Towards Greener Interiors: Sustainable Materials and Design Innovation in Contemporary Spaces (Published)
Interior design is a critical factor that affects human well-being and environmental sustainability. However, the long-term effects of interior design on the environment are often underestimated. As people spend a considerable part of their lives indoors, interior spaces have a major contribution to energy consumption. Darbuna Restaurant in Baghdad, and Green School Bali in Bali, are used as case study to examine sustainable interior design. This study will examine the use of rapidly renewable interior materials, including bamboo, as an alternative to slow-growth timbers. Moreover, the use of recycled interior materials will be discussed as a means of conserving resources. Finally, this study will examine the use of interior plants to clean indoor air and natural ventilation systems to reduce electricity consumption. Based on the findings of this study, it is evident that sustainability and design quality are not exclusive; they can be integrated to create a quality interior environment.
Keywords: Green Building, biophilic design, eco-friendly materials, environmental aesthetics, sustainable interior design.
Building Professionals’ Perspectives on the Implementation of Green Building for Climate Change Mitigation in Nigeria (Published)
The building and construction sector is responsible for as much as one third of total global green house gas (GHG) emissions and about 80 percent of these emissions take place during the operational phase of buildings. This results in damage and destruction of buildings and infrastructure, delayed construction and increased costs. Through the practice of green building, these emissions especially CO2 can be significantly reduced in both developed and developing countries. The green building concept considers many ways that building services ner aq as well as other GHG impacts associated with the built environment, including the effects of alternative urban designs, the use of on-site power generation and life-cycle GHG emissions from building construction, materials, and equipment. This study reviewed green building practice in developed countries considering building professional’s perspectives of climate change mitigation in Nigeria through green building and found that despite the many benefits of green building such as enhancement of the comfort and health of occupants, improvement in air quality, occupants‟ satisfaction, reduction of aggregate future capital and maintenance costs, creation of job opportunities in the construction industry and protection of the ecosystem among others, there are numerous obstacles that prevent these benefits from being achieved. Some of the obstacles are lack of green building awareness by developers, unavailability of green building materials locally, lack of policy or guidelines for green building, and lack of adequate knowledge and technical know-how of green building among building professionals. It recommends public enlightenment of green building by government and non-governmental organizations, request for green building guidelines, and funding for green building research, development and implementation.
Keywords: Building Industry, Climate Change, Construction, Green Building, Mitigation, greenhouse gas