لخّصلي

Soar Island is a brownfield with existing structures whose sustainability characteristics should be evaluated for their possible disassembly harnessing in order to source sustainable materials such as steel and concrete for the proposed construction. This will reduce the embodied carbon considerably. The full potentialities for massing and orientation of the building with an azimuth that ensures maximum passive heating and cooling will go a long way in meeting the building’s energy demand throughout its life cycle with a significant reduction in reliance on orthodox HVAC systems.
This will go a long way in reducing on-site operational carbon in the building’s life cycle. Sustainable and energy-efficient buildings should be planned and designed for maximum passive energy gain and reuse and recycling so that the building will exceed its design life. Planning and design should incorporate green principles in the conceptual stages of a building and the consequent construction materials, construction methods and finishing will have sustainability and energy efficiency specifications so that the contractor can produce a zero-carbon building that satisfies the requirements spelt out by UK regulatory authorities.
The possibility of achieving zero carbon during winter without relying on HVAC systems is a cause for concern because solar energy is very scarce during the day and it will be difficult to a significant extent to rely on passive heating and even daylighting to operate a building especially a place of public gathering. It has been observed that many buildings switch off their HVAC systems during a period of hours during the day to save energy demand costs and probably to achieve zero-carbon emissions without consideration for the health and well-being of the occupants.
On the other hand, if some workers in the building are asked to work from home or visitors to the proposed centre are requested to visit digitally during winter, the fact still remains that energy will be lost in homes and saved in the building and the overall goal of attaining zero-carbon sustains as an ambitious to a greater extent.
The use of an onsite solar power generation system during winter, when the radiation of the sun is insignificant will require designing for more than the required number of panels for summer when the panels receive maximum radiation from the sun. This situation calls for a huge investment in solar panels as the winter conditions significantly control design output.
The use of appropriate glazing with articulated positioning will help in maximising passive heating in the building. Traditional materials such as steel and concrete are reusable and recyclable but steel is likely to corrode faster in a marine environment such as Soar Island. It is hereby recommended that steel stanchions should be encased with concrete and steel beams be adequately coated and obscured with suspended ceilings which are made with green materials.
Structural frames, which have a great potential for reuse and recycling should be bolted at joints instead of being welded so that the structure will be easily disassembled at the expiration of the building’s life-cycle for reuse or recycling. Design for demolition/disassembly approaches is very important in developing a sustainable architecture project.
The site could produce its potable water without depending on public water supply by drilling an industrial borehole from its groundwater resources. Rainwater harvesting is also a possibility. On-site water and wastewater treatment systems could be built to treat these resources. The least water consuming plants, which depends largely on rainfalls and cold climate situations should be explored for landscaping purposes.
The facility management of the building should be automated so that passive heating opportunities will be maximised even when the managers are not present in the building. The building should be designed to make the most of the little sunshine available during winter. Investment in HVAC systems should be minimised and efforts should be geared towards sustainable passive strategies that will support energy efficiency.