Translating Singapore architects' environmental awareness into decision making

Construction activity is known to have a major impact on the environment. Construction is a major consumer of a wide range of naturally occurring and synthesized resources. The extraction, processing and utilization of these resources can have various negative impacts on the environment. With increased awareness and knowledge of these impacts, efforts are being made to avoid these adverse effects. Among these is the selection and specification of appropriate materials. This paper studies the level of environmental awareness and knowledge of architects in Singapore when selecting and specifying materials during the design stage. Responses to a questionnaire indicate that the architects are aware of the environmental impacts of building materials, and knowledgeable about possible measures which could help avoid the problems. However, they are not adopting green design approaches. Key policy directions for government, professional bodies, educators and clients are made to enable Singapore architects to apply their knowledge of environmental issues in their design decisions.     

Professionals’ knowledge and use of environmental assessment in an architectural competition

In early design phases, architects, landscape architects and urban planners are key actors whose decisions determine the environmental impact of planning and building projects. Environmental and sustainability assessment tools for buildings and neighbourhoods have been developed to promote sustainable building, but their usage has not been thoroughly evaluated. This study investigated self-reported knowledge and usage of such tools among competitors and jury group from 10 European countries involved in the international architectural competition ‘A New City Centre for Kiruna’ in Sweden. The questionnaire revealed that 13% used environmental assessment tools or management systems in the competition, although 47% had used them previously. Tool users reported greater knowledge of how to handle environmental impacts than non-users. However, the self-rated experience of handling various environmental impacts, in the competition and in general, was low for both groups. Nevertheless, the self-rated importance of environmental impacts was high among all participants. Based on this study, it is concluded that environmental assessment tools, issues and goals can be better integrated into the processes of early design in planning and building projects, and in architectural competitions. Furthermore, to limit environmental impacts in building and planning projects, professionals need to be educated about environmental strategies and solutions.     

A study regarding the environmental impact analysis of the building materials production process (in Turkey)

Because of the negative impact of buildings on the environment, building materials and, particularly, their production process are important factors. However, this impact differs from country to country and according to ecological applications in place at the production plants. Depending on the success rate of these applications, impact on environment during production of building materials is reduced. Turkey plays a major role in production of building materials, and consequently, the impacts of the global environmental problems are also experienced in this country. Therefore, reducing the environmental impact of any kind is a prominent issue, regionally and globally.     

建筑环境设计思考

首先讨论建筑与环境的关系,指出合理协调两者关系的重要性;然后探讨在建筑环境设计中应注意的问题及处理原则;最后列举了古今中外一些在处理建筑与环境关系方面的成功实例,旨在呼吁建筑师要树立建筑环境意识,优化建筑环境设计。     

Collaborative knowledge work environments

How can the physical design of the workplace enhance collaborations without compromising an individual's productivity? The body of research on the links between physical space and collaboration in knowledge work settings is reviewed. Collaboration is viewed as a system of behaviours that includes both social and solitary work. The social aspects of collaboration are discussed in terms of three dimensions: awareness, brief interaction and collaboration (working together). Current knowledge on the links between space and the social as well as individual aspects of collaborative work is reviewed. The central conflict of collaboration is considered: how to design effectively to provide a balance between the need to interact and the need to work effectively by oneself. The body of literature shows that features and attributes of space can be manipulated to increase awareness, interaction and collaboration. However, doing so frequently has negative impacts on individual work as a result of increases in noise distractions and interruptions to on-going work. The effects are most harmful for individual tasks requiring complex and focused mental work. The negative effects are compounded by a workplace that increasingly suffers from cognitive overload brought on by time stress, increased workload and multitasking.     

中日建筑创作背景比较分析

中日传统建筑有着相似的文化特质。在借鉴西方先进设计理念方面,日本走在了中国的前面,获得了成功。通过文化传统、资源环境、设计市场、创作过程等四个方面对中日建筑创作环境的差异进行比较,找出影响中日建筑创作发展背景因素,列举了这些因素带来的影响,寻求这些因素与建筑创作视角、认知、理念、精神之间的因果关系。借鉴日本社会和建筑界对建筑创作的正确理解、态度、和处理方式,认识并修正中国建筑界因一些不良因素导致的偏差,增加建筑创作中的价值性和准确性。     

Reply

ISO 14000 is a series of standards defining a formal and structured approach to environmental management. It demonstrates, with assurance, that an organization which complies with current policy and legislation actively addresses environmental issues. Construction activities have a myriad of environmental implications. Hence, construction entities must manage their environmental performance. ISO 14000 represents a possible solution. This study considers the relevance of environmental management to construction organizations. After an overview of the environmental impacts of construction, ISO 14000 and its principles are explored. A field study is reported that was set up to assess the level of commitment of construction enterprises in Singapore to environmental management. Contractors in Singapore are aware of the merits of environmental management, but are not instituting systems towards achieving it. A framework for the development and implementation of an environmental management system (EMS) is proposed.     

无障碍意识认知与无障碍环境设计研究

无障碍意识的认知程度对建筑师无障碍环境设计的构思角度有着至关重要的影响。本文通过对国外无障碍环境设计案例的研究,并结合我国城市环境设计中无障碍设施设置的实况调研分析,提出我国无障碍设计所存在问题的症结——无障碍意识认知差距,探讨无障碍环境设计构思方式,以期对我国的无障碍环境建设、民众无障碍意识普及有所启示。     

Singapore's strategies towards sustainable construction

Sustainable construction is critical to Singapore's national development as Singapore has little natural resources. Nearly, all construction materials have to be imported and it is therefore vital to improve Singapore's efficiency on the use of natural resources. Since 2007, the Building and Construction Authority (BCA), together with Singapore's construction industry, strives to promote the adoption of sustainable construction materials and practices. Central to the drive of sustainable construction is the Sustainable Construction Masterplan, with five major strategic thrusts outlining strategies to achieve resource efficiency. The five strategic thrusts cover initiatives from government support, legislation to research and development support. This article also presents some recent initiatives of sustainable construction, such as the development of demolition protocol and sustainable construction capability development fund. The findings of a recently completed full-scale study on the use of recycled concrete aggregates in structural elements of a 3-storey office building are also presented.     

对建筑设计中节能建筑设计的分析

建筑行业是城市建设一个重要组成部分,大规模的建筑工程建设使得环境污染、资源消耗越来越大。而在建筑设计中合理、有效地运用节能建筑设计,可以降低环境破坏和资源浪费。本文就建筑设计中节能建筑设计进行分析和探讨。     

Architects need environmental feedback

The role of environmental feedback within architects' offices is examined as a fundamental ingredient of sustainability. Three case study buildings are examined using a feedback exercise encompassing the whole building process from early key design decisions to occupation. Results show that sometimes design decisions are taken for aesthetic reasons without certainty on their environmental impact. Improvements are possible especially in energy consumption, glare, the usability of controls, the communication of strategies and comfort conditions. The architects report the feedback lessons relevant for their work. A systematic approach to project feedback is proposed with emphasis in feeding forward to new projects and recording decision-making. To close the information loop, briefs need explicitly to mention performance targets for energy use, management expectations, control requirements and to promote feedback itself.     

结合BIM 的工程项目全生命周期环境影响评价与决策分析方法研究

工程建设项目的能源消耗和污染物排放给环境带来巨大的影响。从建设项目全生命周期角度出发,运用BIM 技术及工具构建建设项目的多维信息模型,并进一步定义BIM 模型元素和建筑材料的关系,量化建筑物建筑材料的环境影响,运用层次分析法建立建设项目环境影响评价指标库。以南京市某大学在建的科研用楼设计方案为例,建模并进行计算,分析建筑物对环境影响重要因素,为建设项目全生命周期环境影响评价提供新思路,为建筑物设计阶段的方案优化提供理论支持。     

从中英比较调查看我国建筑垃圾减量化设计的现状及潜力

建筑垃圾减量化设计意味着通过建筑设计本身,尽可能减少建造过程中垃圾的产生,并且对已产生的垃圾进行再利用。本文通过对我国建筑师就建筑垃圾减量化设计现状和潜力的看法的调查以及相应的中英比较,提出了对我国建筑垃圾减量化设计的一些建议。     

Gardens by the Bay: Ecologically Reflective Design

Meredith Davey of Atelier Ten describes how as part of a design team led by Grant Associates with architects Wilkinson Eyre, multidisciplinary engineers Atelier Ten have developed a scheme for the Gardens by the Bay, Bay South in Singapore based on first principles. Holistically integrated solutions have been sought to the central and demanding brief to create artificial interior environments that will enable Mediterranean and mountain plants to grow in the tropical urban heat of downtown Singapore. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

以结构为共识——建筑师与结构工程师的设计交融

在建筑的设计和建造中,技术一直扮演着重要的角色.无论是与建筑需求和可利用资源相关的概念化功能与建造形式,还是建造材料的制造和供应,抑或是最终的建造过程本身,都需要广泛的技术支持.随着技术对于环境的影响日益重要,工程师在整个设计与规划过程中的作用只会变得更加明确.本文探讨了建筑师与工程师之间的互动交流及两者的合作制度关系...     

居住建筑设计小议

论述了居住建筑的重要性,从功能、结构、设备、市场、美观等众多方面研究了居住建筑的设计因素,探讨了居住环境设计,以帮助设计时认清发展趋势,从而使建筑师对居住建筑的设计有明确的适应性和引导性。     

Commonly encountered seismic design faults due to the architectural design of residential buildings in Turkey

The 17 August 1999 and 12 November 1999 earthquakes in Western Anatolia provided undesirable field evidence that most of the low story residential reinforced concrete buildings have very poor earthquake resistance. Architectural design faults negatively affect the structural behavior of buildings. In Turkey, earthquake-resistant design is considered to be exclusively within the field of responsibility of structural engineers. As a result, architects and especially students of architecture are not well informed about the effect of their design decisions on the seismic performance of the buildings. Structural damages in collapsed buildings demonstrate that most of the design faults that lead to destruction of buildings are due to architectural decisions. This paper intends to present the concept of earthquake-resistant design in a comprehensible format for the architects and builders, therefore aims to contribute to the efforts of creating a better awareness of earthquake resistant building design.     

Critical Building Design Factors for Indoor Air Quality and Climate: Current Status and Predicted Trends

In recent yean, some building design professionals have become more aware of the indoor air quality concerns of owners and occupants and as a result, they have made some important changes to improve indoor air quality and climate. These changes include improvements in site planning and design; overall building design; ventilation and climate control systems; and materials selection and specifications. In addition, changes that limit the chemical contamination of building air during the construction process and during occupancy of buildings are also occurring; some of these changes are specified or controlled by design professionals. However, the majority of design professionals have little or no awareness of indoor air quality considerations. There is inadequate dissemination of building science research results to design professionals. There is a need for a useful general body of knowledge, theory, and practice regarding building-environment-occupant interactions. The lack of such knowledge, theory, and practice is an impediment to developing the necessary professional design tools and practices to address effectively indoor environmental quality and energy conservation issues.     

工程结构可持续性设计理论架构

工程结构设计以安全和可靠性为基本属性，在人本化关切层面不断进步，但对工程结构造成环境影响的忽视致使工程建设热潮成为环境退化诱因之一。近年兴起的生命周期评价研究致力改善这一现状，依此可建立工程结构的环境可适应性设计，实现生命周期环境影响调控，引导环境友好的工程进步。然而长期以来，工程结构设计与环境影响设计的研究进展处于两条近乎平行的轨道，两类单向设计在实践中常相互制约。工程结构与环境系统的同步可持续是土木工程可持续发展的必然要求，因而亟需构建结构与环境相容共生理论体系。基于此，提出可持续性作为结构设计的控制属性，给出可靠性满足的前提下，工程结构对环境影响在环境系统中的可承受程度。通过建立基本耦合关系和动态相容耦合关系，关联可靠性与可适应性，反映结构-环境共生体的动态反馈影响机制，构建双向设计的基本路径。进一步，定义碳强度和碳容度，提出可持续性目标选取与简化实现建议，列出多层次操作要点，为绿色建造提供理论基础。     

Main influences on the design philosophy and knowledge basis to bioclimatic integration into architectural design—The example of best practices

This paper studies the influence of architectural education and early experience of the work of a group pf architects, whose work shows strong features of bioclimatic integration (such as Lele and Severiano Porto in Brazil and Spencer de Grey and Mario Cucinella in Europe). The first analysis of their individual experiences, through semi-structured interviews, indicates that the integration of bioclimatic concepts into design is beyond the development or improvement of tools. First of all, it is fundamental that these concepts are part of the design philosophy of the professional, which is determinant on the application of research and innovation in architectural practice. Therefore, before the tools, the formal education can be a tool to promote the inclusion of these principles as part of their design philosophy, influencing the approach to design. It happened in the cases in which there was a commitment of the school to develop a technical knowledge basis in building physics into studio activities, highlighting the aesthetic character of environmental integration. This basis was consolidated in the contact with the building site construction, which also strengthened their ethical commitment regarding the quality of the built object. It has the potential to generate confidence in the consideration of these issues, also making it easier to get the right information from available resources and tools, via a critical understanding of the different issues.