THE APPLICATION OF SUSTAINABILITY ARCHITECTURE IN PUBLIC BUILDINGS (CASE STUDY OF AN INTERNATIONAL MUSEUM)

ABSTRACT This paper focuses on integrating sustainability as an architectural design principle that addresses the issue of energy efficiency in buildings. The design approach in the school of architecture and among practitioners are mostly based on form and function, but sustainability has in recent time introduced a shift that ensures that both the environment and the present and future generations can be sustained adequately without depleting available resources. In architectural practice, the three cores of sustainability; social, economic, and environmental factors are mostly ignored by architects while making decisions at the design stage. This topic will focus on efforts that will increase the overall energy efficiency of a building from the design stage to its lifecycle. In the training and practice of architecture, sustainability has not been prioritized. This study will evaluate and integrate sustainable architectural design principles needed to achieve energy-efficient buildings from the preliminary stage of architectural design. Data were collected through detailed literature reviews; a case study research strategy was adopted to ascertain the effectiveness and efficiency of building design with an emphasis on sustainable architectural design principles. The result reveals that buildings that were designed and built with a sustainable architectural design approach are more energy efficient and environmentally friendly. This paper, therefore, intends to identify the best architectural design principles for sustainability that can help architects navigate architectural practice toward a more current approach to achieving energy efficiency in buildings. This means the introduction of passive design strategies, design for deconstruction, adaptive reuse, and design for human comfort at different levels of the architectural design method. The study, therefore, recommends the need for architects and other allied professionals in the built environment to adopt architectural design principles with sustainable strategies as a tool for the achievement of energy-efficient buildings. Keywords: Design principles, Sustainability, Energy efficient building etc.