12(46)

Журнал «Интернаука» № 12 (46), 2018 г.
PAPERS IN ENGLISH
ARCHITECTURE AND CONSTRUCTION
THE STUDY OF THE PRINCIPLES OF GREEN OFFICE BUILDING DESIGN
Alhalabi Zinah Shuman
PhD candidate, RUDN, People’s Friendship University,
Russia, Moscow
Abstract. The usage of an office building can cause harm to the environment, as lots of waste is produced alongside
CDE (carbon dioxide emissions). Therefore, the application of a green design is essential in today’s modern architecture.
This article studies the main principles of green office building design.
Although the topic of sustainability and green designs
is very vast and cannot be completely discussed in
an article, the general sustainability principles and definition
can be summed up in the following: [1, p.30]
1. The elimination of human contribution to the
continuous accumulation of substances extracted from
the earth’s crust (for instance, heavy metals and fossil
fuels).
2. The elimination of human contribution to the
continuous accumulation of chemicals and compounds
which is emitted by society (for instance, dioxins,
PCBs, and DDT).
3. The elimination of human contribution to the
continuous physical degradation and destruction of nature
(for instance, over harvesting forests and paving
over critical wildlife habitat).
4. The elimination of human contribution to conditions
which undermine people’s capacity to meet their
basic human needs (for instance, hazardous working
conditions and not enough income).
Those general principles of sustainability serve as
the basis of the green design principles as there is no
particular formula for greenness, as so far each project
applies certain green features and design in order to
achieve one or more green objectives.
However, there are some main principles that if taken
into consideration in all projects can enhance the
level of efficiency of a certain green building. A green
office building project capacities can be determined by
several of factors, such as the physical features, the geographical
location and the specification of the building
or its site, the locally available materials, and the services,
the laws and regulations, the number of employees,
and the budget of the construction. Nevertheless, a
green office building regardless of its size can follow
those main principles:
The orientation and building form: This principle
refers to the form of positioning the building within the
land and in relation to the infrastructure surrounding it
and the design form. Rectangles, triangles, and squares
are the most common design forms when it comes to
large office buildings as they offer the best support systems.
On the other hand, the orientation of an office
building is usually defined by the most suitable position
as in many cases the option of multi-option positioning
is none-existing as the layout is set in a crowded area
and with one location possible for an entrance. However,
the orientation and shape of an office building highly
impact the efficiency and function of a green office
building.
To achieve efficiency by orientation, the natural elements
must be considered and employed, especially the
sun and wind, i.e. by positioning the largest part of an
office building towards the sun, it maximizes the use of
daylight, hence, reducing the usage of electricity. Nevertheless,
in hot and arid locations, sun exposure has to
be reduced at certain times of the day. In the Northern
Hemisphere, an office building positioned to face the
south is the most efficient orientation as it allows natural
light for the longest period of the day without any
direct exposure, while windows oriented directly to the
east or west are not ideal as they increase the heat in hot
seasons caused by the direct rays of the sun, thus, causing
the air conditioner consumption, not mention the
glare produced by the direct sun rays which is not practical
for office workers. As a rule, the thinner the office
building, the better. As tall, thin buildings are more efficient
than wider, shorter buildings due to the vertical
spacing which results less used space on the ground,
thus, less impact on the surrounding ecosystems and
environment. Not to mention, the space left for landscaping
and outdoor areas.
Besides maximizing the daylight exposure, the right
orientation can lower the usage of HVAC (heating, ventilation
and air conditioning) system as the right sun
exposure can heat the office space in cold seasons and
by blocking direct sun rays, it lowers the heat exposure
and therefore the heat trapped inside the office space.
In addition, wind consideration is important, when
designing an office building, especially when wind turbines
are considered for generating renewable energy.
Not to mention, the additional stress that wind can put
on a building; this stress is a significant factor in heating
or cooling a building. For instance, designing curves on
the surface of the building lowers the impact of the
wind, hence, the loads it adds to it. A building shape and
orientation are intangible and must complement each
other. Besides orientation and shape form, the buildings
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