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Building environmental impact: Prospect of Double skin Faade integrated energy performance

1. Introduction
Globally, the construction industry is a major contributor to socio-economic development and also the largest consumer of energy and natural resources, with buildings and infrastructure construction services liable for around a half of total energy consumption. Construction is one of the largest industries in both developing and developed countries in terms of investment, employment and contribution to GDP. (Unher, 1999). The importance of energy consumption and greenhouse gases(GHG) attributable to building operation is well recognized, nevertheless despite that knowledge, energy is also consumed during the manufacture of building materials, transportation and assembly into buildings maintenance and demolition, until disposal and recycling. These parts have mostly been neglected when the energy performance of buildings are evaluated (Gheewala & Kofoworala, 2009). Significant energy consumption can be reduced in a building operation during architectural design if identified energy consuming building components is corrected. A well designed faade, however proven to be one of most important method of saving energy in a building. Conventional building skin faade are known to have numerous flaws, related to thermal comfort, natural ventilation and glare. Thus double skin faade (DSF) is considered optimally one of the best choices in managing the interaction between the outdoor and indoor spaces (Shameri, Alghoul, Sopian, Zain, & Elayeb, 2011). Recently, DSF has received great deal of attention as opposed to the typically glazed curtain wall. In fact it has become worldwide modern building practice, notably in cool climate region. Firstly, because of its transparency, that creates close contact to the surrounding. It can be considered as architecture sensations driven by all-glass faade. Secondly, design of DSF is characterized by its ability to significantly reduce energy consumption and save costs but yet influenced by parameters such as glass selections, the interior faade, solar radiation level, ventilation strategy, shading, daylighting, aesthetic, wind loads, depth of the cavity, maintenance and cleaning cost prospects. Besides, one of DSF main design goal is related to energy efficiency

and sustainability (Gratia & Herde, 2006). It has been claimed however that DSF costs more than the normal faade, but energy and productivity savings are used to justify recompensing the expenditure (Poirazis, 2004). In the midst of all these rhetoric, building is designed for people and to succeed, designer must also provide Indoor environmental quality (IEQ) that suit their intended occupants. 2

Because sustainability and good design are mutually reinforcing, thus building performance is expected to compound energy efficiency, occupant comfort and environmental consideration (Roulet, 2006). Building design is one of the fields that have the ability to satisfy all levels of requirement in a unique position both considering environment and local climate, thus implies multi-criteria analysis (Oktay, 2002).

4. Conclusion It is assumed that, While the operation phase of the building energy consumption is very

significant, regarding its life cycle time span, also the extraction and manufacturing and disposal of the material as well likely non-negligible. Studying both embodies energy and operation phase scenario energy balance will display an integrated approach to the analysis of the energy performance of the building and its impact to the environment, account to the DSF. This will give designer the optimal design solution equally satisfies building occupants and the energy efficiency of the building prompts by DSF. Because DSF is mainly made with glass that can be recycle as building material could reduce the initial embodied energy. While energy efficiency can contribute to reducing operating energy outline, the recycling of building materials can further save natural resources as well as energy associated with virgin manufacture. Thus the energy performance of a building could be based on an integrated approach; considering all life cycle phases and is not limited to only the operation phase. DSF could be instrumental in achieving IEQ and help assist conserve energy and natural resource, which is the pathway of sustainability: Doing more with less

6. Works Cited
Blom, I., Itard, L., & Meijer, A. (2010). Environment impact of dwellings in use: Maintenance of facade components. Building and Environment, 2526-2538. Gheewala, S. H., & Kofoworala, O. F. (2009). Life cycle energy assessment of typical office building in Thailand. Energy and Buildings, 1076-1083. Gratia, E., & Herde, A. D. (2006). Greenhouse effect in double skin facade . Energy and Building, 199-211. Lehrer, D., & Janani, V. (2010, March 03). Visualizing Information to Improve Building Performance: A study of Expert Users. Retrieved December 07, 2011, from Center for Built environment, Berkeley: http://www.cbe.berkeley.edu/research/pdf_files/Lehrer2010-ACEEEInfoViz.pdf Oktay, D. (2002). Design with the Climate in Housing Environments: an Analysis in Northern Cyprus. . Building and Environment, 1003-1002. Poirazis, H. (2004). Double skin facades for Office buildings. Lund: Division of Energy and Building design, Lund University. Roulet, C. A. (2006). Architecture education for sustainable design: a proposal for improving indoor environmental quality. Conference on Passive and low energy Architecture. Geneva, Switzerland: cole Polytechnique Fderale de Lausane. Shameri, M. A., Alghoul, M. A., Sopian, K., Zain, M. F., & Elayeb, O. (2011). Perspective of double skin facade system in buildings and energy saving. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 1468-1475. Unher, T. E. (1999). Absolute Indicarors of Sustainable construction. Retrieved November 06, 2011, from Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) : http://www.rics.org/site/download_feed.aspx?fileID=1847&fileExtension=PDF Zagreus, L., Arens, C., & Lehrer, D. (2004). Listening to the occupants: a web-based indoor environment quality survey. Blackwell Munksgaard, 65-74

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