Analysis of the Sustainable Project in Barcelona - Research Paper Example

Task Sustainability Project Spain Sustainability means achieving current needs without concession in achieving the needs for the upcoming generations. In planning considerable efforts are made to incorporate conservation futures into building designs. Construction of a building has enormous impacts on the local environment through the various human activities involved in the construction of a building. The local ecology has largely been changing over time, due to the influx of buildings. The architects have accepted the fact that their activities have appreciably affected environment and are working towards better designs that preserve the environment. This has lead to use of sustainable designs whose goals are to expose architectural solutions that guarantee the coexistence of inorganic and living organisms. Conceptual framework informs architects on the various ways to meet the goal of sustainable designs. In undertaking sustainable projects, three principles are used. The first principle aims at economizing on the resources for the architects to reduce the use of the non-renewable materials in the establishment and operation of the building. In a construction site, materials continuously flow in and out of the building. The flow incorporates the movement of materials from the industries that provide the building materials throughout the life span of the building to get a good nature that support continuation of humans as well as their activities. The second principle is the life cycle model has the support on the usefulness of resources where resources are useful depending on the area of application. The third concept of sustainable design is the humane design probably the most important of all three principles. The concept has an emphasis on the respect towards other living organisms within the ecosystem and these include plants and animals. The other two principles are not considered highly valuable in comparison to the humane design idea because they require more on the efficiency and conservation than on the ecosystem. The paper will discuss the sustainability project in Spain and the various features of the building and standards instituted by the Spanish building standards as well as the importance of sustainability in construction. In the sustainable project, in Barcelona, the building standards have to be taken into consideration, and these standards have an emphasis on the protection of the ecosystem. The standards include the energy standards, which have elevated Spain to higher grounds in terms of solar energy all over Europe. The building designs should take into account various issues such as insulation, air circulation solar radiation exposure and climatic conditions. The finest materials should be used to reduce energy gain or loss. The thermal facilities should have minimal energy efficiency and a control system that controls the amount of light in correspondence to natural light and tenure should be installed. In certain houses, photovoltaic system have to be introduced to modify the solar energy to electric power, which can then, be used in the building. The building design will also ensure zero emissions in all the three forms of matter. The zero emission is a latest model to provide sustainability in the construction. The paradigm sees waste as a resource that can be utilized in various ways. The model provides a solution to many problems regarding the waste which has become much more for the world to manage. The zero emission arises from the exploitation of renewable supply of energy within the building. In the design of the liquid building, these and many more considerations have been made by the lead architect Mohsen Marizad. The design is a bit of the Emergent Territories Course that is offered at the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (Grozdanic). Various elements were considered in the design of the building in preparation for the project undertaking. These elements include; the restrictions the provided by the building standards in Barcelona factors brought about by the project undertaking and the sustainability issues as discussed earlier (Grozdanic). Sustainability is the driving force of the project; therefore, it should be the centre bolt towards the entire project (Grozdanic). According to the designer Mohsen, the original plan composed of flower-like fundamentals that had the ability to interrelate with the casing system. The flower like part of the building was to serve as the gutter or shower collectors, as well as the reinforcements to the structures within the building. The delicate skin systems had the ability to counter the various environmental changes within the ecosystem. The roofing skin has small openings required for adaptation to changes in the seasons (Grozdanic). In Spain, weather revolves around the chilly, dry winters and the damp, hot summers. These openings were developed specifically for these two seasonal changes. A central courtyard got introduced within the building in an attempt to resolve the issue of shortage of light energy in the building (Grozdanic). The availability of natural light has immense influence on the sustainability within the building and as a recommendation by the building standards. The natural light will also be used in the generation of electrical energy by use of the photovoltaic gadgets. The generation of the electric energy by use of photovoltaic gadgets markedly contributes in the reduction of the costs in term of energy conservation and utilization. The building can only accommodate a third of the estimated population as well as the population, due to these numerous requirements. This has affected the dissemination of roles as well as the connecting of within the building. To gain a better interaction between the various levels within the building, structural units, and the common places, the ecological regions or areas have been skillfully situated within the building design. A sustainable design such as the Liquid Building is principally one of the most sculptural buildings around Europe. Based on an argument of fluidity, the Liquid Building is primarily a compilation of different parts, like bubbles in a cup (Grozdanic). Taking on a strata-like arrangement, these ‘bubbles’ drape toward each other to produce a delusion of a liquid, therefore, bringing out the name liquid building (Grozdanic). Certain elements, for example, fixed shading gadgets will help to adjust the amount of light entering the building. The devices have the ability to identify or are sensitive to changes for natural light in relation to solar, therefore, effecting adjustments with respect to time and the ratios of the light energies. The fixed shading gadgets also help in protecting people from the excess solar radiation in summer. Similar to most building in Spain, radiant ceilings are also used to allow the chilling and boiling devices to maintain high performance coefficients (Grozdanic). The low temperature margins are achieved with lesser operation requirements. This helps in regulating the humidity within the building, therefore, preventing the changing of warm, humid air to water on the cooler parts of the ceilings. An energy efficient, liquid sorption solution of lithium chloride is incorporated into the air aeration system to remove the humid air within the building. Solar panels are incorporated to assist in the heating of water for the various uses within the house. Today in the world, efficiency is a prime concern for most people. For improved rates of service and quality control, various construction companies have come up with different prefabricated building materials. These materials have significantly reduced the various risks associated with the use of materials of unknown composition as well as the time required to complete a construction work. The fabricated materials have a known composition and are lighter than the materials used earlier in the construction industry. The most commonly used prefabricated component for sustainable building projects is cork insulation as it is considered more eco-friendly than other natural materials. The water management system must be established and should be in a manner that ensures protection and sustainability. The water after gathering at the flower like structures has to be collected, and this is through tanks at the basements (Grozdanic). The collected water is treated using chemical and physical methods and then used in the toilets as well as the sprinkler in case a fire breaks in the building. The lighting uses the fluorescents that are electronic, and some may include sensors if used in certain areas. They assist in conservation of energy as they reduce the electrical energy use. With the humid summers in Spain, the best ventilation design has been to be put in place for effective ventilation within the whole building. The ventilation system has to be closed which must include a humidity removal solution of lithium chloride. The system provides proper air filtration, which is healthy as compared to most common ventilation systems. Heat exchangers are incorporated to warm the building in winter. The air from the building gets in the heat exchanger, and heat recovery occurs after which it is reused to heat the air that enters in to the building. Automated management systems get fitted within the building so as to provide free cooling helping to reduce energy use in the period when the weather is not extreme. The major advances in technology have substantially helped in the achievement of the sustainability project. In my opinion, the world should embrace the use of green architecture together with sustainability principles to ensure a better tomorrow for the present and generations to come. The use of such technological advances as evident in the construction of the building will ensure the creation of eco-cities that is the ultimate goal of most countries. The architects should continue with better innovation strategies that will encourage sustainability and even lead to more technological advances. This building has a far above the ground reproduction potential and by now serve up as a reference spot for further community buildings construction to set in motion for performance ahead of standard point in the standpoint of the Catalan Administration. The government has confirmed commitment to implementing sustainable measures in a public building. In the construction of sustainable buildings, the builders face numerous difficulties, but this challenge has no application to more innovative architects. Many ideas need to be incorporated into the construction from start to the end of the project. The greatest challenges vary in a different way depending on the various factors such as topography, type of building materials as well as the climatic conditions within a particular region (Grozdanic). Incorporating all these concepts into a project will certainly ensure the construction does not face further drawbacks. The world has done a lot of justice to the ecosystem in the realization of the leading role it plays in the lives of humans. The humans have the responsibility of making the world better for themselves as well for the other living creatures within the universe. This can only be achieved by incorporation of sustainability in their undertakings since human activities will never seize to existence. An assault to the ecosystem will only bring dire consequences to the human lives and their activities that may even cause death at its extremes. Work Cited Grozdanic, Lidija. Liquid Building is a self-sufficient atrium house in Barcelona / Mohsen Marizad. August 22, 2011. Web. Nov 12, 2011. Available at: Read More