Sustainability. How to improve sustainability - Research Paper Example

? SUSTAINABILITY Sustainability Purpose of the study Sustainability corresponds to the planning, transformation and improvement thatmatches the ecological, communal and fiscal needs of present and future societies. The purpose of this study is to review the sustainability attributes associated with buildings in the United Kingdom particularly the City Hall (1988-2002). Introduction Sustainability focuses on economic, social and environmental aspects that may influence the quality and quantity of resources in the present and future. The construction of buildings is critical to sustainable development because they serve as occupational centres. Consequently, it is fundamental to ensure that they are constructed appropriately to match the sustainability agenda. This calls for planning and evaluation of energy consumption and utilisation based on renewable and non-renewable resources (Stapleton and Garrod, 2008, p. 499). The City Hall in London is located in the City Hall Park on the south bank of river Thames. It is a modern building that displays creativity, aesthetic and sustainable tendencies. The City Hall building is a 10-storey building that stands at 45m. The building comprises a public gallery, assembly chamber, committee rooms, offices and restaurants. The building is accessible and transparent hence people can examine its architecture and suitability. It is equally sustainable due to the non-polluting values of the glass. The building’s design meets the sustainability projections of the contemporary society using renewable energy sources. It reflects UK’s values of innovation, sustainability, ease and beauty (Renukappa, Egbu, Akintoye and Goulding, 2012, p. 300). Sustainability measures in place The building has a steel casing that meets the three dimensional jigsaw. Its inclination and spherical design counteracts the likelihood of falling over. The spherical shape symbolises movement. Furthermore, it is engineered to allow natural lighting during the day (Tilbury, 2002, p. 40). Notably, a sphere occupies 25% less surface area compared to a cube of the same volume. It therefore experiences less heat loss in cold days and less heat gain in hot days. The City Hall sphere is modified to lean back from river Thames. At this inclination, it presents minimum surface area to the sun reducing its solar gain. The tilt also reduces the casting of the shadow along the river walk. This allows the sun to reach down to the open public spaces. The insulated panels reduce solar gain and heat loss to nearly half amount of a normal office building. It incorporates locally directed natural ventilation such that when the natural air vents open, the automatic air conditioners and heating systems deactivate themselves to reduce energy losses (Tilbury, 2002, p. 40). The building consumes minimal operational energy. The steel structure props up the north side view and acts as a monster radiator. Most of the horizontal steel tubes have hot water running through them that act as discreet heaters of the porch space. The building cools itself naturally. The naturally chilled borehole uses less energy compared to conventional cooling towers and chillers. The chilled beams are multifunctional. They facilitate air conditioning and incorporate crisis lights fittings, passive chilled cooling coils, smoke sensors, light detectors and sprinklers. Natural ventilation is facilitated by windows that open in all rooms. There is a deep plan floor that collects heat central zones and redirects it to periphery zones. For this reason, chillers are not required in the building (Tilbury, 2002, p. 41). The twin skin systems comprising of weathering sheets of insulation and linear sheets help to transfer the external loads to the pillar structure. The sheets come in various colours and coatings that facilitate insulation. A light sculptor mirrors the horizon daylight inside the inner chambers with mobile sun shield to block from the suns glare and gain. This process is reversed at night (Freilich et al., 2010, p. 20). How to improve sustainability Sustainability does not only address the visible and quantifiable aspects. It is also assessed through the energy and time used to access resources and services in a particular setting. This is because sustainability is a projected assessment of the past, present and future quality of life. It assesses the quality of life for individuals of each generation given a stated amount and quality of resources. Consequently, City Hall has to improve its speed and quality of services delivery in line with the sustainability agenda of economic stability. Additionally, it needs to ensure that all dealers, marketers and stakeholders dealing directly with City Hall operate within the sustainability agenda to achieve holistic results (Tilbury, 2002, p. 47). The City Hall plays a fundamental role in approving official decisions. Consequently, it should avoid any corrupt approvals that may tarnish its symbolic sustainable goal. It should avoid licensing any unsustainable projects and evaluate development processes before approving them. The Council should conduct periodic impact assessment on the building social and environmental consequences. This includes the transfer of ultra-violet radiation, reduced water levels on the borehole that is systemised as a coolant, water pollution and any weakening of the building that might be catastrophic in future (Freilich et al., 2010, p. 33). What can be done? The City Council can cooperate with environmental and architectural auditors to assess protective and improvement measures. This would allow the comprehension of weaknesses associated with projects especially from a social-environmental and economic perspective. Construction designers should minimise wastage in all the steps and reduce the likelihood of future energy and resource loss. Consequently, they should integrate the economic, environmental and usability in future processes (Freilich et al., 2010, p. 40). The workers should acknowledge the sustainable practices that reduce the wastage of energy within buildings. It is fundamental to motivate the personnel through incentives for them to control energy use at City Hall. The adaption of sustainable construction processes is a central theme in UK planning and economy. This is attributable to the environmental, social and economic functions that buildings play. The challenge of constructors is to minimise wastage in all the construction and utilisation stages. Reference List Freilich, R. H., Sitkowski, R. J. and Mennillo, S. D. 2010. From Sprawl To Sustainability: Smart Growth, New Urbanism, Green Development, and Renewable Energy. Chicago, Ill: Section of State and Local Government Law, American Bar Association Publishing, USA. Renukappa, S., Egbu, C., Akintoye, A. and Goulding, J., 2012. A critical reflection on sustainability within the UK industrial sectors. Construction Innovation: Information, Process, Management, 12 (3), pp.317 – 334 Sharp, D., 2000. Twentieth-century architecture: A visual history. Mulgrave, Vic: Images Pub. Tilbury, D., 2002. Education and sustainability: Responding to the global challenge. Cambridge: IUCN Commission on Education and Communication. Stapleton, L.M. and Garrod, G., 2008. Policy Preceding Possibility? Examining Headline Composite Sustainability Indicators in the United Kingdom. Social Indicators Research, 87 (3), pp. 495-502. Read More