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CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

The Pasig River system runs through five cities and four municipalities and it connects two large, important bodies of water in the Philippines namely, Manila Bay in the west and Laguna de Bay in the east (the largest freshwater lake in the country and connects 30 suburban towns to the metropolitan center). Before the colonial period, the Pasig River was the main point of entry for international trade into what is now the City of Manila. Advancements in land transportation have changed the river and the landscape noticeably.

Before pollution killed the aquatic life, the whole 25km of the Pasig River between Laguna de Bay served as a habitat for 25 varieties of fish and 13 different types of aquatic plant. Today, there are only six species of fish and two types of plants left that can tolerate the polluted water. The situation, however, is not irreparable. During the rainy months of June to December each year, fish from Laguna de Bay are carried by floodwaters to the Pasig River. The flushing effect of the increased water levels in Laguna de Bay increase the dissolved oxygen content of the river to a level that increases its potential for some aquaculture activities. Unfortunately, during dry summer months of March to May, the river is virtually dead because the water becomes stagnant with the much reduced flow.[1]

The banks of Pasig River are lined by informal settlers consisting of roughly 12,000 households. About 2,000 live in houses on stilts or under bridges, in sub- human conditions, where they present a danger to themselves and to the vessels using the river. The settlements have no sanitary facilities and their liquid and solid wastes are discharged straight into the river.[2]

The various subcultures existing in Metro Manila result in many problems that reflect the socio economic characteristics of the city. With the continuous dumping of wastes, the riverbed has become more and more silted with organic matter and non- biodegradable rubbish. This results in serious flooding along the river, affecting nearby communities and carrying polluted water to the households living close to the river.

The Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission (PRRC) handles the entire development of the area. Since the year 2002 until the present, the PRRC has housed 10,000 informal settlers. They have been relocated to areas like Rizal, Cavite and Taguig. There are around 2,000 households left in the banks of Pasig River and the PRRC persistently pursues the resettlement action plan.

Background of the Study

            Urbanization and Population Growth in the Philippines

Metro Manila is the total urban area that is composed of different cities and the surrounding urban parameter. The proper city Manila is only one of the big cities of this urban mass. Metro Manila, or the 'National Capital Region' as they say in the Philippines, is a real metropolitan area. On 636 square kilometer live more than 10 million inhabitants.[3]

As the nation’s capital becomes more and more highly urbanized, it also experiences unpleasant effects. The city is surrounded of human desolation and deterioration, endless miles of slums, and more slums ----- there are 526 slum communities located in all its cities and municipalities. Many in-migrants are unable to find adequate work or shelter; they become part of Manila’s continuous population growth of “Urban Poor”.[4]

Slum communities are detrimental for the growth and development of Manila and Philippines as a whole. This trend of population concentration in Metro Manila creates a problem in meeting basic daily needs, and coping with the fast pace of life that results to social cultural, political and economic poverty.

            Urban Poverty and Major Issues

            The Philippine government is confronted with major challenges posed by the growth of urban poor communities, especially as land, basic services, and livelihood opportunities are becoming less sufficient. Various administrations have sought to address the illegal occupation of land by the urban poor. In the 1960s, the government’s strategies largely involved relocation and on-site development through the provision of housing and opportunities for land acquisition.

            Many of these initiatives failed to fulfill the needs of their target beneficiaries.Relocation sites were far from clustered commercial areas where people could obtain employment, and lacked the basic services that would have encouraged the people to stay (Viloria and Williams 1987). Government also discounted the importance of providing the beneficiaries of its low-cost housing projects with livelihood opportunities to enable them to support their basic daily needs, as well as to pay the amortization of their acquired housing units. In many cases, beneficiaries were forced to sell their land and houses to generate money, and ended up returning to the city, more often, to squat again. Meanwhile, on-site development could accommodate only a small number of people because of limited budget and space. Funds allocated for housing were low, as housing did not figure among the priorities of government. Fewer land parcels were available, since public real estate properties had already been used for infrastructure and other facilities. Private landowners often disapproved plans to use their properties for socialized housing.

             Government-funded housing projects, such as the Philippine Homesite and Housing Corporation and the Bagong Lipunan Improvement of Sites and Settlements (BLISS), and indirect provident fund schemes, such as Pag-IBIG, had had negligible impact on overall housing provision because these generally favored middle income groups, especially government employees (Storey 1998; Goss 1998).

            The growth of local organizations and government’s realization of the difficulties in providing housing to its growing urban poor population have led to a radical change in government’s mass housing policy. Beginning in the mid-1970s, government paid attention to slum upgrading—the observance of the maximum retention policy in informal settlements—as an alternative to the resettlement or relocation program (Mendiola, 1983). After the 1986 “People Power” Revolution, socialized housing policies have shifted from the state-centered development approach to a people centered and aided self- help approach (Aberia, 1997). In this strategy, the role of the state is changed from that of provider to facilitator as a way of bringing the nongovernment sectors to the provision of housing and utilizing their creative capacities and resources (Porio, 2003).

            In the past fifty years, the Philippines has experienced what can be called “the urbanization of poverty.” This process describes the shift in the concentration of poor people from the village to the city, bringing about various social problems, such as massive unemployment and the proliferation of slums. Beyond the movement of poor people, this concept pertains to the various historical and social factors that have led to the poverty of many urban dwellers (Pablo & Douglas, 2002).

            The housing landscape of Metro Manila shows extreme division.  Numerous upscale housing development projects are once in a while emerging across the metropolis alongside the continuous escalation of small towns and slum dwellings all over the city. Continuous massive influx of migrants from different provinces to Metro Manila intensified the demand for settlement space.[5]

            The poor in cities suffer from various deprivations such as lack of access to employment; inadequate housing and infrastructure; social protection and lack of access to health education and personal security. There is a possible growth in issues like poor public transport, uncoordinated infrastructure provision, bad housing, low levels of public health, and improper waste management.

Nature of the Study

Resettlement projects focus on providing basic services to improve the well-being of low income communities, including a range of infrastructure interventions frequently undertaken in conjunction with social interventions, such as the regularization of areas with insecure tenure.

Other infrastructure improvements include water, sanitation, waste collection, housing, access roads, footpaths, storm drainage, lighting, public telephones, schools, health posts and community centers. Social improvements can include better provision of health and education services, day care, training, and social protection programs. With the projected increases in slum population, the demand for urban upgrading interventions is expected to grow.

Given the trends in urbanization and slum populations, slum upgrading interventions may be an important component of the development process. Investing resources in slum upgrading projects should ideally be based on clear evidence of which specific interventions are more effective.

 Similarly, policymakers need to understand which specific interventions are more effective than others. These questions can be answered by carrying out appropriate impact evaluation studies. However, because of the many facets of upgrading interventions and the difficulties faced in implementation, evaluating there impact can be complex. Comprehensive evaluation involves focusing on a multitude of potential impacts measured at the community, household and individual levels. This report addresses some of the complexities involved in monitoring and assessing the effect of slum upgrading projects, and provides some recommendations for designing impact evaluations (Field & Kremer, 2006).

Statement of the Problem

The revival of Pasig River is led by the Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission (PRCC). One of its programs is to provide housing facilities to the informal setters alongside Pasig River. There are about 2, 000 households left along the banks of the river that is detrimental in improving the condition of the area. This program would help the organization make best use of its agenda in improving the natural environment.

The informal settlers are considered to earn very low at a day to day basis and the government sponsors or needs to subsidize the funding of the shelter provision in order to develop their lives and to improve or revive Pasig River as well.

The project calls for a housing facility for the informal settlers that would provide them shelter and at the same time improve their lives in their own community. A housing facility also includes infrastructures (roads, housing units, drainage systems, etc.) utilities (water and power) and common facilities (open spaces, schools, health centers, market) accessible to their needs.

Project Objectives

Relocation site for the informal settlers along the banks of Pasig River are needed as the PRCC would pursue their programs in reviving the Pasig River. The project calls for a housing facility for the informal settlers that would provide them shelter and at the same time improve their lives in their own community and addresses the following concerns:

a) Provision or improvement of technical services e.g., water, waste and waste water management, sanitation, electricity, road pavement, street lighting, etc.

b) Provision or improvement of social infrastructure such as schools, clinics, community centers, playgrounds, green areas, etc.

c) Physical improvement of the built environment, including rehabilitation improvement of existing housing stock.

d) Construction of new housing units

e) Design of community  plans (arrangement of sites and street patterns according to infrastructure needs, although working within existing settlement patterns is generally less disruptive to community networks. This measure might entail resettlement of some residents).

f) Changes in regulatory framework to better suit the needs and opportunities available to the poor, as far as possible keeping to existing settlement patterns.

g) Densification measures (e.g. multiple- story houses) for example in order to protect fertile land from being occupied for settlement.

Significance of the Study

Pasig River is a major river of national significance in the historic, cultural and commercial life in the Philippines and has become heavily polluted through the uncontrolled and indiscriminate discharge of untreated municipal and industrial wastewater and solid waste. The relocation program for the informal settlers along the banks of Pasig River is essential in order to improve both the river and the quality of life of the affected families.

Project Scope and Delimitations

In order to point out the strategies of housing provision, the research is narrowed down to the basic and standard requirements: the strategic planning and sustainability— (1)  required coordination of social, economic and social requirements; (2) embodiment of approaches to issue which can operate over time scales set at short, medium and long term; (3) involvement of a wide group of stakeholders, particularly including local communities; (4) inclusion of assessment of performance, targets and goal settings; and (5) searching issues of: built environment, energy, transport, water and wastes.

            Limitations of the traditional bioclimatic design approach

The approach of the typical climate regions with related design guidelines, outlined in the previous subsections, although clear and easy to transmit and apply, often have two serious disadvantages:

• The solutions are often presented without the explanations, indicating what to do rather than why, emphasizing results as the product, rather than the process.

• The approach does not provide useful guidance for the many intermediate climates found with conditions and characteristics between rather than within the typical regions.

 Methodologies to overcome these two fundamental aspects will be presented in Chapter 2 and 3, while the method explained in the following chapter also responds to this situation.

Definition of Terms

The origins, implications and associations of these terms are therefore explained as follows in order to clarify their specific meaning in the development of this thesis.

                        Bioenvironmental Architecture: The term bioenvironmental is applied to identify an architecture that relates to its physical context, climate in particular. In Spanish, the term bio-ambiental is often used as a synonym of bioclimatic; for example, ‘Zonificación Bioambiental’ is the Argentine National IRAM Standard 11.603 (1998). In other Latin American countries both terms are used with the same meaning. However, in this thesis the term implies a wider meaning as it includes related aspects such as landscape, soil and other environmental aspects of the surroundings, in addition to the implications of the key relationship climate comfort- architecture. It is considered that the integration of all these factors can contribute to sustainability, energy efficiency and thermal comfort, as well as a qualification for environmental quality of the built environment.

                        Bioclimatic Architecture: Olgyay defined the term bioclimatic in 1953 (Szokolay, 1995) to define the architecture that responds to its climatic environment and achieves comfort for the occupants through appropriate design decisions.

                        Naturally Conditioned Architecture: The expression natural conditioning implies the successful modification and improvement of indoor thermal conditions through passive design decisions, such as form, orientation, materials, color and vegetation, with little or no dependence on mechanical conditioning installations with conventional and nonrenewable energy. It is sometimes currently mentioned to avoid the use of the term bioclimatic, considered slightly out-dated in certain circles.

                        Low Impact Architecture: The harmful environmental impact of architecture include the emissions of greenhouse gases that arise from energy use for heating and cooling, the impact of raw material extraction, transformation into building materials, transportation and construction impacts as well as impacts of materials on building users. Buildings also channel waste, rainwater and sewage, as well as creating impacts at the demolition stage at the end of their useful life. Therefore, this denomination applies to the architecture that consciously aims to reduce or minimize these impacts.

                        Ecological Architecture: The science of ecology studies the relationship between living entities and their environment.

However, ecological architecture or eco-architecture often includes examples of hi-tech architecture (Slessor, 1997a and 1997b). For example, ‘Eco homes’ is the denomination which was then applied to the environmental assessment system to evaluate sustainability issues of housing in the United Kingdom (BRE, 2002), while ‘Eco-house’ is the title of the book by Roaf (2001 and 2003) on ecological housing with a strong emphasis on energy efficiency and use of renewable energy in architecture.

                        Bio-architecture: Sometimes used as a synonym of ecological or eco-architecture, with connotations of architecture as a living organism.

                        Energy Efficient Architecture: It implies certain emphasis in the efficiency of installations for artificial conditioning, illumination, heating, cooling and ventilation, although in this thesis it is considered that the truly energy efficiency mainly depends on appropriate design decisions for the building and not simply the efficiency of the heating, artificial lighting and cooling installations.

                        Organic Architecture: This refers to architecture that reflects or copies natural forms, textures and plant materials, in some cases related to the theories of Rudolf Steiner (2003), and covering zoomorphic architecture

(Hugh Aldersley-Williams, 2003), where buildings ted forms inspired by animals. In both cases, examples invoke a symbolic relationship with nature, as well as a possible functional or environmental response.

                        Natural Architecture: This denomination, also used by Pearson (1994), emphasises the impact of materials on the indoor environment. It also covers natural ventilation, energy efficiency and the GAIA concept to achieve planetary harmony, with a certain tendency to promote a ‘back to nature’ approach, although the Gaiana House example (Pearson, 1994, p 41) includes many bioclimatic design resources and strategies.

                        Passive Architecture: This expression, coined by Arthur Bowen in 1984 (Szokolay, 1995) implies the capacity of buildings to achieve comfort through design decisions rather than dependence on ‘active’ mechanical plant with high-energy demand. Appropriate design choices include building form, orientation, thermal characteristics of materials, form and location of openings, colours, landscape and design of outdoor spaces. However, passive buildings may require the active participation of users to achieve optimum comfort in rooms by opening windows, closing blinds or changing positions of specific building elements.

                        Solar Architecture: The energy crisis of 1970 produced a wave of new designs to optimize the use of solar energy in architecture. Active solar systems require energy to move heat from the point of collection, usually flat

plate collectors, to the point of use inside the building. The expression passive, previously defined, is strongly associated with passive solar, where the systems for collection, storage and distribution of solar energy are the

building fabric, without dependence of external auxiliary energy (Mazria, 1983).

                        Sustainable Architecture: The term sustainable (du Plessis, 1998; de Schiller, 2004) includes the economic and social aspects as well as the ecological related to environmental sustainability. However, it is generally applied to architecture as a design quality related to projects achieving low environmental impact. The term architecture emphasises the role of the design process, a wide approach that includes the initial design guidelines through all project stages, from post-occupancy assessment, durability and life cycle performance including deconstruction, recycling and recovery procedures.

                        Sustainable Building: Denomination that covers all aspects of sustainability, coined by a research network meeting at a series of influential world congresses (CIB, 2000; de Schiller, 2002; Du Plessis, 2002) held in Maastricht 2000, Oslo 2002, several regional meetings in 2004, and Tokyo 2005.

                        Green Architecture: A rather popular term (Hall, 2005) used to indicate both natural and sustainable architecture, although it is often associated with certain specific features such as organic and recycled or recyclable materials, and the use of functional vegetation for green roofs and green facades.

                        Vernacular Architecture: The traditional and popular architecture of specific regional features or local character which integrates near-by materials and resources with design solutions developed over time through a process of trial and error to achieve adequate levels of comfort in relation to user expectations (Oliver, 1973; 1987;2004)

           

ENDNOTES

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[1] World Health Organization, (1997)Richard Helmer and Ivanildo Hespanhol. Water Pollution Control- Case Study III. 1997

[2] Richard Helmer and Ivanildo Hespanhol. Water Pollution Control- Case Study III. 1997

[3] Corpuz, Arturo & Pablo, Christopher,(2002).Towards a National Development Framework for the Philippines

[4] Pa- Riles: The UST CCMF Tondo Youth community development program participatory action research

[5] James A. Tyner. The Philippines: Mobilities, Identities, Globalization. 2009.

CHAPTER 2

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

Literature review will provide the research strategies to different aspects of housing provision—its importance and effectiveness. The following concerns are:

            a. Coordination of environmental, economic, and social        requirements

            b.   Issues on built environment; energy, transport, water and            wastes are addresses in a coherent manner to avoid conflicts

            c.      Technology and Materials

            d.      Bio- climatic Architecture

            e.      Land Use for Settlement Areas

            f.      Case Study

                        f.1 Local

                        f.2 Foreign

                        f.3 Bioclimatic design

According to Sieverts (2003), the whole building design and procurement process is very complex and encompasses development and construction from the urban and regional scale down to that of the individual dwelling. The involvement of local communities in formulating a criteria against which development is judged, and in approval access can be fragmented at the present time and this means that single emotive issues can sometimes dominate to the exclusion of an overall understanding.[1]

            A. Coordination of environmental, economic and social requirements

           

                        A.1Environmental. The process of design, particularly in early schematic stages is by necessity transformed by and ecological focus. Working with environmental strategies is more than assembling parts, or the choosing of systems as if selecting from a menu. Like a great collage, it is important for the parts to blend. (Kwok & Grondzik, 2007)

                        According to Viljoen and Bohn (2001), the choice of building materials affects the environmental impact of a house. All building materials are processed in some way before they can be incorporated into a building. The processing may be minimal, as in the case of a traditional cottage constructed from materials found locally, or it may be extensive, as in the case of prefabricated construction. This processing of materials inevitably requires the use of energy and results in waste generation.[2]

Oliver (2006) quoted, “I will endeavor to enlarge on these misgivings, but first we should ascertain what is meant by these words. For guidance I turn to those standard works the Oxford English Dictionary and Webster’s Dictionary. In these, we find that the verb ‘to environ’ means to ‘encircle’ or ‘surround’, and the ‘environment’ is that which surrounds an object or living thing: ‘whatever encompasses’. Biologically, it is ‘the aggregate of all external and internal (my emphasis) conditions, affecting the existence, growth, and welfare of organisms’. It can be argued that there is no entity that is ‘the environment’, but an infinite variety of environments for all physical phenomena. Similarly, we may discover that ‘behavior’, while meaning for some 500 years, ‘conduct or course of action towards or to others’ has also meant for nearly as long a time, the ‘handling, or disposition of anything’, such as the ‘manner or action of a machine, a chemical, substance, organ, organism, etc’.”[3]

These gave an indication of the direction to which he would turn, as he argued that an understanding of behavior patterns is ‘essential to the understanding of built form’ and that ‘forms, once built, affect behavior and the way of life’. In his view the forms of vernacular buildings result from ‘the aims and desires of the unified group for an ideal environment’ and socio- cultural forces ‘become of prime importance in relating man’s way of life to the environment’. Whether the ‘ideal environment’ is indeed, an objective or, in many cultures, is even a concept, remains to be demonstrated.

                        A.2 Economic. Ensuring that the housing solutions of the informal settlers are sustainable is important. On the part of the re- settlers, sustainability means that their new homes must be affordable, income adequate is maintained, and access to essential services like transport, education and health care is adequate. For the government, sustainability means, to the extent possible, costs are recovered. The government has to get back its initial investment so that it can then make use of these resources to build more homes for other informal settlers.[4]

                                   

                        The value of buildings depends on the nature of ownership. For example, a major government agency may construct buildings with a 50- year (or more) life, whereas a property developer may simply construct buildings for immediate leasing and short-term sales potential. Each of these building owners is pursuing different measures of value, and the task for green building marketers is to recognize this state of affairs and to tailor their approaches to different owners accordingly.[5]

                        According to Yudelson (2006.), buildings also build up value by having lower operating costs. In a low interest rate climate, the multiplier of annual savings to get incremental increases in building value may be as high as 14 (cap rate of 7%), whereas in higher interest rate environments, it can shrink to 10 (cap rate of 10%). So, the same projected annual savings in energy and water costs, or benefits of productivity increases, might be worth 40% more in a low-interest-rate economy.

                        A.3 Social. Cities are predominantly shaped by thoughts, however uncoordinated. Landscapes, by contrast are shaped by elemental forces. In principle, warmth and plants drive upward, water and matter transport downward. Vegetated landscapes tend toward balance. Towns don’t. almost all manifest excessive dryness. Dryness is a soul quality—arid, harsh inflexible and dead. In urban projects, it is encouraged to mitigate this using trees and ground plant in buildings. (Day, 2003.)[6]

                        “It’s a sad fact that many people live in places that they don’t feel connected to. They don’t feel their value confirmed by the places where they live and consequently don’t themselves value these places. Such places attract abuse – starting with litter, then progressing via graffiti to vandalism and worse. They silently abuse the people who live in and use them. These are places over which residents have no control – or at least perceive themselves powerless to do anything about. Lea View House in Hackney, London is one example. Prior to rehabilitation in the 1980s, 90% of the residents of this public sector housing estate wanted to leave. Following intensive architect–resident collaboration, this socially and physically deprived community was turned into a place with positive community spirit. Vandalism, thefts and muggings, formerly common, virtually disappeared; tenants’ health improved, communal areas were looked-after and dignity and respect re-established. People now wanted to move onto the estate.” (Day and Parnell, 2003). [7] This is just one illustration of the way care flourishes once a community feels proprietary about a place. As well as improving physical environment, this encourages social bonding, crime reduction and shared responsibility. However ugly, polluted, environmentally abused, is a place, the relationship to it changes as soon as people free to alter it. And it changes profoundly once people start work on it. It becomes their place – something they value. Not only are they empowered to co-shape our own future, but what people value, think, feel and do counts. It is of significant consequence – and so, therefore, they themselves.

                        People’s response to housing resettlement is characterized by patterns of coping strategies evident in how they generally deal with the compound conditions of poverty. The uncertainties that the urban poor face force them to “improvise” in order to survive in a fast-changing world that is increasingly making their lives more difficult. Because of limited resources and the various conditions that shroud their capacity to take hold of their future, the urban poor come up with short-term, quick- fix solutions to each problem as it arises. These coping strategies become part of the people’s culture and turn into a stock of knowledge which supplies people with interpretations and guides of action as they confront opportunities and challenges in their lives.

            B. Issues on built environment

           

                        B.1 Energy

                        According to Grondzik & Kwok (2007), consideration of on- site energy production should begin with a review of energy efficiency strategies. Every effort should first be made to reduce demand. Reducing demand reduces the size of an on- site generation system or permits a system of a given size to offset a greater percentage of building energy load.[8]

                        Given an efficient building, on- site energy production can further reduce environmental impact.  Selecting the best strategy for on- site generation will depend upon factors such as type and location of the project, regional and micro climates, utility, rates and possible tax and financial incentives for clean and/or renewable energy.

                        “Plug loads have little direct effect on the architectural design of a building—electrical wiring is easily coordinated and concealed. The energy demands resulting from plug loads, however, will affect building energy efficiency and consumption, the sizing of cooling systems, and the sizing of on- site power generation systems. The greater the plug loads, the larger the supporting electrical system must be.”, says Grondzik & Kwok (2007). The design of on- site power and passive and active cooling systems demands that the nature of plug loads be well estimated during schematic design.

                        Solar Energy

                                    Principles

                                    The principle of power generation is in all cases the same: Heat energy from combustion of fossil fuels or from nuclear fission is used to drive a thermal engine—in most cases using stream turbines—and to produce electric current via generators coupled to the turbines. Solar thermal power plants use exactly the same technology, which has been refined for more than a hundred years. They simply replace the conventional heat sources by solar energy.

                                    Solar thermal power plants work in principle like a magnifying glass. They concentrate the rays of sun , in order to obtain high temperature. The required working temperature necessitates strong, direct solar radiation, and this determines which locations are appropriate for solar thermal power plants.  They can therefore be operated economically only within the—enormous—sun belt between the 35^th northern and 35^th southern latitudes.

                                    The concentration of light

                                    Wengenmeyr (2008) quoted, “Nevertheless we can in this way theoretically arrive at about the same radiation energy density on the surface of the Sun, and could in principle obtain heat at a temperature of several thousand Kelvins”. An alternative is offered by linear concentrators, for example cylindrical lenses: They do not concentrate the radiation at a single point, but rather along a caustic line, so that they need to e moved around only on axis in order to follow the sun.

                        B.2 Water

                        Access to good quality potable water is fundamental to human survival and therefore basic to any slum upgrading scheme. The human right to water has been recognised in various international standards, in particular the General Comment No. 15 on the Right to Water which states that: “The human right to water entitles everyone to sufficient, safe, acceptable, physically accessible and affordable water for personal and domestic uses.”

                        In many low-income settlements, water is both scarce and expensive. In some countries slum-dwellers pay up to 30 times more than middle class residents for their water. Moreover, inadequate sanitation is one of the main sources of water contamination in urban poor settlements, leading to diseases and millions of deaths each year. Providing adequate sanitation facilities is therefore equally fundamental to low-income settlement upgrading.[9]

                        The location of water in relation to the surface of land is a determining factor in type of water supply, building location, surface drainage, vegetation, and so on (Serote, 2004).   The quantity of water affects seasonal allocation, conservation techniques, waste water treatment, population and the like.

                        According to Metcalf and Eddy (2006), “…for many water reuse applications such as agricultural irrigation and industrial cooling water, effluent from secondary waste water treatment plants was historically of sufficient quality. However, as quality goals for these and other water reuse applications have increased, spurred by the adoption of water reuse regulations, additional treatment has become necessary. Meanwhile, as regulations for effluent disposal have become more stringent, additional treatment has become necessary even for plants not practicing reuse. Thus, were feasible, it is reasonable to consider designing a treatment system suitable for potential future water use applications” the technologies now used for water reclamation have evolved from operation and processes used for water and wastewater treatment. Even greater removals for measurable constituents are possible through recent technology advances.[10]

            Treatment technologies for water reclamation applications

                                    Because of the importance of water quality in waste water treatment and water reuse applications, different technologies are utilized, either singly or in combination, to achieve desired levels of constituent removal.

                        Centralized treatment Plants. In a typical centralized plant, the treatment plant is located at a low point in drainage area, usually near the point in the drainage area usually near the point of effluent disposal. At the time of selecting the original location of the treatment plant, the area surrounding the plant may have been relatively uninhabited. Overtime, however, the surrounding land may be developing to any use. In this environment, some local water reuse opportunities might be available such as landscape irrigation and supplying industries with processed water.

                        Table B.1.1 According to Metcalf & Eddy (2006), there are advantages and disadvantages for the centralized treatment facility:

Advantages	Disadvantages
Satellite Treatment Facilities
*Opportunities for finding sites for local reuse of reclaimed water are enhanced	* Site selection might be controversial for treatment plant and storage locations in or near residential areas due to zoning, local and land use ordinances, and public opposition
* The supporting infrastructure and its cost can be reduced significantly as compared to the centralized system	* Availability of wastewater supply in the collection system may not correlate with water reuse demand
* Greater potential for having reuse applications adjacent to treatment system, thus minimizing transmission costs	*Requires additional monitoring equipment and telemetry for operation and control
* Availability of land in the upper reaches of the service area may be better for locating satellite treatment and storage facilities	* Labor and monitoring requirements will be more costly with the addition of facilities in remote locations
* Diversion of untreated wastewater from the collection system reduces the hydraulic load on the collection system and central treatment	* May be more difficult to ensure reliability of water reclamation system and power supply
* The overall cost of a distributive treatment system may be more cost effective than an expanded centralized system	*If the chemicals are required for disinfection and other purposes, transport of hazardous materials through non industrial areas may be required
* Energy consumption may be reduced by eliminating long distance and high pressure reclaimed water transport	* If membrane bio reactors are used, special chemicals and equipment may be required for membrane cleaning and replacement
* Construction disruptions may be less, especially for pipelines in public streets	* Discharge of biosolids back to the collection system may lead to the information of odors

Table B.1.1

                        B.3 Transport

                        For housing to be satisfactory it must be situated so as to allow access to employment opportunities, health care services, schools, childcare centers and other social facilities. It must also be located in an acceptable environment, not, as is often the case, in environmentally hazardous areas such as dump sites, steep slopes, or flood prone areas. Though low-income settlements usually lack public facilities, it has been recognized that strong social networks play an immensely important role in alleviating this de.cit as well as in creating employment opportunities. Slum upgrading, as opposed to relocation, should make sure that social networks are maintained and distances to the work place are kept reasonable.

                        A hierarchical pattern of movement characterizes key aspects of many people’s activities whether they be child care, shopping or visiting friends and relatives. It does not, at present, characterize the most common movement – the journey to work – and if more sustainable living patterns are to be developed the distances between work and home need to be reduced. Nevertheless any new housing development has to provide for a hierarchical pattern of travel – a large number of short journeys with frequency decreasing as distance increases. In the past this was done entirely through the road system – a network of primary, secondary and local distributor roads. In the layout of housing estates priority was given to cars with road widths and junctions easing and speeding their paths. The needs of pedestrians were little considered.

                        Few destinations could be easily reached on foot and those journeys inevitably meant following the road layout. This often meant a long diversion from the most direct route.

                        If car dependency is to be reduced then the priorities will need to be reversed. Greater use of public transport and more walking and cycling means planning for that from the start. In contextual analysis, alongside the location of community facilities, the transport infrastructure needs to be mapped out. The routes and destination of buses needs to be established. Bus stop and railway stations need to be identified. Priority then, needs to be given to direct and easy pedestrian and cycle routes, both to local destinations and to join the public transport network. This means pedestrian desire lines need to be identified and routes worked out which take people along them easily and safely. Pedestrians should not be forced to take major diversions to get around buildings or to cross major roads.

                        B.4 Wastes

                       

                        All waste system elements should be looked upon as being stages in the movement, or flow, of materials from the mining stage, via processing, production and consumption stage towards final treatment and disposal. A waste management system is a combination of several stages in the management of the flow of materials within the city and the region. A waste management plan is part of an integrated materials management strategy, in which the city makes deliberate and normative decisions about how materials should flow. The waste elements then become specific tactics to deal with specific materials after they have been consumed.[11]

                        According to Klundert & Anshutz (2001), “Hazardous waste should be a particular area of concern during assessments of waste management systems. Hazardous waste is waste that is potentially dangerous to living beings and/or the environment. Hazardous waste is produced by a variety of sources including households, large- and small-scale industries, healthcare establishments, commercial operations like vehicle servicing, airports and dry cleaning shops and agriculture (e.g. unused pesticides, herbicides).” It is necessary to know what type of hazardous waste is produced by which sources in what quantities in the community. There are also numerous small enterprises that store their hazardous waste with the ordinary household waste, so it is mixed collected and disposed.

                        Instead of copying high- tech waste collection systems from abroad, it is encouraged to: (1) Allow a mix of approaches and technologies to be included in a well planned overall collection system, which includes sufficient secondary collection and transfer points, adequate shortage space and drop off centers; (2) Enabling specifically allowing pluralistic approaches in laws, ordinances, and regulations, and encouraging pluralism in private sector contracts; (3) Selecting a combination of collection techniques that allow for optimum recovery of valuable materials by municipal and private collectors (Klundert and Anshutz, 2001).

            C. Technology and Materials

            The earth’s resources are usually defined as being ‘renewable’ or ‘non-renewable’. The renewable resources are those that can be renewed or harvested regularly, such as timber for construction or linseed for linseed oil. These resources are renewable as long as the right conditions for production are maintained. Thinning out of the ozone layer is an example of how conditions for the majority of renewable resources can be drastically changed. All renewable resources have photosynthesis in common. It has been estimated that man uses 40 per cent of the earth’s photosynthetic activity (Brown, 1990).[12]

            The use of materials reflects another facet of the passive attitude. It takes over three hundred times more commercial energy to produce a concrete block equal in volume to a sun dried adobe block. It is conceivable to create a structure of integral thermal storage mass with an adaptable transmittive/ insulative weather skin that will accept or reject and automatically store all externally indecent heat energy or internally generated energy.[13]

            According to Berge (2001), a building structure usually consists of the following parts:

                       

                        • The foundation, which is the part of the building that transfers the weight of the building and other loads to the ground, usually below ground level. In swamps and other areas with no load-bearing capacity the load must be spread onto piles going down to a solid base.

                        • The wall structure, which carries the floor, roof and wind loads. The walls can be replaced by free-standing columns.

                        • The floor structure, which carries the weight of the people in the building and other loads such as furniture and machinery.

                        • The roof structure, which bears the weight of the roof covering and possible snow loads.

            Structural materials have to fulfill many conditions. They are partly dependent upon the construction technique to be used, and their properties are defined in terms of bending strength, compressive strength, tensile strength and elasticity. These factors give an idea of the ability of the material to cope with different forces. How this happens depends upon the design and dimension of the structure.

                        Berge (2001). Climate regulating materials control the indoor climate, and are mainly orientated towards comfort. They can be subdivided into four groups:

                                    • air-regulating

                                    • moisture-regulating

                                    • temperature-regulating

                                    • noise-regulating.

                                   

                                    Air- regulating materials. Wind-proofing a building takes place in two areas, topographical and other wind breaking effects in the surroundings, and a wind-proofing membrane forming part of the building’s outer skin.[14]

                                    Moisture- regulating materials. Moisture-regulating materials are primarily used for waterproofing foundations, and as an inner vapor barrier to stop moisture from inside the building penetrating the wall and damaging it. They include materials that can regulate and stabilize air moisture in permanent absorption and emission cycles.

                                    Temperature- regulating materials. Temperature-regulating materials mainly include thermal insulation materials built into the outside surface, but also materials that stabilize temperature relationships through their warmth-regulating properties. Subgroups for internal use are surface materials that can reflect, absorb or carry heat radiation through their structure and color.

                                    Noise- regulating materials. Noise regulation is necessary to reduce and transfer sound of different qualities in and between rooms, and to guarantee a good acoustic climate. External sources of noise, such as road and air transport, necessitate good insulation in both walls and roof. Noise-regulating properties are dependent upon the material used, its design, placement and size.

            D. Bio- climatic Architecture

                       

            Bioclimatic buildings are characterized by the use of building elements including walls, windows, roofs and floors to collect, store and distribute solar thermal energy and prevent overheating. Heat flows occur primarily by the natural mechanisms of convection, conduction and radiation rather than through the use of pumps ad fans. The objective is to manage energy flows and thus provide comfortable conditions in the occupied parts of the building at all times of the year and day. The definition also includes natural cooling and shading. The building is cooled by rejecting unwanted heat to ambient eat sinks (air, sky, earth and water) by means of natural modes of heat transfer. But the cooling load is firstly minimized through architectural design by reducing solar gains to the building fabric or through its widows, and by reducing internal gains. Thirdly, the use of radiant energy for daylighting while maintaining standards of visual comfort is also encompasses within the bioclimatic approach.[15]

Daylighting must be the earliest and most natural ‘bioclimatic’ application, yet this is an approach in which there is renewed interest as energy issues in non-domestic buildings are studied. Architectural devices designed to increase the penetration of natural light deep into the interiors of commercial buildings and schools improve the distribution by techniques such as clerestory lighting, light shelves and so on, offer significant design potential. Cooling is of particular (though not exclusive) relevance in southern climates (Goulding and Lewis, 1997). Techniques include evaporative cooling and night ventilation, and substantial thermal inertia will usually form an important feature of such buildings. All climate-sensitive or bioclimatic architecture will incorporate solar protection and shading as appropriate to regional circumstances.

                        Integrated Design Principles

                       

                        The main principle of bioclimatic design for passive and low energy buildings is to provide a comfortable environment by virtue of the passive features of design. A second principle is to use the active systems (mechanical equipment, such as air conditioning) with the passive systems to create an integrated solution for climate control. This can produce an integrated approach to design. One view of bioclimatic design is that the sphere of influence of architectural design lies in the use of passive design features, such as selecting the appropriate form and fabric of the building for climatic conditions. The aim is to achieve the indoor condition as close as possible to the comfort zone. Hence, through building form and fabric, varying outdoor conditions are controlled in order to achieve comfort. There are limits to the effect of passive systems; hence it is common to use active systems for times when comfort cannot be provided by passive systems.[16]

                        Climate classification for bioclimatic design.

                        The classic texts of bioclimatic architecture consider a wide climatic and geographical coverage. They define representative climate types and zones with their meteorological features and present design recommendations for each case (Koenigsberger et al, 1975; Koenigberger et al, 1977; Konya, 1985; Lloyd Jones, 1998).

This traditional approach resulted in a classification of three basic tropical climates: warm humid, hot-dry and monsoon or transitional, with three sub-climates: upland, maritime desert, and tropical island.

In each case, the corresponding brief and design recommendations are defined, emphasizing the importance of controlling and modifying both the temperature range and average temperature, as shown below:

                        • Warm humid climates: These climates correspond to zones at low latitudes up to about 7° north and south of the equator, with high relative humidity, high average temperatures throughout the year, frequently cloudy skies, intense rainfall, abundant vegetation and low thermal swings, both daily and annually, with little seasonal variation.

Typical design recommendations include: solar protection, lightweight construction and cross ventilation. The limited annual and daily variation of temperature does not require control of the indoor temperature swing if the impact of direct sun and strong diffuse radiation from overcast skies is avoided, while the use of breeze can achieve a useful reduction in the apparent temperature, in spite of the low average wind velocities typically found in this equatorial region.

                        • Hot dry climates: Typical of desert zones, usually found between 15° and 30° north and south of the equator, with large daily and annual temperature swings and marked seasonal variations, predominantly clear skies, intense solar radiation, scarce rainfall and very limited vegetation. Typical design recommendations include: solar protection in summer, construction with substantial thermal inertia, controlled window sizes and protection from hot dry and dusty winds. The high external temperature variation, often exceeding 20° C, requires control measures to reduce the indoor variation. In summer, design strategies need to be implemented to reduce, or at least avoid, an increase in the average indoor temperature using selective night ventilation or evaporative cooling, while solar and internal gains should also be controlled. In winter, solar gains together with internal gains, can be used to increase the indoor average temperature.

                        • Monsoon or transition climates: These generally composite climates, found between the tropical and equatorial zones, have two clearly differentiated seasons, dry and rainy, according to the precipitation, though in India a cold season is also experienced.

The design guidelines for these climates combine the opposing requirements of the dry and humid seasons with difficulty. In many examples of the traditional and vernacular architecture, separate spaces with specific responses for the different seasons are found, with lightweight construction open to the breeze for the humid season and protected heavyweight construction for the dry season.

For the analysis of thermal performance of architectural project and the application of bioclimatic design principles, two distinct categories are defined (Evans, 2005):

                        Simple buildings: with limited internal thermal gains, rooms with natural lighting and ventilation and simple heating systems in cooler climates. In these buildings the average indoor temperature is similar or slightly above the average outdoor temperature for most months of the year, with the possibilities of solar radiation as a supplementary heating source. This category of building includes most schools and housing. Traditional texts on bioclimatic design have concentrated on these situations, where bioclimatic design resources to achieve natural conditioning can often provide a large degree or reduction in the need to heat and cool by artificial means.

                        Complex buildings: with large internal gains from occupants and equipment, as well as deep plan buildings where artificial ventilation and lighting is essential in the internal spaces. Large offices, hospitals and commercial centers are examples of this type of building. In this case the indoor temperatures may rise above average external temperatures, requiring artificial cooling in addition to artificial lighting and ventilation. In these complex buildings, bioclimatic design resources by themselves may be sufficient to avoid need for artificial conditioning, but are still important to reduce conventional energy demand.

Koegnigsberger et al (1970) inderline the difference between techniques to evaluate the behavior of a design after it has defined backward looking analysis and techniques to assist in the orientation of the design process forward looking analysis.

Table C.1 Project design stages, with the potential to integrate bioclimatic design resources and cost at each stage

Design stage	Potential for applying bioclimatic approach and energy efficiency design resources	Cost of applying design resources
Program (building type, location, site	Very high potential	Potential alternatives at low cost
Preliminary sketch (initial concepts of forma and image)	High potential	Low cost (decisions on volume, orientation and form)
Sketch design (definition of architectural intentions)	Good potential	Low cost (decisions on volume, orientation and form)
Project (development in detail)	Limited potential to adjust bioclimatic characteristics	Increased cost
Details and specification	Very limited	Important cost of modifications
Construction	Very limited	Elevated cost of changes
Use	Extremely limited	Elevated cost of changes

The possibilities of defining design guidelines based on climate conditions and comfort requirements, independently of the initial design concepts for specific projects, allows the definition of general guidelines for each climatic region.

Typological solution set for warm continental areas

The success in this climate of passively designed buildings (that is, buildings with no mechanical heating and cooling systems) depends upon a number of strategies that have to work together. They include proper orientation of the main rooms and windows, adequate size of the glazing, and the use of insulation, thermal mass and summer shading. As a general rule of thumb, whenever possible the longer side of the building should be oriented to the north. This will allow as much solar penetration as possible in winter, which is a requirement for passive heating. In summer, shading of the north-facing windows can be done with relative ease. West- and east-facing elevations should be kept to a minimum as the summer morning and afternoon sun can be quite intense. To minimize heat loss in winter, the roof and walls must be insulated and the use of double glazing is advisable. Thermal mass, such as uncovered concrete floors and internal brick walls, is required to help in moderating internal temperatures by averaging out the diurnal extremes. During summer days, this mass absorbs the heat, keeping the internal space cooler than outside. In winter, the mass stores the heat from either solar radiation or heaters, and releases it at night to help warm the internal space.[17]

            E. Settlement Areas

            The primary concern in structuring residential patterns is the health and safety of the residents. This suggests that location of residential areas must be free from natural and man- made hazards to life and limb must have a pleasant and healthy environment. One simple way to ensure access is to declare by ordinance that all customary footpaths be recognized as public easements which must be kept at all times (Serote, 2004).

            According to Serote (2004), “The ideal physical form that can address the above concerns effectively is the concept of “neighborhood unit”. An ideal neighborhood unit is a physical environment in which a mother knows that her child will have no traffic streets to cross on his way to school. An ideal neighborhood provides a safe environment and adequate facilities for children to play.”  A cluster of a few neighborhoods may form a community to support higher level facilities and services like a secondary school, a district park or a feeder public market. These clusters are even conveniently linked to the town center.

                        Informal Settlements. An ongoing concern everywhere is how to deal with informal settlements. Informal settlements occupy their sites illegally. Unless their tenure is legalized on site, they must be relocated or resettled. Urban development through squatter eviction and relocation merely transfers the problem from the rejecting locality to the receiving community.  The relocation sites are usually situated outside the built up areas, initially remote, isolated with minimum of infrastructure and services in place. Employment opportunities are not available on site and the relocatees have to commute to the inner cities to seek or keep their jobs. Commuting eats into a considerable portion of their day’s pay and so many of the relocatees  sell off their lots and return to the inner cities o squat again.

           

            The informal settlers must be relocated where they can have social networks and livelihood.  The Urban Development Housing Authority (UDHA) directive to give priority to in- city relocation should be heeded to the extent possible. Where this is not possible and resettlement to new locations is the only option, the government should make sure that the relocatees continue to be integrated into the social and political life as well as linked to the markets in the host locality.

                        Topography. The factor topography is important in land use decisions because it affects the cost production, the cost of land development, the cost of laying networks and infrastructure, the cost of conveyance of water, drainage sewerage and the rate of erosion.

                       

                        The individual characteristics of land are rarely considered in isolation in determining the use of a site or area. The bureau of soils uses nine capability classes (adapted from the US Dept. of Agriculture) denoted by letters A, B, C, D, L, M, N, X and Y. Limitations to such classes are shown as subscripts to the capability of class discussed on Table f.1.

Class A	Very good agricultural lands with level to nearly level (0-3% slope) deep soil, well drained and with high natural fertility. This land class can be cultivated safely to clean-tilted or row crops with simple but good faming practices
Class B	Lands have slight limitations in use like drainage or excess water, soil and erosion problem due to slightly sloping relief from 3% to 8%. This land can be cultivated safely to clean tilted crops provided easily applied conservation practices like contour tillage and cover cropping are practiced
Class C	Lands are moderately good lands that should be cultivated with intensive conservation practices like contour tillage, terracing, cover, cropping, and the like on account of sloping to rolling relief of 8% to 18% slope. The limitations may be erosion, excess water, or soil condition
Class D	Lands are fairly good lands but require full management and complex conservation practices like teracing, contour tillage and cover cropping. This land is rolling, strongly rolling with 8% to 30% slope, is good for limited cultivation but is best suited to permanent tree crops
Class L	Lands are level to nearly level but too stony or too wet for cultivation. This land is limited to pasture forest use with careful management.
Class M	Lands are steep with slopes of 30%- 50%, maybe severely eroded or too shallow for cultivation. Class M lands are suitd only to pasture forest use with careful management
Class N	Lands are very steep with more than 50% slopes, too shallow, rough or dry for cultivation and are best suited forest use with careful management
Class X	Lands are wetlands that cannot be economically drained. These include mangrove swamps and marshes. Class X marshes are suited for fishponds or for recreational uses or are simply conserved for their aesthetic value
Class Y	Lands are very hilly, mountanious, barren and rugged. This class includes badlands, riverwash areas and sand dunes. Class Y lands should be reforested if trees are found to survive in these areas

Table f.1

                        Among the nine capability classes, only Class A has practically no limitations. Therefore, class A lands have the capability to support all possible utilization types.[18]

           

            E. Support Facilities

            It is an essential concomitant of any housing development that its residents have easy access to a range of community facilities. These include open spaces and meeting places, education and health services, and shops providing goods and services. In many of the low-density developments of the past scant attention was given to such considerations. The provision of facilities was left to others – the local authority or the private market. The new approach to housing development recognizes the need to plan for communal facilities.

The companion guide to PPG3 – Better Places to Live – draws attention to the importance of ‘contextual analysis’:

“…greater emphasis now needs to be given to the linkage between new

housing and:

* local facilities and community infrastructure

*the public transport network

*established walking and cycling routes.

Making these linkages is fundamental to achieving more sustainable patterns of movement and reducing people’s reliance on the car.”

Contextual analysis of a development site identifies the location of existing facilities and networks. This helps to determine the suitability of the site for housing and indicates what types of housing might be most appropriate. It can identify a shortfall in facilities which might be made good within the development itself or provided nearby through the planning system. Finally, it can help to ensure that the site is planned in such a way as to link into local networks, providing good accessibility to nearby destinations and the wider community (Towers, 2005).

Table E.1 Provision for children’s play

Age	Provision
0 to 3	Toys
2 to 6	Small scale equipment in local open space or communal design
5 to 12	Robust and complex equipment in small urban park or adventure playground
8 up	Outdoor games in park specialist activity center/ theme parks

Source: Introduction to Urban Housing Design: At home in the City, 2005 (p 63)

Examples of hierarchy of facilities which can be reached at different distances

5- minute walk	10- minute walk	20- minute walk, short journey	40- minute walk journey
Communal garden	Local open space	Small Park
Nursery, child minder	Primary school	Secondary school	Major park
	Dentist	Hospital	Specialist hospital
	Daily needs	Weekly needs	Occasional needs
Meeting room	Community center	Sports center	Sports club
Pub/ café	Restaurant	Cinema	Theater

Source: Introduction to Urban Housing Design: At home in the City, 2005 (p63)

The pattern of the hierarchy depends partly on need and partly on the catchment population required to support a large-scale or specialized service. People need services such as a doctor’s surgery or a primary school near to their homes. At the other end of the scale, a further education college or a teaching hospital has to draw on a large area to justify its size and range of specialism. Table 3.2 gives examples of services which might be provided within a 5-, 10-, 20-minute walk or a short bus journey; and a 40-minute journey by car or public transport.

            F. CASE STUDY

            F.1 Local

            NAVOTAS SANGAMANA HOUSING

Navotas is a municipality in Metro Manila. It is directly north of Manila, westvof Malabon City, and south of Obando, Bulacan. Navotas is part of the informal sub-region of Metro Manila called Camanava. Since Navotas is a first class municipality and highly urbanized the standard of living is high.

Navotas has the highest population density in Metro Manila with 220,000 people living in a 10.77 km2 strip of land, which is mainly made up of fishponds. Since the land is almost only fishponds 70% of the people live of fishing. There is natural gas power plant located in Navotas which provides the municipality with electricity. Natural disasters such as earthquakes and typhoons are common in the Philippines and especially near the Manila Bay torrential rains usually cause flooding and strong winds destroy houses. There are still some mangrove left along the bay and this has (so far) protected the residential area from storm surges. But it was also recently reported that an adjacent fault line has become active again and there is a risk of tsunami occurring if there is an earthquake.

A regulation regarding the construction of toilets is that the toilets have to have walls and floor of material that can resist water and damp. Presently they have already started to fill up the area with silt dredged from the river. The inhabitants of Sanagmana have decided to regulate garbage dumping; people are not allowed to throw anywhere other than in places reserved for garbage. Although they have this regulation the river is still very dirty because those living on the other side of the fishpond throw their garbage in the river. Every Friday the Local Government Unit, LGU, collects the garbage in Sanagmana.

HOUSING DESIGN CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS

The president of the community has already built a house based on the approved plan. It is the type of house that the organization regulates and that the rest of the families in the area should follow. However, there are many who already built their houses with a solid ground that is not allowed according to the building regulations.

Figure F.1.1 the house of the president

Figure F.1.2 Production of roof tiles              Figure F.1.2 Production of roof tiles

At present, the people are using different kinds of materials for their houses such as: wood, sheet metal, concrete, bamboo, plywood, steel, sand, soil etc. They make their own roof tiles of cement, sand and gravel.

Bamboo is a very good material to build with, it is strong and when you build walls of bamboo the ventilation in the house is very comfortable. Even plywood can be made with the wood from bamboo. The president’s house is made of some of these materials.

The stilts are made of concrete, steel and wood from coco lumber. The coco lumber is the raw material of palm trees and it as strong as the bamboo and very cheap. The house construction itself is made of only coco lumber. The roof and house frame construction is specially made to resist earthquakes and strong winds.

Figure F.1.3 Roof Construction, Sangamana

The people are trying to work as much as they can with mature wood because it is stronger and better than the premature ones. The roof is made of tiles that they have made themselves; to reassure that the tiles would not fall off they are anchored with nylon to the roof beam.

Figure F.1.4 Tile anchored with nylon, Sangamana

Under the toilet, outdoors, is a septic tank especially for the faeces. The toilet, which has to be built with a material that can withstand water and damp, is made of Minerit. This material is a very sustainable material that is also resistant to termites. Minerit is often used as facade material in Sweden.

Figure F.1.5 Septic Tank, Sangamana

CONSTRUCTION

The soil condition in Navotas consists of twenty four meters of clay and silt which is not a good and stable material for foundation. For the type of house that was designed for Sanagmana (single detached lightweight house construction), the foundation used consists of individual footings and columns shaped like a T that needs to be buried approximately one meter below the surface or natural grade line. This would prevent damages during earthquake and seismic wave motions in the ground23. The units can also be joined in a straight line for row housing. The ground floor is located two to three meters above the ground to protect against flooding and allow strong winds to circulate.

The units usually have two floors, with the ground floor used as a living room as well as kitchen and study area, and the second floor as bedroom. The area under the house is commonly used for agriculture or as storage.

During typhoons the wind capacity is approximately 200 kph in Navotas. The wind swirls around the houses so it does not matter how one orients the roof, as long as it is well anchored to the unit and the unit is well anchored to the ground on stilts.

CHOICE OF MATERIALS

The choice of material depends on many conditions. It should be resistant to termites, rodents, humidity and corrosion. Besides it should be relatively cheap and easy to work with. As much as possible the materials, which usually are bought in bulks, should be found and produced in the Philippines.

The materials that are used in the construction are wood wool (omniboard), plywood, fiber cement-bonded boards (hardiflex), micro-concrete roof tiles

(MCR-tiles), posts made of concrete, and sometimes coco lumber instead of the expensive steel.

Woodwool/omniboard is resistant to fire and rodents. Hardiflex is also fire resistant. Both of the materials are used everywhere in the unit because of their termite and fire retarding qualities.

The MCR-tiles are made in Navotas by the inhabitants themselves using sand, gravel and water. The tiles are put in plastic moulds and then water cured and air dried for 28 days. These are then attached to the roof beams with nylon.

Mature coco lumber is commonly used as beams because it is much cheaper and locally available. Optional is steel which is more expensive, easily corrodes and needs special equipment and skills/expertise to construct. It also needs maintenance every five years to prevent corrosion.

DISCUSSION ON BUILDING MATERIALS

            Omniboard. Omniboard is a material that can be used almost anywhere in the house as the name implies, Omni is a Latin word meaning everywhere. It is a wood wool board and uses a renewable fast-growing local wood species called Gemelina for wood wool fibres. Other fibre materials that may be used for Omniboard are bamboo, corn husks or rattan strips. These fibres are then bonded with Portland cement and pressed to the desired strength and density.

Figure F.1.6 House made out of Omniboard, Sangamana

The Omniboard is resistant to water and is a good insulation material. Tests have shown that the environment indoor temperature can be changed from 100°C to 35°C by using the Omniboard, which is good considering the hot and humid weather condition in the Philippines. It has also a good acoustical property.. Aside from being water resistant it is also durable to fire, termites and fungi.

It is easy to work with Omniboard. It can be sanded, nailed, screwed, drilled, riveted, plastered or topped with concrete and painted with water-based paints and it is best sawn with a circular saw.

            CIB. Concrete Interlocking Blocks (CIB) are an alternative material to traditional Concrete Hollow Blocks (CHB) that are popular in the Philippines. These look like the toy LEGO. They have three holes for the reinforcement bars and special niches to accommodate electrical conduits. The bricks are made of cement, sand and water and are a very good material to build with in these climatic conditions. It is also a very good material for core constructions. Besides being easy to handle, it is also sustainable in many ways.

Figure F.1.7 Reinforcement installation

            Bamboo. Bamboo is gigantic tree-like grass that grows in tropical countries like the Philippines. It has got an extremely hard exterior surface and grows ten feet per week. Bamboo’s flexibility makes it different from other wood materials and it needs special handling techniques because of this. But with the right knowledge one can build advanced and sustainable constructions such as; house constructions, scaffolds, etc. Because of its special properties, one cannot nail bamboo without pre-drilling and therefore it is usually plaited or tied together. Another negative property, which is negative, is the lack of durability to humidity and insects. But like wood, one can impregnate bamboo with substances like copper, chrome arsenic, etc. to strengthen it. This must be done when the bamboo is still green and before it has been dried. The status of the bamboo is not high because of its properties and is therefore often used as walls for storages, gable decorations and in similar constructions.

REFERENCE

            Oloffson, Lina (2007). Sweden: Lund University

DISCUSSION

            Sustainable Housing Development for the Urban Poor

The concept of “sustainable housing” does not only mean a durable construction; the concept is wider than that. A sustainable housing includes a functioning society where one can find necessities such as medical service, employment, food etc.

Successful projects from the past have factors contributed to success. The development given by the government is not enough. A housing facility does not stop to a house itself. It needs support facilities to make it livable. 

The development of a housing facility needs a vivid study in each area; the land to be used, the accessibility, energy resources and water. Bioclimatic architecture shall be enforced in building a housing facility for the poor. The government need to a lot enough funds for the housing facility. Not only that the beneficiaries are Filipinos, but also they are the poor in the society—they need support in their basic needs, and of course, sustainability.

            F.2 foreign

            Ekurhuneli, Nigel

Figure F.2.1 Hostel

Approximately 112 informal settlements in Ekurhuleni exist, comprising approximately 135,000 informal units (shacks) in total. The current backlog (units without access to the four basic services) in the metro area is estimated at 170,000. These numbers do not take into account the growth in demand over the next 20 years.

Influx into the urban areas will continue into the future. Although all the informal settlements are provided with emergency water and are in the process of having sanitation facilities installed, they do not have permanent and adequate access to the four basic services:

                       

                        Water;

                        Sanitation;

                        Electricity;

                        and Social services.

 Most of these settlements are also situated on land not suitable for housing purposes and may even be dangerous, such as low-lying areas within the floodlines of rivers, land underlain by high-risk dolomitic formations, electricity and pipeline rights-of-way, and land undermined at shallow depths.

            The availability of suitable land for housing close to the urban core areas is a problem and will necessitate rethinking housing typologies and densities. Although a large number of subsidy linked serviced stands (about 100,000) and houses (about 85,000) have been provided in Ekurhuleni during the last decade, the rate of housing delivery falls far short of the demand. The challenge is not only the number of houses to be provided, but equally the creation of sustainable human settlements and communities.

SETTLEMENT PATTERN

In terms of land use, Ekurhuleni comprises three main components:

            *a central, east-west orientated mining and industrial activity belt     which served as the core around which the nine towns were          established;

            *residential developments surrounding the above-mentioned activity         belt; and

            *rural and agricultural areas to the northeast and, in the central        portion, to the south of the Metro.

Four major concentrations of historically disadvantaged communities exist in the area. All of these communities are situated on the outskirts of the main urban area and are in the areas furthest removed from where the bulk of job opportunities are situated. Together they accommodate approximately 65 percent of the total population of the metropolitan area.

The existing settlement pattern represents the typical apartheid planning structure, where the residential areas are situated on the periphery of the urban area, followed by a vacant buffer area, followed by industrial development that was intended to provide job opportunities, and which is then linked to the main economy via the rail and road networks. The mining belt was historically the core around which the various towns and settlements were established. The metro area has an evenly distributed, multimodal structure with no single, dominant node of activity.

Because of past mining activities, large parts of the  mining belt are vacant. Numerous mining-related development constraints exist within this area, such as slimes dams and mine dumps, shallow undermining, dolomite, radon emissions, and so on.

REFERENCE

            The cities alliance, 2008. Slum Upgrading Upclose.

DISCUSSIONS

            The location of the said housing facility is near the urban area, the job opportunities for the beneficiaries has escalated. The housingis provided with the basic needs: water, electricity, social services and sanitation.

            Although the plan has provided  the basic needs, it is still not considered sustainable. This land as not suitable for housing purposes, as mentioned above, but rat her dangerous. The land is considered as a low lying area where there is a very high possibility of flooding. Housing should, therefore, be provided in the right locations, provide more choices in terms of typologies and tenure, give access to economic opportunities, furnish the necessary social amenities, and ultimately lead to improved quality of life.

            F.3 Bioclimatic housing

                       

Christie Walk, Adelaide, South Australia
Country	Australia
City	Adelaide, South Australia
Building Type	3- storey attached house
Year of Construction	2000-2002
Project name	Christie Walk
Architect	Paul Downtown, Ecopolis Pty Ltd
Portrait
The Christie Walk development is a mixed- density community housing project located in the heart of Adelaide CBD. The development is intended to be a pilot project demonstrating how communities can address the core issues for sustainable living in cities
*water and energy
*material reuse and recycling
*healthy, people friendly public spaces
The project features the onsite sewage and grey water treatment; on sit storage storm water; a solar hot system; power from photovoltaic; passive solar/ climate responsive design; use of recycled, non toxic materials with low embodied energy; pedestrian friendly spaces; local food production; a shared community garden and roof garden and reduced car dependency due to inner city context.

           

                                                                                                       

ECONOMIC CONTEXT

The project was initially funded by Wirranendi, whose members were drawn from the people who intended to live in the project. The non-profit structure of the development co-operative and building company played an essential role in keeping house prices within a range comparable to conventional inner-city properties in Adelaide. The buildings were mostly built with volunteer labour, which helped to reduce the start-up cost. House prices include all the community areas and facilities and range from Aus$120,000 to $350,000.

SITE DESCRIPTION

This development is located on the western side of the city of Adelaide. It is

only two blocks away from the Adelaide Central Market, minutes from the

main area of the CBD, and close to some of the parklands surrounding the

city. The project is located on a relatively small (approximately the size of two quarter-acre blocks) and awkward T-shaped site, which is severely constrained, with buildings on or close to most of the boundaries. This site, however, was selected by UEA since the project was meant to demonstrate to the general public that it is not always possible to have an ideal site for passive solar orientation (as found in many individual passive solar houses in the suburbs or in remote areas), yet it is still possible to achieve a healthy, comfortable and environmentally sustainable dwelling, while maintaining the occupant’s privacy, through careful and clever planning, design, use of building materials and landscaping.

BUILDING STRUCTURE

The townhouse building is located on the south part of the site and is elongated in an east–west direction. This location makes this building the only one in the site that has an ideal north orientation. Each unit has three floors; the ground floor consists of a small entry space, a sunspace, and an open living, dining and cooking space. There is a small courtyard at the back (south) side of each unit. The first and second floors consist of a north-facing balcony, a bedroom and a bathroom. Each level is connected by a spiral staircase, which also functions as a ‘thermal flue’ (see the section on (‘Ventilation system’).

The apartment block is located on the long part of the site, running on a north–south axis. This means that most of the openings are located on the east side of the building, and each unit has a very limited number of north facing windows (or none at all). Each unit is a single storey with one bedroom, a bathroom, a living–dining space, a kitchen and an open space that can be made into a second bedroom. The unit on the ground floor also has a small courtyard on the west side.

There are three detached straw bale cottages on the site: two with two storey and one with three storey. Due to its location on the site, each of these houses also has a limited number of north-facing windows.

BUILDING CONSTRUCTION

The external walls of the townhouse and apartment buildings are constructed of 300mm thick load-bearing autoclaved aerated concrete (thermalite). Between the townhouse units a 400mm thickness of load-bearing, lowstrength concrete (‘earthcrete’) is used for the internal mass. There is also some steel framing used in the apartment building. Load-bearing timber frames are used for the cottages and the external walls are made of rendered 500mm straw bales.

All of the buildings have reinforced concrete slabs on the ground floor.

The townhouse building use Pinus radiata proprietary trussed joists for the first and second floor construction, while the cottages’ upper floors use either plantation Pinus or recycled timber joists. A compressed straw panel (equivalent to particle board, but containing no woodchips or formaldehyde) is used for the floor decking of the apartment building and cottages.

Reinforced concrete slabs are used for the apartment building. All concrete in the slabs and mass walls contains the maximum percentage of fly-ash.

All window frames are made of recycled timber. All fixed windows are double glazed, whereas the operable windows are single glazed and are equipped with aluminums fly screens. Floor finishes are either Marmoleum, a modern variant of linoleum selected for its aesthetic merit and environmental credentials, or bamboo flooring. Locally produced ceramic tiles are used for all wet areas.

The roofs of the top floor of the apartment and the cottages are insulated with reflective foil and 200mm bulk (batt) insulation. The community roof garden also helps to cool the upper floor of the apartment building. Wall insulation of the townhouse and apartment buildings is provided by the 300mm thermalite walls, while the straw bales of the cottage walls also function as excellent thermal insulation.

All constructions, finishes and paints are non-toxic. Either plantation or recycled timber is used for all woodwork, such as doors and cabinets.

VENTILATION SYSTEM

All of the buildings/units employ comfort ventilation most of the time; nighttime ventilative cooling is used during summer. Vegetation surrounding the building filters and cools the outside air before it enters the building through small top-hung windows. These windows are set low on the wall to draw in cooler air. The outlets are high-level louvres, vents or ventable skylights. The latter are employed in the townhouse and cottage; the air is drawn to the skylights by convection through the stairwells. During hot summer days, all openings are closed, and external bamboo blinds are rolled down to shade the windows. The thermal mass helps to maintain the indoor temperature at a comfortable level. The small windows, vents or skylights are then opened at night to release warm air and bring in cooler outside air. This system helps to  maintain the indoor temperature at a comfortable level.

ENERGY SUPPLY SYSTEM

The mains electricity for the whole development is drawn from the grid; however, photovoltaic panels will be installed on the pergolas of the roof garden on top of the apartment building. It is expected that the development will generate sufficient excess electricity to be sold to the local energy utility since the dwellings use very little energy for space heating and cooling, water heating and lighting, having been carefully designed to be as self-sufficient as possible.

During 2003, the energy consumption of some of the dwellings, occupied by one or two persons, was monitored in a separate project. The results show that the energy usage for the one-person dwellings in this development is reduced by 60 per cent of the state average for similar homes, and 50 per cent for the two-person dwellings. The average electricity use of the one person dwellings is 2293kWh per year and for the two-person dwellings is 3795kWh per year, compared with the state averages of 5469kWh per year and 7359kWh per year, respectively.

SOLAR ENERGY UTILIZATION

As described earlier, solar energy is used in active systems (solar water heating and, later, photovoltaic panels), as well as passively. Passive solar heating is avoided in summer and used in winter for all dwellings; however, due to the location and orientation of each dwelling, the amounts of winter solar gain are different. It is interesting to note, however, that although only the townhouse building has the ideal north-facing orientation, the winter performance of the other dwellings is not significantly different. This is because solar gain is still made possible through the openings, even though they do not face north, and also because of the high insulation value of the window glazing and walls. Figures 4.17 to 4.19 show the relationships between indoor and outdoor temperatures of the three dwellings during the winter of 2003.

In summer, direct solar gain is avoided through the use of external shades (bamboo blinds), balconies, pergolas and overhangs, as well as vegetation. During the day, the external shades are usually drawn and all openings are shut. Reflective foil (and bulk insulation) in the roofs of the apartment building and cottage also help to reduce solar gain.

BUILDING HEALTH AND WELL-BEING

Providing a healthy living environment is the main goal of this development.

Throughout the project, materials are selected very carefully. As described in the section on ‘Building construction’, only non-toxic construction and finishes are used and formaldehyde and PVC are avoided. All concrete used has a maximum content of fly-ash, a waste product of power stations, to reduce the amount of cement used. Cement production is one of the largest contributors of greenhouse gas emissions.

Noise control in each dwelling is provided by the massive walls and double-glazed windows, which also provide thermal advantages, as previously discussed. Air pollution is reduced due to the small number of cars within the site. Being located in the city, very close to good public transport, there is little need for car parks. The landscaping of the site is intended to create an interesting and productive community space. This includes the addition of vegetable and roof gardens, which also demonstrates that it is possible for a tight urban site to produce food. The paving of the site was done by the residents themselves, resulting in a creative and attractive outdoor environment.

WATER RECYCLING AND CONSERVATION

Storm water from the roof, balconies and other surfaces is collected in two 20,000 litre underground tanks. After filtering, this water is used for irrigation on the site and for toilet flushing. Grey water and black water are treated in a chlorine-free sewage treatment plant. It is planned that the composted solids will be taken to rural sites for use as fertilizer, while the filtered effluent will be returned to the site as a second-class water supply through the onsite storm water system. Most of the vegetation consists of native plants with lower water needs; some exotic plants are also used, where appropriate, as part of the passive design strategies.

PLANNING TOOLS APPLIED

No specific planning/design tools were applied during the design process.

The design was mainly done by the architect through the application of passive design principles for this climate. Thermal simulation was conducted by the author after the project was completed to analyse the effects of some of the building elements on the building performance. A calculation of the embodied energy of the construction was also performed after the project was completed.

The three dwellings described above were monitored by the University of

Adelaide from February 2003 to February 2004. A weather station was installed on the roof of the apartment building. The energy use (electricity and gas) of six dwellings was monitored by Urban Ecology Australia, led by Monica Oliphant from the University of South Australia. The occupants of the three dwellings were interviewed by the author and all of them expressed their satisfaction with the performance of their dwellings and of the whole development, in general.

REFERENCE

Hyde, Richard. 2008. Bioclimatic Housing: Innovative designs for warm climates. UK: Cromwell Press.

ENDNOTES

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[1] Grondzik, Walter & Kwok, Alison. (2007). The Green Studio Handbook: Environmental Strategies to Schematic designs.

[2] Hyde, Richard (2008). Bioclimatic Housing: Innovative designs for warm climates. USA: Earthscan Publisher

[3] Oliver, Paul. (2006). Built to meet needs: Cultural Issues in Vernacular Architecture. Burlington:   Elsevier Ltd.

[4] Hyde, Richard (2008). Bioclimatic Housing: Innovative designs for warm climates. USA: Earthscan Publisher

[5] Yudelson, Jerry. (2006). Marketing Green Buildings: guide for engineering, construction and         architecture. London: Fairmont Press.

[6] Day, Christopher. (2002). Spirit and Place: Healing our Environment, Healing Environment.             Burlington: Architectural Press.

[7] Day, Christopher & Parnell, Rosie. (2003). Consensus Design: Socially inclusive process. Burlington: Elsevier Ltd.

[8] Grondzik, Walter & Kwok, Alison. (2007). The Green Studio Handbook: Environmental Strategies to Schematic designs.

[9] Human Rights and Slum Upgrading.

[10] Metcalf & Eddy Inc., 2006. Water Reuse: Issues, technologies and applications

[11] Anschutz, Justine & Klundert, Arnold. (2001). Intergrated Sustainable Waste Management—The Concept. Netherlands for International Cooperation

[12] Metcalf & Eddy Inc., 2006. Water Reuse: Issues, technologies and applications

[13] Wright, David. (2008). The Passive Solar Primer: Sustainable architecture. Atglenn, Penn: Schiffer              Publication

[14] Berge, Bjorn. (2001). The Ecology of Building Materials. Oxford: Professional Publishing Ltd.

[15] Goulding, John R. & Lewis, J. Owen. (1997). LIOREERG.

[16] Hyde, Richard. (2008). Bioclimatic Housing: Innovative designs for warm climates. Trowbridge:    Cromwell Press.

[17] Hyde, Richard (2008). Bioclimatic Housing: Innovative designs for warm climates. USA: Earthscan                Publisher

[18] Metcalf & Eddy Inc., 2006. Water Reuse: Issues, technologies and applications

CHAPTER 3

METHODOLOGY

 The approach that will be used in the study is experimental. The researcher follows H. Rittle’s method. First is the identification of the problem—the issues and the need of the project will be discussed there.  It is followed by the collection of information. The information gathered is derived from chapter 2. The studies and approach will be discussed in the analysis of information where the researcher would select a strategy that is fit to the project. It will be worked out and tested by the analysis and studies derived from the cases.

Problem Identification

The study calls for a bioclimatic medium- rise housing facility for the informal settlers that would provide them shelter and at the same time improve their lives in their own community. A housing facility also includes infrastructures (roads, housing units, drainage systems, etc.) utilities (water and power) and common facilities (open spaces, schools, health centers, market) accessible to their needs.

The study presented here defines and implement bioclimatic criteria in architectural housing projects. It also aims to link comfort requirements, climate conditions and the thermal behavior of the built environment, in order to contribute to the design process. The approach adopted emphasizes the role of natural conditioning and bioclimatic design strategies in the production of sustainable architecture, including both indoor and outdoor spaces that provide thermal comfort by responding to the natural conditions with reduced energy demand and low environmental impacts. Natural conditioning is a process that modifies the environmental conditions, especially the thermal variables, through the use of design alternatives and selection of materials. For this reason, the urban, architectural and detailed design decisions impact strongly in the modification of the environmental conditions, with respect to the external situation. Specifically, the architectural design decisions and construction characteristics modify the daily cycle of external temperature variations, defined by the average temperature and the temperature swing.

The need for a housing facility is narrowed down to these requirements:

            a) Provision or improvement of technical services e.g., water, waste            and waste water management, sanitation, electricity, road pavement,   street lighting, etc.

            b) Provision or improvement of social infrastructure such as schools,         clinics, community centers, playgrounds, green areas, etc.

            c) Physical improvement of the built environment, including             rehabilitation improvement of existing housing stock.

            d) Construction of new housing units

            e) Design of community  plans (arrangement of sites and street       patterns according to infrastructure needs, although working within existing settlement patterns is generally less disruptive to community    networks. This measure might entail resettlement of some residents).

            f) Changes in regulatory framework to better suit the needs and       opportunities available to the poor, as far as possible keeping to           existing settlement patterns.

            g) Densification measures (e.g. multiple- story houses) for example in       order to protect fertile land from being occupied for settlement.

Analysis of users needs

            There will be approximately 500 beneficiaries that needs be catered by a housing facility. People’s response to housing resettlement is characterized by patterns of coping strategies evident in how they generally deal with the compound conditions of poverty. A sustainable environment (in terms of health and economics) is virtually needed. For every family, there are at least 6 members, that would sum up to 3, 000 users (PRRC). Their need for a safe environment will be studied, by injecting the bioclimatic concept in the design of their future community.

            The users are will be needing the basic needs in a community specifically, schools, clinics, community centers, playgrounds, green areas, etc. In order to provide each required social infrastructures the site must first be recognized. It is essential to provide them utilities that are sustainable for them to be able to minimize their daily expenses. Because of the importance of water quality and waste management, different technologies need to be utilized.

Analysis of information and Solution

            Housing

            The housing design will depend upon the climate of the area. Philippines is considered to be a tropical country. It is the humid to warm climate. Typical design recommendations include: solar protection, lightweight construction and cross ventilation. The limited annual and daily variation of temperature does not require control of the indoor temperature swing if the impact of direct sun and strong diffuse radiation from overcast skies is avoided, while the use of breeze can achieve a useful reduction in the apparent temperature, in spite of the low average wind velocities typically found in this equatorial region.

            The project is a medium rise housing facility that falls into a complex building category. With large internal gains from occupants and equipment, as well as deep plan buildings where artificial ventilation and lighting is essential in the internal spaces. The problem will be, the beneficiaries are from the lower class. Hence, they can’t afford additional costs for the facility. The housing shall, therefore, provide a strategy that is passive. That is, buildings with no mechanical heating and cooling systems) depends upon a number of strategies that have to work together. They include proper orientation of the main rooms and windows, adequate size of the glazing, and the use of insulation, thermal mass and summer shading.

Table 1 Typological solution sets for a warm continental climate: Row house

Source: Bioclimatic housing: Innovative design for warm climates, 2008 (p156)

           

           

            Utilities

                        Water. Because of the importance of water quality in waste water treatment and water reuse applications, different technologies are utilized, either singly or in combination, to achieve desired levels of constituent removal.

                                    Centralized treatment Plants. In a typical centralized plant, the treatment plant is located at a low point in drainage area, usually near the point in the drainage area usually near the point of effluent disposal. At the time of selecting the original location of the treatment plant, the area surrounding the plant may have been relatively uninhabited. Overtime, however, the surrounding land may be developing to any use. In this environment, some local water reuse opportunities might be available such as landscape irrigation and supplying industries with processed water.

The requirement is an isolated area where the facility needs to be placed. There will be and additional cost for labor and monitoring, except it would be a job opportunity for some of the beneficiaries. And the cost of energy will be minimized significantly in the long term usage.

                        Energy. Daylighting must be the earliest and most natural ‘bioclimatic’ application, yet this is an approach in which there is renewed interest as energy issues in non-domestic buildings are studied. Architectural devices designed to increase the penetration of natural light deep into the interiors of commercial buildings and schools improve the distribution by techniques such as clerestory lighting, light shelves and so on, offer significant design potential. Cooling is of particular (though not exclusive) relevance in southern climates (Goulding and Lewis, 1997). Techniques include evaporative cooling and night ventilation, and substantial thermal inertia will usually form an important feature of such buildings. All climate-sensitive or bioclimatic architecture will incorporate solar protection and shading as appropriate to regional circumstances.

                        Given an efficient building, on- site energy production can further reduce environmental impact.  Selecting the best strategy for on- site generation will depend upon factors such as type and location of the project, regional and micro climates, utility, rates and possible tax and financial incentives for clean and/or renewable energy.

                                    Solar Energy. There are two possible options in getting energy for the facility. One is the fission power plants: it involves controlling the temperature of the U- 235, as well as starting out with a sample of U- 235 having exactly the right mass and shape. To some extent, the amount of neutron radiation within the sample can be controlled to keep the system operating steadily state. The other is Photovoltaic cells: it is often combined with series parallel to obtain higher power output that is possible with a signle cell alone.

The principle of power generation is in all cases the same: Heat energy from combustion of fossil fuels or from nuclear fission is used to drive a thermal engine—in most cases using stream turbines—and to produce electric current via generators coupled to the turbines.

Table 2 Simplified function diagram of a nuclear fission power generating system showing one reactor and one turbine

Source:  Alternative Energy: Demystified, 2007 (p 223)

                        Uranium is relatively inexpensive. It can be found in regions widely scattered throughout the world. Fission power plants do not produce green house gas emissions, CO gas or particulate pollutants as do fossil fuel plants.

Table 3 Optimal placement of panels

Source: Alternative Energy: Demystified, 2007 (p 236)

            Optimal placement of fixed, south- facing solar arrays for locations in northern temperate latitudes for year round operation (A), low solar angle season operation (B), and high solar angle season operation (C). The variables x,y and z represents angles in degrees with respect to the zenith. In each case, the panel is viewed edge- on looking west.

                        Wastes. All waste system elements should be looked upon as being stages in the movement, or flow, of materials from the mining stage, via processing, production and consumption stage towards final treatment and disposal. A waste management system is a combination of several stages in the management of the flow of materials within the city and the region. A waste management plan is part of an integrated materials management strategy, in which the city makes deliberate and normative decisions about how materials should flow. The waste elements then become specific tactics to deal with specific materials after they have been consumed.

                        Instead of copying high- tech waste collection systems from abroad, it is encouraged to: (1) Allow a mix of approaches and technologies to be included in a well planned overall collection system, which includes sufficient secondary collection and transfer points, adequate shortage space and drop off centers; (2) Enabling specifically allowing pluralistic approaches in laws, ordinances, and regulations, and encouraging pluralism in private sector contracts; (3) Selecting a combination of collection techniques that allow for optimum recovery of valuable materials by municipal and private collectors (Klundert and Anshutz, 2001).

            Social Infrastructures

            The density of the added infrastructure must be considered to obtain a relative placement or allocations of each use.

            Contextual analysis of a development site identifies the location of existing facilities and networks. This helps to determine the suitability of the site for housing and indicates what types of housing might be most appropriate. It can identify a shortfall in facilities which might be made good within the development itself or provided nearby through the planning system. Finally, it can help to ensure that the site is planned in such a way as to link into local networks, providing good accessibility to nearby destinations and the wider community (Towers, 2005).

            NOTES

            Current themes centre on a range of issues concerning the relationship between the biological and physical domains, such as:

                       

                        • climate types and requirements;

                        • adaptive thermal comfort;

                        • vernacular and contextual solutions;

                        • tools and assessment methods;

                        • microclimate: sun path, wind and rain;

                        • working with the elements, such as passive and active                                systems; and

                        • development of a responsive form (Price & Myers, 2005).

This can be conceptualized as building design that utilizes a range of biophysical elements. These biophysical elements are primarily drawn from the ecosphere, rather than the lithosphere – that is, heat, light, landscape, air, rain and materials. (See figure 1)

Figure 1

Source: Bioclimatic Housing: Innovative designs for warm climate, 2008 (p.4)

Findings

The housing design will depend upon the climate of the area. Philippines is considered to be a tropical country. It is the humid to warm climate. Typical design recommendations include: solar protection, lightweight construction and cross ventilation. The main electricity for the whole development is drawn from the city; however, photovoltaic panels will be installed on the pergolas of the roof garden on top of the apartment building. It is expected that the development will generate sufficient excess electricity to be sold to the local energy utility since the dwellings use very little energy for space heating and cooling, water heating and lighting, having been carefully designed to be as self-sufficient as possible.

In summer, direct solar gain is avoided through the use of external shades (bamboo blinds), balconies, pergolas and overhangs, as well as vegetation. During the day, the external shades are usually drawn and all openings are shut. Reflective foil (and bulk insulation) in the roofs of the apartment building and cottage also help to reduce solar gain.

Providing a healthy living environment is the main goal of this development.

Throughout the project, materials are selected very carefully. As described in the section on ‘Building construction’, only non-toxic construction and finishes are used and formaldehyde and PVC are avoided. All concrete used has a maximum content of fly-ash, a waste product of power stations, to reduce the amount of cement used. Cement production is one of the largest contributors of greenhouse gas emissions.

Noise control in each dwelling is provided by the massive walls and double-glazed windows, which also provide thermal advantages.

Instead of copying high- tech waste collection systems from abroad, it is encouraged to: (1) Allow a mix of approaches and technologies to be included in a well planned overall collection system, which includes sufficient secondary collection and transfer points, adequate shortage space and drop off centers; (2) Enabling specifically allowing pluralistic approaches in laws, ordinances, and regulations, and encouraging pluralism in private sector contracts; (3) Selecting a combination of collection techniques that allow for optimum recovery of valuable materials by municipal and private collectors (Klundert and Anshutz, 2001).

The earth’s resources are usually defined as being ‘renewable’ or ‘non-renewable’. The renewable resources are those that can be renewed or harvested regularly, such as timber for construction or linseed for linseed oil.

The success in this climate of passively designed buildings (that is, buildings with no mechanical heating and cooling systems) depends upon a number of strategies that have to work together. They include proper orientation of the main rooms and windows, adequate size of the glazing, and the use of insulation, thermal mass and summer shading.

Conclusion

In order to obtain Bioclimatic architecture, every aspect must be vividly studied. Economic, social, and environmental issues must be taken into consideration. Since the project calls for a housing facility, proper zoning and orientation is needed. The Philippines is under the warm climate classification, therefore, the usage of passive cooling strategy will be the best approach for the design. Renewable energy is a good source of energy for the facility, since it caters a large amount of users. In designing the aesthetics and flow of the facility, the social aspect must be taken into consideration that the user may adapt with the environment. 

 

CHAPTER 4

SITE PROFILE

I. Criteria for site selection

            The site needs to meet the following requirements:

·         Accessibilty/ Transport. The location of community facilities, the transport infrastructure needs to be mapped out. The routes and destination of buses needs to be established. Bus stop and railway stations need to be identified. Priority then, needs to be given to direct and easy pedestrian and cycle routes, both to local destinations and to join the public transport network. This means pedestrian desire lines need to be identified and routes worked out which take people along them easily and safely. Pedestrians should not be forced to take major diversions to get around buildings or to cross major roads.

·         The land area must be under Class A. Very good agricultural lands with level to nearly level (0-3% slope) deep soil, well drained and with high natural fertility. This land class can be cultivated safely to clean-tilted or row crops with simple but good faming practices. It must be a buildable environment and is a disaster responsive location.

·         The site needs to have support facilities. It is an essential requirement to any housing development that its residents have easy access to a range of community facilities. The provision of facilities was left to others – the local authority or the private market. The new approach to housing development recognizes the need to plan for communal facilities.

Other requirements will be discussed on the appendices attached. The government has required such criteria for the housing resettlement site.