Although there are several sustainable industrial building materials today, the construction sector still causes about 23% of air pollution. This sector is embracing the use of sustainable techniques from planning to implementation. The aim of sustainable designs is to reduce the stress on the Earth’s resources and make the world a better place. Here is a simple guide to help you create better designs.
Plan Ahead and Observe the Size
Most people love large offices with a view or large industrial spaces for their production processes. However, building the largest industrial structures is not always eco-friendly. Smaller buildings are more sustainable as they need fewer materials, fewer trees removed, and the buildings will be easier to power.
When planning, the architect and the involved teams need to optimize the utilization of the available space. You need to have enough room for all the industrial processes without creating extra unnecessary space. You can create efficient layouts for the available space if used in the best way possible.
You need to start early, creating an eco-friendly plan starts with choosing the best location. For instance, if you are creating a production plant that needs a lot of cooling, setting it in the warmest parts of the country negates any other sustainable designs techniques you apply.
Pick the Right Location
Industrial buildings take up a lot of space. While planning, you need to be conscious of nature, such as local plants and the wildlife in the area. It does not help if you create the most eco-friendly building, yet you had to bring down a few acres of trees just to create the building.
As such, look for a location that does not affect the local natural resources. If you plan on using wind power, for instance, look for a location that offers high wind. Plan for the energy you need to use, the special needs of the building, such as cooling production plants, the nearness to raw materials, and the nearness to means of transportation. If you plan your industrial building near the source of raw materials, for instance, you minimize the fuel needed to bring these raw materials to the production plant.
Plan for Renewable Energy
Industries need a lot of energy. You can reduce the size of the structures so that you have the smallest functional space, but you still need a lot of energy. You can create industrial electrical plans that will enable the company to use renewable energy.
For starters, the architect can plan for solar roofs. These are new types of shingles that are made of high-quality tempered glass solar panels. Instead of installing conventional shingles and then placing the PV solar panels on top, you install the panels as the roof. It is one of the new materials that see your building generate renewable energy while saving the cost of installation of PV solar panels.
You can also go for wind power to use when there is no sunshine. These sources of renewable energy can feed into the grid so that you have the power you need for your plant every day. Combine renewable sources with the right electrical technologies and you have an eco-friendly building.
Plan for Eco-Friendly Materials
Today, there are so many eco-friendly materials. These are materials made of recycled products and are designed to mimic the look of natural materials. They may also be made of synthetic raw materials, such as rubber and plastic. There are synthetic slates, shingles, and wood panels.
You need to take the proper measures when planning industrial buildings to ensure that these eco-friendly materials are incorporated into the buildings. The use of these materials does not alter the design much since they are made with the likeness of natural materials, such as wood shingles. However, you need to ensure they have the correct ratings for the prevailing weather and load-bearing expected for the building.
After the plan, construction activities need to be monitored so that there are no huge amounts of waste. The construction industry releases more than 160 million tons of waste every year. Your eco-friendly building plan should seek to reduce the amount of waste produced during the construction process and even after operations start in the building.
Apart from this if you are interested to know about Building a Home for The First Time then visit our Interior Design category.
