Certainly one of our tasks as architects is to grasp tips on how to implement methods into our designs that think about the individuals who inhabit the areas, our pure useful resource consumption, and making certain these initiatives are worthwhile. All of this may be achieved via three predominant targets: Decreasing our carbon footprint, creating wholesome workplaces, and the design of environment-friendly and worthwhile buildings.
Decreasing our Carbon footprint
- The important thing query is which conceptual choices have the most important affect on our mission and the way can we obtain a sustainable mission with out costly add-ons later? Since buildings are answerable for half of the world vitality consumption and contribute with practically 40% of world greenhouse fuel emissions, our precedence have to be to chop CO2 emissions. The excellent news is {that a} important a part of our mission’s carbon footprint will be diminished at conceptual phases of design by implementing easy but clever architectural options.
Create wholesome workplaces
- Our well being is significantly influenced by the encompassing constructed atmosphere, and is the place we spend round 90% of our life. Our bodily and social atmosphere have greater affect on our well-being than, for instance, genetics, life-style and even the well being care system (1). Specializing in how we create more healthy environments in buildings is helpful as a result of people-oriented workplaces inspire their staff to do their greatest, and it will increase recruiting potential.
Design environment friendly and worthwhile buildings
- Optimizing revenue is equally vital. Larger revenue will be obtained by both reducing development and operational prices or growing developer’s revenue by creating larger worth.
Based mostly on my expertise with engaged on workplace buildings of various scales at TIBA Architect Studio, Budapest, this text evaluations ten key actions to enhance early design choices.
1. Cut back the quantity of structural supplies by optimizing a structural grid
A considerable amount of development supplies are used to construct the core and construction of the constructing itself. Usually occasions, these supplies, equivalent to metal and concrete, have a big environmental footprint (3). To instantly resolve for tactics to scale back the amount of those supplies used, there are completely different development methods that may be explored. For instance, choosing cantilevered slabs as a substitute of getting columns on the perimeter, leads to thinner flooring plates, saves edge beams and will increase the general span with the identical variety of columns. This resolution can save as a lot as 15% of structural materials and it additionally hastens development due to its less complicated geometry. Incorporating a column-free perimeter additionally gives loads of design alternatives to kind the constructing envelope’s geometry.
2. Cut back development supplies by flooring top choice
Ground slab top finally determines a constructing’s general top and the fabric amount required want for exterior cladding, construction and inside partition partitions. Interiors with uncovered ceilings simply adapt to tenant’s wants, and in a lot of the circumstances it’s potential so as to add larger clearance at workstations with out growing structural top. Seen MEP techniques give the sensation of spaciousness and an industrial, modern look. Eliminating dropped ceiling means instant materials financial savings within the inside and rationalizing flooring top can cut back exterior façade floor by 6-7%. This strategy additionally helps to scale back waste and sources sooner or later when the inside fit-out modifications.
3. Improve flexibility to scale back materials use sooner or later
One of the vital productive methods to chop down materials and embodied carbon is to design a constructing that may be simply tailored to completely different circumstances and future tenant eventualities. By getting ready for versatile flooring divisions with strategically positioned cores, adequately sized assist areas, and independently accessible tenant areas, constructing homeowners will save important prices and development time when it comes time to show over these areas.
4. Cut back operational vitality with a sustainable constructing envelope
For a high-performance sustainable constructing, it’s important to grasp tips on how to develop a design that reduces a constructing’s vitality consumption. One of many first steps within the pre-design phases is to discover the positioning’s photo voltaic orientation and develop a constructing kind primarily based on the outcomes of this examine. Additionally it is vital to discover a constructing’s materiality, and perceive how a lot glazing will likely be integrated as a way to consider warmth switch and photo voltaic acquire.
5. Design parking garages that may later be tailored for an alternate use
Sharing parking spots, offering bike and scooter storage, and creating privileged locations for automobile sharing are nice methods that profit each the design of a constructing and assist the atmosphere. There may be at present a lot emphasis being placed on exploring the truth of utilizing driverless automobiles, which signifies that as an entire, cities will finally want much less house for parking. As this concept grows, it will likely be vital for brand spanking new development of parking garages to think about the designs of those buildings and how they may sometime be outfitted with mechanical and electrical techniques and remodeled into a brand new program.
6. Cut back areas that don’t primarily function regular constructing operations
It’s elementary to attenuate service areas to save cash and keep away from pointless environmental affect. Decreasing vitality masses by Easy Field Modelling in early design part can simplify MEP techniques and cut back the realm devoted to them. Optimizing fireplace compartments and egress routes can be technique that may decrease the variety of individuals evacuating in a given route and decreasing the size of corridors and emergency stairs. Service zones are usually not a part of the leasable space; subsequently, this motion can even affect effectivity and the developer’s revenue.
7. Differentiate staircases and find them in the direction of the façade
Fireplace stairs usually are not sometimes closely designed and are sometimes situated within the corners of a constructing to maximise code necessities. We should differentiate vertical circulations by designing easy and small stairs solely for emergency, and creating enticing, spacious stairs for every day use to reinforce individuals’s bodily exercise. In each circumstances, it’s handy to maneuver them to the façade to maximise pure gentle and air flow.
8. Adapt design methods to make sure staff
One of the vital efficient design methods in a office is to power constructing customers to maneuver throughout their common working exercise, generally with out them even noticing it. By finding inside stairs in a extremely seen location and enhancing them with consumer expertise parts equivalent to paintings, lighting results, and vegetation, staff are extra doubtless to make use of them to maneuver from flooring to flooring. One other technique is so as to add centralized copy rooms, rubbish assortment factors and ingesting fountains that stimulate employees to face up, interrupt their sitting actions and encouraging them to maneuver across the workplace.
9. Improve communal areas and differentiate them from working zones.
Properly-designed communal areas are vital parts of recent workplace buildings. These areas assist staff loosen up throughout the busy day, encourage social interactions, enhance basic well-being, and foster effectivity. These areas needs to be faraway from typical office neighborhoods and given some sort of design differentiation that signifies that these are socializing zones.
10. Design and implement biophilic parts
It is crucial to carry the surface in by including massive home windows that each usher in pure gentle and supply high quality views. Buildings with deep flooring plates usually occasions separate staff from pure gentle, which can disrupt their circadian rhythm, and trigger different unfavourable well being unwanted effects. Designing a wide range of parts that incorporate vegetation can be key in making a wholesome office, since areas equivalent to inexperienced terraces are sometimes hubs of social exercise and reprise.
Design Credit:
RK60 multi-tenant workplace constructing, Budapest, invited competitors
TIBA Studio, Lead Architects: Balázs Beczner, Zoltán Király, Tamás Niczki
Design group: Zita Csányi, Áron Fekete, Gyula Végh, Zoltán Virágh, Márton Zádori
Startup workplace in Graphisoft Park, Budapest, invited competitors
TIBA Studio, Lead Architect: Tamás Niczki
Design group: Buzder-Lantos Zsófia, Kalászi Zoltán, Mester Anita
Kopaszi Tower, Budapest, invited competitors
TIBA Studio, Lead Architects: Viktória Honti, Tamás Niczki, János Tiba
Headquarters of Magyar Telekom and T-Methods Hungary, Budapest
TIBA Studio, Lead Architects: János Tiba, Viktória Honti, Flóra Kőszeghy, Melinda Matúz (Idea Design), Zoltán Király, Balázs Beczner, Viktória Honti, Tamás Niczki (Execution Design),
Communal Space interiors: STUDIO URBA and HD Group
Footnotes:
1- Supply: Worldwide Properly Constructing Institute.
2 – In keeping with the 3-30-300 mannequin, growing by 1% the constructing occupants’ efficiency has 100 occasions extra affect on the corporate’s income that having the identical effectivity development in vitality financial savings.
3 – Concrete accounts for 8%, the metal business round 5% of whole international carbon dioxide emissions.
4 – In keeping with the Harvard Alumni Well being Research, every day 3-5 flight-up can cut back by 29% the chance of getting stroke or different cardiovascular and coronary heart illnesses.