CONSTRUCTION TECHNOLOGY

ECM 446
ASSIGNMENT 2

TITLE:
CASE STUDY: WATER EFFICIENCY ON PLATINUM SENTRAL

NAME: MUHAMMAD FATHULLAH BIN MD YAZID

MATRIC ID: 2019801698

GROUP: EC220 4C4

LECTURER: PROF MADYA DR. MOHD ARIFF JAMALUDIN

1.0 INTRODUCTION

Green building is defined as a structure that is environmentally responsible and

resource efficient for the duration of its lifetime (Kibert, 2016). Green Building Index
(GBI) is Malaysia’s industry recognized green rating tool for building to promote
sustainability in the built environment and raise awareness among construction
practitioners on environmental issues (Sin et al, 2011). The GBI rating tool provides an
opportunity for developers and building owners to design and construct green,
sustainable building that can provides energy savings, water savings, a healthier indoor
environment, better connectivity to public transport and the adoption of recycling and
greenery (GBI, 2016).

In developed countries across Europe, America and Asia, green building has been
widely adopted and integrated into the building and construction sector (Ding, 2008).
Particularly, countries like Canada, Germany and United States have successfully
implanted the concept of green building deep into their building foundation, to become
the leaders in sustainability (Kibert, 2016).

While Green technology refers to a type of technology that is considered

environmentally friendly based on its production process or its supply chain. Green
technology can also refer to clean energy production. Clean energy production is the
use of alternative fuels and technologies that are less harmful to the environment than
fossil fuels.

There are 3 main objectives in this research. Firstly, to study the item of green
technology that always been used in green building. Second, to determine the function
of the green technology. Lastly, to study the advantages and the disadvantages of
green technology.

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2.0 Background

In Malaysia, the awareness level of sustainable construction is still nascent. With the
launch of Green Building Index (GBI), Malaysia has taken a huge step forward to rate
the performance of green buildings in the country (Chua and Oh, 2011). The evaluation
of Green Building Index (GBI) is based on six important criteria which is Energy
Efficiency, Indoor Environmental Quality, Sustainable Site Planning and Management,
Material and Resources, Water Efficiency and Innovation (GBI, 2016).

2.1 Example Green Building in Malaysia

Figure 1 – Diamond Building Figure 2 – Digi Tech Operation Centre

2.2 Type of roof, door and window, of the building

Platinum Sentral installed flat metal roof, atrium roof and roof garden. Metal roof has
coatings that prevent 75% to 80% of the sun energy from being absorbed into the roof,
which then reduces roof surface temperature and minimize the heat gain towards the
interior of building. Roof gardens provide shade and remove heat from the air through
evapotranspiration, reducing temperatures of the roof surface and the surrounding air. The
atrium is entirely naturally ventilated, which reduces the use of artificial lightings during
daytime as well

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 Figure 3 – Roof

Platinum Sentral was designed with a good daylight system. The design involves:

 Orientation and space organization

 Shape and size of glazing
 Specific selection of windows glass with consideration of U-Value, application of Low E
coating to enhance OTTV
 Screen or Louvers for shading optimization
 Tubular and chequered sun shading louvers at external glass reduces excessive heat
transfered

Figure 4 - Window

3.0 Case Study: Water Efficiency On Platinum Sentral

3.1 Background of the project

Platinum Sentral is a commercial development consisting of 5 blocks of 4 to 7 storey

commercial building comprising office-cum-retail space, a multi-purpose hall and 2
levels of car park together with 637 car parking bays. Platinum Sentral is located within
the Kuala Lumpur Sentral development and approximately 2 kilometers by road to the
southwest of Kuala Lumpur City Centre. Year of completion is 2011.

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 Figure 5 – Platinum Sentral Figure 6 – Platinum Sentral Position

3.2 Method / Materials – (Rain Water Harvesting System)

Rainwater Harvesting is a type of harvest in which the rain drops are collected and
stored for the future use rather than allowing them to run off. Rainwater can be collected
from rivers or roofs and redirected to a deep pit, aquifer, a reservoir with percolation or
collected from dew or fog with nets or other tools. Its uses include water for garden,
livestock, irrigation, domestic use for proper treatment, etc.

Rainwater harvesting system is one of the green technologies that have been used at
Platinum Sentral.

Figure 7 – Rainwater Harvesting System

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3.3 Advantages and Disadvantages of the method

Advantages
 Suitable for irrigation
Most of rooftops act as a workable
catchment area, which can be linked to the
harvesting system. This also lessens the
impact on the environment by reducing
use of fuel based machines.
 Reduce demand on ground water
With increase in population, the demand
for water is also continuously increasing.
The end result is that many residential
colonies and industries are extracting
ground water to fulfill their daily
 Reduces floods and soil erosion
During rainy season, rainwater is collected
in large storage tanks which also help in
reducing floods in some low lying area.
Disadvantages
 Unpredictable rainfall
Rainfall is hard to predict and sometimes
little or no rainfall can limit the supply of
rainwater
 Initial high cost
Depending on the system size and
technology level, a rainwater harvesting
system may cost hundred thousand ringgit
and benefit from it cannot be derived until
it ready for use.
 Storage limit
The collection and storage facilities may
also impose some kind of restrictions as to
how much rainwater you can use.

3.4 Procedure: How Rainwater Harvesting System is Done

A rainwater harvesting system has 3 main

stages:

1. Collecting and transporting rainwater

This is done through catchment areas and conduits. The catchment of a water
harvesting system is the surface which receives rainfall directly. Conduits are the
pipelines that carry rainwater from catchment to the harvesting system.
2. Filtration
A filter unit is a chamber filled with filtering media to remove debris and dirt from water
before it enters the storage tank or recharge structure
3. Storage in tanks for reuse
The harvested water can now be stored in storage tank for immediate usage, which are
designed according to the water requirements of the society.

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4.0 Conclusion and Recommendation
Basically, there is more green technology that are used at Platinum Sentral such
as solar system, pneumatic waste system, etc. this report identified the exciting
developments taking place on technology front and analyzes their implications for
intelligent technologies. These buildings are dynamic environments that respond to
their occupants changing needs and lifestyle. Green building can be achieved using
intelligent technology and that this “greening” will provide a tangible and significant
return on investment.
For the recommendation, I think green technology is a must in today’s scenario
to achieve environmental sustainability and also to lead sustainability life. This is
because traditional method is challenging the sustainability of today’s environment.
Although some problems are coming in the way of its implementation but if we see
its long term implication it’s for sure we and our future generation will be benefitted.
Also using green technology, we can conserve our limited energy sources to some
extent.

5.0 Reference
1. Chua, S.C. & Oh, T.H. (2011). Green progress and prospect in Malaysia.
Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 15(6), 2850-2861.
2. Green Building Index (GBI). (2016). Retrieved on:
htttp://new.greenbuildingindex.org/whatandwhy
3. Sin, T.C., Peng, L.Y. (2011). Sustainability development through energy
efficiency initiative in Malaysia. Paper of green and energy management.
4. Yusoff, Wen W.R. (2014). Analysis of the international sustainable building rating
systems (SBRSS) for sustainable development with special focused on green
building index (GBI) Malaysia. Journal of environmental conservation research,
11, 11-26.
5. Wang, W., Rivard, H. (2005). Applying multi-objective genetic algorithms in
green building design optimization. Building and environment, 40(11), 1512-
1512.

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DECLARATION:

I hereby declare that all the ‘on-line’ submissions are based on my original efforts, not
plagiarism from any source(s), nor attempting to, or communicating with any other person
during the ‘on-line’ assessment period. I am fully aware that candidates who are suspected of
violating this pledge are liable to be referred to the Disciplinary Committee or the faculty.

MUHAMMAD FATHULLAH BIN MD YAZID

(Name of student)

2019801698

(Student No)

FATHULLAH

(Signature of student)