elearning-PDF-full

Buildings
for Sustainable Development

An overview on
Buildings for Sustainable Development (BSD)
This is the downloadable PDF, providing an overview on “Buildings for Sustainable Development”. It can
be downloaded from the website www.bsd.civil.mrt.ac.lk, which has been developed as an e-learning
module for the undergraduates of the Department of Civil Engineering, University of Moratuwa, Sri
Lanka.

Contents
1. Introduction 2

2. Why Buildings? 3

3. What is Sustainable Development (SD)? 3

4. Buildings against SD 5

5. Buildings for SD 6

6. Building Materials for SD 8

7. Building Planning & Design for SD 10

8. Building Construction & Maintenance for SD 14

9. Building Use for SD 14

Note:
The website www.bsd.civil.mrt.ac.lk is an e-learning tool for the undergraduates of the Department of
Civil Engineering, University of Moratuwa. Under the guidance and supervision of Professor Thishan
Jayasinghe, Asitha Jayawardena authored the content of this website.

Eng (Prof) Thishan Jayasinghe (thishan@civil.mrt.ac.lk), B.Sc. Eng. (Moratuwa), Ph.D. (Cambridge),
C.Eng, MIE(SL), graduated in 1987. He completed Ph.D. in 1992 and then worked at the Department of
Civil Engineering, University of Moratuwa, for the last 14 years. His research interests are in the areas of
tall buildings, masonry structures, long-span bridges and energy efficient buildings.

Asitha Jayawardena (writer_asitha@yahoo.com), BSc Eng (Hons), MPhil, AMIE(SL), is a

Communication Consultant. He has co-authored eight refereed research publications and published in
the National press (English) 140 articles, 95 poems and a regular column. His interest is in Sustainable
Development with a special focus on Buildings and Construction.

May 2007

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1 Introduction
We all need a variety of buildings to lead our lives – houses to live in, schools and universities to learn,
hospitals to receive treatment, factories and offices to work in, cinemas, theatres and stadiums for
enjoyment…..

However, buildings can contribute against Sustainable Development, in turn adversely affecting our lives
in the long run. Adverse impacts of such “unsustainable buildings” on sustainable development can be
categorized as:
Environmental degradation
Energy consumption
Natural resources depletion

Environmental
degradation

Energy Natural resources

consumption depletion

Buildings against SD

Still, buildings can be made to contribute towards SD mainly through:

Materials
Planning & Design
Construction & Maintenance
Use

Building Materials Building Planning

for SD & Design for SD

Building
Construction & Building Use for
Maintenance for SD
SD
Buildings for SD

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This document covers the following:

Why Buildings?
What is Sustainable Development (SD)?
Buildings against SD
Buildings for SD
Building Materials for SD
Building Planning & Design for SD
Building Construction & Maintenance for SD
Building Use for SD

2 Why Buildings?
We all need a variety of buildings – houses to live in, schools and universities to learn, hospitals to
receive treatment, factories and offices to work in, cinemas, theatres and stadiums for enjoyment….. and
the list goes on.

In general, a building should serve its main purpose while providing its users with:
Comfortable and safe living space
Protection from adverse natural forces such as wind, rain and sunlight
Protection from human and animal threats
Privacy where it is needed

Comfort &
safety

Space
for living (house),
working (workplace),
education (school),
enjoyment (cinema)…

Protection Privacy

3 What is Sustainable Development (SD)?

What is Sustainable Development (SD)?

Gro Harlem Brundtland chaired the World Commission on Environment and Development, which led to
the publication of the Brundtland Report in 1987. This report led to the first Earth Summit, in 1992 in Rio
de Janeiro, and then to the landmark concept of “sustainable development”:

“Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations
to meet their own needs”.

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Several other definitions of SD and Sustainability are:

Sustainable Development: Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the
ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
Brundtland Report published in 1987 at World Commission on Environment and Development

Sustainable Development: Achieving economic and social goals in ways that can be supported for the
long term by conserving resources, protecting the environment, and ensuring human health and welfare.
Technology Partnerships Canada (http://tpc-ptc.ic.gc.ca/epic/site/tpc-
ptc.nsf/en/hb00422e.html)

Sustainable Development refers to the wise use of resources within a framework in which environmental,
economic and social factors are integrated. It is about maintaining and improving the quality of life while
safeguarding the quality of life of generations to come. It involves a number of aspects of change such as
social (e.g. housing quality, crime), economic (e.g. jobs, income), and environmental (e.g. air quality,
resource conservation).
National Curriculum in Action (http://www.ncaction.org.uk/subjects/geog/glossary.htm)

Sustainability is an economic, social, and environmental concept. It is intended to be a means of

configuring civilization and human activity so that society and its members are able to meet their needs
and express their greatest potential in the present, while preserving biodiversity and natural ecosystems,
and planning and acting for the ability to maintain these ideals indefinitely. Sustainability affects every
level of organization, from the local neighborhood to the entire planet.
Wikipedia (http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainability)

These definitions shed some light on SD.

Economy

Sustainable
Development
(SD)

People Environment

Development that is confined to economic development is not sustainable. What is desirable is

Sustainable Development (SD), which takes an integrated approach blending economic, social and
environmental dimensions. So SD takes into account the potential adverse effects of development on
people and the environment. SD focuses on the quality of life of the future generations as well as the
present generations.

Turning to buildings in the context of SD. Buildings tend to contribute against SD. However, through
careful planning, design, construction and use, buildings can be made to contribute to SD.

This e-learning module shows how buildings contribute against SD (Buildings against SD) and
summarizes how buildings can be made to contribute towards SD (Buildings for SD). Then it shows in
more details how this can be done through:
Materials (Building Materials for SD)
Planning & Design (Building Planning & Design for SD)
Construction & Maintenance (Building Construction & Maintenance for SD)
Use (Building Use for SD)

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4 Buildings against Sustainable Development (SD)

Buildings offer us a great service so that we can lead a comfortable, safe and healthy life – happily.
However, buildings adversely contribute to sustainable development if they are planned, designed or
used without considering their undesirable effects on people and the environment. Such undesirable
buildings can be called “Unsustainable buildings”.

In general, unsustainable buildings contribute to environmental degradation, energy consumption and

natural resources depletion. Therefore, indirectly, such buildings adversely affect the health and comfort
of its users, lowering their quality of life.

Adverse impacts of buildings on sustainable development can be summarized as below:

Environmental degradation

Adverse impacts on bio diversity

Adverse impacts on natural drainage paths & hydrological characteristics
Adverse impacts on water cycle
Promotion of natural disasters
Environmental problems
Indoor & outdoor air pollution
Ground, air and water pollution associated with waste mismanagement

Energy consumption Natural resources depletion

Embodied energy in building materials Depletion of raw materials

Energy consumption for materials transport Depletion of non-renewable energy sources
Energy consumption for achieving indoor
thermal & visual comfort

Buildings against SD

Environmental degradation
Adverse impacts on bio diversity
Adverse impacts on natural drainage paths & hydrological characteristics
Adverse impacts on water cycle
Promotion of natural disasters
Environmental problems
Indoor & outdoor air pollution
Ground, air and water pollution associated with waste mismanagement

Energy consumption
Embodied energy in building materials
Energy consumption for materials transport
Energy consumption for achieving indoor thermal & visual comfort

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Natural resources depletion

Depletion of raw materials
Depletion of non-renewable energy sources

Now, let’s consider in more detail the adverse impacts of buildings on sustainable development:

Environmental degradation:
Adverse impacts on bio diversity: Vegetation and habitats of other living beings are adversely
affected when ground is cleared for the construction of buildings. Some of these living beings are
essential for the well being of the human beings.
Adverse impacts on natural drainage paths & hydrological characteristics: Arrival of a new
building to a particular environment alters the existing natural drainage paths, causing various
problems ranging from soil erosion to flash floods.
Adverse impacts on water cycle: A new building covers the bare ground that previously allowed
rainwater to seep into the earth, recharging the groundwater. Insufficient recharging of the
groundwater disturbs the water cycle, causing problems such as water shortages in certain times of
the year.
Promotion of natural disasters: Disturbances to natural drainage paths and to the water cycle lead
to natural disasters such as flooding and landslides.
Environmental problems: Excessive extraction of natural resources for building construction has
caused several environmental problems. Salt-water intrusion to rivers, soil erosion and riverbank
collapses due to excessive sand mining for construction in rivers are examples.
Indoor and outdoor air pollution: Buildings contribute to air pollution – both indoors and outdoors.
Toxic finishing materials causes indoor air pollution. Removal of vegetation contribute to outdoor air
pollution. Vegetation uses up carbon dioxide for photosynthesis and releases oxygen.
Ground, air and water pollution associated with waste mismanagement: Haphazard dumping of
waste generated during construction and use of a building contributes to ground, air and water
pollution.

Energy consumption:
Embodied energy in building materials: Production of certain types of building materials requires
high inputs of energy, consuming large amounts of fuels (e.g., cement, steel and clay bricks).
Energy consumption for materials transport: Transportation of building materials from production
centers to building sites consumes energy.
Energy consumption for achieving indoor thermal and visual comfort: When thermal discomfort
occurs in buildings, occupants and users use active techniques such as fans and air conditioners to
achieve acceptable thermal comfort levels. When visual discomfort occurs in buildings during
daytime, occupants and users use artificial lighting during daytime. Use of active techniques for
thermal comfort and use of artificial lighting during daytime consumes energy. Use of artificial lighting
during nighttime is unavoidable.

Natural resources depletion:

Depletion of raw materials: Natural resources used as raw materials for manufacturing building
materials have developed after undergoing natural processes for millions of years. Consumption of
these resources at a fast rate will deplete the resources. Examples include limestone for cement
making and iron for steel making.
Depletion of non-renewable energy sources: Non-renewable energy sources such as oil, gas and
coal have taken millions of years to develop. Their excessive use paves the way for depletion of
these reserves fast and the future generations will face shortages.

5 Buildings for Sustainable Development

Buildings can be made to contribute towards SD mainly through:
Materials (Building Materials for SD)
Planning & Design (Building Planning & Design for SD)
Construction & Maintenance (Building Construction & Maintenance for SD)
Use (Building Use for SD)

How this can be done is summarized below:

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Building Materials for SD Building Planning & Design for SD

Environment friendly materials Avoid of environmentally sensitive

Locally available materials locations for buildings
Materials desirable for indoor thermal & Multi-storey preference
visual comfort Indoor thermal & visual comfort through a
Low embodied energy materials passive approach
High strength materials Minimize heat gains
Durable materials Facilitate ventilation
Affordable materials Daylight for visual comfort during daytime
Recycled materials Planning for future requirements
Materials extracted or produced using Efficient structural systems
energy from renewable sources Disaster resistance
Materials extracted or produced using Permeability of ground around building
energy from waste fuels Water detention sump
Non toxic materials Rainwater harvesting design

Building Construction & Maintenance Building Use for SD

for SD
Use of operable passive elements to
Local techniques using manual labour improve indoor thermal & visual comfort
Good quality workmanship Organic gardening
Intelligent management of construction Intelligent management of waste
waste generated from building use
Timely maintenance

Buildings for SD

Building Materials
Environment friendly materials
Locally available materials
Materials desirable for indoor thermal & visual comfort
Low embodied energy materials
High strength materials
Durable materials
Affordable materials
Recycled materials
Materials extracted or produced using energy from renewable sources
Materials extracted or produced using energy from waste fuels
Non toxic materials

Building Planning & Design

Avoidance of environmentally sensitive locations for buildings
Multi-storey preference
Indoor thermal & visual comfort through a passive approach
Minimize heat gains
Facilitate ventilation
Daylight for visual comfort during daytime
Planning for future requirements

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Efficient structural systems

Disaster resistance
Permeability of ground around building
Water detention sump
Rainwater harvesting design

Building Construction & Maintenance

Local techniques using manual labour
Good quality workmanship
Intelligent management of construction waste
Timely maintenance

Building Use
Use of operable passive elements to improve indoor thermal & visual comfort
Organic gardening
Intelligent management of waste generated from building use

How buildings can be made to contribute towards SD is now discussed in detail.

6 Building Materials for Sustainable Development

Let’s consider Building Materials for SD.

Desirable options with respect to Building Materials can be summarized as follows:

Environment friendly materials
Locally available materials
Materials desirable for indoor thermal & visual comfort
Low embodied energy materials
High strength materials
Durable materials
Affordable materials
Recycled materials
Materials extracted or produced using energy from renewable sources
Materials extracted or produced using energy from waste fuels
Non toxic materials

Let’s consider each option in more detail:

Environment friendly materials

Quarrying for raw materials and producing building materials has caused extensive adverse
environmental effects. For example, excessive clay mining for brick making lowers soil productivity in
nearby paddy land and promotes mosquito breeding. Excessive sand mining in rivers promotes flooding,
riverbank collapses, and salt-water intrusion. Use of environment friendly materials can mitigate these
problems.

Locally available materials

Because of the rising price of the conventional building materials, housing has become unaffordable to
underprivileged communities. With the rising fuel prices, the transport cost continues to increase its
contribution to the rising prices.
Use of locally available materials is a sound solution to this problem. Use blocks cast by local businesses
instead of “importing” blocks produced far away from the construction site. Among the other benefits of
using locally available materials are decrease of fuel consumption for materials transport, reduction of
harmful emissions during materials transport and thriving of small scale, local building materials
businesses.

Materials desirable for indoor thermal and visual comfort

Selecting materials that are desirable for indoor thermal and visual comfort will lower the energy
consumption for indoor thermal and visual comfort when the building is in use. For example, use clay tiles
instead of cement fibre sheets as roof covering.

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Low embodied energy materials

Certain materials consume a large amount of energy during their manufacturing and extensive use of
such materials increases energy consumption in the building materials industry. Cement, clay bricks and
steel are examples. Where possible, use low embodied materials such as soil blocks and rammed earth
because they do not consume large amounts of energy during production.

High strength materials

In buildings materials are used either for withstanding forces or for partitioning. With respect to
withstanding forces, consider the example of concrete. The amount of material needed for withstanding a
particular force is less with high strength concrete than with conventional concrete. The key benefit of
high strength materials is the reduction of the consumption of natural resources as building materials.
These materials also contribute to lower the energy consumption and emissions associated with
quarrying and building materials production.

Durable materials
Use of durable materials delays or even eliminates the need for repair of buildings. While reducing the
consumption of natural resources as building materials, durable materials contribute to lower the energy
consumption and emissions associated with quarrying and building materials production.

Affordable materials
Shelter is a basic human need and making shelter affordable to a wider section of the society, especially
to the underprivileged, is vital for sustainable development.

Recycled materials
Recycling offers an opportunity to make the maximum use out of the natural resources gone into a
particular building material. Use of recycled materials contribute to reduce the consumption of natural
resources as building materials and to lower the energy consumption and the emissions associated with
quarrying and building materials production.

Materials extracted or produced using energy from renewable sources

Non-renewable energy sources such as oil and coal are limited, and they take millions of years to
develop to energy-source status again. So they are fast depleting, as the rate of renewal is negligible
when compared with that of consumption. However, renewable energy sources such as solar energy,
wind energy and hydropower renew themselves and do not deplete with use. Moreover, use of non-
renewable energy causes harmful emissions while use of renewable sources is clean and environment-
friendly. Therefore, use of materials extracted or produced using renewable energy will lower the
consumption of non-renewable energy resources and also reduce the associated emissions.

Materials extracted or produced using energy from waste fuels

Materials discarded as waste have energy embodied in them and these materials can be used as fuels in
producing building materials. While offering a waste management solution, use of selected waste
materials as fuels for building materials extraction and production lowers the energy consumption in the
building materials sector. For example, waste plastics used for cement co-processing provides a waste
disposal solution while lowering the consumption of conventional energy sources for cement production.

Non-toxic materials
Prolonged exposure to certain modern building materials (e.g., certain adhesives and coatings) causes
health problems because they contain pollutants such as volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Avoid such
modern materials and, whenever possible, prefer more natural materials. Innovative use of mud plasters
is a good example.

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7 Building Planning & Design for Sustainable Development

Let’s consider Building Planning & Design for SD.

Desirable options with respect to Building Planning & Design can be summarized as follows:
Avoidance of environmentally sensitive locations for buildings
Multi-storey preference
Indoor thermal & visual comfort through a passive approach
Minimize heat gains
Facilitate ventilation
Daylight for visual comfort during daytime
Planning for future requirements
Efficient structural systems
Disaster resistance
Permeability of ground around building
Water detention sump
Rainwater harvesting design

Let’s consider each option in more detail:

Avoidance of environmentally sensitive locations for buildings

Most, if not all, forms of life are important in ensuring a quality of life for humankind. Therefore, adverse
effects on biodiversity will eventually negatively affect quality of our life. So avoid environmentally
sensitive locations for construction of buildings, especially wetlands.

Multi-storey preference

Whenever possible, select building type as multi-storey as opposed to single-storey because multi-storey
type offers sustainability benefits, such as:
Compare a multi-storey building with an equivalent single-storey building (i.e., with same floor area).
In the multi-storey building, the lower plot coverage provides more bare ground for seepage of
rainwater into the ground, reducing the surface runoff to road. So its interference to the water cycle is
less and it lowers the likelihood of flash flooding.
When the two types are compared, the multi-storey type facilitates better a passive approach for
indoor thermal and visual comfort when the building is in use. Among the key reasons for this
enhanced passive performance are:
Increased ground area for growing vegetation for creation of a thermally desirable
microclimate
Lower area of thermally most undesirable element (namely roof) when compared with an
equivalent single-storey building
Increased external surface area for provision of openings (i.e., windows) with thermally
desirable orientation and appropriate area

Indoor thermal & visual comfort through a passive approach

In tropical climates, warm indoors causes the consumption of a large amount of energy for achieving
thermal comfort through active means (e.g., fans, air-conditioners). Meanwhile, although the tropics enjoy
the sun for half a day, daily, around the year, improperly planned buildings without due attention to
daylight use requires active means (e.g., artificial lighting) to achieve indoor visual comfort during
daytime.

In order to eliminate, or at least lower this energy consumption, plan and design buildings that achieve
indoor thermal and visual comfort by way of passive means (e.g., shaded openings with desirable
orientation, use of daylight for indoor illumination during daytime).

Key methods of a passive approach include:

Minimize heat gains
Facilitate ventilation
Use daylight for visual comfort during daytime

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Minimize heat gains

Minimization of heat gains into the building is critical in achieving thermally comfortable indoor
environment. Heat gains into the building are mainly two types:
Heat finding into the building across the building envelope (i.e., roof and walls) by way of conduction
Heat finding its way into the building by convection through openings (i.e., with outdoor air coming
into the building)
Direct or reflected solar radiation finding its way into the building through openings
Radiant heat gains due to exposure of building to heated bodies (e.g., roads, other buildings) or
excessive heating of elements of the building envelope, especially the roof
Heat generated inside building (e.g., use of artificial lighting that gives out heat in addition to light)

To lower the heat gain by way of conduction:

Create a thermally desirable microclimate around the building using excessive vegetation. It will
lower the outdoor air temperature, lowering heat gain by way of conduction. Maximize vegetation by
innovative methods (e.g., roof garden, walls with vegetative surfaces such as ivy)
Use thermally desirable wall materials that inhibit conduction (e.g., clay bricks, stabilized soil blocks
or hollow cement sand blocks instead of solid cement sand blocks).

To lower the heat gains by way of convection:

Again, create a thermally desirable microclimate with excessive vegetation so that the outdoor air is
cool

To lower the heat gains by way of direct or reflected solar radiation:

Provide openings facing shadable directions (i.e., facing north or south) and shade these openings
with overhangs so that direct solar radiation does not find its way into the building.
If openings facing east or west are unavoidable, provide only short openings and shade them with
operable blinds, as overhangs will not be very effective.
Grow vegetation (e.g. grass or, even better, shrubbery) immediately around building instead of
rendering or floor tiles. Rendered or tiled surface immediately around the building will allow reflection
of direct solar radiation into the building through the openings. However, vegetation will instead
diffuse the solar radiation falling on them, lowering the amount of reflected solar radiation into the
building.

To lower radiant heat gains:

Because of its upward orientation, the roof of a building in the tropics is exposed to the sun during
the entire daytime throughout the year. However, a wall facing north or south is exposed to the sun
only several months of the year throughout the daytime. And a wall facing east or west will be
exposed to the sun only for several hours everyday throughout the year. So, in terms of orientation,
the roof is thermally more undesirable than walls. Moreover, from the point of view of thermal
properties, the roof is thermally more undesirable than walls. The hot roof will transfer heat to
exposed bodies inside the building – including the occupants – by way of radiation. So:
Minimized the area of roof (e.g., by way of multi-storey type)
Use thermally more desirable roof materials (e.g., clay tiles instead of cement fibre sheets)
Provide a ceiling below roof, preferably with ventilated attic space
Provide insulation for the roof and the ceiling
Paint the external surface of the building envelope (roof and walls) with a light colour (preferably
white) so that the major component of solar radiation falling on the building undeveloped is reflected.

To lower the heat generated inside building:

Use daylight to illuminate indoors during daytime so that need for artificial lighting during daytime is
minimized

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North/south Solar radiation with

facing opening high solar altitude so
overhang is effective

East/west
facing opening Solar radiation with low
solar altitude so a very
long overhang is needed

Ground reflected radiation can enter across an opening well-shaded by an overhang

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Facilitate ventilation

In tropical climatic conditions, facilitation of natural ventilation is important because ventilation promotes:
Conductive-convective heat loss from the human body
Evaporation of the skin moisture from the human body, resulting in a physiological effect of cooling
Structural cooling, paving the way for a cooler structure at the beginning of the next day

Research studies have also found out that people acclimatized to warm humid climatic conditions for
generations generally feel comfortable at relatively high indoor temperatures as high as 30oC when a
sufficient air movement up to 1m/s is available. Moreover, ventilation improves indoor air quality.

So, to promote ventilation indoors:

Provide an adequate number of openings for each space (i.e., room) of building
In a particular space, if possible, provide two openings on perpendicular walls
Use night air for cooling
Provide larger and more number of openings by way of a courtyard

Daylight for visual comfort during daytime

By utilizing daylight for indoor visual comfort during daytime, need for artificial lighting during daytime can
be lowered or even eliminated. While saving electricity consumed by bulbs, such use of daylight
contributes to lower the heat generated indoors by bulbs.

So, to utilize daylight:

Provide an adequate number of openings to allow daylight into the building.
Paint with light colors (preferably white) the internal surfaces of roof/ceiling, walls and floor. Or use
light color tiles for floor.
Avoid tinted glasses for openings.
Avoid blind walls.

Proper planning for future requirements

Plan the building properly considering the future requirements. Then changes or unplanned extensions to
the building can be reduced so that materials and labour spent on such changes can be saved.

Efficient structural systems

The structural of a building resists the forces on it. An efficient structural system will resist these forces by
consuming a smaller amount of materials, lowering materials consumption.

Disaster resistance
A building designed for resistance to a particular natural disaster (e.g., earthquakes, cyclones, tsunamis,
flooding) will suffer less damage in the face of that particular natural disaster. Such design will lower the
need for complete demolition or serious repairs, lowering material consumption for replacement or repair.

Permeability of ground around building

Extensively built up spaces in urban areas have blocked the rainwater from recharging the groundwater.
So, following heavy, continuous rain, rainwater quickly runs into the roads, creating flashfloods.
Therefore, it is important to keep as much garden area around the building bare so that rainwater seeps
into the ground lowering the likelihood of flashfloods. Besides, it will support the functioning of the water
cycle.

Water detention pit

In heavily built up areas (e.g., urban areas), inadequate area of bare ground makes rainwater find its way
from gardens to the road, generating flashfloods. A water detention pit with brick-lined walls and an
unlined bottom built in gardens will delay the flow of rainwater into the road, lowering the likelihood of
flashflood generation.

Rainwater harvesting design

Rainwater running into the road causes many problems, including flashfloods. By way of rainwater
harvesting design, rainwater can be used safely for flushing toilets and gardening. It will lower the
demand for pipe-borne water and will reduce the water bill.

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8 Building Construction & Maintenance for Sustainable Development

Let’s consider Building Construction & Maintenance for SD.

Desirable options with respect to Building Construction & Maintenance can be summarized as follows:
Local techniques using manual labour
Good quality workmanship
Intelligent management of construction waste
Timely maintenance

Let’s consider each option in more detail:

Local techniques using manual labour

Where possible, construct buildings using local techniques and manual labour. Local communities are
usually skilled and familiar with local construction techniques and use of manual labour provides them
with employment. Use of complicated techniques using machinery will require machinery transport to
building site and/ or machinery use, causing emissions. A good example is onsite block making using
manual labour instead of buying blocks from a distant source producing blocks using machinery.

Good quality workmanship

Good construction quality (especially durability) achieved through good quality workmanship will lower
need for repairs and will thereby lower the consumption of natural resources as building materials for
repairs.

Intelligent management of construction waste

Manage construction waste intelligently instead of dumping it haphazardly, polluting the environment. For
example, demolition waste can be used for making blocks, lowering the consumption of natural resources
as building materials and also the likelihood of pollution due to haphazard disposal.

Timely maintenance
Timely maintenance of building elements will lower the need for repair, lowering consumption of natural
resources as building materials. For example, timely painting of exposed steel elements will lower the
likelihood of corrosion.

9 Building Use for Sustainable Development

Let’s consider Building Use for SD.

Desirable options with respect to Building Construction & Maintenance can be summarized as follows:
Use of operable passive elements to improve indoor thermal & visual comfort
Organic gardening
Intelligent management of waste generated from building use

Let’s consider each option in more detail:

Use of operable passive elements to improve indoor thermal & visual comfort
Use operable passive elements appropriately to improve indoor thermal and visual comfort, lowering the
need for active means. For example, open windows for enhanced ventilation and draw up and down the
blinds provided to protect windows facing thermally undesirable orientations (i.e., east or west).

Organic gardening
Gardening offers several sustainability benefits:
Gardening is very good for health and is considered as an effective reliever of stress commonly
found among the modern society.
Mini-scale agriculture, as is the case with gardening, is unlikely to need the use of chemicals such as
pesticides and fertilizers, which are environmentally unfriendly and adversely affect biodiversity.
Consumption of such chemical-free fruits and vegetables is good for health.
Mass scale agriculture usually grows one type of vegetation in a large extent of land, hence
adversely affecting the “balance of soil fertility”, eventually leading to productivity losses. Mini-scale

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agriculture is likely to grow several types of vegetation in a small garden for home consumption, for
example.
Garden full of vegetation contributes to the desirable microclimate required for achieving indoor
thermal comfort.

Intelligent management of waste generated from building use

When a building is in use, waste – both solid and liquid waste. Intelligent management of this waste
contributes to natural resources conversation while minimizing adverse effects on the environment.
Therefore:
Adopt most preferred options of waste management hierarchy for solid waste: Avoid waste, Reduce
waste & Reuse waste. These options will lower the consumption of natural resources as goods and
materials in day-to-day use.
Use biodegradable waste as compost for gardening. It will increase the productivity of soil for better
gardening.
Support initiatives for recycling and recovery (materials and energy) by patronizing relevant products
and services and by source separation of waste where applicable. While lowering environmental
pollution due to mismanagement of waste, such initiatives create wealth out of waste and lower the
natural resources consumption for producing goods.
Treat grey water (from shower, bath, kitchen) and reuse it for gardening/ flushing toilets. It will lower
the demand for pipe-borne water.

EXAMPLES

Avoid Use mugs instead of disposable

waste cups

Use both sides of paper

Reduce waste

Reuse waste Use jam jars as toothbrush

holders

Recycle waste Recycle paper into more paper,

insulation or packing material

Recover energy embedded in

Recover energy/minerals from waste
plastics to fuel cement kilns

Disposal by incineration Dispose of waste in a safe and

environmentally sound manner
“Disposal” (storage) by land filling

In the waste management hierarchy, the best option is “Avoid

waste”. As you go down, the preference lowers and the least
preferred is “Disposal of waste”.

Waste Management Hierarchy

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