As developers advance towards a more sustainable future for their projects, effective landscape design plays a pivotal role. Green landscape design incorporates sustainable practices such as native plantings, water-efficient irrigation, and eco-friendly materials. These contribute to environmental conservation by reducing water consumption, supporting local ecosystems, and minimizing the overall ecological footprint of developments.
Green Quarter has been involved in various projects, applying simulation tools to accurately quantify, measure, and visualize the performance of their buildings at the concept design stage, even before construction begins.
Recently, Green Quarter was appointed to oversee Dynamic Daylighting (Lux) Simulation Works for a mixed development in Kuala Lumpur, consisting of residential towers, retail spaces, and villas. The objective was to collect data on the percentage of hours in a full year where lux levels are over specific thresholds in landscape areas within the development to deliver optimized landscape design and type of plant species where building shadows are present.
The mixed development has an organic form architecture which creates unique spaces with oddly shaped nooks and diversified landscape areas located at different layers of the building.
Green Quarter had collaborated with the Landscape Consultant to efficiently design their landscape through a series of simulation exploration conducted on the potential landscape areas decided by the project team. The simulated landscape areas include villa corridors, pocket gardens, sky gardens, retail spaces, and common areas of the development. The example and methodology shown below is for the sky garden landscape space.
Methodology Employed
Geometry Construction with Integrated Environmental Solution-Virtual Environment (IES-VE) Software
The IES Virtual Environment (VE) is a suite of building performance analysis applications to study and explore design options prior to the actual implementation of the development.
Leveraging the advancement of the IES-VE software, the first step to the dynamic daylighting simulation is to build an accurate geometry model representation of the design.
The geometry model of areas of interest e.g. the sky garden was constructed meticulously where measurements and reference taken from the 2D AutoCAD plan drawings and 3D REVIT model were obtained to ensure the outputs from the exercise are correct and precise.
In addition to the correct measurements of the geometry model, the orientation of the building was also rotated accordingly, and location input was added. This is to allow the software to identify the exact weather and climate data used for the analysis to be based on the location assigned. The building model is set in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Dynamic Daylighting Simulation with RadianceIES
The project’s exploration and study utilized RadianceIES to simulate dynamic daylighting scenarios and study the percentage of hours of lux levels received by the selected spaces throughout the whole year based on historical weather data. With the completed geometry model, the dynamic daylighting simulation focuses on three main scenarios as follows:
- >1500 lux level
- >3000 lux level
- >5000 lux level
The three scenarios were derived from understanding plants’ sunlight requirement for growth. All plants require sunlight to grow but have different amounts and intensity of light needed to live healthily. The identification of the amount of sun a plant requires are defined in the following manners:
- Full sun – Plants need at least 6 hours of direct sun daily
- Part sun – Plants thrive with between 3 and 6 hours of direct sun per day
- Part shade – Plants require between 3 and 6 hours of sun per day, but need protection from intense mid-day sun
- Full shade – Plants require less than 3 hours of direct sun per day
From the above, the study simplifies the connection where direct sun is represented through a lux level >5000 lux, partial sun & shade is represented through a lux level >3000 lux, and indirect sun is represented through a lux level >1500 lux. This allows the simulation to predict the percentage of hours of each space receiving lux levels over the indicated threshold.
Data Extraction and Comprehensive Reporting
Upon the completion of the dynamic daylight simulation, each result of data showing the percentage of hours from each space was extracted and compiled. The percentage of hours of lux level simulated were illustrated in colour contours where warm colours depict a higher concentration of lux level.
The images showing the contouring of colour were then superimposed onto the 2D building floor plans to translate the technical results into a visually comprehensive report allowing a valuable reference across all readers for further analysis and decision-making.
Collaboration with Landscape Consultants
With detailed simulation reports, landscape consultants can deliver landscape designs that are not only aesthetically pleasing but also strategically aligned with the environmental conditions of the site.
This study was imperative to make certain that the proposed design is coherent and practical to ensure the building functions as it should.
Advantages of Conducting Dynamic Daylighting (Lux) Simulation Works
Lux Level Insights
Gain valuable insights into lux levels acquired by specific spaces throughout the year. Understand the intensity of lux received, a crucial factor for the health of plants and human occupants. Certain lux levels are essential for optimal well-being.
Simulation for Efficient Landscape Design
The simulation process is integral to optimizing and efficiently designing buildings, especially for internal spaces, partially shaded spaces and landscape areas. Without this step, there’s a risk of suboptimal designs leading to inadequate lux levels, negatively impacting well-being and health. For plants, this could potentially cause plants to wither due to insufficient daylight.
Importance of Sustainable Design
For this specific project, the development’s design philosophy emphasizes lush greenery through strategically placed pocket gardens at various levels. To ensure the long-term sustainability and functionality of this design, thorough analysis is essential, guaranteeing a workable and flourishing environment, aligning with the nature of the development.
As Green Quarter progresses through its expertise in Virtual Environmental services, the aim is to make an impactful difference in the projects it serves. These communal spaces, designed for relaxation, recreation, and socializing, are more than just physical environments within high-rise developments. They serve as focal points fostering a strong sense of community.
By collaboratively embracing the potential of Virtual Environment simulation works, Green Quarter aspires to create spaces that not only enhance the well-being of individuals but also contribute to the overall vitality and connectedness of the community.
