Introduction

According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, sustainability is a type of

intergenerational ethics in which current environmental and economic acts do
not jeopardize future generations' potential to enjoy equivalent levels of
wealth, usefulness, or wellbeing. In order to achieve a more prosperous
future, individuals should consider changing some of their actions to more
eco-friendly ones. Thus, this report will include two parts, which are
sustainable dairy and sustainable architecture. In these parts, I will show some
sustainable aspects that I employed to ensure a more sustainable future, and in
the second part, I will also explore some of the sustainable strategies
implemented in one of the sustainable projects.
Part 1: Sustainable Dairy

Nowadays, our planet is suffering from climate change, and human activities are considered to be the
main cause of this change. Their activities are increasingly influencing the amount of greenhouse gases
occurring in the atmosphere, causing global warming. Hence, to fulfill their role in achieving the Sustainable
Development Goals, people need to start improving their daily habits to save our environment from climate
change. In this essay, I will be documenting a change that I have made with my family to our daily routine
that would affect our environment positively, and I will share some evidence to further illustrate the change
that we implemented.

To achieve my role in maintaining a sustainable environment, I have opted to incorporate unplugging

unused appliances into my daily routine. I started by unplugging the toaster after each use because I was
afraid it would catch fire. However, after seeing a social media post about the benefits of unplugging unused
equipment, I discovered that this behavior can also help to cut electricity use and expenditures. Also, as most
of our energy comes from burning fossil fuels, they mentioned in the post that reducing our electricity
consumption can help us reduce our carbon footprint. As a result, I decided to include this habit into my daily
routine, and I convinced my family to join me.

To track our progress, I decided to take a look at our monthly electricity bills, and I noticed that they
have significantly decreased. As shown in Figure 1, in January 2020, our electricity bill was about 500 riyals,
and this was before I started to unplug our unused devices. However, in January 2021, our electricity bill was
only 380 riyals, and this was after implementing the habit into our routine. In January 2022, I discovered that
our bill had reached 220 riyals, which is significantly less than what we used to pay two years ago. Therefore,
after I saw the results of applying this habit, I decided to let my friend know about its importance by texting
her and showing her some pictures of our bill and also pictures of what kinds of appliances she should unplug
(refer to Figure 2).

600

500

400

300

200

100

0
Jan-20 Jan-21 Jan-22

Figure 1
 Figure 2

In conclusion, working together to achieve the Sustainable Development goal is very crucial, and
trying to compact climate change is one of these goals. To play my part in achieving a sustainable
environment, I decided to incorporate the habit of unplugging unused devices into my daily routine. As a
consequence, I found that it had a positive impact on decreasing our electricity costs. Also, committing to it
will have a positive impact on our planet in the future since this action reduces the amount of carbon
emissions in our atmosphere and leads to a more sustainable environment.
Part 2\1: Sustainable Architecture

As an architecture student, designing sustainable buildings is my responsibility towards achieving a

sustainable environment. In my studio project, which is a creative primary school located in Jeddah, I
employed 3 sustainable design strategies, which are: adopting the courtyard, considering the form and
orientation of the building, and adding shaded devices on the façade. In addition, I will explain below how I
employed each one of them by showing some parts of my project.

1- Adopting the courtyard:

Based on what was mentioned in the article written by Salameh, et al., a courtyard is a good
passive design solution for sustainable architecture due to its good thermal efficiency.
Furthermore, they analyzed in the article the benefits of having a courtyard within the school
building, and they found that a courtyard can:

1- Reduce the air temperature, sun exposure, and solar gain (which contributes to less energy
consumption for cooling).

2- Provide better ventilation (reduces CO2 concentration, which creates a better atmosphere for
studying).

Thus, adding the courtyard will create a sustainable school building that will satisfy its occupants
while minimizing its energy consumption.

The terrace creates a shaded area which improves

the courtyards thermal performance.
 Section of my project cutting through the courtyard

2- The form and orientation of the building:

Form and orientation play a significant role in lowering energy consumption and increasing
thermal comfort for building occupants. It has an impact on the amount of sunlight falling on
surfaces, daylighting, and wind direction.

Along with the courtyard, I considered other elements when designing my project, which are
illustrated in the drawing below.

Site plan of my project

1- Having the long side of the building oriented towards the north will give me a
chance to place all the classrooms there so that they can enjoy the glare-free
sunlight and this will reduce their dependence on artificial lighting.

2- Having fewer facades facing west and east minimizes the generated sun
glare from a lower angle, which decreases cooling loads.
3_Staircase shaft with high windows can provide the building with
cross ventilation that can reduce the dependence on air conditioning.

4- Lower mass facing the prevailing wind can allow the wind to flow
to other parts of the building.
Section of the staircase shaft in my project
3- Adding shaded devices on the façade:

Shading devices block solar radiation from entering the building in the summer while permitting
needed solar gains in the winter, resulting in improved thermal comfort and significant energy
savings.

Shading also helps in the reduction of glare from windows. When there is direct solar radiation on
the window, users tend to lower the inner shade, negating all of the benefits of daylighting. Shading
helps in the creation of glare-free daylight in buildings.

Types of shading devices

https://nzebnew.pivotaldesign.biz/knowledge-centre/passive-design/shading/

The vertical shading can be used on sides where the sun is at a lower angle, such as the
west and east.

The horizontal shading can protect the north and south sides from the sun at a high
angle.

Parts of my project:

Horizontal overhangs on the south facade

Horizontal shading devices covering
parts of the courtyard
 Part of the west façade with vertical louvers

Part 2\2: Sustainable Architecture

a. Introducing the project:

The Pixel building, which is located in Melbourne,
Australia, is a carbon-neutral and water-balanced
office building that can generate its own electricity
and water. This structure incorporates a staggering
amount of sustainable design technology and
creativity. Studio505 architects designed it in 2010.
It obtained the highest accreditation mark from the
Australian Green Building Council. No other
building in Australia has ever received such a high
Green Star rating. In addition, the building received
LEED certification in the United States and Breeam
certification in the United Kingdom, achieving the
highest possible grade. It was the first building in
history to achieve the highest possible score in all
three certifications.

Picture of the Pixel building

https://www.db-a.co/work/pixel-building/

b. Sustainable strategy 1: Using unique cement

Cement is an essential component of any concrete mix, and it accounts for about 8% of global CO2
emissions.
As a result, the Pixel building used a special concrete mix known as 'Pixelcrete.' It has managed to
drastically reduce the building's carbon impact by using roughly 60% less cement than a standard
concrete mix. Aside from that, the aggregate in this mix was recycled.

C. Sustainable strategy 2: Innovative greywater system

Due to innovative greywater technology, Pixel can

use rain collecting to meet the non-potable water
needs of the building. Rainwater is collected on the
green roof, treated at a rainwater filter and osmosis
plant, and used to supply the vacuum toilets, basins,
and showers in the building. Greywater from these
units is subsequently filtered through reed beds,
which act as a passive greywater treatment system.

The vacuum flush toilets, which employ air suction

to remove fecal waste and minimize water usage,
use one liter per flush compared to six liters for a
standard system, making the building water-neutral
in addition to carbon neutral.
Water reuse and water treatment
https://www.db-a.co/work/pixel-building/
 Pixel water cycle
https://www.db-a.co/work/pixel-building/

d. Sustainble startegy 3: Installing Renewable Energy sources

To achieve a net balance of carbon emissions, renewable energy sources are provided on the top
of the building and consist of fixed and tracking photovoltaics and wind turbines. 
_ Vertical Axis Wind Turbine (VAWTs) with the main rotor shaft arranged vertically can utilize
winds from varying directions to provide 60% of the energy demand to power the pixel building. 
_ Tracking photovoltaic panels have a control system that monitors their illumination and adjusts
their directions to maximize light levels.
  

Green roof Roof plan

https://www.db-a.co/work/pixel-building/ https://www.db-a.co/work/pixel-building/

e. Sustainable strategy 4: Offering 100 % natural lighting

The colorful façade with recycled shading louvers filters direct sunlight while still allowing
natural light to enter the interior spaces through gaps between each louver.
The recycled color panels provide maximized daylight, shade, views and glare control by alternating
the direction of façade panels according to the sun level and direction throughout the day.
 Recycled color panels on the façade

https://www.db-a.co/work/pixel-building/

References:

Salameh, M., & Taleb, H. (2017, April). Courtyard as passive design solution for school buildings
in hot area. In World Congress on Civil, Structural, and Environmental Engineering (CSEE’17)
Barcelona (Vol. 141, No. 2002, pp. 2371-5294).
https://hireitdone.com/unplugging-unused-appliances-4-benefits/
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/
320408343_Courtyard_as_a_Passive_Cooling_Strategy_in_Buildings
https://slideplayer.com/slide/14493439/
https://www.yourhome.gov.au/passive-design/orientation
https://nzebnew.pivotaldesign.biz/knowledge-centre/passive-design/form-orientation/
https://www.db-a.co/work/pixel-building/
https://theconstructor.org/building/buildings/pixel-building-check-carbon-emissions/53253/
https://www.archdaily.com/190779/pixel-studio505/5016fb1328ba0d235b0007c7-pixel-
studio505-plans?next_project=no
https://issuu.com/houyin99/docs/assignment1_group01_report
https://brainly.com/question/20063996

https://hireitdone.wordpress.com/code-of-ethics/

https://www.yourhome.gov.au/passive-design