List of fi gures
1.2.2 Ecology of the tropics
to be of any relevance and practical value, they need to be adjusted, modified and enriched with local observations and experiences. Drawing on the local building tradition also might be helpful. Whenever possible, the method of one prominent Australian architect can be used. David Oppenheim in one of his public presentations recommended camping on a prospective building site for some time to ‘get a feel of the place’.
resort design criteria list, and in the coastal tropics perhaps even more than anywhere else. Resort plan- ners and designers should be proactive in seeking available information and help necessary to cope with the complexity of the built environment in this exceptional setting.
The physical isolation of tourist facilities operat- ing in a very sensitive natural environment has been maintained – and quite probably will be maintained for some time – as a mandatory condition of its ecological sustainability and the resort’s attractive- ness. Such isolated locations, although ecologically desirable and attractive to visitors, pose considerable challenges. Above all, they usually make operating a tourist facility both difficult and expensive. It is a problem of reconciling the quality of services being provided to users of a tourist facility with low operat- ing costs and low environmental impact. In particu- lar, costs related to the demand for energy can prove to be enormous.
Low energy building design for such locations is a principal requirement of their feasibility. Lowering the total demand for energy can be understood as a search for the best match between quantity of energy that is to be supplied and the demand for its purpose- ful use. These are not mutually exclusive notions.
Whenever the provision of indoor conditions falling within the (individually) tolerable limits for the rele- vant kind of activity has been achieved at a lower cost, any surplus money can be spent on perhaps improv- ing service delivery. This action would eventually result in higher consumer satisfaction. It is better still if tourists are made aware that meeting their require- ments this way makes a lower impact on the natural environment than would otherwise be the case.
The principal ecological quality of most tropical environments is their fragility. This characteristic is caused by a number of factors. Most importantly, the remnant pristine environments targeted by eco-tour- ism are nowadays disjointed and physically isolated.
This situation is further compounded when they lack
‘eco-corridors’ between them, allowing the move- ment of species from one liveable pocket to another.
This is required to expand the habitat for availability of food, to avoid inbreeding or to escape when threat- ened. The need for such connections should be taken into account when planning any green-field develop- ment. Native vegetation should be allowed to weave through the built-up area, grouped and enlarged whenever possible. Such vegetation can be employed to create shelter belts used for redirecting wind and breezes, visual screens or acoustic barriers.
Tropical systems are extremely fragile and sensi- tive to any disturbance. The coral reef is the most
extreme example and thus deserves special attention since protecting its beauty and vitality is essential to the operation of most tropical coastal resorts. Al- though the reef can suffer from many factors, the impact of nutrients and sediments are among the most devastating. The natural ecology of the coral reef is low in nutrients. Increased levels of nutrients stimulate growth of algae, which can overgrow the coral, increase plankton population, reduce light availability to corals and upset their physiology.
An important contribution to the overall fragility of these ecosystems is brought about by their unique- ness. An important consideration is the origin of trop- ical biodiversity: some experts believe that an uninterrupted and stable 40 million years of evolu- tion has been the reason behind a much higher den- sity of different species co-existing in the tropical biomes, while others tend to put it down to Pleisto- cene refuges (shelters) surviving independently with- in the present-day rainforests. Both arguments add to validity of conservation efforts. Many tropical areas support the rather complex interdependent relation- ships which some plants and animals have with each other. Such interdependencies have developed these species into highly specialised endemic varieties:
when their habitat is damaged beyond an acceptable limit, such species have nowhere to go and perish.
Because these ecosystems have often evolved in iso- lation, they are susceptible to all kinds of impacts associated with resort construction and operation.
Apart from just a few larger ones, an average tropical ecosystem is relatively small in size. This causes any introduced activity to have a significant impact on its flora and fauna. Tropical ecosystems also have weak soil composition and are prone to quick degradation and erosion once the original ground cover has been removed. Research has shown that once weathering and leaching processes have started, there is no practicable means of halting rapid soil erosion or replacing lost organic matter.
A design implication is that any required circulation on the site should be planned with extreme caution and care. Other requirements can be presented as follows:
* Any unnecessary changes to the environment should be avoided;
* Landscaping should become an extension of the existing ecosystem, mimicking it and preventing further fragmentation;
* Plan resort development in border zones between, rather than deep within, ecosystem units;
* Avoid encroaching by resort developments, and their intensive use parts in particular, on unique land features, such as the only hill in the vicinity,
the only lake or one of just a handful of freshwater streams as it is more likely than not that these areas host endemic flora and/or fauna species;
* Do not introduce imported live organisms, plants or animals, to the area; landscaping and popula- tion of decorative pools should be done with native species;
* Traffic should be planned using the shortest avail- able routes; whenever possible, it should be taken
above ground or led in a way which will not con- tribute to erosion, for instance avoiding steep gradients;
* Avoid using pesticides and herbicides. Pest and weed control, when really necessary, can be car- ried out using permaculture methods and manual removal; however, adaptation and passive meth- ods such as screen and barriers are much more environment-friendly.
1.3
Operational issues in
eco-friendly resort design
The approach to tropical resort design presented in this book is an environment-friendly one. It draws a picture of an eco-resort in the tropics which offers a
‘tropical experience’ to visitors. Such a resort makes only a minimal impact on the environment without compromising guests’ comfort and safety. It can also be an economically viable alternative to typical air-conditioned structures. The eco-resort has to draw on and blend with the local natural and cultural environments by employing principles of Environ- mentally Sustainable Design (ESD). It must minimise use of energy through passive solar design and, where additional energy inputs are required, it should utilise the renewable resources of sun, water and wind. It also has to make minimal impact on the environment by limiting waste, emissions, pollution and other undesirable effects of its operation.
In very broad terms, the impact that the resort will make on the environment can be derived from solutions adopted for:
* energy and water supply
* discharge of waste and emissions
* construction technology and materials used in buildings and infrastructure, and
* direct human impacts through daily activities on the site
While environmental impacts are related to both design and operation of the resort, this publication deals only with the former. Nevertheless, the reader should keep it in mind that operational impacts will always follow on design decisions and are reflected at later stages of the facility’s life cycle in maintenance, waste generation, various types of pollution and socio-economic impacts. Consideration of all bene- fits and all costs, not only at the construction stage but also throughout the entire life of the facility, should be put in a broad context. In the following sections, we will consider various factors affecting environmental sustainability.
Eco-resort design should begin with its indoor environment. Creating the tropical resort so that it performs exceptionally well is, in this usually extremely fragile environmental setting, far more
important than its looks. Achieving an exceptional aesthetic quality (on top of the exceptional function- al and structural qualities) in the unforgiving envi- ronment of the tropics should be taken only as a welcome bonus after performance requirements have been satisfied (Figure 1.13).
While no single design or planning issue can be considered in isolation, it is the response to the cli- mate that is the most obvious design problem in the tropics. The overall objective of climate-responsive architecture is the provision of high standards of ther- mal, acoustic and visual comfort, while working with the climate rather than against it. It follows that the building should respond to the environment in which it is built by taking full advantage of any useful climatic conditions at the site and eliminating or minimising the influence and effects of undesirable phenomena. Furthermore, it should closely match the needs and expectations of its occupants, which in many respects are different from those of occu- pants in a residential or office building. These objec- tives can be achieved without high energy input – nowadays widespread and on the increase in typical tropical buildings.
Service system integration is a means to achieve the eco-resort design goals: close fit, accurate re- sponse, and highest possible efficiency. There is a range of services that need to be looked at:
* water supply, including demand for potable and non-potable water, and drainage management
* lighting
* energy supply management
* ventilation/air-conditioning
* water heating
* sewerage and waste management
* pest management
* telecommunication and information services
* fire safety and security services
* transportation.
The integration occurs at two levels, as internal and external integration. The internal integration requires that the most economical solution for a given service be adopted in response to the identified
and quantified need. The selected system should be robust and necessitate minimum redundancy. Its modular structure should allow for easy coordination with other parts of the system, speedy construction and, later on, least maintenance. Practically all oper- ational issues are influenced by decisions taken much earlier, at planning or design stages. Smaller is better – this old truth definitely holds when applied to trop- ical eco-resort design. ‘Reducing the demand’ is the paramount principle in systems designed for use in a typical eco-resort setting.
External integration is about coordination of one system with all others as well as with indoor and outdoor environments. What this means is that, if unnecessary waste is to be avoided, systems need to respond to environmental conditions in the most efficient way. Furthermore, parts of the system should be able to perform multiple functions. For instance, a decorative pool can double up as an evap- orative cooler, fire-fighting reservoir and a security barrier, even if we forget its role in supporting the native wildlife.
Landscaping can be done with edible plants and deliver required visual and acoustic barriers, roof ponds can be used in controlling indoor environment and store water for other needs, and photovoltaic arrays can form a part of a roof cover. Such landscap- ing impacts on the indoor and outdoor environments and is limited to the functions and services required of them. For instance, structural elements can be size-
coordinated with building functions and comple- ment the envelope, provide room for electrical wiring and hydraulic pipes while contributing to the visual environment in a way expected of the architecture built in places where nature is more important than the human contraptions. Outdoor lighting can be incorporated in the structure of walkways in response to safety and security needs but not spilling light into the surrounding wildlife habitats. In addition, loca- tion of power-generating equipment can be chosen to minimise transfer losses but not intrude with un- wanted sound or visual impacts.
There are a number of preventive measures that can be taken to minimise operational impacts. They include assessment of and follow-on actions appro- priate to what was found in the areas of:
* impact of the resort and its operations on visual landscape
* impact of use of energy, in particular lighting devices, on site
* potential effects of use of fuels and (maintenance) chemicals
* sourcing and retention of water as well as possible water conservation measures, including reuse of grey water
* impact of storm water, including drainage techni- ques, wastewater and effluent on site
* impacts of noise at the site
* use of transport for various tasks
* use of natural surroundings of the resort
* potential interaction between resort staff and guests and the environment
* impact of the resort and its operations on biodi- versity
* ways in which the resort can support conservation within and beyond its site.
Reduce–Reuse–Recycle (–Replace)
In response to diverse environmental pressures, the 4Rs (sometimes referred to as the 3Rs, omitting the replacement considerations) have emerged in recent years as a major social phenomenon. Reduce, reuse, and recycling strategies can minimise environmental impacts by lowering environmental pressures from preparing the site, construction, operation and main- tenance of the resort. The strategies based on the 4Rs principles should be implemented at all stages of the facility life cycle. Most people are familiar with some recycling programmes, but it is worthwhile to review what reduce, reuse, recycle mean in the context of the tropical eco-resort (Figure 1.14).
The following sections look at planning and design issues related to some aspects of resort Figure 1.13 Hierarchy of human needs according to Vitru-
vius and Maslow.
operations. Interested readers may find discussion of energy generation, water supply and waste disposal in specialist literature, some of which is given in the Bibliography. In these pages, we focus on planning and design implications of particular selections as well as on choice of building materials, construc- tion technologies and opening the site to the tourist presence.