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1 Building Design Project Reference e 2 design episodes: Greening the Federl Government The Druk White Lotus School- Ldkh Architecture 2030 Building Design Project: 1) Red the bckground essy nd discussion questions for e 2 design episodes Greening the Federl Government, The Druk White Lotus School- Ldkh, nd Architecture Wtch the episodes nd discuss the post-viewing questions. 2) Using innovtive sustinble design strtegies, redesign or crete brnd new design for n office building, prtment building, house, librry or federl building in ny loction you choose. In ddition to screening the reference episodes, visit the following websites below for ides, inspirtion nd specific technology nd mterils used in sustinble design. Building Green- U.S. Green Building Council- Architecture Druk White Lotus School- 3) Lunch design competition mong your peers who my be designing the sme (or different) building. The building tht best exemplifies cretive strtegies tht incorporte green sustinble design wins. Points to keep in mind when evluting building: Wht mterils re presented in the design? Do they help reduce greenhouse gs emissions? Wht types of energy does your building use? At wht rte of consumption? Does the building develop on-site renewble energy? Is the design inviting nd comfortble for guests? How? Be s specific s possible. Does the building honor the culture of the community? In wht wys? Does the design meet the 2030 chllenge? (Refer to the episode nd bckground essy for more specific informtion.) 4) Shre your work nd design competition with your peers nd community through public disply. Post n nnouncement of the event in your school nd locl newspper!

2 5) Optionl/Extr Credit: Write letter to Ed Mzri, rchitect nd founder of Architecture 2030, non-profit orgniztion with mission to rpidly trnsform the U.S. nd globl Building Sector from being the mjor contributor of greenhouse gs emissions to being centrl prt of the solution to the globl-wrming crisis. Invite him to spek t your school. Tell him why you think the 2030 chllenge is importnt or not importnt to your community specificlly. Present him with your design!

3 e 2 design Greening the Federl Government Bckground Essy Government buildings hve not historiclly been ssocited with sustinbility or beutiful design. Sperheded under Ed Feiner in the mid-1990s, the U.S. Generl Services Administrtion s (GSA) Design Excellence progrm is chnging this perception. The progrm ws creted to elevte government rchitecture cross the country through the hiring of the best rchitects of the dy. Since its inception, it hs resulted in drmtic improvements in the design of federl buildings in the United Sttes. This episode looks t Pritzker Prize-winning rchitect Thom Myne s Sn Frncisco Federl Building, which ims to redefine the culture of the workplce, crete n urbn lndmrk tht unites the community, nd estblish benchmrk for sustinble office building design. Using 50 yers worth of wether dt, the designers first exmined the environmentl conditions of the specific site on 7th nd Mission Street in Sn Frncisco. Keeping in mind the wind conditions nd the loction of the sun, they designed with the specific intention of using those elements for ventiltion, heting, cooling, nd lighting. Not only does this use of the nturl environment mke the building more energy efficient, it mkes it helthier, more enjoyble environment for the employees who work there. The building is designed to mximize the mount of nturl light tht filters in, but lso shde some of tht light with scrims to prevent the interior from getting too hot. There re hi-tech sensors tht control the nturl ventiltion by utomticlly opening nd closing the windows bsed on need. For exmple, during wrmer wether the building tkes dvntge of the drop in temperture overnight by opening the windows, trpping the cool energy in concrete structures inside nd then closing the windows to use tht cooling energy for the entire dy. The sensors lso turn on or dim the lights ccording to need which hs n energy-sving function. The office dynmic hs lso been shifted quite drmticlly by seting top mngement in the center of the floor (rther thn round the perimeter which hs been the norm) nd their employees round the edges where they cn hve ccess to nturl light nd open nd close the windows. Myne nd his tem of designers believe tht sustinbility cn go beyond just energyefficiency. For building to be truly sustinble, the people who work within the building nd the community outside the building both hve to embrce it nd feel connected to it. They intend for the building to become n integrl prt of the community by creting shred spces, like cfé nd dy-cre fcility tht cn be used by both employees nd people from the surrounding re. The hope is tht this building will become model of socil engineering, not just structurl engineering, not only for other federl buildings but for the privte sector s well.

4 To find out more bout Thom Myne s firm Morphosis, visit To find out more bout the GSA s Design Excellence Progrm, visit

5 e 2 design Greening the Federl Government PRE-VIEWING QUESTIONS 1. Wht elements of building or room influence your comfort the most (e.g., nturl light, electric light, temperture, spce, orgniztion)? Be specific. Wht do you enjoy nd not enjoy? Do the rooms nd buildings where you spend most of your time hve these comforts or discomforts? 2. How does building interct with the community round it? Wht mkes building more comfortble for the people inside, whether they re working, going to school or visiting the building? 3. Wht is your fvorite building (public or privte) tht you enjoy being in (e.g., federl building, librry, museum, home, thetre)? Why? How do you feel when you re in this building? Why do you think you feel tht wy? POST-VIEWING QUESTIONS 1. Wht specific issues did the designers of the Sn Frncisco Federl Building ddress when intending for the building to become n integrl prt of the community? 2. Wht type of design decisions where mde to conserve energy nd use elements of the nturl environment? 3. How importnt do you think it is for building to be estheticlly plesing from the outside? Why? Does the sustinbility level of building influence your opinion? 4. Does your school feel like it s prt of the community round it? Why do you think tht is the cse? 5. How importnt do you feel it is for building to be estheticlly plesing from the outside? Why? Does the sustinbility level of building influence your opinion?

6 e 2 design The Druk White Lotus School- Ldkh Bckground Essy Ldkh is one of the most remote plces in Indi with one of the hrshest climtes on erth nd hs been long isolted from the modern world. Now cught in the politicl nd culturl cross-fire of neighboring countries nd midst religious strife, His Holiness the 12 th Gylwng Drukp sw his people nd their future t risk. Under incresing pressure to modernize nd engge with the 21 st century, His Holiness, one of the four core leders of Tibetn Buddhism, envisioned the Druk White Lotus School. The school ws conceived to equip Ldkhi children to function in modern world while embrcing the trditions of Tibetn Buddhism. Guided by the vision of His Holiness, Jonthn Rose nd his tem of rchitects nd engineers t ARUP London designed school tht utilizes modern technology nd knowledge to preserve nd respect the Ldkhi culture nd environment. The mster pln for the Druk White Lotus School ws inspired by the Buddhist trdition in Ldkh. By lying out the school buildings in the trditionl form of mndl, series of symmetricl geometric shpes with significnt spiritul resonnce, the design itself honors the culture of the community. The gret innovtion of the school is tht it does not simply trnsplnt Western notions of sustinble building into this remote region of Indi. ARUP considered the extreme climte of Ldkh nd sought to understnd locl methods of construction, locl rchitecture, nd environmentl physics in order to crete n efficient design tht would best ddress the needs of the school. The designers used construction methods bsed on the surrounding monsteries, which hve survived up to thousnd yers in the hostile conditions present. They lso mde full use of locl mterils using timber frmes to reinforce the wlls nd roofs of the buildings. Tree plnttions flourish in the vlleys of Ldkh nd trees grow very quickly, mking them sustinble nd loclly-sourced mteril. For the buildings to function nd lst ARUP lso used the nturl environment. Buildings were strtegiclly positioned to mximize solr potentil ccording to their specific function. Clssrooms fce the morning sunlight to nturlly het nd light them during the dy. Residentil buildings re built to bsorb solr energy during the dy nd relese the het t night. These nd other considertions llow the school to mintin comfortble tempertures without using money or energy. The Druk White Lotus School demonstrtes tht efficient design doesn t necessrily hve to be something Western or Western looking. With creful design nd considertion locl cultures cn sustin their wy of life while lso utilizing technologiclly dvnced methods. Thnks to the vision of His Holiness nd the ARUP tem, the world hs n exmple to build off of. Where will this model be copied next?

7 For more informtion on the Druk White Lotus School, visit For more informtion on the His Holiness the 12th Gylwng Drukp, visit For more informtion on Jonthn Rose nd ARUP London, visit

8 e 2 design The Druk White Lotus School- Ldkh PRE-VIEWING QUESTIONS 1. How would you define culture? List some key spects of culture in generl. Now list those sme spects of your specific culture. 2. How do you think building design my or my not honor the culture of community? 3. Wht decisions nd concerns do Western designers need to tke into considertion when constructing building in other prts of the world? POST-VIEWING QUESTIONS 1. In wht wys ws the design for the Druk White Lotus School different thn the design of buildings in other prts of the world? Wht fctors contributed to these differences? 2. Wht prticulr decisions did the designers mke in their choices of mterils nd energy sources to crete sustinble building in this remote loction? How did they use the nturl environment? 3. Why is it importnt to preserve culture? How is culture pssed on? Wht spects of culture, if lost, would be very hrd to recover? How did the designers preserve the culture of Ldkh? 4. How cn technology nd moderniztion ffect culture negtively? Positively? Use specific exmples.

9 e 2 design Architecture 2030 Bckground Essy In 2002 rchitect Edwrd Mzri estblished Architecture 2030, non-profit orgniztion with mission to rpidly trnsform the U.S. nd globl Building Sector from being the mjor contributor of greenhouse gs emissions to being centrl prt of the solution to the globl-wrming crisis. Becuse the Building Sector is responsible for lmost hlf (48%) of greenhouse gs (GHG) emissions, Mr. Mzri decided to step wy from his rchitecture creer nd dedicte himself full-time to convincing the Building Sector to chnge its wys. The gol of the orgniztion is to drmticlly reduce the GHG emissions of the Building Sector by chnging the wy buildings nd developments re plnned, designed nd constructed. The orgniztion issued chllenge (The 2030 Chllenge) to the globl rchitecture nd building community sking them to dopt the following trgets: All new buildings, developments nd mjor renovtions shll be designed to meet fossil fuel, GHG-emitting, energy consumption performnce stndrd of 50% of the regionl (or country) verge for tht building type. At minimum n equl mount of existing building re shll be renovted nnully to meet fossil fuel, GHG-emitting, energy consumption performnce stndrd of 50% of the regionl (or country) verge for tht building type. The fossil fuel reduction stndrd for ll new buildings shll be incresed to: 60% in % in % in % in 2025 Crbon-neutrl in 2030 (using no fossil fuel, GHG emitting energy to operte). It is Ed Mzri s belief tht, by using innovtive sustinble design strtegies, generting on-site renewble energy, or purchsing renewble energy credits, these trgets cn be met. In fct he believes tht they must be met to vert ctstrophic climte chnge. To find out more bout Architecture 2030, visit To lern more bout green buildings, visit

10 e 2 design Architecture 2030 PRE-VIEWING QUESTIONS 1. Where do you think most of the CO 2 being relesed into the tmosphere comes from? 2. Wht re some of the effects of climte chnge tht we hve lredy seen? 3. Wht do you think the term green rchitecture mens? Wht is green building? POST-VIEWING QUESTIONS 1. Why does Ed Mzri compre the 2030 chllenge to n insurnce policy? 2. Wht cn you do if you re not n rchitect to help the 2030 chllenge succeed? 3. Ed Mzri tlks bout three vlves: investment, building codes, nd eduction. Wht re some specific ctions tht cn be tken within ech of these vlues to support the 2030 chllenge?