Green Building Design
Green building design is a term used to identify the various aspects of creating structures using environmentally friendly materials and methods. The green design concept also encompasses the idea of ensuring the buildings are energy efficient and continue to interact more favorably with the ecosystem than other building options. In general, there are three important areas that must be addressed in order for the architecture to be considered a true green building design.
The selection of materials is one of the key aspects of green building design. Selecting materials that are considered sustainable is very important when it comes to building green. Using recycled materials to construct interior and exterior walls helps to divert those materials from ending up in landfills. In like manner, the reuse of materials obtained from demolished structures can often meet this requirement.
Along with the selection of materials, making the building energy efficient is also important to the task of green building design. Often this means finding ways to maximize the use of natural lighting, the installation of power sources such as solar panels or wind energy generation devices, and the purchase of energy efficient appliances to minimize the use of energy from any source. The efficient use of water for showers, toilets and even for washing clothes and doing dishes is usually addressed. Even details such as the selection of colors for the home may come into play as a means of enhancing the green aspects of the energy saving measures.
Lanscaping on the building site is also part of the overall process of green building design. Just as the building itself makes efficient use of recycled or reclaimed materials, the landscaping does the same. Any paving is accomplished using recycled products. The selection of plans for the space focuses on plants that require little water and can thrive without the need for the use of chemical based pesticides.
Ideally, a true sustainable building design will situate the structure so that it works with the surrounding terrain and causes minimal impact on the area. Homes may be constructed in a manner that allows one side of the structure to be enclosed by a hillside, thus maximizing the insulation of the home while also allowing the structure to blend in with the countryside.
Source: http://www.wisegeek.com/
Posted by: Nik Fadhilah Romeli
A Song Of The Future
By Sidney Lanier
Sail fast, sail fast,
Ark of my hopes, Ark of my dreams;
Sweep lordly o'er the drowned Past,
Fly glittering through the sun's strange beams;
Sail fast, sail fast.
Breaths of new buds from off some drying lea
With news about the Future scent the sea:
My brain is beating like the heart of Haste:
I'll loose me a bird upon this Present waste;
Go, trembling song,
And stay not long; oh, stay not long:
Thou'rt only a gray and sober dove,
But thine eye is faith and thy wing is love.
Posted by: Sofiah Binti Sabar
