertical direction over the walls of the building. The upper parts of the building will have higher pressure while the lower parts will have lower pressure.

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The Effectiveness of Incorporating Green Design Features as a Strategy to Achieve Thermal Comfort in PJ Trade Centre Building

Figure 9: The wind goes up when there is any boundaries that obstruct the movement like solid wall

Figure 10: The diagram showing on how the concrete vent blocks are functioned.

Figure 10 showing and explains on when the openings are provided like the concrete vent blocks, the huge air breeze breaks into small parts enter the building space thus provides the ventilation inside. The concrete vent blocks are also able to prevent the direct sun from coming in but still allowing the natural light to brighten up the space.

The ultimate goal by incorporating concrete vent block is to omit the need for air conditioner by enhancing natural ventilation. It is also intended to improve the indoor conditions of low-cost building where overheating is observed daily.

Therefore, the term “zero cooling energy� is introduced to describe the benefit from such a block. Finally, the thermal comforts are able to achieve in PJ Trade Centre by incorporating the concrete vent blocks materials.

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The Effectiveness of Incorporating Green Design Features as a Strategy to Achieve Thermal Comfort in PJ Trade Centre Building

Figure 11: Concrete Vent Blocks from inside of the building.

Figure 12: The concrete vent blocks not only acts as a double-skin for the whole building facade, but also it has been used for the wall inside of the building too.

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The Effectiveness of Incorporating Green Design Features as a Strategy to Achieve Thermal Comfort in PJ Trade Centre Building

5.3

Fair-faced Concrete

Fair-faced concrete is concrete in its visibility finest form. Basically this concrete is cheap and extremely economical as it is manufactured from natural raw materials. The fair-faced concrete is created from the binding medium of cement, aggregates such as gravel and sand. Plus, it is an ecological building material as main components are could be easily obtained from the surrounding region. Through manufacturing process, it requires less energy and concrete can be recycled too.

(Anonymous, 2003) Concrete is in grey color where grey has intermediate shades. A wall of concrete appears to be inconspicuous at first: naked and give cold feelings.

Furthermore, concrete is good in heat insulation in its properties where it is able to cut down or retard the flow of heat processes. „Fair-faceâ€&#x; is the term used part of the designed concrete surface to be understood. This fair-faced concrete become an architectural demands regarding the appearance on the elevations surface can be aesthetically pleasing.

Figure 13: Fair-faced concrete at the Ground Floor

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The Effectiveness of Incorporating Green Design Features as a Strategy to Achieve Thermal Comfort in PJ Trade Centre Building Fair-faced concrete is the second materials that are mostly used inside of PJ Trade Centre building compare to red mud over-burnt bricks.

Figure 14: Fair-faced concrete at the basement.

Figure 15: Wall and floor that applied fair-faced concrete at the Basement 7

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The Effectiveness of Incorporating Green Design Features as a Strategy to Achieve Thermal Comfort in PJ Trade Centre Building The local building materials that have in PJ Trade Centre are intentionally leave as „unfinishedâ€&#x; look weathers where it will age gracefully with building overtime, taking on and respond towards nature with moss and wall creepers growing on top of the concrete, bricks and especially concrete vent blocks.

6.0 Vegetation and Landscape 6.1

Plaza, Sky Terraces and Sky Garden

The final touch of the building design is the elegant landscaping by Seksaan Design. More than 1,400 forest trees were planted throughout the site.

The site is including the 2.5 acre plaza and the 12 sky terraces that are situated between the four towers A, B, C and D.

Figure 16: Plaza area on the site as shown on PJ Trade Centre Ground Floor Plan.

(C. Kenneth, n.d.) At grade, a sea of mature trees dotting the ground floor plaza becomes a sort of green forecourt to the towers. This is basically shown as in Figure 16.

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The Effectiveness of Incorporating Green Design Features as a Strategy to Achieve Thermal Comfort in PJ Trade Centre Building A lot of trees have been planted on the site. Unconsciously it gives the feeling of being close to nature. By planting a lot of trees, it will helps to cool the space areas because there are a lot of oxygen produce by trees.

Figure 17: Plaza view from the

Figure 18: Plaza from the corridor

main road and visitorsâ€&#x; car park.

and main lobby views.

Figure 19: Section view of PJ Trade Centre

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The Effectiveness of Incorporating Green Design Features as a Strategy to Achieve Thermal Comfort in PJ Trade Centre Building Based on Figure 19, the diagram shows on how the air and breeze circulates inside of PJ Trade Centre building. Besides the trees produce a lot of oxygen thus giving the cooling in the building space, it is also acts as a shading device especially it can be seen at the plaza and the sky garden. It acts as a barrier and help users from directly hit by the sunrays. The trees at the plaza provide morning shading on the east side of PJ Trade Centre

Figure 20:

Trees at the sky

terraces Centre

Figure 21: Wall creepers and trees in between the empty spaces

The landscape designer maximizes usage of space without leaves it empty by planting a lot of trees in between it. One of the advantages of having vegetation in the building is the trees able to intercept and absorb air pollution from the atmosphere. It helps to reduce air pollutants that are detrimental to human health and also helps to lower the air-temperature like global warming by storing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere thus making the space areas more cool and inhabitants for the users.

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The Effectiveness of Incorporating Green Design Features as a Strategy to Achieve Thermal Comfort in PJ Trade Centre Building

7.0 Conclusion In conclusion, the architect of PJ Trade Centre successfully achieve the aim to have the thermal comforts in building by incorporating the green design features in the building based on the research done and information gathered.

There are a lot of consideration needs to take while designing a building especially like need to understand and ensure that the design suits the local climate and site context, consider on the construction details, chosen of building materials, aesthetic values, the project costs and also the users comfort.

Last but not least, unlike any other office buildings that relies on the western concept, PJ Trade Centre stands out to be different in the way that users comfort has to be put in a high importance place, the designed as comfortable and healthy for workplaces and at the same time ensure that the design does not gives harm towards our environments. (Tommy Ng,2013) Energy efficient and eco-friendly design features lead to lower maintenance, but most importantly has the potential to enhance productivity like lower absenteeism, improved staff morale and higher quality of work, healthy workplaces with good environment condition

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8.0 References Anonymous. (n.d.). New age publisher. Traditional Materials. pg 3-26. Retrieved on June 8,2015 from http://www.newagepublishers.com/samplechapter/001798.pdf

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from

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