Integrating Environmental Sustainability and Disaster Resilience in Building Codes

Transcription

1 Integrating Environmental Sustainability and Disaster Resilience in Building Codes

2 Authors Dr. Naveed Anwar, Affiliate Faculty, Structural Engineering, Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) and Executive Director, AIT Consulting Mr. Adnan Aliani, Chief, Sustainable Urban Development Section, United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN ESCAP) Dr. Wathanyu Amatyakul, Researcher, AIT 2

3 Introduction Buildings use 30%- plus of all primary energy in the world, 50%-plus when embodied energy such as cement included Buildings constructed today are likely to dictate city and town development and consumption patterns for decades to come Buildings play an important role in protecting people from natural and manmade hazards Buildings are one of the logical points to start building sustainable cities Source: UNDP building and climate change report Introduction 3 l 3

4 Introduction: Asia s Challenge Asia s share of global energy consumption doubled in 30 years Asian buildings share of world energy consumption growing at similar rates Asia s growing share of world energy use Source: International Building Council Introduction 4

5 Introduction China: Constructing almost half of the world s new floor space Over 80 % of the nearly 2 billion sq.m of new buildings constructed each year consumes 2-3 times more energy per unit of floor space than those in developed countries India: Built area more than doubled from 2000 to 2005, 2 percent of the world's surface area Currently, Asia holds more than half of the world s megacities with more than 10 million people, and that number is rapidly rising. The growth of Asian cities is astounding, with many doubling their population every 15 to 20 years Source: UNDP building and climate change report Introduction 5

6 Project Overview The planning, design, construction and operation of buildings are governed by building codes Not all countries in Asia and the Pacific have well integrated building codes, and countries that do have these often struggle with low compliance rates. Improving BC could help cities improve their environmental sustainability and disaster resilience UN ESCAP and AIT have established partnership to study these issues, and assist in finding solutions Introduction 6

7 Project Overview The aim of this partnership is to gain an overview of the current status of integration of disaster resilience and environmental sustainability in building codes in the Asia- Pacific region The project comprises an analysis of nine building codes within and outside the Asia- Pacific region Introduction 7

8 Building Codes Building Code is the government s official statement on building safety. Technically, it is a list of minimum safety standards arranged in a systematic manner for easy reference Source: International Code Council Most aspects of building construction: structural, electrical wiring, heating, etc represent a potential hazard to building occupants and users Building codes provide safeguards. Although no code can eliminate all risks, it reduces risks to an acceptable level Importance of BC 8

9 Major Stakeholders and Their Roles Government: updating of codes, monitoring and evaluation of code implementation, technical support Municipality: Inclusion of building code in building permit system, training Academic Institutions: Inclusion of building codes in curriculum Professional and Civil Society: Awareness programs, peer review, training seminar and publication Importance of BC 9

10 BC Categories Codes are often developed and specialized for various disciplines and trades are not well integrated Architecture Design Landscaping Structural Design Building Materials Buildings and Services Plumbing Fire Prevention Construction Practices Organisation of BC 10

11 Disaster Resilience Following are major disaster related categories considered in the codes and in this study for comparison Wind Resistance Seismic Resistance Flood Resistance Snow Resistance Landslide Resistance Wildfire Resistance Not all countries are equally prone to all disasters, and therefore, some disaster resilience elements are not applicable everywhere Organisation of BC 11

12 Environmental Resilience Main categories of environmental sustainability addressed in codes and considered in this study Material Conservation & Resource Efficiency Energy Conservation & Efficiency Water Conservation Soil & Land Conservation Solid Waste Reduction Air Pollution Control Organisation of BC 12

13 Country Selection Reference Countries: USA (California), Singapore, Australia and the United Kingdom. The building codes of these countries/regions were analyzed for lessons to be learned for Asia and the Pacific Target Countries: Thailand, India, Bangladesh, the Philippines and Sri Lanka. The building codes of these countries were analyzed for lessons to be learned for Asia and Pacific BC Review Framework 13

14 Review Framework Disaster Resilience Environmental Sustainability Integrated in the BC of some reference countries and not in those of most target countries BC Review Framework 14

15 Disaster Resilience The way building codes are enforced differs from country to country and heavily depends on the context in which the practice operates Some hazards have been addressed reasonably well in Asian countries. Storms and typhoons in most countries analyzed in mandatory prescriptions It is possible to improve disaster resilience of the built environment even in least developed countries. The main challenge is to find incentives that work in a specific context BC Comparison 15

16 Disaster Resilience Integration of disaster resilience in the building codes and regulations Green means integrated, red means not integrated/not available, N/A means could not be verified or not applicable BC Comparison 16

17 Environmental Resilience The concept of using a BC to address environmental concerns is new to countries in the Asia-Pacific There are just a few countries that have integrated all aspects of environmental sustainability: USA- California, Singapore and India The most well integrated element is energy efficiency. All countries either already have requirements for energy efficiency or are working on it BC Comparison 17

18 Environmental Resilience Integration of environmental sustainability in building codes and regulations Green means integrated, red means not integrated/not available BC Comparison 18

19 Comparison Summary India has addressed all six elements of environmental design. However, most of the building code is voluntary Most of Asian countries address energy efficiency in separate codes or special provisions Resistance against storms and typhoons has been integrated in all building codes analyzed Resistance against earthquakes is well integrated in most of countries that lie in or close to seismically active areas Floods, landslides and wildfires are hazards overlooked in many building codes BC Comparison 19

20 Conformance Issues Compliance and Control for Effective Enforcement of Building Code Compliance can be increased with tools such as housing loans and insurance Effectiveness of control may heavily rely on compliance Compliance should be complemented by both direct and indirect control tools BC Conformance Issues 20

21 Actions Towards Implementation of Building Codes Compliance Policy decision to follow BC Phase wise implementation in municipalities Training of professionals Distribution of BC guidelines Social awareness program at community level BC Conformance Issues 21

22 Some Key Observations of Building Code Enforcement Awareness raising programs can have a great impact as it creates demand and in turn can help channel political will for effective implementation of the code Capacity Building appears to be priority one action required for building code implementation and step-wise capacity building can reduce the time and volume of the work BC Conformance Issues 22

23 Best Practices Simplicity Local government In Dharan, Nepal established simple five rules for construction which has risen compliance quickly Special housing loans The National Housing Bank and KfW, established a housing loan programme for energy efficient buildings Best Practices 23

24 Best Practices Relax zoning restrictions Points for energy efficiency. To receive a construction permit, 60 points required. if more than 70, 80 or even 90, zoning restrictions (e.g. maximum building height) are increasingly relaxed Tax Breaks Offered for quality, safety, environmental sustainability and the accessibility. Owners who build their houses according to certain quality standards receives tax breaks Best Practices 24

25 Expert Group Meeting The output of the study were discussed during Expert Group Meeting held in Bangkok Main objective: how the requirements for designing disaster resilient and environmentally friendly buildings can be incorporated into building codes Meeting attended by government officials from: Singapore, Myanmar, Nepal and Thailand as well as researchers and experts from Japan, India, Pakistan, the Republic of Korea and Thailand EGM in Bangkok 25

26 Development of Myanmar Building Codes Currently Ministry of Construction is undertaking the development of Myanmar Building Codes Based on experience of this study AIT in partnership with UN ESCAP and UN-HABITAT is reviewing parts of the new Building Code AIT review will focus on: Wind Design, Seismic Design, Concrete, Steel and Masonry Development of Myanmar BC 26

27 Conclusions Buildings have a profound impact on energy security and climate change and it is very important in Asia Unlike the U.S. and Europe, industry in Asia has left initiatives largely to government Building Code enforcement strategies are equally important Conclusion 27

28 Conclusions It may be possible to have codes that are prescriptive with regards to safety and resilience and performance-based with regards to environmental aspects There should be different types and levels of sophistication in codes depending on the size and typology of buildings Conclusion 28

29 Thank You