Environmental auditing as a part of building pre-design process

Senitkova, Ingrid

Department of Civil Engineering / Technical University of Kosice / Vysokoskolska 4 / 042 00 Kosice, Slovakia 421 55 633 33 33 / ingrid.senitkova@tuke.skVilcekova, SilviaDepartment of Civil Engineering / Technical University of Kosice / Vysokoskolska 4 / 042 00 Kosice, Slovakia 421 55 602 42 60 / silvia.vilcekova@tuke.sk

Abstract

An environmentally responsive design process considers sustainable design, materials and systems. Green building issues related to energy efficiency, environmental impact and recycling are aspects of sustainable design that occur in the pre-design phase. Effects of buildings on the environment develop the need to perform environmental auditing. In order to provide the environmental friendly building design the pre-design auditing process can be used. It is necessary to implement pre-design environmental control into the legal rules. The introduction to environmental auditing theory as a part of building pre-design process is presented in this paper.

Keywords

Environmental friendly building, Building environmental auditing, Building pre- design process

Introduction

There is a growing awareness of environmental friendly building processes that promote environmental friendly building operation and wellbeing of users. Creating an environmentally friendly building consists in a number of ways, primarily through selection and employing of only natural, sustainable materials and proper HVAC design. Equally important is environmental awareness during the building process and throughout building operation. Environmental friendly environment offers healthier and more livable spaces that save resources and energy. The principals of sustainable building design emphasize improved indoor air quality, using environmental friendly building products, recycling, water conservation and environmental construction methods. Proper resource management can minimize the effect of the built environment to nature environment. For optimal results the addressed early pre-design phase is to be needed. The pre-design process begins with completing professional team consists of architects and environmental engineers. Then it proceeds through schematic design, design development, contract documents, construction, commissioning and occupancy. The design team takes a whole-building approach, looking at the way the building’s site, windows, walls, floors, installation systems, and HVAC systems could work together most

efficiently. Pre-design activities should help the team evolve specific goals to integrate design concepts that, together, produce a design that considers the climate, indoor and outdoor environmental quality, waste minimization, energy efficiency, orientation of the building and other features, which will impact performance well into the future.

Building Environmental Auditing

Building environmental auditing is a specific complex of proceedings oriented to systematic, periodic and objective assessment of buildings environmental impacts. These processes lead to the design of measures for purpose of the negative effects reducing and providing of environmental friendly building parameters. Building environmental auditing is not only item of control, but also item of safety built environment making. The complete environmental audit consists of building life cycle environmental auditing, indoor environmental auditing and outdoor environmental auditing. During the life cycle environmental auditing the respect must be focused dominantly to mass flows as well as energy flows. In life-cycle assessment the direct and indirect environmental impacts of building material selection is to be analyzed. The determined factors of considerations are sustainability and recovery. The indoor environmental auditing is mainly concentrated to search for sources and effects of physical, chemical and biological compounds. The heating, cooling and waste sources and processes have to be reviewed during the outdoor environmental auditing.

Indoor environmental auditing

In the past years, the indoor air quality was appreciated from point of view of physical aspects, mainly of providing thermal and humidity comfort. Important parameters are globe temperature and relative humidity. Lighting and acoustic compounds of indoors are appreciated from physical aspects too. Inadequate shiny of residential building places and acoustic discomfort effect to indoor quality. To the other physical parameters, which are necessary to assess within indoor environmental auditing, belong aerosols, static energy and ions. During the indoor environmental auditing the respect must be focused dominantly to chemical and biological compounds because of environmental safety. Nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds, radon, carbon oxides, odors and particles are the most often occurred in the buildings. Fungi and allergens are the most significant biological factors. The outdoor air has evident participation on indoor air quality. The assessment of building effects to surround environment, mainly the nature pollution is also significant part of the building environmental auditing. It is largely assessment of the environmental load from heat and cool sources, technological processes as well as the disposal of solid and liquid waste. The heat source is combustion of solid, gaseous and liquid fuels and the cool source is HVAC systems.

Building environmental auditing in the pre-design process

In order to provide the environmental friendly building design the pre-design auditing process can be successfully used. The building environmental auditing in the pre-design process allows detecting of the negatives before the construction and using of the building. The option of sustainable materials, energy efficient mechanical heating and air conditioning systems, energy efficient windows, doors and skylights, products with recycled content on behalf of assurance the lowest damage of indoor and outdoor environment is determining part of this building auditing. The predicted loading for environment by negative compounds are dominant in the assessment of environmental and health effects. Therefore it is important to identify the pollutant sources, to estimate the predicted loads of indoor and outdoor environments. The knowledge of the particular pollutants relationship provides securities of comfort and hygiene for future users of the building. The environmental auditing in the building pre-design process must be

used as basic document for design and construction process of the building, which has to accept all environmental and constructional aspects. In the future, it is necessary to adopt legal rules, which would determine and specify range and methods of environmental auditing of building at pre-design stage. The development of its application is necessary to trained.

The assessment subject and suggested particular fields for which the building pre- design environmental audit can be developed are presented in the figure 1.

Life-cycle

Mass Flowssustainability, recovery

Energy Flows

sustainability, recovery

Physical Compounds

sources, effects

BUILDING PRE-DESIGN

Indoors

Chemical Compoundssources, effects

Biological Compounds

sources, effects

Heating

sources, processes

Outdoors

Coolingsources, processes

Wastes

sources, processes

Figure 1 Structure of building environmental auditing process

The building environmental auditing is finished with the audit report. It starts with identifying data concerning to subject of the audit, to building design, investments and auditor. The goal, range and detailed plan of building environmental auditing process are included in auditing plan. The methodology of environmental impact assessment belongs to part of standards and rules. Description of predicted building state which includes overall assessment of building predicted effects to indoor and outdoor environment, as well as mass and energy flow effects during building life cycle. Environmental assessment of predicted building state concerning to concrete factors of particular fields is the next part of building environmental auditing. The design of safety and precautionary measures in particular fields in building pre- design process is one of the most important parts. The auditing report includes the economy of suggested measures. The reassessment of predicted recall impact to the environment obtains the environmental advantage establishment. The overall assessment of environmental safety and building suitability are the final standpoint

of the environmental auditing report subject as well as the result of auditing process. This complex assessment is summarized at the end of the report.

The complete environmental auditing report consists of the followings:

• 1. Identifying data
• 2. Auditing plan
• 3. Standards and rules
• 4. Predicted effects
• 5. Environmental assessment
• 6. Measures
• 7. Economy
• 8. Environmental advantage
• 9. Summary

SUMMARY

Since environmental auditing of building appeared as a serious problem, scientists, engineers and other professions have been dealing with the subject. Most of the time, the subject is defined as an complex engineering problem. However, as major decision makers in building design, architects must deal with environmental auditing as well as the others. The environmental thinking about the designed building starts at pre-design stage.

The introduced developed building environmental auditing has to be necessary part of the pre-design process. The pre-design environmental auditing of buildings allows detecting of the negative impact before than it is late. Construction design process, material selection and indoor environmental making can affect them. The design, construction and operation of buildings with minimal environmental risks for their users and with minimal negative impacts to the surroundings as well for the future, are the main goals of the environmental auditing performance in the building pre-design process. The audit report can be used as basic document for design of the buildings. The range and methodology of building environmental auditing would be determined and specified by the adopted legal rules what seems to be very useful for the practice.

Environmental friendly building design is one of the main aims at present time. The building environmental auditing must nevertheless be the guiding factor for building design, construction and use.

The authors are grateful to the Grant Agency of Slovak Republic to support of project No. 1/0352/03, on the base of which the results are presented.

References

Senitkova, I. (2001) Sustainable Building Design. Proceedings of the World Congess: Clima 2000/Napoli2001. Napoli, Italy, p. 79-86, CD version

Senitkova, I. (2000) Sustainability in Buildings for Healthy Living. Proceedings of Symposium: Beyond Sustainability, Balancing between Best Practice and Utopia. Einhoven, Netherlands, p. 432-438

Vilcekova, S.; Senitkova, I. (2003) Building Environmental auditing. Proceedings of the Conference: Building Indoor Climate. p. 80-83, ISBN: 80-969030-0-4