A TOUR ON TROPICAL DESIGN TECHNIQUES TROPICAL BUILDING Building green doesnt just mean solar power and windmills

ls on the roof it also is about low maintenance

TROPICAL BUILDING TECHNIQUES Extended shade roofs Cross Ventilation Natural Lighting Solar Power Using Waste Heat to Dry Clothes Living Plants for Shade A Flat, Usable Roof Recycled Roofing Material Rainwater Catchment Natural Coloring Chemical Free Wall Treatments Local Materials Use Outdoor Garden Bathroom Blackwater/Sewage Treatment Saving Water Integrated recycling & composting Loft Spaces Green Roof Green Walls

Extended shade roofs The most important green-building consideration is to create lots of shade by building extended roof eaves. A wrap-around porch on the west, south, and east sides of the house will block the sun from heating up the house. These extended roofs create large outdoor living spaces underneath, which are ideal for tropical living Cross Ventilation After shade, ventilation is the next most important factor when considering the design of an eco-house in the tropics. Place windows on as many walls as possible, so breezes can blow through from any direction. install inexpensive windows that have both sliding glass and screen panels, to maximize air flow when fully open Houses should also include ceiling fans for additional cooling and air circulation. Fans not only cool, but they also keep a room dry, by helping to evaporate moisture, which reduces fungus and maintenance.

Houses can be more effectively cooled using good ventilation than using thermal mass techniques, that is, heavy walls that absorb heat and radiate it back out at night. Thats because at night, the temperature in the tropics doesnt drop very much.

Natural Lighting By using intelligent architectural design, you will rarely or never need to turn on a light during the daytime. Houses can incorporate glass blocks mounted in the ceilings and walls to project natural sunlight into dark corners, while maintaining structural support. All ceilings should be painted white, and floors also can be light colored to help keep rooms illuminated with less power. For daytime illumination, of course having plenty of windows is key. Solar Power Solar power is rapidly improving and becoming more cost effective. The next few years we will see dramatic changes, making solar power more common worldwide. Living Plants for Shade One of the best ways to keep a house cool and beautiful is to create natural shade with plants. Install a trellis system that protects a cement wall from the sun, or a trellis over your entire roof. The roof underneath the dome-trellis can be painted white, to reflect the light that does get through. A Flat, Usable Roof A flat roof will provide extra outdoor living space for your enjoyment. The roof will become one of your favorite spots, with your best views, an herb garden, a chill space, star-gazing, etc. The white color will keep the roof cool and the vine-covered trellis above will create a feeling of great tranquility as well as providing fruit. A flat roof must be built extremely carefully to prevent rainwater leakage into the rooms below, with a noticeable inclination so that water easily runs off. Rainwater Catchment Channel the water that falls on the roofs through a series of gutters and pipes to a large underground cistern. The water that typically falls on this amount of roof in the rainy season is enough to provide all the water needed throughout the dry season, if you can store that much. Natural Coloring The houses can be colored in natural shades of green and wood/earth tones, which will also create a lush and luxuriant look. Our intention is to create a community with a feeling of great serenity and peace, harmonized with nature. These colors, combined with the living roof and trellis systems, will make the structures look as if theyre a part of the native jungle. Outdoor Garden Bathroom This trick is one of our favorites that everyone loves. Not only is it beautiful, but its a great investment as part of your house. If you like you can keep the toilet and sink inside, but the shower, which produces heat and humidity, is kept outside in a private garden.

Saving Water Simply adding low-flow showerheads, faucets, and a dual-flush toilet, it cuts water use in half, without other conservation efforts. Another great innovation is to design your bathroom so that water from your shower or sink is recycled to use a second time for flushing your toilet. Loft Spaces Many good eco-house designs have extra high ceilings to make the living space more beautiful, cool, and light. An additional benefit is that you can often incorporate a loft space. These lofts are great for storage, or if theyre large enough, can be used as a spare bedroom for guests.

GREEN ROOFS A green roof is a roof of a building that is partially or completely covered with vegetation and a growing medium, planted over a waterproofing membrane. It may also include additional layers such as a root barrier and drainage and irrigation systems. (The use of green refers to the growing trend of environmentalism and does not refer to roofs which are merely colored green, as with green roof tiles or roof shingles.) Also known as living roofs, green roofs serve several purposes for a building, such as absorbing rainwater, providing insulation, creating a habitat for wildlife, and helping to lower urban air temperatures and combat the heat island effect. There are two types of green roofs: intensive roofs, which are thicker and can support a wider variety of plants but are heavier and require more maintenance, and extensive roofs, which are covered in a light layer of vegetation and are lighter than an intensive green roof. Environmental benefits Reduce heating Reduce storm water run off Natural Habitat Creation Filter pollutants and carbon dioxide out of the air which helps lower disease rates such as asthma Filter pollutants and heavy metals out of rainwater BENEFITS OF GREEN ROOF Help to insulate a building for sound; the soil helps to block lower frequencies and the plants block higher frequencies Increase agricultural space GREEN WALLS A green wall is a wall, either free-standing or part of a building, that is partially or completely covered with vegetation and, in some cases, soil or an inorganic growing medium. The concept of the green wall dates back to 600 BC with the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. There are two main categories of green walls: green faades and living walls. Green faades are made up of climbing plants either growing directly on a wall or, more recently, specially designed supporting structures. The plant shoot system grows up the side of the building while being rooted in the ground. With a living wall the modular panels are often made of stainless steel containers, geotextiles, irrigation systems, a growing medium and vegetation

FUNCTION Green walls are found most often in urban environments where the plants reduce overall temperatures of the building. "The primary cause of heat build-up in cities is insolation, the absorption of solar radiation by roads and buildings in the city and the storage of this heat in the building material and its subsequent re-radiation.

GREEN WALLS

GREEN ROOFS