PJ TRADE CENTRE,DAMANSARA PERDANA PETALING JAYA

RESEARCH TITLE :

PASSIVE DESIGN STRATEGIES AS EFFECTIVE NATURAL COOLING DEVICES IN ACHIEVING THERMAL COMFORT AT PJ TRADE CENTRE

The Effectiveness of Passive Design Strategies as Natural Cooling Devices in Achieving Thermal Comfort at PJ Trade Centre.

(Concept Mapping)

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

1) How effective is the shading device used in PJ Trade Centre in order to achieve thermal comfort?

2) How does the concrete vent blocks at PJ Trade Centre help to improve the indoor thermal comfort and enhance ventilation?

3) How does the orientation of the building contribute to the cooling of the building and enhance user’s comfort?

Research Question 1 :

How effective is the shading device used in PJ Trade Centre in order to achieve thermal comfort?

Research Question 1 :How effective is the shading device used in PJ Trade Centre in order to achieve thermal comfort?

Two Main Shading Devices:

- The Vegetation - Concrete Vent Blocks

PJ Trade uses a lot of trees and concrete vent block around the building to provide shade and ventilation to the user.

The hollow concrete vent blocks allows the cool wind to pass through the holes and at the same time provide protection against the sun.

This helps to increase thermal comfort as the building is well protected from the hot sun. The tall trees are mostly planted at the entrance of the building to where its facing East.

This allow little amount of sun to shine in and increase user’s comfort.

PJ Trade has a landscape plaza with more than 1400 mature trees planted, 12 Sky Terraces with tall trees, wall creepers and hanging vines.

The trees planted all around the building and the wall creepers function as shading device that provide shade for the user.

The Plaza & trees also act as filtration to cool the heated air hence increasing the natural ventilation around the building to achieve thermal comfort.

User will also have the feeling of being close to nature.

VegetationSupporting Evidence

Ground Floor Plan

Trees

Entrance

Highway

Garden Plaza

Entrance Trees

LEGEND

Highway

Traditional Malay House

Comparison

PJ Trade Centre

In Traditional Malay Houses, the coconut trees and other tall trees are use to provide good shade. It does not also block the flow of wind passing through the house level.

In PJ Trade Centre, the landscape plaza and tall trees are planted to avoid maximum amount of hot sun to enter and allow user to be close to nature. It is also to provide shading and help reduce the temperature of the surrounding.

Conclusion :

Just like the Traditional Malay house, PJ Trade Centre are built considering the site context. The concept of PJ Trade Centre is to merge the building with the surrounding green context. The trees does not only provide shading but also helps filter the hot air. Therefore, average temperature and thermal comfort is achieved.

Research Question 2 :

How does the concrete vent blocks at PJ Trade Centre help to improve the

indoor thermal comfort and enhance ventilation?

Concrete Vent Block

The concrete vent blocks are ventilation blocks that is made from concrete which provides excellent protection from the sun’s heat and at the same time allowing breezy air to flow in. It also provide practical protection against heavy wind and rain while allowing sufficient amount of light and air to flow into the spaces.

Other advantages of using concrete vent block :

Provides privacy The air space provides good

thermal insulation Aesthetically pleasing

Research Question 2 :How does the concrete vent blocks at PJ Trade Centre help to improve the indoor thermal comfort and enhance ventilation?

The concrete vent block were applied on the west side of the building to function as

shading mask against direct heat penetration into the building.

It controls the amount of direct sunlight in context with the office building.

When temperature is low, thermal comfort is achieved.

Wind passes through the holes of the concrete vent block, allowing more ventilation.

It also act as a natural air filter which trap dust particles from polluted air, controlling

indoor air quality of the building for user’s comfort.

Natural Ventilation

The concrete vent block allows airflow while providing shade.

The open balcony on every floor of the building allows better ventilation and more

wind to flow in.

The 3.8 meters ceiling height of the office allows better ventilation for the user.

Supporting Evidence

The stack effect also allows for better ventilation as the hot air inside the building is flushed out with the cool air coming in as wind passes through the sky terraces. This design of the PJ Trade Centre enhance the ventilation of the building thus improving user’s comfort.

Traditional Malay House

PJ Trade Centre

The houses in Traditional Malay Houses are elevated to capture higher wind velocity and to allow air to circulate in the building.

PJ Trade uses stacking effect to more wind for effective ventilation. Wind passes in between the open space of the building.

Comparison

Conclusion :

Just like the Traditional Malay house, PJ Trade Centre also uses the idea of elevated which is the stack effect in designing the building to capture more natural ventilation into the building. It also has a lot of openings and open space in between the building to allow natural sunlight to enter and enhance ventilation to increase thermal comfort.

Research Question 3 :

How does the orientation of the building contribute to the cooling of the building and enhance user comfort?

Research Question 3 :How does the orientation of the building contribute to the cooling of the building and enhance user’s comfort?

Orientation

Concrete vent block

Entrance

Ground Floor Plan

The building is designed to which the longer façade is

facing East and West.

The architect wants to capture direct sunlight but at the

same time provide effective shading device and

ventilation to achieve user’s comfort.

The East façade is shaded by garden plaza and the

building next to it.

It allows the user to sit comfortably without feeling hot.

The West façade is fully shaded by the concrete vent

block.

Concrete vent block does not only allow great amount

of ventilation but also shades the building from

direct sunlight while still bring in sufficient amount

of daylight to the spaces.

It allows high thermal comfort to the spaces.

MaterialsSupporting Evidence

PJ Trade Centre’s uses Brick as the main

material.

Steel, concrete and glass are the

supporting material that helps integrate

the building to the surrounding.

Dense materials such as bricks and

concrete are excellent at absorbing

heat.

A study conducted that materials control how the heat is absorbed, stored, released and distribute throughout the building. It is important to choose the right of material in designing a building.

Comparison

PJ Trade Centre Traditional Malay House

Just like the Traditional Malay House, PJ Trade Centre uses a lot of openings and low thermal

material for better ventilation. The longer façade of the building that is facing East-West and

is effectively shaded by the concrete vent blocks that not only allow protection against the

sun, but also allowing air to flow through. This help decrease the temperature of the

surrounding and enhance the user’s comfort in PJ Trade Centre.

Conclusion

Concrete vent blocks, vegetation, natural ventilation, orientation and material act as

effective passive design and plays an important role in achieving thermal comfort.

The garden plaza and trees planted around the building acts as filtration to cool the

heated air.

The use of concrete vent blocks on parts of the building improve the space quality and

enhance the ventilation for user’s comfort.

The concrete vent block also act as shading device that allows air to flow in thus

making the building naturally ventilated.

The orientation of the building helps support the design of the concrete vent block as

natural cooling strategy.

The brick material on the building also help to absorb heat to achieve an average

temperate of the surrounding for thermal comfort.

References

1) Architectural Screen Blocks. (n.d.). Retrieved May 21, 2016, from http://carrollsbuildingmaterials.com/concrete-block/architectural-screen-blocks/

2) http://vancouver.ca/files/cov/passive-home-design.pdf This book talks about passive design

3) http://www.pjtradecentre.com/da.pdf The book explains about the design of PJ Trade Centre

4) http://www.pjtradecentre.com/blueprint.pdf This book explains on the concept and approach in designing PJ Trade Centre