Operational Guidelines of Karacadir

Design and Selection of Building Materials

* Increase use of building materials with low levels of embodied energy.
* Design buildings with sustainability in mind.
* Reuse reclaimed building materials.
* Minimize volume of building material waste.
* Use resource-efficient design and construction methods.
* Design buildings with an increased ratio of usable space envelope.
* Design buildings with an open floor plan and light-weight partitions.
* Design buildings with multi-function spaces.
* Design buildings with expansion and multi-use in mind.
* Design buildings with deconstruction in mind.


Environmental Impact of Construction
* Increase use of simplified construction processes and methods.
* Minimize the disruption of native plant and animal species.
* Minimize the impact construction has on the immediate environment.
* Minimize use of materials resulting in toxic manufacturing waste or materials containing toxic compounds.
* Use building materials made from renewable natural resources.
* Decrease amount of construction waste.
* Use recyclable/recycled building materials.
* Decrease use of heavy equipment.


Environmental Impact of Building
* Design buildings that visually blend into the environment.
* Design buildings that provide visual and acoustic privacy.
* Integrate recycling into building plan.
* Select building materials with minimal maintenance requirements.
* Minimize hard surfaces prone to run-off.
* Increase use of natural daylight.
* Increase thermal ground coupling.
* Increase use of passive cooling and heating techniques.
* Design the building with an east-west orientation of the major axis.
* Maximize use of solar thermal energy for domestic hot water or space heating.
* Maximize use of passive solar cooling and heating techniques.
* Use a rain collector for landscape watering.
* Use a permaculture landscape plan to:
- provide east-west shading of buildings
-channel local breezes
-create a cool, dry micro-climate
-promote evaporative cooling in dry climates
* Use organic garbage composting.
* Use humanure composting system.
* Use an artificial wetland waste treatment system.
* Use a grey water system for landscape watering.

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