ZED Building Philosophy - Essay Example

?ZED building philosophy – presentation and analysis Introduction The continuous development of technology used in architecture has led to the establishment of construction plans of advanced forms. However, modernity in architecture – as expressed through the update of architectural styles – has not resulted to the independency of architecture from traditional ethics and principles. In fact, building plans are closely related to the ethics and values of the environment – social and natural – of the area in which these plans are developed. In the last decades, the above relationship – between buildings and their environment – has become closer; reference is made particularly to the natural environment of buildings – even if their effects can be also expanded on the surrounding community (Dunster et al., 2008). Efforts have been made in order for the negative effects of building projects on the natural environment to be minimized – for example, the update of existing British legislation on wildlife and the adoption of Kyoto Protocol by a series of countries worldwide (The Telegraph 2010). The ZED building philosophy is the major initiative of this type. The specific framework has been primarily promoted by organizations operating in the private sector – reference is made to ZED Factory, a firm focusing on the expansion of ZED building philosophy in building projects across Britain. However, the ZED building principles – as analytically explained by ZED Factory – could be easily adopted by firms of the construction industry; this effort would have more chances to succeed if the relevant principles were gradually adopted – for instance, through the incorporation, primarily, of energy saving schemes, a fact highlighted in the BedZED (eco-village) scheme (BedZED, Eco-Community, 2011). Moreover, the support of the state would increase the effectiveness of ZED building principles on existing building projects; this initiative could be developed worldwide – using the theoretical and practical framework suggested by ZED Factory, as explained throughout the paper. The examination of the existing status and performance of ZED building philosophy has led to the conclusion that the specific framework would be quite effective for limiting the negative effects of construction projects on the environment; moreover, its principles are rather easy to be understood and incorporated – being related with the existing energy efficiency schemes as promoted both by individuals and the state. 2. ZED buildings principles and philosophy – description The ZED building philosophy has many different aspects; however, its priority remains the increase of energy efficiency of buildings. Through the years, ZED philosophy has been developed in order to meet the advanced requirements of modern buildings – as these requirements have been affected by the technology used in various stages of the relevant building projects. It should be also noted that ZED philosophy couldn’t be understood without referring to its forms and implications in practice, i.e. in the context of buildings on which ZED building principles have been applied. For this reason, the presentation of the particular philosophy has been combined with the reference to construction projects, which have been based on the ZED building principles. An important example of this type is the eco-village BedZED; the buildings of this village have been constructed in such way, so that an important reduction of energy consumption is achieved. Indeed, in a report developed in 2009, i.e. seven years after the completion of the specific building project (in 2002), it was mentioned that the homeowners of the specific site consumed ‘45% lower electricty and 81% less hot water than the borough average’ (PeaBody Organization, UK, 2009, 4); it is also noted that the initial targets of the particular project, i.e. the limitation of the energy consumed by the homeowners and the following limitation of the pollution caused to the environment, have been both achieved (PeaBody Organization, UK, 2009, 4). The above two aims can be considered as the main elements of the ZED building philosophy; of course, additional targets or criteria can be also incorporated in the specific framework but it is necessary that all these criteria are aligned with the key elements of the ZED philosophy – as described above. The practical aspects of ZED philosophy can be understood by observing the BedZED eco-village, part of which is presented in Figure 2, Appendix. It is clear that the use of the ZED building principles in the specific case required the incorporation of a series of specific architectural forms and techniques – at the level that these techniques are expected to serve the key aims of ZED philosophy - as explained above. Another important part of the ZED philosophy is its technical framework – as already made clear ZED philosophy is not a pure theoretical framework; it is rather a two - dimensional architectural trend: its first dimension incorporates its philosophical elements, its second dimension refers to a series of technical standards – which need to be used in buildings based on ZED building philosophy. The technical requirements of ZED building philosophy are indicatively presented in Figure 3 – Appendix section and can be categorized as follows: a) electrical generation; this is expected to be based on either Solar Panels or Micro Wind turbines (Zed Factory, Microgeneration 1), b) thermal generation; the most common tools for generating heat in buildings based on ZED philosophy are the following ones: ‘the solar collectors, the passive solar gain and the biomass boiler’ (Zed Factory, Microgeneration 1). Another important requirement regarding the development of ZED-friendly buildings is the use of ‘zero carbon components’ (Zed Factory, Microgeneration 2), i.e. of components consisted of materials which do not produce carbon or those which produce quite low level of carbon. The equipment/ components of a building based on ZED philosophy can be identified in Figure 3 – Appendix. In any case the ZED technical standards can be differentiated – being influenced by the needs and the characteristics of each building project but also by the resources available for its completion. An indicative example is the Vertical Axis Wind Turbine (see Figure 4, Appendix), which can be used instead of common wind turbines where the direction of the wind is not ‘consistent or standardized’ (Zed Factory, Microgeneration 9). The potential use of Vertical Axis Wind Turbine in practice can be identified in the block of buildings presented in Figure 4a, Appendix. Moreover, it is possible that common components of ZED-framework are combined in order to meet the requirements of a particular building – as for example in the use of an energy system based simultaneously on the solar and the wind energy (see Figure 5, Appendix). Apart from the issues discussed above, there is another important criterion for the success of a ZED-friendly building: that the material used is appropriate in regard to the particular location (Groat 2002, 3). This problem is resolved using a series of standards – known as ZED standards – which indicate whether a particular technology or methodology will be successful in a building based on ZED philosophy. ZED standards can be also used in order to understand the needs of homeowners – referring to a building constructed using the ZED philosophy – in terms of food and water. After estimating these needs of homeowners but also their access to relevant supplies and facilities, then the ZED components required for a particular construction project can be decided. This process is indicatively presented through the Figure 6, Appendix, where the number of homes per hectare is used as a criterion for deciding the needs of the area in terms of ZED building principles. 3. How ZED building philosophy is related to Energy efficiency policy ZED building philosophy – as described in previous section – is closely related to Energy Efficiency policy; however, the interaction between the above two schemes/ frameworks can be understood only through the detailed analysis of their elements. The principles of ZED building philosophy have been presented and analyzed in details in the section 2 above. The context of the energy efficiency policy should be also analytically presented aiming to identify the characteristics of the relationship between ZED principles and Energy efficiency criteria. The phrase ‘energy efficiency’ is used in order to show the potentials to locate the energy required for the operation of one or more construction or mechanical units without using common energy sources (for instance, petroleum, gas and electric power); energy efficiency may also have the sense of limitation of use of common energy sources through using alternative energy sources available in each case. The context of the ‘energy efficiency’ – as described above – can be understood through the measures suggested by the British Government (Department of Business Innovation and Skills, 2010); these measures include: ‘a) the elimination of unnecessary or redundant internal and external lighting, b) the installation of timers on lifts, c) the implementation of an “optimal core hours window” for heating and cooling, d) the installation of voltage reduction equipment and so on’ (British Government, Department of Business Innovation and Skills, 2010). The importance of energy efficiency as a framework for improving the management of available energy resources has been emphasized in the Energy White Paper of the British Government in 2003 (British Government, Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology, 2005); in the relevant report of the British Office of Science and Technology (in 2005) it is noted that despite the fact that the level of family income spent on energy has been reduced (from 6.3% in 1970 to 2.9% in 2001), still the amount of energy spent by households and commercial/ industrial units across Britain has been increased (British Government, Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology, 2005). It is made clear that ‘energy efficiency’ is a term similar to energy saving. The context of the term ‘energy efficiency’ can be used for explaining its relationship with the ZED building philosophy. As noted above, in section 2, the reduction of energy used for the operation/ maintenance of buildings is the key aim of ZED building philosophy. Therefore, the use of ZED building principles is necessary in order for the energy efficiency of buildings to be increased – or else, for the energy consumption in buildings to be decreased; in this way, the pollution caused to the environment through these buildings’ activities would be also reduced. In other words, ZED philosophy supports energy efficiency and helps to the limitation of the environmental pollution – referring especially to the pollution caused because of buildings’ operations. The above assumption is verified by a report published by the Building Research Establishment (BRE) in 2010; in the relevant report it is noted that ‘almost one third of UK carbon emissions are from housing’ (BRE, 2010). It is suggested that new buildings should be based on sustainability standards – in order for the carbon emissions from housing would be reduced (BRE, 2010). The emergent need for the development of ZED building philosophy – as a framework for increasing the energy efficiency of buildings – is revealed through the report published by the Carbon Trust in 2010; in accordance with this report, the British government has introduced a series of measures in order to ensure the elimination of carbon emissions ‘from houses by 2016 and new commercial buildings by 2019’ (Carbon Trust, 2010). ZED building principles could help to the achievement of the above target; however, it would be necessary for the relevant procedure to be carefully designed and monitored. 4. Why ZED is becoming one of the most important architecture trend Despite the difficulties related to the application of the ZED building principles, the development of the ZED trend has been rapid mostly because of the following reason: the need for the protection of the environment has been made clear to individuals worldwide. Agreements, like the Kyoto Protocol, promoted by governments worldwide prove that the protection of the environment is among the priorities of governors of both the developed and the developing countries (World Energy Council, 2010, sec.1.2). Under these terms, the promotion of the ZED building philosophy through the architectural plans developed worldwide is continuously increased. The above phenomenon has been also supported by the following fact: the introduction of ZED-related building rules and principles in architectural plans has become more feasible due to the limitation of the relevant costs. In fact, ZED principles are not necessarily promoted through complex and expensive plans; they can be equally supported just by applying simple energy-saving practices – even if this practice does not lead to the full incorporation of ZED philosophy in a building project (BedZED, Eco-Community, 2011). In this way, the incorporation of sustainable practices – including ZED-related building principles – in architectural plans has become less costly, a fact that allowed the increase of such initiatives. Another fact that has helped towards the promotion of ZED philosophy is the following one: ZED building principles are characterized by an holistic view regarding the use and the scope of buildings; in other words, in the context of ZED philosophy a building is considered as an entity with a particular role: the promotion of a series of environment-friendly practices aiming to control the negative effects of human activities (especially of construction projects) on the environment (ZED factory, ZED standards, 2011). At the next level, the ZED philosophy offers a unique method for using energy resources when developing various building activities; the correlation of the various ZED principles with the environment are made clear in the ZED wheel which represents the major principles of ZED philosophy (see Figure 1, Appendix). There is no other scheme that can lead to the achievement of similar benefits, i.e. to the alignment of building practices with the environmental characteristics of each site. For this reason, ZED philosophy has been widely expanded in building projects internationally. In accordance with the issues analyzed above, the ZED philosophy is closely related to the environment; more specifically, this philosophy can be characterized as a methodology for achieving the highest performance of existing (natural) energy resources. Through this point of view, it is the high value of ZED philosophy for the environment that makes this trend so popular in modern architecture. This fact is highlighted in a report published by ZED factory – a leading firm in the specific field. In accordance with the specific report ZED philosophy can lead to the radical reduction of the energy required for the development of building projects – and the following support of various activities within the buildings constructed (ZED factory, Load Reduction, 2011). Moreover, the ZED principles used in each building site can be quite flexible – in accordance with the characteristics and the scope of each building project, as explained below (ZED Factory, Analysis, 2011). Apart from the most obvious advantages of ZED building philosophy, there are also certain other benefits for which the particular philosophy has been expanded globally; these benefits include: ‘the sense of community, the innovative design of the buildings following this philosophy but also the sense of well-being – referring to quietness, quality of light and the feeling of space – for the people living in buildings which are based on ZED principles of building’ (PeaBody Organization, UK, 2009, 9). All the above facts have led to the expansion of ZED philosophy in building projects of various types worldwide. 5. How buildings benefit from ZED building philosphy? The use of ZED building principles in a particular building project results to a series of benefits for the building involved. The expected benefits of ZED philosophy for buildings based on it can be estimated by studying the performance of ZED building principles in the case of BedZED eco-village. The specific building project was completed in 2002 – as already noted previously; in 2009, i.e. seven years after its completion, the actual benefits of ZED philosophy for the buildings involved were identified – as possible – and evaluated. It was proved – through a series of interviews conducted with the howeowners – that ‘BedZED households use 2,579 kWh of electricity per year which is 45% lower than the average in Sutton’ (PeaBody Organization, UK, 2009, 9). Water consumption is also expected to be lower in buildings based on ZED philosophy. In other words, the expenses of households in buildings based on ZED philosophy are less compared to those of households in conventional buildings. Other benefits of the buildings based on the ZED philosophy would include the following ones: a) quietness – because of the existence of separate units/ structure of buildings, b) space availability – in buildings based on ZED philosophy the high availability of open space is one of the key advantages – space in this case is used for increasing the energy efficiency of buildings, c) quality of material; usually, the components used in ZED – based buildings are carefully tested – in terms of their appropriateness for the particular location/ use. For this reason, the overall quality of the relevant construction projects is positively affected – a fact increasing also the value of the buildings both in the short and the long term. From a similar point of view, the cost of maintenance of buildings based on ZED technology is expected to be lower compared to that of buildings constructed using the conventional methods of construction. 6. Conclusion In accordance with the issues discussed above, ZED philosophy offers a wide range of benefits to the owners of buildings constructed using the ZED building principles. Moreover, it has been made clear that the effectiveness of ZED philosophy is depended on the strict application of its rules; otherwise, the risks for failures are quite high. This fact cannot lead to the assumption that ZED philosophy leads to inflexible plans – on the contrary; there are alternative schemes and components available to individual who wish to use ZED building principles when developing their building. One of the key achievements of ZED philosophy is that it has managed to promote sustainability in regions with different geographical and economic characteristics (Gregory 2008). However, the specific framework has also certain challenges to face: the problem of noise in buildings based on ZED building principles has not been eliminated; moreover, in these buildings there is often the sense of lack of occupant control (due to the exclusive control of these buildings by appropriately customized computerized systems) (Edwards 2010, 205); overheating is also another problem that tends to appear in buildings based on ZED philosophy. In the future, existing ZED building principles need to be updated in order for their failures – as indicatively described above – to be eliminated. Reference is made not only to the materials used in the relevant projects but also to the processes followed for the development of construction plans in accordance with the ZED building principles. References BEDZed – Eco Community, 2011, Energy Saving Secrets, available at http://www.energysavingsecrets.co.uk/bedzed-the-uks-biggest-eco-community.html [Last accessed on 7/1/2011] British Government, Department for Business Innovation and Skills, 2011, Energy Efficiency, available at http://www.bis.gov.uk/transparency/energy [Last accessed on 7/1/2011] Building Research Establishment (BRE), 2010, Project: Towards zero (T-zero) emission refurbishment options in UK housing, available at http://www.bre.co.uk/page.jsp?id=825 [Last accessed on 7/1/2011] Carbon Trust, 2010, Buildings Policy, available at http://www.carbontrust.co.uk/policy-legislation/Business-Public-Sector/Pages/building-regulations.aspx [Last accessed on 7/1/2011] Dunster, B., Simmons, C. & Gilbert, B. (2008) The Zedbook. New york:Taylor & Francis. Gregory,R (2008) Key Contemporary Buildings,plans, sections and elevation.New york:W.W. Norton & Company Groat,Linda N. (2002) Architectural Research Methods. 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Natural Home Magazine, 2009, Green Architecture Spotlight: Beddington Zero-Energy Development, available at http://www.naturalhomemagazine.com/Leafy-Greens/Green-Architecture-Spotlight-Beddington-Zero-Energy-Development.aspx [Last accessed on 7/1/2011] Parliament, Britain, Office of Science and Technology, October 2005, Household Energy Efficiency, available at http://www.parliament.uk/documents/post/postpn249.pdf [Last accessed on 7/1/2011] Peabody Organization, UK, 2009, BedZED Seven Years on, available at http://www.rudi.net/system/files/paper/optional_file/BedZEDsevenyearson_lowres(2).pdf [Last accessed on 7/1/2011] Sustainable Cities, 2008, The case of BedZED, available at http://sustainablecities.dk/en/city-projects/cases/bedzed-promoting-green-living [Last accessed on 7/1/2011] The Telegraph, 26 December 2010, Environment preview of 2011, available at http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/environment/8221049/Environment-preview-of-2011.html [Last accessed on 7/1/2011] World Energy Council, 2011, Energy Efficiency Policies around the World: Review and Evaluation, available at http://www.worldenergy.org/publications/energy_efficiency_policies_around_the_world_review_and_evaluation/1166.asp [Last accessed on 7/1/2011] ZED Factory, 2011, available at http://www.zedfactory.com/ [Last accessed on 7/1/2011] Appendix Figure 1 – The ZED wheel (Source: ZED Factory, Philosophy, 2011, p.1) Figure 2 – The ZED building philosophy in practice, the eco-village BedZED (Source: Sustainable Cities, 2008) Figure 3 – Technical Requirements of buildings based on ZED building philosophy (Source: ZED Factory, Microgeneration, 2) Figure 4 – Vertical Axis Wind Turbine (Source: Zed Factory, Microgeneration 9) Figure 4a - Vertical Axis Wind Turbine in practice – established between the buildings (Source: Zed Factory, Microgeneration 9) Figure 5 – Energy system based on both the solar and the wind energy (Source: Zed Factory, Microgeneration 10) RuralZED (detached) 15 homes/ha RuralZED (semi) 15 to 35 omes/ha Rural ZED (Terrace) 35 to 75 homes/ha Live/work ZED 75 to 120 homes/ha Urban ZED (to 6 storeys) 120 to 240 homes/ha City ZED (SkyZED) 120 to 240 homes/ha Figure 6 – ZED standards, number of homes per hectare (Source: ZED Factory, ZED standards, 4) Read More