Assignment # 3 - Research Ashley James

Hello Class,

For assignment #3 I was part of group 1 which was responsible for buildings. My group consisted of Veronica who was responsible for building materials, Amy who focused on coverings and roofs and lastly David who researched energy saving and footprints. As a group our objective was to obtain as much information as we could pertaining to sustainable buildings and the general techniques and practices used by them. I took it upon my self to research exactly what defines a building as sustainable as well as what types of lighting and windows can be found in such architecture and lastly I researched examples of sustainable buildings that can be found all over the world. Whilst gathering information from books, the Internet, magazines and newspaper articles I was surprised to learn exactly what sustainable building is. Before this assignment I thought the use of a solar panel made a building sustainable and in fact this is not so. Sustainable building is the practice of increasing a buildings overall efficiency. Not only does it take into account how the building uses resources such as energy water and materials, but it also strives to reduce the buildings impact on the environment as well as on our human health. In regards to lighting I found that the number one choice for lighting is natural lighting. Not only is natural light a free renewal source but it also generates no waste or pollution and has well documented health benefits. I discovered a new technology used for natural lighting called Sunlight Transportation Systems. This is where the sun is collected on roof solar panels and transported in to a building using fiber optic cables. In regards to electric lighting the best choice is either compact fluorescent lighting or LED's. In regards to windows, Generally larger windows are used and placed on the south side of the building to obtain as much heat and light as possible. They are also double or triple glazed insulated windows which are better insulators as opposed to single pain glass windows. Above is an image the the Restoration Services Centre which is an example of a sustainable building located in Vaughn Ontario. It puts into practice many of the techniques used to make a building sustainable.