What makes a building 'Green'?Discuss the role of the architect in the development of sustainable and environmentally appropriate buildings and living space for the future. Architecture that rises naturally from the land and uses materials to create a harmonious relationship with the surroundings satisfies a deeper level of human sensibility and has the potential to lead to greater level of human comfort, environmental awareness, and social interaction.Building activities have undergone tremendous changes in terms of design, features, landscaping and aesthetics. The concerns for energy and environment coupled with the advent of new technologies have opened up new dimensions and approach ...view middle of the document...
The final product is usually non-paintable, but does offer a lifetime free maintenance. Some radical climatic changes over time may stress the material to failure at the joints allowing water penetration, though it is rare with quality manufacturers.AluminumA metal commonly used in cookware for its thermal conductivity and in airplanes for its strength to weight properties, it features lifetime free maintenance, but usually cannot be painted. Over the course of many years aluminum will oxidize leaving a dull pitted appearance. If not well insulated with a thermal break, it is very cold to the touch in winter and hot in summer.Beyond the framing material one has a wide selection of glazing or glass combinations to fill the sash or window panels. Once the standard, single pane glass is usually available only as an option, whereas double pain insulated glass is the norm.Under very harsh environments triple glaze glass is available. What material or substance placed between the panels differentiates dual glazed window systems. With the injection of a noble gas like argon, xenon, or krypton between the panels, the conductive resistance of the window improves. Suspending a polyester film covered with a highly reflective material like silver further improves window performance. Sometimes the second glass panel (interior facing) is spayed with a special coating, called low-e*, which acts as a reflective interface.When ordering windows it is best to get the low-e coated windows or the suspended film type for greater seasonal comfort and energy savings.·Efficient Windows CollaborativeWindow VendorsThere are a great variety of specialty window manufactures both locally and internationally. For a large selection of materials and types look at these vendors.Marvin WindowsA manufacturer of both stock and custom windows at competitive prices.Andersen WindowsThe United States largest manufacturer of windows, featuring maintenance free vinyl cladding on most windows.Hurd WindowsThis vendor offers stock windows with high performance suspended film for super window performance.Velux WindowsSpecializes in skylights and skylight flashing. Excellent windows for natural lighting.(*) Note: Low-e (e for emissivity) describes the material's ability to discharge radiative energy. The percentage emissivity plus reflectivity equal one, so with a low percentage emissivity (e), reflectivity is very high.Energy Efficient Lighting (Lamps)The world of lighting systems serves a wide variety of situations and categories. A typical installation will include many lamp types including HID, low and high pressure sodium, mercury vapor, metal halide, halogen, and fluorescent lamps. There are many lighting vendors, but only a few specialize in efficient lamping. As a primer to lamping terminology:Light output is measured in lumens. A light source has both a color temperature, those color tones which the light amplifies (cool, warm, etc.) and a color rendering index (CRI) or...
