UNIT 1

I.READING
What is Green Building Science?
Sustainable building takes most of us back to the classroom for a refresher on the physical
properties of energy, air, and water. Green building practices, as well the selection of the
appropriate building materials, revolve around a few basic principles of science. Science is
what sustainable building relies on, principles that once understood can guide you every step of
the way, including:
A house is a system of interrelated parts

Energy loses some of its potential each time it is converted from one form to another, which
eplains why passive solar heat is much more efficient than electric heat

!orm follows function when it comes to design, meaning that construction should be tailored
to the environment in which the house is built.

Air leaks in the building envelope represent a significant loss of energy and open the door to
moisture damage inside wall and ceiling cavities.

"ontrolling the movement of heat, air, and moisture involves every part of the building and
everyone on the building team
II. GRAMMAR PINTS
#.Simple $resent %ense:
&se the present tense to talk about scientific facts'physical laws'things in general' things that
happen repeatedly.
( A house is a system of interrelated parts.
( %he Green Building is the main facility of the )epartment of Earth, Atmospheric, and
$lanetary Science
( %he construction and operation of buildings consumes over a third of the world*s energy
consumption
+. $resent $rogressive tense:
&se the present continuous to talk about things that are happening at'around the time of
speaking.
( An architect is designing a building in his office at the moment.
( ,ur need for building is constantly increasing.
( $eter is training to become an architect.
E!ER"ISE# $ut the verbs in brackets into their correct forms and tenses
1. A volunteer non(profit organi-ation .set up/000000000000 to promote architecture and
design to seek solutions to global social and humanitarian crisis.
$. %oday he .leave/000000 the house(building business to live a more leisurely life with
his wife.
%. An architect always .think/000000 logically.
&. 1e .study/00000000 building designing this semester.
'. 2ur3 4halifa, )ubai .be/ 00000000 one of the highest building in the world.
III. (UESTINS
#. 5hat do green building practices revolve6
+. 5hy is passive solar heat much more efficient than electric heat6
7. 5hat does open the door to moisture damage inside wall and ceiling cavities6
I). )"ABU*AR+
!ossil fuels air leakage solar heating environmental impact natural building
construction
#. 8n today9s world of climate change and high energy prices, it is critical that buildings use
as few 0000000000.
+. 000000000 can have detrimental effects on how a home functions and even reduces the
life span of the structure.
7. 0000000000 is more attractive than ever.8t is now lower in cost and more efficient.
:. Green building practices aim to reduce the 00000000000of buildings, and the very first
rule is, do not build in sprawl.
;. A similar concept is 00000000000, which is usually on a smaller scale and tends to
focus on the use of natural materials that are available locally.
,. Green architecture also seeks to reduce waste of energy, water and materials used during
00000000000.
). WRD BUIDING
A common way of making a new word in English is by adding prefies'suffies to the eisting
words.
%he Suffi <al=: this forms ad3ectives from the corresponding nouns.
NUN - .A*/ 0 AD1E"TI)E
>ocation ? >ocational
Architecture ? Architectural
%echni@ue ? %echnical
E!ER"ISE# Form adjectives from the following:
AirA natureA centreA globeA machineA geometryA operationA continentA educationA mathematicsA
additionA occasionA cycle.
)I. "MPRE2ENSIN
%he following sentences describe how to work with an architect, but they are in the wrong
order. Bead them carefully, and put them in the right order.
1,5 %, 5,B4 58%1 AC AB"18%E"%
00000000000 Beview your building site with the architect.
000000000000Beview early conceptual sketches prepared by the architect and provide
commentary and direction.
00000000000 Give the architect a list of re@uirements .four bedrooms, family room at least #;
+D, and so forth/.
00000000000Eake certain that the architect is aware of any special restrictions that apply
.-oning, deed restrictions, etc./.
0000000000Bemain involved, reviewing the work fre@uently to insure that the design meets
your epectations
0000000000Eeet with your architect and discuss any pictures or plans of houses you like. 8f
there is an eisting house similar to what you want, take the architect to see it.
0000000000)evelop some idea of what type of house you want ( si-e, style, number of rooms.
0000000000 Spend some time looking at houses ( drive around, take pictures, look at home
maga-ines ( as well as reviewing any eisting designs your architect may provide.
)II. 3URT2ER READING
Green Building Best Practices
Fook for designs that use energy as close to its sources as possible to minimi-e conversion
losses: passive solar heat, for eamples, over electrical resistance heating.
"onsider heat transmissions in all its forms ( convection, conduction, and radiation ( in
selecting building materials and building practices.
"reate an effective air barrier and make sure everyone on the build team understand their role
in maintaining it through various stages of construction.
8nclude some form of mechanical ventilation in the house and strive for a Gpressure neutralG
interior as minimum re@uirement.
Eake sure construction details are able to handle water movement via gravity, diffusion, and
capillary action.
8n areas of high noise, consider window upgrades, sound barriers, and alternatives to
conventional stick framing.