PAPER TITLE!

THE APPLICATION OF!

BUILDING WITH NATURE STRATEGIES!

TO ACHIEVE SUSTAINABILITY!
IN BELUM RAINFOREST RESORT!

CONCEPT MAPPING!

INTERDEPENDANCY!

ARCHITECTURAL
PHILOSOPHIES!

THERMODYNAMICS!

NATURE AND
ARCHITECTURE!
BUILDING WITH NATURE!

CHANGE!

BELUM RAINFOREST
RESORT!

BUILDING TYPOLOGY!

Reducing Negative
Impacts

STRATEGIES

BUILDING DESIGN!
MATERIALS!

RESEARCH QUESTIONS!

WHAT ARE THE !

ARCHITECTURAL PHILOSOPHIES !
OF BUILDING WITH NATURE?!

FINDINGS!

INTERDEPENDENCY!
!
Life Cycles!
Ecologically sustainable buildings that rely on nature
always has the resources to maintain it as well as be
ecologically robust to assimilate the waste a building
produces throughout its life time. !

FINDINGS!

INTERDEPENDENCY!
!
Building Metabolism!
Dependent on the inputs of resources that could be
reused for new building development and ecological
services available such as the reduction of waste. !

FINDINGS!

THERMODYNAMICS!
!
Consume resources no faster than the rate at
which they can be replenish!
!
Create systems that consume maximum energyquality!
!
Create and use by-products that are nutrients
or raw materials for resource production!

FINDINGS!

CHANGE!
!
Avoid Obsolescence!
Buildings should be designed to allow easy access fast
cycling materials without needing to destroy slow cycling
materials !

FINDINGS!

CHANGE!
!
Build Adaptability!
Buildings should be designed for deconstruction and
should allow the natural environment to adapt to the
presence of the building and in return should minimize the
number and magnitude of the buildings ecological impact.!

RESEARCH QUESTIONS!

WHAT ARE THE !

ADVANTAGES!
OF BUILDING WITH NATURE?!

FINDINGS!

ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS!
!
Enhance and protects biodiversity and
ecosystems!
Improve air and water quality!
Conserve and restore natural resources!

FINDINGS!

ECONOMIC BENEFITS!
!
Reduce operations and maintenance cost!
Optimizes life-cycle economic performance!
!

FINDINGS!

SOCIAL BENEFITS!
!
Enhances the occupants comfort levels!
Create an awareness on sustainable design
!

RESEARCH QUESTIONS!

WHAT ARE THE !

ELEMENTS OF THE CONTEXT!

IN BELUM RAINFOREST RESORT !

THAT AFFECT THE !

DESIGN OF THE BUILDING?!

FINDINGS!

CONTOURS!
!

FINDINGS!

VEGETATION!
!

RESEARCH QUESTIONS!

WHAT ARE THE STRATEGIES!

THAT WERE USED BY THE!
BELUM RAINFOREST RESORT BUILDINGS DESIGN!
TO RESPOND TO THE SITE CONTEXT?!

RESEARCH QUESTIONS!

WHAT WERE THE STRATEGIES IMPLEMENTED!

BY THE BELUM RAINFOREST RESORT!
TO REDUCE THE NEGATIVE IMPACTS!
ON THE SITE CONTEXT?!

FINDINGS!

BUILDING TYPOLOGY!
!

Clustered Typology!

FINDINGS!

BUILDING TYPOLOGY!
!

Clustered Typology!

FINDINGS!

BUILDING TYPOLOGY!
!

Clustered Typology!

Contours are taken into consideration which can be seen in Phase 2!

It creates a dialogue to the rainforests slopes!
Allows for free placement of building blocks!
Allows for the presence of pocket spaces that embraces nature!
Reduces the need for site excavation!
!

FINDINGS!

BUILDING DESIGN!
!

Openness!

FINDINGS!

BUILDING DESIGN!
!

Openness!

More apparent in Phase 2 of the Belum Rainforest Resort!

Used mainly as transition spaces!
The use of perforated steel plates further emphasize this idea!
Allows for vegetation to grow without disruption!
Creepers grow on the walls of the Rainforest Villas!
Embrace nature through intimacy!
Reduces the need to cut down vegetation unnecessarily !
!

FINDINGS!

MATERIALS!
!

Golden Bamboo!

FINDINGS!

MATERIALS!
!

Somah Wood Saplings!

FINDINGS!

MATERIALS!
!

Rammed Earth
!

FINDINGS!

MATERIALS!
!

Bamboo was used as roofing and wall structures of Phase 1!

The bamboos can be found on site and therefore emphasizes the idea of give and take!
Somah Wood Saplings were used as screening devices in Phase 1 !
The somah wood plants can be found throughout Belum Rainforest Resort !
Rammed earth was used as screening walls in Phase 2!
The rammed earth was composed of earth that was excavated on site during construction mixed
with a little bit of cement!
!

CONCLUSION!

INTERDEPENDENCY!
!
The principle of interdependency states that an
ecologically sustainable building always has the
resources to maintain the building and is dependent on
the input of resources that could be renewed for future
building developments.!
!
The use of natural materials in the Belum Rainforest
Resort such as the golden bamboo, somah wood
saplings and rammed earth highlights this theory. All
the materials are available on site and are renewable
and recyclable.!

CONCLUSION!

THERMODYNAMICS!
!
The principle of thermodynamics states that buildings
should consume resources no faster than the rate they
should replenish. Besides that, buildings are to create
systems that consume maximum energy-quality. Finally,
buildings should create and use by-products that are
nutrients or raw materials for resource production. !
!
The presence of transition pocket spaces and the idea
of openness allows for natural ventilation and
daylighting to occur. This emphasizes the idea of
consuming maximum energy-quality systems. !

CONCLUSION!

CHANGE!
!
The principle of change states that buildings should
allow for easy access to fast cycling materials without
destroying slow cycling materials. Besides that,
buildings should be designed for deconstruction and
should allow the natural environment to adapt to the
presence of the building while minimizing the
ecological impact.!
!
A majority of the buildings faade uses fast cycling
materials which allows for easy deconstruction and
recycling. This can be seen especially in Phase 2
where the somah wood saplings are used as screening
devices. The clustered building typology allows for the
building to adapt to the environment and vice versa.
The plants grow together with the building instead of
growing around it. This can be seen in Phase 2 of the
Belum Rainforest Resort.!

REFERENCES!

Take Action. (n.d.). Green Building Benefits.

Retrieved October 20, 2014, from https://
bloomington.in.gov/green-building-benefits!
Brophy, V., & Lewis, J. O. (2011). A green
vitruvius: principles and practice of
sustainable architectural design. London:
Earthscan.!
Graham, P. (2003). Building ecology: first
principles for a sustainable built environment.
Oxford: Blackwell Science.!
Sassi, P. (2006). Strategies for sustainable
architecture. Oxford: Taylor & Francis.!
Thomas, R. (2011). Environmental design: an
introduction to architects and engineers.
Oxford: Taylor & Francis.!