ARCHITECTURE OF SOCIAL SUSTAINABILITY IN HIGH-RISE RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS

Research; By Rana Jaber 

Register Architect NSW, Australia.

Abstract

The architecture of Social Sustainability is a new concept that attempts to enhance development within an acceptable level of global resource depletion and environmental pollution. It is a building concept designed to foster balance between the individual and the collective, between the present and the future, among individuals within the building, and between occupants within a building and its surrounding communities. [1] Most developments seen today have adverse effects on the people and the environment. No time in history has the conscious effort and resolve of many men and women who labor daily to save and preserve what is left of our environment after a long period of abuse and misuse been more significant than now. In urban and regional development, designers have struggled to come up with building innovations and designs that keep up with the trend. They do this by designing structures that utilize less space for more people in an environmentally friendly perspective, using natural light for the interiors, passive cooling or passive heating for energy conservation. In other words, they have shifted their focus to a phenomenon that seeks to enhance the efficiency and moderation in the use of building materials, use of energy, and use of development space to help the environment.

Statement of the Problem

This research work is aimed to formulate a social sustainable architectural concept that; attempt to incorporate; 

modern technology, renewable energy sources, and efficient building materials to developing an eco-friendly high-rise residential building concept to finally solve the problems that high-rise residential buildings pose in urban areas due to population growth.

Specifically, this study would attempt to answer the following questions:

1. Are high-rise residential buildings playing the role of isolating people by changing their personalities? If so, how can they be corrected? 
2. How can modern equipment be used to maintain safety in high-rise residential buildings?
3. What are the fire risks, and how can unique fire safety problems and strategies for providing fire safety in high-rise apartment buildings be identified and solved?
4. How can modern high-rise residential buildings be designed to improve the changing lifestyle experienced in today’s world and encourage social interaction among residents and community members?
5. What is the best way to develop a wholesome design that would incorporate all the natural resources? Such as renewable energy, natural light, and heat (passive cooling and heating) to produce an energy-efficient eco-friendly high-rise residential structure that reduces the energy cost and pollution?

Significance of Study

The study will develop a design theory to fill the gap between technology and man’s quest for modern living in a high-rise. Thus, the research work would propose an architectural design concept that respects and improves man’s need for natural shelter by utilizing a completely different style in architectural design theory and concept to uplift man’s dignity. Through research and analysis, this work can make it easier for designers to come up with concepts that would enable man to live in safety and comfort with others in a large group without losing his privacy. The research will take cognizance of nature and the environment. Even in the use of energy design actual energy-efficient building and equip them with the needed energy sourced through renewable energy technology?

Methodology

This research will utilize the investigation method of gathering data of existing high-rise structures and thoroughly examining such data to discover :

 How far is social sustainability utilized in their design? It would further attempt to develop some concepts that would correct any discovered flaws if any were to be discovered. It would specifically look into the issues relating to the building structures, car park, noise pollution, water tank, security, swimming pool, gym facilities within the high-rise to determine the extent to which they would foster social interaction and sustainability. Identifications of these problems would enable the researcher to develop designs and suggestions that would apply to any high-rise residential building in any location subject to minor adjustments due to sensitivity to tradition, culture, location, and the environment.

Critical Literature Review

In his article “The Green Delusion”[2], which appeared in Architectural Review of August 28, 2012, Paschal Hartmann argued that the Chinese concept of ‘green architecture’ currently enforced for new building constructions holds the country back from true sustainability. In 2011, the urban population in China exceeded the rural population for the first time in history, with 691 million people now living in cities due to migration, thus putting pressure on the housing sector. It is estimated that this number would rise to one billion by 2030, with 221 Chinese cities having more than one million inhabitants, making it the largest urbanization project in history. These outcomes would shape the 21st century. Paschal Hartmann then stated that the Green building technology which China imposes to help with the exploding situation is not the answer to the present problem when design alone can make buildings up to 50 percent more energy efficient. He thinks that ‘good design should be at the heart of the architect’s professional philosophy and standard for all new buildings, regardless of fad or fashion of the time. 

In his book, Joo Hwa Bay and Boon-Lay Ong; Tropical Sustainable Architecture – Social and Environmental Dimensions[3], he tried to develop design strategies suitable for high-density cities living in tropical countries Considered social-cultural need and local environment prevalent there. He showed how imported skills and knowledge can be incorporated with the tropical regions' diverse local cultural traditions and lifestyles. He also showed the kind of comfort indices and environmental standards that can be suitably developed for the tropical conditions and lifestyles of the people living in tropical regions.

           In an article published in Science Direct entitled “Some Significant Environmental Issues in High-rise Residential Building Design in Urban Areas,” the author Jianlei Niu of the Department of Building Services Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hunghom, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China,[4] concluded that some the significant issues in high-rise residential building design in can be viewed as both problems and opportunities. He argued that high-density residential buildings can provide opportunities for the application of a more efficient centralized system and at the same time modifies the local microenvironment, which can be either favorable or unfavorable, depending on outdoor weather conditions. The challenge for designers and builders is to assess these impacts and consciously achieve a healthy and comfortable living environment with minimal use of energy for heating and cooling.[5] 

SOCIAL SUSTAINABILITY IN HIGH-RISE RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS 

Architectural sustainability as a new concept in the architecture of trying to enhance development within an acceptable level of global resource depletion and environmental pollution is fast gaining popularity in many countries where urban development is proceeding at a very fast rate. High-rise housing actually started appearing in the 1950s and 1960s as a solution to the post-war population boom and to the increasing number of people moving into already overpopulated urban areas.[6]  Today, this has shifted momentum because of the need to design structures that utilize less space for more people in an eco-friendly environment using natural light for the interiors, passive cooling, or passive heating for energy conservation. In other words, there is a shift in focus to enhance efficiency and moderation in the use of building materials, use of energy, and use of development space to help the environment. Architecture is an evolving art and science. This concept of change and incorporating technology in design concepts is not new in our society. It started at the turn of the twentieth century in what is considered today as modern architecture. One of the impetuses for developing research around tropical architecture lies in the historical origins of modernism in Europe and the US.[7] “From its early days, modern masters like Le Corbusier and Oscar Niemeyer understood that Modernism in architecture ought not to be transplanted globally without some recognition of its changed context.”[8]  In other words, applying the concept of tropical architecture designed for the countries of Asia in temperate countries such as Japan or South Korea must undergo some adjustments in the locality in order to work efficiently. Tradition, culture and the environment must play important roles. Other early modern architects of the Twentieth Century such as Walter Gropius, Le Corbusier, and Louis I. Kahn embraced and recognized technology as a transforming force for change in architectural designs and construction as well as in the formulation of architectural concepts. They envisioned designing the workplace buildings to serve as a comfortable environment for the workers - the kind that living residences offer. Evidence of this can be clearly seen in the celebrated modern architectural structures that transformed the workplace as reflected in the 1909 Turbine Hall in Berlin, Germany, of Peter Behrens in his attempt to give architectural dignity to a workplace; and Mies van der Rohe’s 1958 Seagram building in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, which have been depicted as a masterpiece of corporate modernism.

Conclusion

The architecture of Social Sustainability as a new concept in architecture as an attempt to enhance development within an acceptable level of global resource depletion and environmental pollution fosters balance between the individual and the collective, between the present and the future, among individuals within the building, and between occupants within a building and its surrounding communities. It is an effort to arrest the housing shortage of ballooning hosing problems in big cities using modern technology and design concepts that are eco-friendly and sustainable.

  [1] Christina Bollo. Social Sustainability defined for Architecture. 

Architects/Designers/Planners for Social Responsibility. Fri May 18, 2012 @ 05:30PM. Activated November 10, 2012. http://www.adpsr.org/blog/entry/3194283/social-sustainability-defined-for-architecture

[2] Paschal Hartmann. THE GREEN DELUSION - Architectural Review. August 28 2012

[3] Joo Hwa Bay and Boon-Lay Ong. Tropical Sustainable Architecture – Social and Environmantal Dimensions, Burlington, Massachusetts 2006

[4] Jianlei Niu. Department of Building Services Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hunghom, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China. “Some Significant Environmental Issues in High-rise Residential Building Design in Urban Areas” Science Direct. Received March 31 2003; accepted July 26 2003

[5] FX Teddy Badai Samodra. Senvar 12th. Thermoacoustic Analysis for City Terrain Roughness of Warm Humid Climate. http://www.its.ac.id/personal/files/pub/4301-fxteddybs-arch-SENVAR2011_FULLPAPER_01.pdf

[6] BETA – International Debate Education Association. Activated November 9, 2012. http://idebate.org/debatabase/debates/politics-economics/house-would-build-high-rises-housing

[7] Joo Hwa Bay and Boon-Lay Ong. Tropical Sustainable Architecture – Social and Environmantal Dimensions, Burlington, Massachusetts 2006

[8] Joo Hwa Bay and Boon-Lay Ong. Tropical Sustainable Architecture – Social and Environmantal Dimensions. Page 2 Burlington, Massachusetts 2006