Sustainable Construction v2
moore05
DiscussionResponsesWeek3.docxA B
1. This week we have read about “Collaboration as Sustainability in Action.” Discuss why is collaboration an example of sustainability in action?
Collaboration is very important to the sustainability in action, the process of everyone working together is important. The ability for people to work together to bring together the same goal is the ideal atmosphere you want on a project. When everyone is focused on making a sustainable building it allows for everyone to be like minded. In contrary if you have two teams and one team’s priority is to save money then they will make some decisions to not be sustainable. Meanwhile if one team is to focus on sustainability then budget then they are going to get the top of the line sustainable products. This would create conflict and would not allow for collaboration and working together because different priorities.
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2. Is it possible to build in such a way that the building could behave in the same way, regarding carbon dioxide and oxygen, as a conifer forest would? How?
Yes, it is still possible for project to be built and the end building act in the same way as a conifer forest. The building will need to take varies measures and doing so will help it operate in the same way. Some of these measures will be how energy is produces and consumed. In the production of the energy, the building will need to focus on capturing solar, wind and water energy sources. Besides the argument of if these sources are truly green or not, the actual implementation of them is a great way the building can be related to a conifer forest. Each one of these specifically the water energy but also recycling storm water help out the areas around the building. The recycled water also to water the landscaping around the building and in turn will grow the plants and these will take carbon dioxide and turn it into oxygen.
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1. This week we have read about “Collaboration as Sustainability in Action.” Discuss why is collaboration an example of sustainability in action?
Every sustainable project starts with an integrated design charrette. A charrette is basically a collaborating session between all parties on the project. Collaboration as an example of sustainability in action provides the opportunity for people to work and gain further education together. All participants in a design charette must think in whole system terms. Everyone must be willing to listen to each other and keep conversation together. This is critical in an integrated design process. Teams must be able to coordinate and communicate to function well together. Successful collaboration in a design charrette allows participants to work out any sustainable or ecological problems which ultimately an example of sustainability in action is.
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2. Is it possible to build in such a way that the building could behave in the same way, regarding carbon dioxide and oxygen, as a conifer forest would? How?
Yes, it is possible. A balanced ecosystem is the interaction between living things in nature. If alterations are made to a plot of land, then people must establish how to keep the balance in the ecosystem. In a conifer forest, trees take in carbon dioxide from the exhaled oxygen and used energy produced by the sun and Earth’s nutrients to develop and generate food for other organisms. For instance, per the textbook, an apartment complex can be equipped with conventional furnaces and air conditioners. By using the conventional building method, this disrupts the carbon cycle because the building is emitting more carbon into the environment.
Leffers, Regina M (2010). Sustainable Construction and Design. Prentice Hall.
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1. This week we have read about “Collaboration as Sustainability in Action.” Discuss why is collaboration an example of sustainability in action?
As indicated on our lecture for this week and chapter five of the textbook (Sustainable Construction and Design by Regina Leffers), a successful sustainable project starts with an integrated design charrette. The design charrette consists of a brainstorming session with the objective to obtain inputs from all stakeholders as to how make a new design sustainable. As we all know, during a brainstorming session of this nature, collaboration is essential from all stakeholders. As the book indicates and it references the book The Fifth Discipline by Peter M. Sange, there are three characteristics for a charrette to be successful the participants must have the following core abilities:
1. Aspiration - I will define this ability as passion, having the passion not only for a sustainable design but a having the passion "better world" where we all contribute to healthy environment where we focus on the balance of the natural resources and eliminate waste as much as possible.
2. Personal Mastery - I will define this as knowledge. Participants need to bring specific knowledge to the team, members of different disciplines will make for a well-balanced and strong team.
3. Ability to Understand Complexity - I will define this ability as people who have a thought process of being able to differentiate the trees from the forest or think in terms of systems as opposed to components and understand how certain decisions can affect the system. Respond
2. Is it possible to build in such a way that the building could behave in the same way, regarding carbon dioxide and oxygen, as a conifer forest would? How?
Yes it is possible to maintain the biomes surrounding the building. As it is explained in our textbook chapter 6 and the weekly lecture having the ability to have the building behaving the way the environment behaves is possible through maintaining the ecosystem balance. First, it is needed to determine the biome and how it behaves. In the case of carbon dioxide and oxygen, the pre-condition needs to be establised before design and construction. Once the levels of oxygen and CO2 are understood, the design needs to be able to incorporate these levels in it's calculations on the post-construction phase.
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This week we have read about “Collaboration as Sustainability in Action.” Discuss why is collaboration an example of sustainability in action?
Answer: Collaboration is an example of sustainability in action because it pushes people to work together to become educated of the harm poor planning and building can have on our environment. Collaboration must be done with open minds in order for a whole system framework to be developed for all builds. It allows for a community of people to provide lasting input on how projects will affect our environment. Our environment is a delicate one, the ability to sit down and fully develop a “game plan” for how a project can coexist in our environment is the ultimate goal. We must continue to be open minded, continue learning and contribute with all projects in order for sustainability to preserve what we have left.
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Is it possible to build in such a way that the building could behave in the same way, regarding carbon dioxide and oxygen, as a conifer forest would? How?
Answer: Yes, it is possible to build in such a way that a building can behave like a conifer forest. The goal of a build is to provide balance to the “carbon, nitrogen, water and food cycle.” In order to do this building must use the natural renewable resources around them. Buildings must utilize wind, solar, and water to provide energy to run their operations. Buildings must utilize energy efficient appliances, use sustainable sites, utilize water efficiently, and use renewable or generative materials. As well with completion of the building the area must provide as must natural greenery as possible with plants native to the area. By doing this we are providing a space for the animal’s habitat that we are disturbing and providing oxygen back into the atmosphere. This level of sustainability just doesn’t start when the project ends but starts at the very beginning of construction. We must provide plans of proper site clearing and proper site pollution prevention into the air and water. Starting from the very beginning of construction will provide the highest level of sustainability and ensure we are harming the environment as little as possible. If we must continue to pave the way for cities to grow we must pave the way to be innovative in the way we can make buildings one with the nature we are trying to live in in order to see this environment live for future generations.
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