VINAYAKA MISSIONS RESEARCH FOUNDATIONS

SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE AND PLANNING

ARUPADAI VEEDU INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, Chennai – 603 104.

DISSERTATION SYNOPSIS
YEAR/SEM: IV/VIII - 2020

SUSTAINABILITY HOUSING AND METHODS

GOWTHAM. K
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TOPIC
SUSTAINABILITY HOUSING AND METHODS

INTRODUCTION
Sustainable housing, is generally used to describe the process as it applies
to the housing industry, in short, less waste, more re-use and recycling,
together with lower life-cycle environmental impacts and costs, better
reliability, less maintenance, and greater user satisfaction.
Waste is not just measured in terms of surplus materials; it can be
expressed as unnecessary use of land, time, and ultimately financial return.
Techniques such as whole life costs can, and should be used objectively on
a series of options, to form a long-term view of their impacts.

It is fact, that now days households and other living areas in which people
live, or reside most of the time, contribute CO2 emission and green house
effects as much as global warming, which threatens to all humans and their
health, as well as natural resources which balance is disturbed a long time
ago.
Sustainable house or Green house or Eco House is one of possible solutions,
which with one part can contribute in solving of this global burning issue.
That is house which is energy efficient by itself, environmentally healthy,
respectful for the natural environment, comfortable for family life, in other
words to be sustainable designed, built of green or recycled materials, and
this house should use alternative energy resources.
In the broad context, sustainable architecture seeks to minimize the
negative environmental impact of buildings by enhancing efficiency and
moderation in the use of materials, energy, and development space.
Most simply, the idea of sustainability, or ecological design, is to ensure that
our actions and decisions today do not inhibit the opportunities of future
generations.
This term can be used to describe an energy and ecologically conscious
approach to the design of the built environment.

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Sustainable homes have three key elements.

1. Environmental sustainability
The house is designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, save water and
energy and reduce waste during construction and the house’s lifetime.

2. Social sustainability / universal design

The house is designed to prevent injuries through built-in safety features. It
has security elements to reduce crime and improve the occupants’ sense of
security.
Features are also used to provide flexibility and comfort for people of varying
abilities and at different life stages, including children and people with
limited mobility.

3. Economic sustainability
The house is designed to save money during construction and over the
lifetime of the house.
Careful planning avoids the need for major future renovations and reduces
costs associated with energy use, water use and maintenance.

AIM:
Designing a more sustainable home will help to achieve environmental,
social and economic benefits for the household, neighbourhood and the
broader community.
Hence the aim for the designer and home owner should be to gain a balance
across all of the sustainability goals.

The three fundamental aspects of the triple bottom line approach are broken
down into a series of more clearly defined goals.
The individual criterion within the design objectives is related back to these
sustainability goals that each criterion helps to achieve.
At the end of the design objectives there is a checklist that allows the user to
assess the overall performance of the design and review the balance of the
environmental, social and economical issues addressed by the home.

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OBJECTIVES:

To understand self-sustainable communities and identify their major

elements.
Understanding how the elements affect self-sustenance.
Develop a check list for assessing a self-sustainable community.
To perform case studies of communities which aim to be sustainable. Assess
them based on the check list.
Thus, draw a comparison between them and conclude by giving the major
factors which hinder the growth of sustainability in a community.

SCOPE:

The building structure must also be considered.

Cost/effectiveness is an important issue in sustainable architecture
projects, and one of the most efficient designs herein is the Public housing
approach.
This approach lets everyone have their own sleeping/recreation space, yet
incorporate communal spaces e.g. Mess halls, Latrines, public showers...

Sustainable design can help to create a sustainable way of living within a

community.
While the existing social constructs can be seen to influence architecture,
the opposite can also be true.
An overtly socially sustainable building, if successful, can help people to see
the benefit of living sustainably.
The same can be said for environmentally sustainable design, in that
architecture can lead the way for the greater community.

Art can be a powerfully positive social force.

It can help to reduce stress in many situations, lowering the risk of stress-
related health problems, both physical and mental.

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METHEDOLOGY:

The government publication A Better Quality of Life: a strategy for

sustainable development for the UK (3) recommends the use of an action
plan.

Every action plan should contain a series of targets, measures to achieve

them and methods for measurement and review of the processes. The
government’s approach is based on ten targets, as follows:

• Re-use existing assets – The decision to build in the first place should
be scrutinised. Refurbishment may be a better option. In any event
the preferred option should be brownfield development, and this is
encouraged wherever possible.
• Design for minimum waste – The potential for waste can often be
reduced at an early stage. This needs clear and accurate specification,
which is often overlooked, as well as a design concept to maximise re-
use and recycling of materials. Designers are often best placed to be
aware of new ideas, and this also addresses one of the main Egan
principles of using innovation in problem solving and training.
• Lean construction – The targets of supply chain integration, site
management, best value, improved communications and user focus
can all be achieved in a sustainable way.
• Minimise energy use – This should include energy in materials
manufacture as well as considering one of the largest energies uses,
transport.
• Energy in use – Heating (and cooling) of buildings has one of the
greatest impacts. Buildings consume huge amounts of energy during
their lifespan. Relatively simple considerations such as position or
orientation of buildings on a site can generate significant benefits. The
use of design solutions such as passive heating, natural light, air
movement and thermal mass can contribute greatly, as can the use of
energy from renewable sources such as solar or wind power.
• Pollution – The four major sources of pollution from the construction
industry; waste materials, emissions from vehicles, noise and releases
to water, ground and the atmosphere, are all well known, but often
not enough is done to combat them.

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• Biodiversity – Look for opportunities throughout the construction

process from the extraction of raw materials, through the construction
phase, to the use of buildings and their landscaping, to provide,
protect and enhance natural habitats. As with many of the other
issues, this is also best addressed at design stage.
• Conserve water resources – Another design issue, natural resources
may be better used by including measures for greater efficiency in
use. This may not be immediately evident in the building process, but
there is much potential for gain when considering costs-in-use.
Information can be gained from water and energy audits of existing
buildings and the technique of benchmarking can be used to great
effect.
• Respect people and their local environment – Although sometimes not
rated as highly as other items, this is one of the cornerstones of
government sustainability policy, and has resulted in a separate
“respect for people” initiative. Consideration should be given to all
those upon whom the project may impact, from the local community
to persons directly employed in the construction.
• Set targets – these are the measures by which the success or failure of
all the other criteria will be judged. There is a wealth of
benchmarking, best practice and other management systems
information which is being developed for construction and
sustainability in particular. Several organisations have already
introduced environmental management systems to evaluate
performance on construction projects. More recently, environmental
management systems such as ISO 14000 as well as a number of
evaluation schemes such as the BRE Eco-homes standard, have
provided a means for assessing and managing their effects.
• It can be shown that as well as the general sense of well-being
associated with contributing towards the preservation of the planet
and the larger community, a strong case can be made for the business
benefits of adopting a “green” approach.

• If, however, the concept is not to be dismissed as a political gimmick

or worse, then it must be implemented properly. It is important to
consider the long-term consequences of adopting a particular strategy,
especially in the face of pressure for short-term gain.

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CASE STUDY:
➢ Indira Paryavaran Bhawan, Ministry of environment and forest, New
Delhi.
➢ Infinity bench mark, Kolkata.

NET CASE STUDY:

➢ Suzlon energy limited, Pune.
➢ Biodiversity conservation India limited (BCIL), bangalore.

CONCLUSION:

Thus, the project will be designed in such a way that it meets the
requirements by providing sustainability to the given space.

BIBLIOGRAPHY (REFERENCE):

http://www.gf.uns.ac.rs/~wus/wus09/Sustainable%20House%20web%2
0page.doc%202.htm

https://www.thenbs.com/knowledge/sustainable-housing

https://www.hpw.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0025/4975/smart
housingdesignobjectives08.pdf

https://ukdiss.com/examples/scope-of-sustainable-communities-in-
india.php

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