Published Oct 26, 2018
405 Pages
Genre: ARCHITECTURE / General
This Book covers the primary Design Methods, their principles and practices that have developed historically in both the Western and Eastern hemispheres in Architecture, Town Planning and Design. Separate chapters deal with differing methods subject matter under their broad headings. These are organized for reference and practical application purposes in a general sequence that allows cross referencing and informs later chapters. The primary concepts, principles, practices and lemma are accurately described with known issues critically discussed as information for the reader’s use. Dealing with historical development in each design subject, the current context of design use and its application, including references to recent developments in the subject’s specific field(s). This facilitates a broad range of design methods and choice to become generally available for the Designer that can be applied across a range of design problems. The methods coalesce in the later chapters which deal with the emerging twenty-first century issues presenting themselves, in Urbanization, Cities and Architectural design. The Author presents a concise and definitive factual presentation of the methods and the implications in the current context of our times while remaining critical of some of the obvious key concepts and issues that designers and communities face in real world practice. Many of these issues are immanent and concern Cites, Communities and Societies regionally and globally for which solutions need to be designed to facilitate real progress in twenty- first century living. The book is extensively illustrated with high quality design Architecture, Diagrams, Charts and Tables to expand and support the texts information and make the methods readily available for the designer’s future reference when undertaking specific projects. Design Methods in Architecture & Planning represents a more integrated approach to Design, Architecture, Town Planning and Urban design and is of use and interest to anyone concerned with design, the built environment, and twenty-first century living.
27. Environmental Impact. The concept of environment is twofold firstly it exists as something that is inhabited in the ecological sense as the sum of the physical, biological and chemical factors of an area or space. This is usually associated with life or organisms. Secondly in the visual arts it is primarily an English language concept. Made of three parts; 1. The all- embracing three-dimensional work of art evolved from Allan Kaprow 1958, Robert Rauschenburg and Jean Tinguely. 2. The Happening developed by Claus Oldenburg and Kaprow’s work in that area and 3. The application of visual art to embellish, or shape our surroundings. Consequently environmental art and design were spurned. This covered everything from landscape gardening to bus shelters and gave rise to the concept of environmental control or regulation in response to pollution. Consciousness of the environment has existed for a long time (sewerage being addressed by the Carthaginians) with peoples objecting to its degradation specifically with the rise of the English industrialized world and the apparent environmental pollution. Whereas in a less populated world people disposed of their waste in the available waterways and the impacts were minimal. Awareness became heightened by gains in scientific knowledge dealing with the environment spreading from farming technologies, biological life sciences and chemistry research. French historians of the Annales School present the first idea of the impact of the physical environment on civilizations to describe the long-term developments that shape human history. This coincides with the emergence of world history and the interdisciplinary scientific method. Following the American experience of colonization and the conservation movement environmental concepts were fueled in the 1960’s and 70’s in the Club of Rome, Limits to Growth, and Green Peace. This spurned environmental history which branched into green history, pollution and degradation and nature throughout history. The historical idea was that man through Christian doctrine from the middle ages had dominated over nature through the ages from God giving man the ability to transform nature and with this rested a power of determinacy over nature. Not since the seventeenth centuries destruction of the European environment, where nature was used at will and changed limitlessly, had the world witnessed such degradation as was presented in the 1960’s. It was that the European colonial migrations of some 50 million persons between 1850 and 1930, superimposing the European model on the new world and this quickly overwhelmed local ecosystems. The agricultural success caused the imperial colonial success. Farming with the continual clearing of land for agricultural and other purposes, having caused the ongoing degradation of habitat for all species. This degredation was heightened by the widespread adoption of cars and the impacts of the combustion engine. The US National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 arose from the recognition that development proposals can have negative impacts acting as externalities on the environment and also in the 1970’s in the UK legislation under Minister Heath, forming the Ministry of the Environment. This consequently burgeoned to encompass conservation and the use of natural resources in ecology for the benefit of mankind and the preservation of historical artifacts or biological systems. Noting the distinction between conservations implied use of resources as distinct from preservation. The regulatory system imposed a regime of approvals on the development and planning process. Signaling a shift in thought and practice from prior environmental exploitation to one of management. An EIA environmental impact assessment and EIS environmental impact statement is an assessment of the possible and projected impacts that a proposed project or development works may have on the environment. Consisting of, the existing and proposed outcome of the project’s environmental, economic, social and other relevant factors. The purpose being to ensure that designers, decision makers and effected stakeholders consider the environmental impacts when deciding whether or not to proceed with a project. Requiring consideration, inclusion and accounting for environmental parameters and values in the scheme and their decisions and to justify those decisions in terms of specific environmental studies and stakeholder or public comments on the proposal. Including, prediction, evaluation, and perceived adverse impact mitigation. The goals are accomplished generally by three means, technology and the application of science as in, seedling planting to avoid wind erosion, ownership as in, national parks, or by negative instruments imposing limits or quotas, as on emissions or fish catches. This is primarily a document based method for recording the basis and process of approval. The process contains several areas of conjecture based on the facts and these are often matters tested at law. Hence it inadvertently imposed a high cost legal process on development projects causing costly time delays and budget overruns. It is primarily an empirical documentation of expected impacts deduced scientifically or by the appropriate form of analysis to the aspect or issue of the design being tested. Statistical inference is used making general statements about a group or population of items on the basis of imperfect information where such does not exist and on the process of sampling. Which occur as generalizations about the population. Of the techniques of statistical inference the primary concern is the level of confidence that can be placed on the statements and the margin for error. This in economics and the environment places heavy reliance on probability theory which cannot measure unknowns or new variables in or that can arise, in the context of new works. This generally relies on and maintains old models and known solution sets as occurs in law for precedents. Indicating that Lawyers had framed it not professionals. The goal is to achieve positive impacts by modification of the design and reduce negative impacts to the externalities which will be of net - benefit to the community and the overall project outcome raises the stock of public goods. Positive impacts can include and are not limited to the environment: In habitat creation or maintenance, ecological and recreational benefits, adverse impact or disaster mitigation as with flooding, public space management of rainwater or effluent, minimization of public infrastructure costs and enhancement of services, heritage and conservation. The method is primarily a response to practical reductivism in its perceived and actual inadequacy of design used as a regulatory control by administrators. The concept of sustainability promoted by the green left also proposes a reduction in services and facilities in an attempt to minimize the proposed impacts. Disadvantaging design schemes in terms of services capacity or capability. Overall there is a tendency towards stagnation in technologies and growth proposed by green policies and practices. Confirming, that the sustainability process has applied bad, failed structures and systems such as biological pollutant treatments. Global stasis is not desirable and design theories need to demonstrate that the future growth can and will be accommodated by method better suited and capable of environmental outcomes. Promotion of inclusive plural method and value consideration is needed to direct design towards a more expansive and embracing capability that technically addresses the environmental impact problems of urban life. The political factions must be made aware that it is possibly better and certainly technically possible to engineer design solutions that increase building capacities in line with demand trends and solve the environmental impact problems. Accepting, that it is not really logical for planning instruments to attempt to regulate technologies and that their specific domain can only be outcomes. The green method to suit their philosophy is one of minimization which trends to cause stasis in social and political strategies and outcomes. This is negative and contrary to demand which makes its adoption deficient at the outset. Recently Biophilia and Bio-mimicry have become popularized as theories concerned with postulating structures for the future of humanity. Biophilia’s hypothesis being that there is some form of “instinctive bond between human beings and other living systems” from E.O Wilson’s book of 1984 Biophilia. Simply humans are sentient beings and it is part of living that they respond to environmental stimulus which does not at all denigrate other forms of civilized stimulus, available in the arts, media, literature, music or built environment. The paper Biophilic design patterns by Ryan, Browning, Clancy, Andrews and Kallianpurkar proposes incorporation of nature in the environment and draws reference from Alexanders, A Pattern Language of 1977. They identify Health responses to the environment as cognitive, psychological and physiological. They progress from three categories 1. Nature in the space, 2. Natural analogues, and 3. Nature of the space, to propose a method consisting of 14 patterns occurring as subsets of the categories which are intended to guide good Biophilic design. Prescribing forms and supposed outcomes as measurable both in human terms of physiological and psychological response. Certainly that form of response is always present in perception, so their Biophilia presents primarily as circumvention for lack of aesthetic and qualitative capacity using nature as a crux. Significant computer modelling advances of micro and macro biological structures and their systems have been inspirational to many designers with knowledge revealing the astounding patterns and properties of simple cells and organisms. These computer technologies have been readily transferred into mainstream CAD programs. Developing structures for building and certain morphologies or abstractions based on these biological algorithms. Biophilia as a theory is attempting to create some form of qualitative response which is essentially an argument of the original more established aesthetic theories of design (see Aesthetics) as a response to many of the Twentieth Centuries empirical design theories and works using nature to underpin their argument, flowing from the popularity of the green socialist movement specifically in Europe or more likely, the ongoing unpopularity of the consequences of environmental degradation. Recognizing that nature can and does represent differing aesthetic values. Culture is separate from nature and the thrust of civilization, so observably for nature, as a matter of simple logic, we need to re-establish habitats. For humans we need to make the environment habitable. Civilization its thrust and distinction is now separate from nature. In the 21st Century we are changing the environment inexorably and it may never recover from the impact of human activities. Many planning theories have remained in existence with the operating regime now containing components of them all. That is the designer is faced with a rational model set of spatial planning controls and zoning, a systematic approvals process, a transactive set of group respondents, with advocate parameters, requiring a trade-off bargained in the development strategy, that needs to be communicatively demonstrated and all subject to legal test and justification. This has further ridiculous subset controls such as contradictory floor space and envelope controls which defeat the intent of each instrument. Untenable as it may seem in many cases, suing is inevitable and often required to commence. This legal conflict has resulted in investment going elsewhere due to the high cost and risk of losses imposed on the developer. Democratization and pluralism have seen a transformation of the role of urban planning in the planning process. Public involvement in the decision making processes as well as the involvement of private sector developers and community organizations have encompassed the political and social nature of planning. This occurred specifically with the advocacy and subsequent models. The idea of social responsibility and responsiveness is increasingly a concern and becomes more important with a transition from public project instigation to private and community promoted proposals. The Salingaros theory sees the city as an adaptive system growing in a natural analogy similar to plants. Proposing that urban planning should take cues from such processes. The concept involves advocate participation in the design of schemes rather than leaving it to large scale developers and entrepreneurs. This of course denies the investor, who’s capital is invested, certain decision making rights and requires some form of public support or subsidy. Making it higher cost to the end user. In these cases the designer must be very conscious of unfeasibility in public proposals with a consequential net likelihood of economic and functional failure. Regrettably in most cases cities have demonstrated an inability to make any adaptation. Complete urban design is distinct from carrier infill in that it does not include the proposition where design and architecture are considered together. Carrier- Infill considers the city’s urban figure its buildings and urban ground namely the in-between spaces of roads and open space as designed separately. Architects and private sector developers are left with the buildings while the public spaces are designed on behalf of the government. In this process much attention is placed on controlling the size and forms of development available to the private sector ie. in the sense of limitation and the social, economic and functional properties are neglected. The primary focus is the creation of the carrier that determines the structures, shapes and forms of the infill mainly volumes of later buildings. The carriers contents consist of roads, open space, infrastructure, waterways and transport. The infill consists of local environment plans, zoning, development control plans, building codes and quality specifications or regulation. This has produced an overweighed bureaucratic administrative system with high cost inefficiencies. There being an inherent conflict of interest between the private sectors functional requirements and those of the desired public service outcome. Generally the government is unaware of the economic or feasibility issues placed on the private sector or the processes of realization and the private sector has no net benefit, from including the public sectors agenda which in many cases amounts to factors inducing a detrimental impact and higher costs on the proposal. Primarily the current practice of carrier infill has not produced the necessary, social, political or environmental outcomes necessary for the accommodation or advancement of the city and its society. Many of its inhabitants do not receive any benefit from this form of design activity and pay only higher costs. This must be redressed initially from the standpoint that both carrier and infill should be mutually supportive (ie. they Coexist) and that carrier can be produced to benefit the infill and infill can be allowed to develop what is necessary in its own terms to support the costs of the carrier which after all it pays for though taxes, fees and charges. Certainly it is not the realm of some unskilled faction or individual to determine multifarious design and development activity nor for the obstruent dictates of some obscure public impost with a fetish for pink as an analogy. Doubtless the industry has a reasonable case in objecting to these costs when considering both the current public and private outcomes. The methods have progressed significantly since the 1960’s but the case of the unregulated 1950’s remains compelling in our current context. Noting that outcomes and returns were certainly better and more overall progress was made more quickly , barring the impact on the environment , without the regulation. This apparent Figure 227. Typical Zoning. 1. Natural ; Landscape, Undeveloped land. 2. Rural.; Low density. 3. Special Use; Use specific density. 4. Suburban; Low-Medium density. 5. Urban; Medium-High density. 6. Metropolitan; High Density. Figure 228. Comprehensive Planning. Planning occurring in three streams, Impact Assessment, Policy Analysis and Futurism. Combining technical processes with practices which compare to a future social engineering outcome. irresponsiveness, in the environment and delaying is a symptom of the practice of obstructive public policy and ineffective redundant regulation. Obviously environmental impact must continue to be progressed in the Twenty-first century by removing the unnecessary obstructions and applying appropriate technologies to the environmental task. A consultative approach to environmental activity is preferable to conflict between environmental interest groups and developer. The Building, Forestry, Fishing and Mining Industries, have all made significant inroads in promoting conservation, bringing technical expertise to the task and instigating management and restoration plans. The industries are responsible for the real on the ground gains that have been made and it is disturbing that some people propose a conflict of interest. Certainly common agreement is a preferable approach with more gains possible between the parties. The industries themselves are the parties capable of environmental works so the complainants need to clarify their role and engage the industry to do the job and not obstruct the works. The complaints and sincere expressions of distress and grievance about the state of the environment are the symptoms of the malady that currently exists in the environment. Consequently we must all recognize that current theories and practice need to change and work needs to be done to make effective change and improvement. Knowing that “ Life ” is constituted by people sensing, perceiving and acting in their environments. These environmental theories and their methods are matters to be evolved with the major concern being the extrinsic change to the environment. In addition to the context of the investment works development and its future prospects. These are largely issues determinable through environmental impact assessment. In the general environment we know the Atmosphere will change its constituent parts to include more quantities of gas compounds and elements producing acid rains and noxious clouds or air masses. Increased pollution and the presence of sulphides and hydrocarbon elements in the atmosphere have induced the now regular acid rain precipitation of most areas of our cities. This water is not fit for human consumption. It is particularly prevalent in seasonal rain periods and results in the formation of solid carbon particles in rain droplets. These trace elements; generally carbon emissions form, black or grey dirt films on all rained on surfaces resulting in staining and sedimentation. Acidic, Sulphuric and Hydrochloric rains remain entrapped in the carbon particles acting as surface reagents to materials and attacking carbon bonds on the surface. Rain similarly deposits carbon dioxide and salts. Salts through crystallisation fracture building materials. The pollutants chemical effects cause the process where Sulphuric Figure 229. Climate Change Sydney. Global Mean Temperature Rise (Top). Humiture Change. Sydney Australia. (Bottom). Figure 230. Estimated Sea Level Change. UN. Climate change evaluation, UNEP & WMO 1995. IPCC. 1996. (Left) Impacts, adaptation and mitigation of climate change. Tide Level Frequency. Projected rise 0.2 M. Min, 1.4 M. Max. Sydney, Australia. For 20th C, Annual ,10, 20, 50 & 100 Year Maximums levels. (Right) acid produced from carbon fuel combustion combines with the calcium present in the material to fragment the surface .Water and Carbon dioxide are the by- products of the reaction. Increased carbon emissions in the atmosphere result in higher humature levels associated with global warming. The rise in presence of water vapour in a gas mixture reduces the partial pressures of the available gasses and consequently oxygen for respiration in the atmosphere. Ozone is a triatomic form of oxygen occurring in small quantities in the region 15-35 km above the earth. Ozone forms 90km above the earth and when O2 molecules are broken up by ultra violet radiation to produce monatomic oxygen O. 30 to 60 km above the earth these atoms combine to form O3 : Ozone. Ozone forms a protective shield to ultraviolet radiation. A 16% depletion of ozone content of the atmosphere could cause a 44% increase in ultra violet radiation in the mid-latitudes leading to a 100% increase in incidence of skin cancer: depletion of 16-30% would cause large scale die off of marine microorganisms affecting the base of the food chain. In short it is now and in the future essential for designers to consider adequate provision of safe atmosphere and adequate supply of oxygen for respiration and the sustenance of life. Accepting that nutrients move in biochemical cycles through the atmosphere. Water is essential to life and one of the most important nutrients. The hydrologic and sedimentary cycles work together in the distribution of hydrogen, carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulphur. These elements are the macronutrients, elements that account for 95 percent of the composition of all living organisms; that are necessary for sustaining life. These cycles have to be considered within the new urban framework. They may well have to be replaced or scientifically replicated and form part of the services structures in large scale and city development. Factually many of our current cities need to consider treatment of their atmospheres. Knowing that all gases released, rise (relatively quickly) to differing levels and distribute through regions of the atmosphere. Positively the replacement of the combustion engine in transport is a necessary step in this process and will improve our air quality particularly in cities. Global Warming and temperature rises in the near future induce a major environmental change. These changes are considered preferable to cooling and the onset of previous ice ages, which are generally regarded as more destructive to human existence and have a more rapid instigation period of approximately five years. Initially seas rise with the increasing temperature; the tidal level is raised to an annual maximum equal to the twentieth century’s maximum. Noting; that the 1974 Sydney Australia record was accompanied by widespread coastal erosion. The coastal Water table rises. Increased temperature will result in seasonal change with a tendency for a more tropical climate in lower / higher latitudes. There are points on the chart of critical change in seasons. This does not mean that seasons will not exist but that there can be a much more rapid rate of change in temperature through a day and that the temperature range will increase in those seasons. The possible temperature range increases. Generally the Cyclone season will be extended and the frequency of cyclones is expected to increase. The possible pressure differential will be greater due to the increased temperature range and cyclone phenomena will be stronger i.e. the temperature range on a mean monthly level may increase. Higher storm seas are expected in these periods’- cyclonic periods. Seas will be at greatest thermal expansion in summer and highest tide levels are expected with the sun and moons alignment. Winters become warmer and summers hotter with expected maximums to exceed 35 degrees and intermittently reach 40 degrees Celsius. (Sydney’s climate approaches that currently experienced in the tropics accompanying that rise, is an expected migration of persons from the current tropic zones.) Relative humidity is similarly expected to increase with higher temperatures. Humiture becomes dangerous to persons activity from 2010. Precipitation recordings are similarly expected to rise. Rainfalls will be heavier in the higher temperature band and the changes are expected to be accompanied by heavier incident rainfalls. The Polar caps will contract and the shoreline will change. With the reduction in ozone increased solar radiation is expected with a rise in alpha and beta ray penetration of the atmosphere. Ultra violet light intensity will increase proportionately to depletion pending any effective global SO3 reduction strategy. CO2 Emissions increase Biodiversity change with tropical and subtropical plants becoming more prodigious and competitive in temperate zones. Tropical plants; of the noxious type such as Doda, and Lantana place a serious threat to older, period’s life forms of these, specifically Bacteria and Algae. All of the life dependent on phytoplankton and at the base of the food chain is at risk of global warming. The current Holocene extinction event accompanying human activity has estimates of the present rate of extinction to be approximately 140,000 species per year. Making this the greatest loss of biodiversity since the Cretaceous – Paleogene extinction event which witnessed the massed extinction of three quarters of the earth’s life forms, including all non-avian dinosaurs. The other threats are changes in the gas composition of the atmosphere and changes in the protective ozone layer which protects photosynthetic life from damaging solar radiation. Confirming temperature to be the major constructor of the environment caused by the solar systems cosmic radiation. The twenty-first centuries design need became more imperative with climate change, its prescience and longer run impacts. The environmental response in design criteria and standards consequently needs to change. Necessarily they have to be improved in scope to have higher performance operating ranges in the short and long run scenarios. The data sets indicate that these existing standards are deficient for Twenty-first century application by a margin of up to 50% for the century and 25% for mid-century use. Older buildings will witness failures of existing expansion and control joints, frame buckling, environmental conductance and ineffective insulation etc. Thermal, wind and fire loadings will all increase proportionally to temperature gain. U value calculation becomes tied to desired performance in the environmental context. Similarly rainfall, flooding incidence and runoff all increase in frequency and volume correlated to increased water vapour in the atmosphere. Of the rise in sea level of course it is known that many landholders can expect coastal inundation and erosion particularly with storm surge. From the 1872 establishment of the first National Park at Yellowstone (Ref; Table 8 No 52) it has been recognized that fauana and flora conservation, biodiversity and national parks are valuable requiring protective instruments. Today Water , Air and Food resource quality needs similarly to be ensured for our own existence and well being. The recognition entails that the imapcts of unnatural pollutants contaminating these resources requires rectification to ensure the conservation and ongoing diversity of life. Cities cannot ignore these issues as they directly impact the populations health. The need is to include parks and areas of habitat to support life functions, provide clean air and iconic biodiversity conservation. Optimumly we should distribute them within cities , between cities and around cities recognizing zones of population impacts. The park needs to be a functional element to remove the dangerous activity and provide utility to the public in this an aesthetic component can be included. Design should consider parks as functional entity not unused space. The global issues of atmospheric and water pollution, rising seas , global warming and extinction events will need to be addressed on an ongoing , long run basis. Australia has recognised that the unnatural pollution does spoil the environment and this is not directly solved by nature or natural means. Required U Values Calculation. R =(1/K)xd K =conductivity d= material thickness. U =1/( Rso+Rsi+R16+R2;) Rso= Resistance exterior Rsi= Resistance interior R1= sum of resistance W/m2K Figure 231. U Values, Thermal & Resistance Factor. Design of and in the environment is continuous and it is handed down to successive generations with each making a contribution to its forms and manifestations. In this we must now exert certain controls or ordering to aid the natural world as well as the in the improvement of our built environments. Many of the Environmental Design issues concern consulting Building Services Engineers and their design methods, of which there are over 100 (and rising) available software tools worldwide to support primary design decision makers. Adoption of these methods in a volatile climatic regime where nearing or exceeding, the twentieth centuries 100 year record maximums is possible each year, needs to include inbuilt adaptability and change in the range of systems and technologies applied to the work. Increasing the usual engineering design margin of up to 25% under expected rising maximum loadings, to higher limits and making adequate built tolerances over the long run life of the work is recommended.
