Epsilon Archive for Student Projects

Abstract

This thesis has been carried out at the Department of Urban and Rural Development at SLU Ultuna during the spring semester 2009. The topic of the paper is how energy consumption can be influenced through design and if the conditions for good design decreases when solutions based on energy efficiency are used. The report is divided into one literature study and one part where energy efficient solutions are used in a design.

The thesis work has its origin in a project called "Energihus i Uppsala." The planned building will be a center for energy research in Uppsala. The project aims to demonstrate to the public what is currently happening in research related to energy. It is around this building we will apply the design based on our literature review. The design is based on the project's conditions and consists of four parts, the outdoor environment, a green roof, a greenhouse and a green wall in the exhibit hall. It is also around these four elements we build up our literature review.

To allow long-term sustainability to be an important part of the work we have chosen an evaluation method that takes physical, economic, biological, organizational, social, cultural and aesthetic aspects into account.

What we have come to realize when it comes to design, is that one should treat the various energy-related solutions (eg green roofs and stormwater management) in the same way as you treat all other functions in the planning of a site. We believe it is important to have an idea and concept for the design before the functions are placed.

The conclusion of the thesis is that the conditions for creating good design is not impaired by the use of energy-related solutions in the outdoor environment. What is important, however, is that we as landscape architects treat these functions in the same way as other functions when a design is shaped.