Sbd09 Report

SEMINAR REPORT
INTERNATIONAL SEMINAR ON
THEORIZING SUSTAINABLE BUILDING DESIGN “SBD09”
Organized by Edge Hill University, Lancashire UK; & National College of Arts, Lahore; Pakistan
at Edge Hill University, St. Helens Road, Ormskirk, Lancashire L39 4QP, U.K.

Syed Faisal Sajjad
National College of Arts, Lahore Pakistan

The International Seminar on theorizing sustainable building design “SBD09” was held at the Edge Hill
University (EHU) Lancashire UK and Liverpool on August 12-14, 2009. This was the second international
seminar after “SBD08” (sustainable building design) that was held at “Community technical services agency
(COMTECHSA) Liverpool. The seminar was jointly organized by the Edge Hill University (EHU)
Lancashire UK and National College of Arts (NCA) Lahore, Pakistan. It was in connection with the
development of M. Arch. Programme in Sustainable Design at NCA. This initiative is supported by British
Council and Higher Education Commission Pakistan under the Joint Education Links Program. After a more
generalized “SBD08” this year the “SBD09” has a narrower academic focus on “theorizing sustainable
design”. Objective of the Seminar was to share the perspectives and approaches in theorizing sustainable
design from different parts of the world that may be used as part of the teaching and research material for the
intended M. Arch programme.
Venue for the seminar was the auditorium and lecture hall of the newly constructed business school building
at the Edge Hill University Lancashire. The two days seminar was followed by a one day technical visit to
Liverpool.
The Seminar was an outcome of over six months of hard work done jointly by the link teams from the two
institutions. Twenty eight papers were received, out of which thirteen were presented at the seminar. One
paper was presented late on 18-08-09. The papers came from four different countries: Pakistan (15), United
Kingdom (11), India (1) and Bangladesh (1). Seventeen of the papers were by the university academics and
rest of the eleven were from practicing professionals.

These were under the three major themes

1- Concept, Theory and Pedagogical aspects of Sustainable Architecture Education
2- Professional Practice & Sustainability
3- Emerging Political, Social & Technical Perspectives of Sustainability
a- Emerging Political, Social Perspectives of Sustainability
b- Environmental Impact, Audit and Assessment
c- Technical Approaches Towards Attaining Sustainability

Thirteen papers that were presented at the Seminar are the following:

• Key Note Paper, “Theorizing Sustainable Design through Human Geographies” by Dr. Tasleem
Shakur, Edge Hill University; Lancashire UK
• Climate Change and the Built Environment by Dr. Nigel Richardson, Head; Natural Geographical
and Applied Sciences (NGAS) Edge Hill University, Lancashire
• Issues of Sustainable Built Environment: Context, Evolution and Pedagogical Dimensions by Prof.
Virendra Kr. Paul, Department of Building Engineering & Management, School of Planning &
Architecture, New Delhi, India
• Curriculum Design for Sustainable Architectural Studies by Jamie Halsall Senior Lecturer;
Huddersfield University; UK

Sponsored & Managed by
Higher Education Commission – British Council Pakistan; Higher Education Commission
Joint Higher Education Links Programme; (JHELP) Pakistan

• Sustainable Building Design Strategies For Pakistan by Muhammad Ali Tirmizi Department of
Architecture, National College of Arts, Lahore
• Sustainable Regeneration of Historic Urban Centres by Syed Faisal Sajjad Department of
Architecture, National College of Arts, Lahore
• LCC Application in Sustainable Building by Rusdy Hartungi, Chris Pye School of Built and Natural
Environment; University of Central Lancashire, Preston, Lancashire, UK
• Computer Based Design Tool for Solar Radiation Control Through Building Openings by Ar. Sarah
Durrani Architect/Planner; P&D Department Govt. of Punjab, Lahore
• Life Cycle Assessment: A Fundamental Tool in Assessing Sustainability in Built Environment by
Elisavet Dimitrokali, Rusdy Hartungi and Joe Howe School of Built and Natural Environment;
University of Central Lancashire (UClan), Preston
• Renewable Energy Resources in Sustainable Building Design by Ar. Siraj Mahmood S. Mahmood
Int’l, London
• Sustainable Building Design: Some Contemporary Thoughts by Dr Magda Sibley Senior Lecturer;
School of Architecture; Liverpool University
• Practical Aspects of Delivering Sustainable Architecture and the Environmental Challenges by Rosie
Jolly Director ; COMTECHSA Limited
• Energy Simulation of Faculty of Health Building; Edge Hill University: A CASE STUDY by
Catherine Murray, Ar. Andrew Brown, Project Technician, Architect; Capital Developments; Edge
Hill University; Ormskirk, Lancashire

One paper was presented on 18-08-09 as a late presentation in front of a selective audience

1. Theorizing Sustainable Architecture Post modernity for sustainable ethical aesthetic by Suvro Sovon
Chowdhury & Saiqa Iqbal Meghna Architectural Consultants, & Stamford University Dhaka,
Bangladesh
This late presentation was due to late arrival of the two participants from Bangladesh because of visa
problems.

Remaining fourteen papers though could not be presented at the Seminar, but they made valuable
contribution to the subject. The presentations and deliberations at the seminar addressed various dimensions
of theorizing sustainable building design, and offered a comprehensive view. The presentations could be
grouped in two key areas, the theoretical and the technical.
The two days of the seminar were divided into 4 sessions each based on the thematic grouping of the papers.

• Day 1 of the seminar started with the registration of the seminar participants.

• The session 1 started with a welcome address by Ar. Muhammad Ali Tirmizi from the National
College of arts, Lahore. He provided a background of the link between the two institutions and the
role of different funding and organizing bodies involved.
• Syed Faisal Sajjad from the National College of arts, Lahore introduced the seminar and provided an
overview of the thematic grouping of the papers. He explained the logic of the thematic division.
• The key note paper of session 1 “Theorizing Sustainable Design through Human Geographies” by
Dr. Tasleem Shakur, Edge Hill University; Lancashire UK was presented under theme 1 “Concept,
Theory and Pedagogical aspects of Sustainable Architecture Education”. He lamented
industrialization and the north- south debate that has emerged as a result. Based on that he pointed
out the dichotomies in sustainable development theory from environmental, economic and social
perspectives. He emphasized on the importance of “sense of place” as an important aspect of cultural
sustainability. He talked about identity, cultural context and the role of technology. In the given
socio- political context he raised the issue of design education in future. The overall presentation was


based on stark contrasts and comparisons and dwelled mainly on the political and cultural aspect of
sustainable communities.
• Session 1 ended with an address of Dr. John Cater, the vice chancellor of Edge Hill University in
which he introduced the University buildings as an example of sustainable design incorporating state
of the art automated intelligent systems to minimize energy consumption.

• Session 2 started with theme 1 of the seminar “Concept, Theory and Pedagogical aspects of
Sustainable Architecture Education”
• The first presentation was made on “Climate Change and the Built Environment” by Dr. Nigel
Richardson, Head; Natural Geographical and Applied Sciences (NGAS) Edge Hill University,
Lancashire. It was a completely scientific presentation with a particular focus on global warming and
climate change. The most interesting part of the presentation was a discussion on “urban heat
islands”. He emphasized on the systems and integrated building design.
• The second presentation was on “Issues of Sustainable Built Environment: Context, Evolution and
Pedagogical Dimensions” by Prof. Virendra Kr. Paul, Department of Building Engineering &
Management, School of Planning & Architecture, New Delhi, India. The key focus of Prof. Paul’s
presentation was on performance standards for sustainable design. He talked about social, cultural
and traditional performance and the social usage of buildings. He stressed that there are no generic
solutions; rather it is a matter of technological appropriateness. He presented a case study of
sustainable buildings in New Delhi. A very interesting aspect of his presentation was multi stake
holders’ participation in the design of sustainable buildings.

• Session 3 started with the carry over presentation from session 2 on “Curriculum Design for
Sustainable Architectural Studies” by Jamie Halsall Senior Lecturer; Huddersfield University; UK. It
was a very informative and analytical presentation that started with a background of different
approaches of the British Universities regarding academic approach and pedagogy. The four
different approaches he explained are traditionalism, social reconstruction, progressivism and the
enterprise approach. He said that there are political, social and technological approaches to
sustainable design that are mostly based on problem based learning. He pointed out the four
contemporary issues/ subjects in sustainable design as “theories of sustainable development”,
“sustainable design in practice”, “leading practitioners”, and “techniques and technologies”. He
talked about the appropriateness of the academic approaches that was more or less in context of
financial feasibility and employability.
• The second presentation was the opening presentation of theme 2 “Professional Practice &
Sustainability” and the topic was “Sustainable Building Design Strategies for Pakistan” by
Muhammad Ali Tirmizi Department of Architecture, National College of Arts, Lahore. He started
with a presentation on data regarding energy consumption of buildings both in terms of embedded
energy and embodied energy. He presented examples of traditional buildings from Lahore like the
Lahore fort and traditional houses as zero carbon buildings. He lamented modernization and
technology and stressed on the use of traditional wisdom in the design of sustainable buildings.
• The only presentation of session 4 was on “Sustainable Regeneration of Historic Urban Centres” by
Syed Faisal Sajjad Department of Architecture, National College of Arts, Lahore. He presented an
argument on urban regeneration as a more sustainable approach involving appropriate intervention in
comparison to urban area conservation. It was a modernist take on the subject and he supported the
Universalist adaptive approach rather than a more conservative approach of conservation. The main
emphasis of the argument was on having a more comprehensive approach to sustainable urban
regeneration that involves the incorporation of modern programme, systems and uses of the urban
spaces and not the conventional concept of conservation, mostly touristic in nature.

4- Day 2 started with session 5 and theme 3 “Emerging Political, Social & Technical Perspectives of
Sustainability” with a presentation on “LCC Application in Sustainable Building” by Rusdy
Hartungi, Chris Pye School of Built and Natural Environment; University of Central Lancashire,

Preston, Lancashire, UK. The presentation started with a historical perspective of the subject and was
based on economic assessment of buildings for cost saving. The program presented covers
investment, construction, operational, maintenance, replacements, replenishments, and disposal and
salvage costs of the building. The key idea was “time, value, money”. He ended the discussion with
the application of LCC on lamps and fixtures and cutting energy costs.
• The second presentation of the session was on “Computer Based Design Tool for Solar Radiation
Control through Building Openings” by Ar. Sarah Durrani Architect/Planner; P&D Department
Govt. of Punjab, Lahore. It was a very practical presentation on affordable technology. She presented
a calculus based programme to work out the depth of shades for buildings.
• Session 6 started under sub theme 3 “Environmental impact, audit and assessment” with a
presentation on “Life Cycle Assessment: A Fundamental Tool in Assessing Sustainability in Built
Environment” by Elisavet Dimitrokali, Rusdy Hartungi and Joe Howe School of Built and Natural
Environment; University of Central Lancashire (UClan), Preston. She talked about the environmental
impact of building systems. She talked about inventory analysis, impact assessment, results and local
ecological impact of buildings. The major discussion on the presentation was the data intensive
computer programme with a margin of error in case of missing data.
• The second presentation of session 6 was on “Renewable Energy Resources in Sustainable Building
Design” by Ar. Siraj Mahmood S. Mahmood Int’l, London. He presented a historical background of
building regulations in London and stressed on the importance of using renewable energy sources in
building design.
• The third presentation was on “Sustainable Building Design: Some Contemporary Thoughts” by Dr
Magda Sibley Senior Lecturer; School of Architecture; Liverpool University. The presentation
touched various aspects of sustainability and environment. Climate change and global warming were
presented as main concerns for the practicing architects and she talked about improving the
ecological footprint.
• Session 7 started with the sub theme 3 “Technical approaches towards attaining sustainability” and a
presentation on “Practical Aspects of Delivering Sustainable Architecture and the Environmental
Challenges” by Rosie Jolly Director; COMTECHSA Limited Liverpool. She presented the profile of
COMTECHSA and the nature of projects they are doing with community participation. She
explained the design philosophy of her firm which is based on stakeholder’s participation,
appropriateness and accessible design. She explained through examples how they believe in
comprehensive sustainable solutions.
• The last presentation of session 7 and also the seminar was on “Energy Simulation of Faculty of
Health Building; Edge Hill University: A CASE STUDY” by Catherine Murray, Ar. Andrew Brown,
Project Technician, Architect; Capital Developments; Edge Hill University; Ormskirk, Lancashire.
The presentation focused on various technical aspects of the Health building. It was a very
informative session on high tech solutions for achieving sustainability in building design ranging
from thermo graphic imaging to the use of PRI software to achieve low carbon footprint and
intelligent systems in building design.
• The last presentation was followed by a technical visit of the Faculty of Health building conducted
by Mr. Brown the architect of the building.
• Session 8 was the concluding session in which Ar. Faisal Sajjad presented the concluding report of
the seminar. Dr. Nigel Simons distributed the certificates and Muhammad Ali Tirmizi and Dr.
Tasleem Shakur closed the session with vote of thanks.
• The presentation that came late because of the visa issue was on “Theorizing Sustainable
Architecture Post modernity for sustainable ethical aesthetic” by Suvro Sovon Chowdhury & Saiqa
Iqbal Meghna Architectural Consultants, & Stamford University Dhaka, Bangladesh. It was a very
interesting debate from a postmodernist position. The two presenters lamented mechanization and
alienation of the modern life and talked about the unreal or virtual connection of the being with the
world. They stressed on the importance of cultural identity to re-establish the lost connection.


List of remaining fourteen papers that could not be presented in the Seminar, but made valuable
contribution to the subject:

1. Vernacular Architecture and Sustainable Development in Pakistan by Nadeem Omar Asst. Professor
(Academics); National College of Arts, Lahore
2. Myths of Sustainable Building Design in Vernacular Architecture of Pakistan by Muhammad
Tasneem Shahzad Butt Department of Architecture, National College of Arts, Lahore
3. Sustainable Architecture and the Current Energy Crisis in Pakistan by Muhammad Shahzad Haider
Assistant Professor, Dept of Architecture; National College of Arts, Lahore
4. Sustainable Building Design in Pakistan by Khalid Ibrahim Lecturer, Dept of Architecture; National
College of Arts; Lahore
5. Learning Sustainability from Traditional Architecture by Javeria Masood Department of
Architecture, National College of Arts, Lahore, Pakistan.
6. Learning from the Past, a Foundation for the Future by Mohammad Tahir Khattak Visiting Faculty at
CECOS University Peshawar, Pakistan.
7. Low-Carbon Buildings in Pakistan by Majid Saeed Khan Department of Multimedia Arts, National
College of Arts, Lahore, Pakistan.
8. Environmental Factors as Form of Sensory Stimulus by Hina Gazi Architectural Association School
of Architecture, London WC1B 3ES.
9. Use of Computer Simulation for Sustainable Architecture Design in the new Millennium by Syed
Abdul Rehman Creative Director; Sideeffectz Productions; Raiwind Road, Lahore, Pakistan.
10. Impact of Reflective Glass in Building Facades on Sustainable Urban Environment by Ar. Asif
Ibrahim Department of Architecture, National College of Arts, 4 The Mall, Lahore, Pakistan.
11. CAD Applications for Sustainable Architectural Design by Kamran Mufti Department of
Architecture, National College of Arts, 4 The Mall, Lahore, Pakistan.
12. Modularity in an Entire Life Cycle of a Sustainable Building by Bilal Ahmad, Lahore, Pakistan Roof
Gardens as Social Interactive Place by Khalid Yar Khan Department of Architecture, National
College of Arts, Lahore, Pakistan.
13. A Denial to Climate Change in Architecture for Pakistan: Environmental and Psychological
Dimensions for Sustainable Building Design by Rizwan Azeem Coordinator, MSc Environmental
Design, AIOU, and Visiting Faculty, CA&D, University of the Punjab Lahore; Former Director
Housing & Physical Planning.
14. Mechanisms for Natural Ventilation in the Sustainable Architecture of Sethi Havelis by Ar. Samra
Khan Associate Professor, Dept of Architecture, COMSATS University, Islamabad, Pakistan.

The third day of the seminar 14-08-09 was for the technical visit of Liverpool conducted by Mr. Ghalib
Khan from COMTECHSA. The visit started with the participants attending the flag hoisting ceremony at the
Pakistan centre Liverpool to celebrate the Pakistan Independence Day. The participants were then taken to a
comprehensive visit of a school building, a project by COMTECHSA. The tour of the school building was
conducted by the principal of the school. The project is designed on the principles of sustainable building
design using state of the art technology and materials. With all the intelligent systems in place and roof
gardens on top the building performs well in extreme cold and hot weather.
The SBD10 is planned in Lahore in March 2010 with a particular focus on the South Asian context. The
debate of sustainability shall particularly look at the issues of appropriation and appropriateness in terms of
techniques, technology and also the socio- political aspect in the particular context.


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