Sunday, 11 November 2012

The possibilties of sustainable architecture in Male - INTRODUCTION




Maldives is a country known around the world for its beauty and tranquility. It consists of 1190 islands spread across an area of 90000 square kilometers. Among these island is the busy and crowded capital city Male. The beauty of the country is very much over shadowed at the capital as one third of the population lives at an area of 1.97 square kilometers of land; making it one of the most densely populated island in the world.
The capital city which is the commercial hotspot of the country consists of all the main government offices, most of the educational and health institutes. The city is filled with constructions of small block towers to accommodate the high number of population. The lack of land and vertical limitations causes people to live in cramped up spaces, creating social and health problems among the people. The expenses for the maintenance and rent are so high that it is mostly unaffordable to the people creating economical troubles among the people. In addition to these issues, the high number of construction works, crowding and high motor traffic in the city has lead to air pollution and various other environmental threats to the city.
Today the whole world is shifting towards the green movement. It is a movement that focuses on the surrounding environment and as well focus on the social and economical needs of the people living in the space; making it a convenient solution for Male today. The introduction of sustainable buildings in to the housing system of Male could be a step forward in solving the issues faced by the people and as well bring a small dent in the environment threats faced by the island. The materials, energy efficiency, spatial arrangements and appliances could result in a space that is socially and economically friendly to the people and as well a space that is good to the environment.
Hence in this dissertation paper I would be looking in to the feasibility, perks to the people, benefits to the environment and practicality of implementing some of the sustainable strategies in housing buildings of Male. Both a qualitative and quantitative approach would be used as a methodology to gain the necessary data and information for this paper. An online survey would be conducted among the people of Male to have a better understanding of the existing situations and issues faced by them. As well an interview with a local architect from Male would be conducted to gain more knowledge on the technical aspects of the existing buildings and additionally to gain expertise advice on the implementation and feasibility of the green strategies in Male.  Furthermore to support my dissertation paper I would be looking in to the second hand research methods of different books, websites, online journal, online lectures, videos and existing buildings related to the green building strategies and implementation.

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