Environmental Design for Architecture

Department of Architecture Arch. Yasmine Soudi

Sustainable Sites

References:
1. Ching, F. and Shapiro, I. 2014. Green Building Illustrated. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
2. Jordan Green Building Council. 2017. Your Guide to Green Buildings in Jordan Booklet.
3. Razem, M., and Abu Dayyeh, A. 2018. Green Buildings in Jordan: Applying LEED to Aqel Residence.
Measuring and rating sustainability and environmental
performance of buildings are in the following areas:
o Management
o Health and well-being
o Sustainable sites o Energy
o Water efficiency o Transport
o Energy and atmosphere o Land use and ecology
o Indoor environmental quality o Water
o Innovation in operation and regional priority o Material
o Materials and resources o Waste
o Pollution

o Sustainable sites
o Water efficiency
o Renewable energy o Sustainable sites
o Lighting o Water use efficiency;
o Heating, cooling and ventilation o Indoor environmental quality
o External atmosphere o Impact on the atmosphere, materials and resources
o Materials o Construction and operations plans
Sustainable Sites

• Proximity to existing infrastructure, and means of transportation.

Site location • Select previously developed sites, and encourage density and diversity
• Avoid and protect natural areas and sensitive sites
• Protect surrounding environment and human health.
Pollution • Avoid construction material disposal on streets.
• All safety standards must be implemented on site
Site management • A minimum of 15% of land area must be planted.
and design • Preserve habitat and wetlands, and minimizing construction waste

Rainwater • Rain water harvesting.

management
• 50% of roof should be: light coloured, planted, and a minimum solar
Heat island effect reflection index of 0.7.

• Reduce escape of interior lighting

Lighting pollution • Control exterior lighting
A green building should respect the site within
the context among different scales:

• Selection of building site

• Urban design of the site
• Landscape design

This can:
- achieve conservation of resources,
- increase performance efficiency,
- save cost.
Integrated Design Process
How to achieve Sustainable Sites
Strategies to Choose a Smart Location (Building Site):

• Locate near services (relative to schools, workplaces,

and community centers)
• Locate near transportation
• Ensure access to infrastructure
Strategies to Encourage Density & Diversity

• Create compact development

• Select previously developed sites
• Provide proximity to diverse services
• Provide a diversity of housing types
Strategies to Create Accessibility

• Ensure walkability
• Design dense street grids
• Provide access to recreational spaces
Strategies to Transportation
• Integrated and multimodal street network
• Pedestrian path
• Bicycle path
• Roadway pavement and Parking sitting -minimization Multimodal Streets Serve More People

• Hybrid cars / Electric transport

• Preferred parking, which is a benefit for employees who share the ride
to work, in which they have access to special parking spaces. Carpool
and/or vanpool-only parking spaces can be designated in premier
locations within parking deck, such as near the building entrance or in
a covered area.
Strategies to Protect Natural Areas and Features

• Avoid impacts on sensitive habitat

• Protected buffers
• Avoid floods
• Avoid steep slopes
• Protection of sensitive sites:
give priority to protecting sensitive sites,
which are generally governed by federal
statute or regulation and typically include
such areas as prime farmland, parkland,
flood hazard areas, habitat for endangered
or threatened species, old-growth forests,
wetlands, other water bodies, and
conservation areas.
• Limiting site disturbances on
greenfield sites
• Protect existing soil conditions.
Strategies include: retaining
soils in place, reusing soils,
restoring soils disturbed during
construction, revegetation of
disturbed and restored soils,
prevent soil runoff or wind
erosion during construction
Strategies to Preserve Habitats & Wetlands

• Use native and adapted plantings

• Protect the majority of the site
• Limit site disturbance
Strategies to Protect Surface Water

• Manage storm water

• Use Best Management Practices (BMPs)
• Reduce run-off of soil
Heat Island Effect
Heat islands are created by the elevated
temperatures from buildings and
hardscape, particularly in urban areas.
This can affect a community in several
ways:
• Increased energy consumption for
cooling during the summer can elevate
emissions of air pollutants and
greenhouse gases, and promote the
formation of ground-level ozone.
• The heated runoff from storm sewers
can raise the water temperatures of
streams, rivers, ponds, and lakes,
stressing aquatic ecosystems.
Strategies to Reduce Heat Island Effect

• Reduce heating from

rooftops, using light-
colored roofing, having a
high solar reflectance and
installing green roofs.
• Reduce heating from
hardscape, including paving
with non-heat-absorbing
materials, planting trees
and vegetation to shade
parking surfaces and other
hardscape.
Strategies to Landscape Design

• Use of native plants that are drought-resistant

• Limitation of site impact (preserve and protect existing
vegetation, plants)
• Use of recycled material/rubble for backfill drain
• Use water-conserving landscape technologies
Strategies to Reduce Light Pollution
Light pollution is the introduction of
artificial light into the outdoor
environment.
• Reduce escape of interior lighting
• Control exterior lighting, using pole
mounted lighting instead of wall-
mounted lighting; locating outdoor
amenities, such as parking and
outbuildings, closer together and nearer
to the main buildings they serve;
designing lower levels of lighting and
eliminating up-lighting; and specifying
such controls as motion sensors that
keep exterior lights off most of the time.
Night lighting can impact the outdoor environment
Strategies to Protect Human Health

• Use green cleaning for exteriors

• Avoid toxic paints and sealants
• Institute integrated pest management
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6N-rPTJVk80
Strategies to Infrastructure Efficiency

• Water supply and use

• Waste water collection
• Electrical network
• Rain drainage
• Street lighting
• Traffic signalization
Strategies to Solid Waste
Management
Site waste includes debris such as
rocks, soil, and vegetation.
• Reusing materials onsite and
recycling remains offsite.
• Hazardous remains need to be
handled in an environmentally
sensitive manner.
Sustainable Sites Synergies

• Site design helps orient

buildings to maximize
energy efficiency.
• Use reflective and shading
surfaces to reduce energy
consumption.
LEED has developed a green rating
system for neighborhoods, as an
extension to the assessment of
community and site, which addressed a
variety of green features, such as:

• Smart growth, which focuses on

community-centered sustainable
development
• Compactness
• Connectivity
• Walkable streets
The LEED Rating System for Neighborhood Development
integrates principles of smart growth, urbanism, and green
building.
 The Green Building Pioneers in
Jordan
Source: Jordan Green Building Council. 2017. Your Guide to Green
Buildings in Jordan Booklet.

LEED Certification Levels

Embassy of the Kingdom of
the Netherland

• Location: Abdoun, Amman

• Total built-up area: 1,185 m2
• Designer: Consolidated
Consultants Group
• Year completed: 2010
Sustainable Site

1. Identifying areas of construction work to the limits of the existing building to minimize the
adverse effects of construction and demolition.

2. Using a water harvesting system.

3. Increasing the percentage of open spaces in the site to more than 45%.
4. The site is close to a number of public services.

5. Reducing the impact of urban thermal islands by covering parking spaces, shaded outer
spaces and using tiling materials with high solar reflection index.

6. Using the external wall of the building as background for climber plants growth that provides
shading for a part of the site.

7. Planting new shading trees.

UN World Health Organization (WHO)
Headquarters Building

• Location: Princess Basma Street, Amman

• Total built-up area: 3,900 m2
• Designer: Engicon Consultants
• Year completed: 2015
Sustainable Site

1. Located in a commercial and urban area, close to public and private transportation systems.
2. Secured bicycle racks – for 5% of full time occupants.
3. Car & van pools – 1 car pool and 1 van pool near basement entrance.
4. Low emitting vehicles LEV and fuel efficient vehicles FEV dedicated parking spaces.
5. Covered parking spaces – 50% of parking spaces placed under cover and under building and
light composite material of efficient solar reflectance index (SRI) were provided for outdoor
parking spaces.
6. Minimal paved areas allowed for 50% of the site to be restored with native vegetation.
Middle East Insurance
Company Building

• Location: Zahran Street,

Amman
• Total built-up area: 25,717 m2
• Designer: Faris Bagaeen
• Year completed: 2014
Sustainable Site
1. Located along Zahran street, a vital and well connected street.

2. Provided underground parking for 250 cars.

3. Landscape used appropriate indigenous plants that use

minimum amounts of water to create lush and colorful green areas
around the building.
Arab Technical Group
ATG Headquarter Building

• Location: Wasfi Al Tal Street,

Amman
• Total built-up area: 5,000 m2
• Designer: Tha’er Quba’ah
• Year completed: 2008
Sustainable Site

1. Building was already located in an urban

context, serviced by public transportation
networks.
The EDGO Atrium
Building

• Location: Abdali, Amman

• Total built-up area: 14,343 m2
• Designer: Maisam
• Year completed: 2014
Sustainable Site

1. Developed on a previously developed site (Abdali

project site), which is well connected with basic
amenities and public transportation.

2. Bicycle racks and showers/ changing facilities are

provided for those commuting to the building by bike.

3. Preferred parking spaces for low-emitting, fuel

efficient vehicles and carpools are provided.

4. All parking spaces are provided underground to

mitigate heat island effect.

5. An open-air garden on the roof of the Edgo Atrium,

the SkyGarden, will be shortly completed, giving
residents of the building space to enjoy fresh air and a
spectacular view of the Amman skyline.
Amman Baccalaureate
School ABS (Randa Kawar IB
College Building)
• Location: Al Hijaz Street, Dabouq,
Amman
• Total built-up area: 4,354 m2
• Designer: Tahhan and Bushnaq
• Year completed: 2016
Sustainable Site
1. Native adaptive species for vegetation which gets
irrigated by treated grey water.

2. Pollution reduction from automobile use through

provision of preferred parking spaces of LEV and Car/Van
pool and bicycle.

3. School bus facility for students and bicycle storage

with change facility for staff use.
Omni Trade
New Building

• Location: Sweifieh, Amman

• Total built-up area: 8,638 m2
• Designer: Ruqn Al Handasah
• Year completed: 2015
Sustainable Site

1. Located in a vibrant urban area, well linked to

public transportation and services.

2. Bicycle storage facility provided.

3. All parking spaces were underground or

covered.

4. Preferred parking for LE and FE (low emitting

and fuel efficient) vehicles.

5. Preferred parking for carpooling.

6. Roof material with high solar reflective index to minimize heat island effect.

7. Drought resistance plants installed on the roof and outside the building.

8. Erosion and sedimentation control plan that conforms to 2003 EPA construction general permit.
Aqaba Residence
Energy Efficiency (AREE)

• Location: 9th District, Aqaba

• Total built-up area: 420 m2
• Designer: Florentine Visser
(Netherlands)
• Year completed: 2008
Sustainable Site

1. Built in close proximity to both;

existing infrastructure and
transportation routes.
Al-Kamalyyah
Residence

• Location: Kamalyyeh, Amman

• Total built-up area: 645 m2
• Designer: Dr Ayoub Abu Dayyeh
• Year completed: 2010
Sustainable Site
1. Site included a heritage building (over 80 years old), which was
rehabilitated during construction.

2. All trees taken out during construction were re-planted and

sustained, with only one out of the 16 trees not surviving after
being re-planted.

3. Three gardens; the first one is natural and left wild to host
hibernating seeds (no pesticides / irrigation), the second is planted
with native trees watered by treated grey water, and the third is
planted with native fruit trees (fig, apple, apricot, grapes,…) that are
watered by collected rain water in addition to drought resistant
flowers other native plants such as oregano, lavender and herbs.