The role of Green Buildings in Climate Adaptation: An investigation on Corporate Buildings in Kathmandu

Abstract

Climate Change has an impact on building performance and human comfort which also highly contribute to final energy consumption. The final building design has to meet a variety of design objectives (such as comfortable indoor climate, healthy environment, life-cycle costs, resource use, environmental loading, functionality and architectural expression) that interrelate with each other. Green buildings can significantly reduce the energy consumption of a building by providing more affordable and clean energy and contributing to climate-responsive or climate adaptable buildings. Adaptation in buildings refers to physical properties and its flexibility to handle change in use, function and volume. The study highlights the significance of adaptive measures and the energy efficiency of the building. The purpose of the research is to study the parameters of climate adaptive building and its energy efficiency by selecting the corporate buildings inside Kathmandu Valley. Two buildings that attempted green design strategies and one conventional type of building was selected to study the physical and functional attributes and to do comparative analysis for its energy efficiency. The adaptive capacity of the building was investigated by observing the physical and functional parameters like building geometry, orientation, form, materials used, lighting, services, thermal performance, internal layouts, passive/ active designs and energy efficiency. Data obtained from the field observation, drawings, literature and interview were analyzed and co-related with the help of AutoCAD, Sketch-Up, Microsoft Excel, VELUX Daylight Visualizer etc. The result confirms that the proper design consideration, technologies used and suitable building materials aid to improve the adaptive capacity and energy efficiency of the buildings. The buildings with green design strategies are found to be more energy-efficient and climate adaptable, so it is recommended to integrate such strategies in upcoming design and constructions works.