Last edited 13 Sep 2016

Green building envelope

1 Introduction
2 Air pollution
3 Acoustics
4 Urban heat island (UHI) effect
5 Find out more
- 5.1 Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki

[edit] Introduction

In September 2016, Arup published ‘Cities Alive: Green Building Envelope’, a report examining the possibilities of cleaner, greener and healthier human ecosystems.

The report, written by a global collaborative team of Arup specialists, explores the application of green infrastructure to the surfaces of both new and existing inner-city buildings in five major cities; Berlin, London, Los Angeles, Melbourne and Hong Kong.

The wide-ranging conclusions of the report include:

[edit] Air pollution

Green facades can reduce local air pollution by 10-20%.
The level of reduction is dependent on the ratio of the building height to the street width.

[edit] Acoustics

Green facades could reduce sound levels from emergent and traffic noise sources by up to 10dB(A).
Green facades have a greater acoustical impact with increasing distance from the noise source.
When ambient noise levels are lower, such as during the night, green facades are likely to have a greater acoustic impact.

[edit] Urban heat island (UHI) effect

Green facades can remove 50% of solar radiation.
They are most effective at reducing the UHI in denser urban centres and in areas where there is more concrete and less planting.
Reductions in peak air temperatures of up to 10ºC are achievable, although for most areas, the mean reductions in UHI were a fraction of a degree compared to the peak.
Cities with wide streets and low-rise buildings could benefit from more greenery at street level.

To download the full report for free, see Arup.