Name: section:

REACTION PAPER

Architecture and the Built Environment, Sustainable High-Rises

(Design guidelines for tall building in a tropical climate)

Architecture and the Built Environment is written by Babak Raji, Babak Raji is an
Architect/Energy Modeler with experience in 3D modeling, energy simulation, CFD analysis,
building façades, natural ventilation strategies, thermal comfort standards and HVAC systems.
Extensive research background in energy-efficient and low-carbon design strategies through
optimization of architectural design. Proficient in IES VE, HAP, AutoCAD and SketchUp. Highly
organized, detailed-oriented and a good team worker. This main aim of this research is to
reduce the energy demand of tall building through architectural design. To achieve this high
level of energy saving, we need to be familiar and we need to acquire a good understanding on
how architectural design strategies can influence the total energy use. Energy simulation, if well
validated, it can help us apply design strategies to achieve energy savings. Design guidelines
for tall building in a tropical climate is the topic I am going to discuss. Tall building is everywhere
and each building in the world has its own design. A poorly designed tall building can cause a
lot of problems and can cause a lot of energy. Therefore, this part of the research aims to
determine the design strategies that will help a High-rise building conserve efficient energy. I
read some article where they conduct a comparative study on a tall building in three climate
groups (temperate, sub-tropical and tropical). effectiveness of different design strategies for
reducing the cooling, heating, ventilation, and electric lighting energy usage. In temperate and
sub-tropical climates sustainable design strategies for high-rise buildings were performing well,
as a result leading to lower energy consumption.

The first topic is the Building form, it says in the research that in tropical climate it is the
time where the highest proportion of energy use. In this climate there is a solution to reduce the
surface-to-volume ratio and can save a lot of energy, all you need to do is to reduce the heat
transfer through the external surfaces exposed to outside high temperature. And, it says in the
research that the building shape and orientation should minimize the solar heat gains to lighten
the cooling. There is a graph shown in the book it includes three shapes including the octagon,
the ellipse, and the circle. These three shapes as shown in the graph shows a lower amount of
required cooling energy and they performed better than the others. The most effective way to
reduce the solar gains is the wall-to-window area, there are a lot of changes that are made or
there are a lot of design need to do to minimize the solar gain. It is important to consider the
influence of increased electric lightning demand for office spaces. And you can apply a central
atrium or sky garden to bring natural ventilation for the building. Creating this design for your tall
building in tropical climate can help the company/building perform better and save energy use.
 The second topic is the Building orientation. The energy use is lower in tropical climates
than in temperate climates. Between the most and least efficient of orientation is 0.7% these
differences can rise to a peak of around 7.9%. And according in this books, A zero-degree
orientation optimally keeps out solar radiation in the early morning or afternoon in tropical
climates and it result in the lowest energy consumption therefore, a zero degree orientation
result to a lowest energy consumption. Rotating the building orientation in 90 degrees result to a
increase in energy use of the building. And rotating your building orientation in 45 degrees can
reduce the west exposure of the sun. The building orientation is one of the factors you need to
consider when you want to conserve or save energy. orienting your building in a right way can
save you a lot of energy.

The third topic is the Natural Ventilation of the Building. A natural ventilation strategy
provides a natural wind, and it provides greater chances of having a higher indoor velocities
under different wind conditions and It improve the comfort conditions and less cooling will be
needed in the building. Natural ventilation is a design principle that pre-dates recorded history
and is gaining in favor with architects thanks to its ability to create comfortable, healthy, and
safe interiors. A professionally designed natural ventilation system allows fresh outside air to
enter a large space through low-level inlet ventilators. The primary purpose of a ventilation
system is to provide a healthy and comfortable indoor environment. The two main types of
ventilation systems are natural and mechanical ventilation. Occasionally, natural ventilation
(both supply and exhaust without mechanical means) may be perceived to be inadequate,
especially with large commercial buildings and, therefore, a hybrid ventilation system is a way of
reducing the risk. Hybrid ventilation solutions, also known as mixed-mode systems, use a
combination of natural and mechanical ventilation to minimize energy consumption. Typically
using natural ventilation when the external conditions such as air temperature or wind speed are
optimal and switching the system to mechanical when the external conditions do not allow.

In addition to providing fresh air, natural ventilation plays a key role in maintaining
thermal comfort and may lead to thermal energy-savings. When cooling is required for
occupants’ thermal comfort and the outdoor air temperature is lower than the indoor air
temperature, outdoor fresh air can be used to achieve indoor cooling. This can be more
beneficial in buildings with excessive internal or solar heat gains. Furthermore, ventilation has a
direct cooling effect on the human body through convection and evaporation. In a naturally
ventilated building, the ability of occupants to adapt to internal and external conditions is
present, in the sense that having control over the indoor environment can extend the occupants’
comfort range and reduces the need for active cooling.

Another topic is the Shading. Example of external shading strategies are Overhangs or
louvers this provides the best energy performance, with low efficiency related to the application.
External shading devices on a building façade is an important passive design
strategy as they reduce solar radiation. Although studies have proven the benefits of external
shading devices, many are designed solely for aesthetic purposes without fully considering its
high potential to reduce solar radiation and glare Hence, the paper looks into the effectiveness
of external shading devices on a building towards more energy efficient building.
 Service core placement Service core design is a fundamental element in tall building
design. It is defined as “An element that gathers the space necessary to provide visual, physical
and functional vertical connections that work effectively to distribute services through the
building”. This service core placement has a big role in building’s energy performance in tropical
climate. The location of the core is the one who determines the internal configuration of the
building and the distributions of the windows, and the use of daylights and the natural ventilation
strategies. For tall buildings that are ventilated, a central core play a big role for the building to
to have a high-performance, while the cooling energy is almost equal for the different core
positions. Placing you central core properly in an ventilated building will perform better, fresh air
will be distributed inside the building and it can bring the daylight deeper into the building.
Making the company save and conserve energy.

Zone-based ventilation strategy, Ventilation moves outdoor air into a building or a room
and distributes the air within the building or room. The general purpose of ventilation in buildings
is to provide healthy air for breathing by both diluting the pollutants originating in the building
and removing the pollutants from it. this strategy can result in a high amount of energy saving
for cooling and ventilation of high-rise building in tropical climates. The internal plan
configuration should allow public or circulation zones in floor plan to naturally ventilated each
office or room inside the building. Office workers need a comfort at their workstation and this
zone-based ventilation strategy will provide it to the workers at their office, but this strategy
might cause a little discomfort at lobbies and communal spaces.

Glazing type, Common types of glazing that are used in architectural applications
include clear and tinted float glass, tempered glass, and laminated glass as well as a variety of
coated glasses, all of which can be glazed singly or as double, or even triple, glazing units.
glazing refers to the installation of glass in windows, doors, or any other fixed opening. Glazing
can be referred to as all the glass within the structure or the installation of any piece of glass
within a sash or frame. Glazing type prevent the solar heat gain coming through windows and it
is a major factor determining the cooling energy requirements of a building in tropical climates.
in selecting the right type of glazing window is critical because it needs to be visual and thermal
comfort. Providing a glazing type window is especially important for the building.

In Conclusion this chapter, discuss the different strategies on how to conserve and save
energy. and it discuss a different building design on how buildings can conserve and save
energy. in this chapter there is building form where your tall building should be in a right form for
your building to consume less energy and it discuss that if you want to lessen solar your building
form and orientation should be right. And reduce the heat transfer through the external surfaces
exposed to outside high temperature. All this strategy and design supposed to help all the tall
buildings, or the other building lessens it dependency on fossil fuels and can lead to higher
satisfaction within the internal environment of the building.
 And also I learn that the orientation of the building help you save more energy, and
putting your company in the right orientation in the right degrees save you a lot of energy and
also the zero degrees orientation show the lowest energy consumption. The natural ventilation
in the building is also important and necessary the natural ventilation is the process of providing
fresh air in the building, In addition to providing fresh air, natural ventilation plays a key role in
maintaining thermal comfort and may lead to thermal energy-savings. Based on my research
there is a two type of ventilation the natural ventilation and the mechanical ventilation. The
natural ventilation this is where you plant tree’s or plants for fresh air for your building. while the
mechanical energy there is a machine used to provide a ventilated air for the building. other one
strategy discuss in this research is the shading, putting a shading in the windows blocks the
solar heat of the sun for the workers of the building. there is a lot of strategies and design that
the company can use to save as lot of energy. but you need to do it right and perfectly for it to
be good. Building a building is hard that’s why you need to be well familiar with these design
and strategy.
References

 Babak Raji
2018

 Nicol, Humphreys, & Roaf,

2012

 Etheridge,

2010

 Etheridge,

2012

 Wood & Salib,

2013

 M S Shahdan et al 2018 IOP Conf. Ser.: Earth Environ. Sci. 117 012034

 Etheridge & Sandberg,

1996;

 Awbi,

2003

 iopscience.iop.org 

 https://www.letsbuild.com/blog/glazing