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ALPHA SEMESTER 2016/2017 SESSION

Raising a new Generation of Leaders

BUILDING COMPONENTS & METHODS 1- ARC 216

Lecture No.5
Course Lecturers: Dr O.D. Babalola & Arc A.B. Sholanke

Department of Architecture,
College of Science & Technology, Covenant University, Ota, Ogun State, Nigeria.
 5.0 ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS
AND
IMPACTOF SOME FACTORS ON
BUILDING
■ Introduction
■  Environmental (Comfort/Climatic) Conditions
■ Impact of Technological and Sociological Factors on
Building Design/Construction

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Environmental Conditions and Impact of Some Factors on
Building
■Environmental Conditions
■ The purpose of a building is the production of spaces, each of which is suitable for the
designed activity or activities where, there are some degrees of control over
environmental factors not provided by natural environment such as adequate and
satisfactory conditions for human comfort.

■ People can only work and live within comfort and efficiency and within a set of
environmental conditions.  
■ The design and construction of buildings and the choice of materials play significant
roles in the modification of these factors.
■ Also, civilization and advancement in technology produce a range of building
materials, products, functional problems and form.
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Environmental Conditions and Impact of Some Factors on
Building
■Environmental Conditions
■ For example, an office work; the environmental factors such as snow, rain, mist,
fog, sunlight, wind etc., are the objections to carrying out work in the open air.
 
■Wind may make conditions unpleasant for the people engaging in the work.
It may have effects on the materials and the machines and make the work
virtually impossible etc.  

■ It is essential therefore to control these physical factors to obtain the desired

comfort so building are designed to change the unsuitable to suitable conditions,
that is optimum or ideal for a particular activity, depending on what the
technology makes possible and how much the client is prepared to spend.

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Environmental Conditions and Impact of Some Factors on
Building
■ Environmental Factors and their effects on Building Design and
Construction
■Moisture
■ Water in its free liquid form must be excluded from the interiors of buildings
and its presence as vapor in the air or as moisture content on building materials
must be controlled to within acceptable limits. 
■ Water in its condensed form within a structure or inside a solid material
whenever the temperature falls below the dew point of the moisture air at that
location- called interstitial condensation.  
■ Other sources of moisture are people: Cooking, washing, bathrooms, drying
clothes, humidifiers, and open water surfaces, combustion of paraffin etc. 
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Environmental Conditions and Impact of Some Factors on
Building
■ Environmental Factors and their effects on Building Design and Construction
■Moisture (contd.)
■ Moisture finds its way into buildings through capillary action referred to as rising
dampness. 
■ Porous structural surfaces, furniture and fabrics within the building absorb moisture and
then release it into the internal atmosphere when the temperature and humidity allow this.
This environmental factor determines the choice of materials, design and forms of
construction.
■ Two methods of control are employed during design and construction: 
-A barrier to impervious materials- DPC and DPM
-An air-gap is placed to intercept the movement.
■ Also, gloss paint stops the absorption of moisture into porous plaster or wooden component.

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Environmental Conditions and Impact of Some Factors on
Building
■ Environmental Factors and their effects on Building Design and Construction
■ Air movement
Wind movement influences form, siting as well as internal planning of building.  
Structural loading and vibration implications resulting from wind pressure require special
consideration.
■ Ventilation
Air change and movement within building are vital aspect of design.  
This factor governs the size and location of windows,
Hence choice of special controls and vents may be incorporated into window frames.

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Environmental Conditions and Impact of Some Factors on
Building
■ Environmental Factors and their effects on Building Design and Construction
■ Relative humidity
Relative humidity of between 30% and 70% are acceptable for good health and
comfort.  
Level as high as 70% almost associated with condensation.  
The effects of relative humidity on design and construction lead to increase or decrease
in ventilation rate.  
Low levels of relative humidity give rise to complaints of dry throats and cause
woodwork to shrink and crack.  
In some industrial buildings high levels of relative humidity may be required for
special processes.

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Environmental Conditions and Impact of Some Factors on
Building
■ Environmental Factors and their effects on Building Design and Construction
■ Sunlight and Daylight
These factors are important in building design and construction because 
-They are the sources of natural lighting.
-They are the sources of heat into the buildings. 
-The shading of areas round building which can affect both the vegetable and the human
enjoyment of adjacent open spaces. 
-The depth, shape, spacing, orientation of rooms and therefore the planning and siting of
buildings are largely governed by day lighting consideration. 
-Sunlight causes most colored materials to fade. 
In some buildings with large glazed areas, acute discomfort due to glare and overheating can
occur unless careful consideration is given to the penetration of the sun’s rays.

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Environmental Conditions and Impact of Some Factors on
Building
■ Environmental Factors and their effects on Building Design and
Construction
■ Heat and Temperature
Heat presents a more complex situation since a wide variety of factors must be
considered in balance with one another.

Heat affects internal thermal comfort in two ways:

-By its transmittance and
-Through the penetration of the radiant heat of the sun that causes solar heat gain.
Therefore buildings have an important function in providing thermal comfort. This
factor affects the choice and selection of materials and forms of construction.
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Environmental Conditions and Impact of Some Factors on
Building
■ Environmental Factors and their effects on Building Design and Construction
■ Sound
Noise resulting from increased motor and air traffic 
Noise transmitted from one room to another & from one part of the building to another can
often cause annoyance, discomfort and dissatisfaction in buildings.  

In addition to noise penetration and transmission it is necessary to consider the way in which
sound behaves within the space in order to ensure that speech or music can be heard
intelligently. 
Flow in pipes, bath or discharges, other mechanical equipments can give rise to serious noise.  
These and other factors considered above must be given adequate consideration during design
and construction of buildings.

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Environmental Conditions and Impact of Some Factors on
Building
■ Environmental Factors and their effects on Building Design and Construction
■ Topography
Terrain type, regional and local variations and landforms. 
■ Geology
Bedrock type, dip strike excavation depth from topsoil, outcropping and resources.

■ Soils
Soil type, excavation, depth to bedrock land form series and boundaries.
■ Natural Drainage
Erosion, natural hydrology and the catchments areas and the catchment areas.
■ Vegetation
Type of vegetation, density and boundaries of vegetation.
 

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Impact of Sociological/Technological Factors on Building
Design/Construction
■ Impact of Technological Factors on Building Design/Construction 
-The technological literacy and awareness
- Skilled manpower - Management manpower
- Tools and equipment/capacity  - Construction technology
- Hauling capacity - Analytical and computational capacity. 

The above list speaks for itself.

-It would be very difficult to introduce (and sustain) a new or advanced technology into a
technologically non-literate community.  
Optimization techniques could be more fruitfully or feasibly employed in design or in determining
construction and maintenance programs only if  
computer systems (hardware/software) and computer-literate professionals are in adequate supply.
 

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Impact of Sociological/Technological Factors on Building
Design/Construction
■ Impact of Sociological Factors on Building Design/Construction 
-Seasonal unemployment
-Perennial under employment
-Population density and distribution
-Skill level
-Educational level (incl. opportunities and capacity bldg.)

-Per capita income

-Means of transport
-Location and distribution of social services
-Location and distribution of markets
-Social acceptability
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Impact of Sociological/Technological Factors on Building
Design/Construction
■ Impact of Sociological Factors on Building Design/Construction 
This is a vital factor building planning and design. Many engineering
solution were frustrated into abandonment because of socially-
unacceptable consequences, such as neighborhood disintegration,
noise and air pollution defilement of the natural environment.

In this country, a great number people still live in rural areas, engaged
in farming, and are living in relatively scattered sparsely-populated
communities under relatively poor economic circumstances, the
problems of social acceptability are more likely to be encountered in
rural rather than urban areas.
 

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