2.0 Choosing to build underground

Potential physical benefits in Malaysia

Malaysia, located in South-East Asia, has a land area of 329,748, with a population of28.3 million live in this country and with a total landmass of 329,847 square kilometers. Besides that Malaysia is a tropical country with two seasons in a year. The dry season occurs during the south-west monsoon from May and September. The northeast monsoon brings the rainy season to the country during mid-November till March. Malaysia is still considered a safety country if compare with other country because in Malaysia there is not much problem or natural disaster.

Nowadays Malaysia have different situation weather problem if compared to the previous condition. In the early stage, Malaysia is a safe country without any natural disaster problem with a stable monsoon in Malaysia but now, the weather condition has become worst and unstable. It happens because every year the population keeps growing, hence the usage to the humanity increase, for example entertainment area, transportation, and upgrading current technologies. This few threats will make the environment become worst because the pollution will create bad ventilation to the city.

Underground architecture has more potential physical benefits to Malaysia; it helps to solve a lot of problem in Malaysia. Construction of underground architecture can be developed through mining and more recently through transport, housing and commercial industries to reduce the global warming problem (Figure 1&2). The potential physical benefits to Malaysia are written down at chapter 2.11.

Figure 1. Underground transportation and commercial design

Figure 2. Underground residential design

2.1 Climates

Weather changing

Malaysia is a Tropical country; it is generally warm throughout the year with temperatures ranging from 21° to 32° Celsius in the lowlands previously. Unfortunately the temperatures are starting to change average daily min around 22.1 Celsius to 23.4 Celsius and the maximum will be around 31.4 Celsius to 33 Celsius in a year. Now a days the temperature in Malaysia become worst with the lowest recorded of 19 Celsius, it has reduced 3 Celsius if compared with average daily temperature. Besides that the high temperature record is around 34 Celsius to 37 Celsius, more than 3 to 6 Celsius if compare with average daily temperature in Malaysia.  Weather temperature diagram are shown in (Figure 3).

Figure 3. Weather temperature diagram in Malaysia 

It shows nowadays the weather is changing because the pollution globally has become worst. For instance the transportation making air pollution, chopping of trees to develop a new city to fit in the humanity needs. It is making the global warming issues become serious and creates a lot of natural disaster problem.

 According to the latest news from Brian Dunbarthe Global warming is an increase in the average temperature of Earth's surface. Since the late 1800's, the global average temperature has increased about 0.7 to 1.4 degrees F (0.4 to 0.8 degrees C). Many experts estimate that the average temperature will rise an additional 2.5 to 10.4 degrees F (1.4 to 5.8 degrees C) by 2100. That rate of increase would be much larger than most past rates of increase.

In another hand this is the problem why Malaysia starts experiencing hot and unstable weather in a year because the atmosphere has become thinner than before. This is the reason why underground designs have the ability to solve the climate problem.

Underground design save climates problem

Nowadays Malaysia’s climate is unstable which is making the environment become warmer than previous because the car pollution, building materials affected the area to become this hot. This complicated issue is causing the citizens to stay indoors rather than outdoors to enjoy the breeze of air-condition rather than coming out to the street. In Malaysia if the structure scale down to earth and have space inside the underground it is much more beneficial then a high rise building .Underground architecture design can reduce the heat from the sun light because 70% surface of the building has been protecting by soil to avoid the heat into underground space(figure 4).

Besides that, wind direction can go in to underground cooling up the space, even morning, afternoon or night time it also can help to cool down the space rather than having surface building enclose with glass and metal (Figure 5). Most of the building in interior are using more host power air conditional and spend a lot of electrical to cool down the space but Underground architecture will be more economical than surface building because in underground architecture it is using a pump mechanical to pump the heat outside and the air ventilation to outside it using less air conditions than surface building. In the underground interior it will be more comfortable than surface building. (Figure 6)

In facts, underground architecture will decrease less hard materials usage like metal and glass if comparing with the high-rise building. Underground construction is more focus in the interior materials. For example concrete, reinforced concrete, wood and other. Underground building materials doesn’t affect the environment to become hot, most of the materials didn’t have reflection because it is using soft materials to construct. The materials used are to protect our environment and reduce the heat from the surface.

In another hand, underground architecture is different with 20cenutry modern style. In the beginning Modern architecture becomes more famous surface building and mostly is using metal and glass to be their main structure to support the building which causes that area of the modern structure become hotter and has bad ventilation by blocking from the high rise building. Even now the suggestion of green building design has been pop up, using solar and grass to create eco system to the environment but one day the land will be fully loaded with high rise building of green design, problem of that area still exist, still the same bad ventilation and heavy reflection from sun light because the scale and the materials causes that area become hot and have bad ventilation.

Underground design can help us to rescale the high rise building into underground, it can help us to create a more environmental friendly space than surface building with the credits of less usage of  air condition,saving more electrical resource.

2.2 Environment advantages

Bad Environmental Create New Disaster

Global warming becomes serious, unstable weather in Malaysia, tsunami, slight earthquake, tornado in Penang, haze from neighborhood and Flood woes started happen in Malaysia. One of the reason why now a days global warming become serious ,is because of ventilation, pollution from the car transportation ,public transportation in Malaysia are creating sound pollution . For instance trains have been create in the middle of the city making the sound pollution become worst and reflect to the building it making more than the sound pollution at urban landscape.

In another hand the reason why in Malaysia has heavy car pollution because Malaysia does not have a good public transportation for the convenience of humanity causing people to buy car to be their transportation. In this case ,more population more transportation are making heavy traffic jam in the city, the sound and air pollution from the car transportation increases day by day.

Besides those public spaces for humanity it is also partly because of the increase of high-rise buildings, modern skyscraper that overtakes the land and environment that a prim and appropriate public space needs like the street walk and garden. Malaysian chooses to drive to nearest place to avoid the hot weather in Malaysia rather than walking to the nearest place. It’s because the public spaces and the building doesn’t bring humanity blend with urban landscape.

Human with Sustainable Building

Underground architecture is much more environmental friendly then surface building. It is issuing low fuel bills, low maintenance and it also looks morebeautiful to our mother earth and plant life, animal habitat, and plant transpiration and respiration are maintained to a greater extent than with surface construction but in Malaysia it is different . For example, in Malaysia most of the public space and street walk are surrounded by a lot of high-rise building it can’t attract the beauty of natural and less plant to cover the street walker to avoid the sun light causing people to buy car to avoid the hot weather in Malaysia.If we start to reduce the high in surface with the concept of green design and starting to build downward making more space to make the surface more natural view in surface than high rise building, it will attract the street walker to walk to inspire the natural feel rather than driving and can have a good process of ecosystems. In this way, it will be more environmental then a high rise building with usage of concrete design, metal and glass reflection with heat to the humanity. (Figure 7)

Figure7. Green design more attract than current building design  

Besides that Malaysia is also a country where almost 70% of the population is using private car to be their transportation. The reason of choosing a private car over public transport is because Malaysia doesn’t have a good functional public transportation. Nowadays Malaysia can hardly build new public transportation because most of the land has been construct to be high-rise buildings. It forces to build besides the building and spend quite long time to reach the place and some of place public train can’t reach the propose destination because lack of land to build. This problem is making the city become more polluted from train and doesn’t help the humanity and make the area become more unsafely. (Figure 7)

Figure 7. The public train at Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur

Public transportation builds in underground it will be more comfortable to the street walker because it will be more safety with protection with concrete rather than surface train transportation just support with metal structure with empty protection from besides the train. Besides that it reduce sound pollution from underground because the underground space can avoid the sound from exterior and also can avoid interior sound to exterior .it will be more beneficial than surface transportation structure, other than that underground architecture consists of less reflective materials at surface building to decrease heat. More reflection things will only increase heat because the sun light reflecting on the materials. This is the benefit of underground design with humanity to be more environmental friendly. (Figure 8)

Figure 8. the underground train transportation in western country 

2.3Protection

Unprotecting in Surface Building

A lot of pollution are happening in different country, we can’t avoid the pollution problem because in a city of rapid development it will naturally occurs, what we can do is to prevent and reduce the impact of pollution on our building and humanity .for example highway sound pollution, air ventilation from factory, air pollution vibration from transportation is slowly disturbing our humanity life unsafely. Malaysia’s residential planning area is mostly facing the road. The surface openings provide the major transmission path for noise to the interior. Vibration from surface will also disturb the path to the interior.

On the other hand, Malaysia is slowly starting to develop a few of natural disaster like tsunami, small tornado and weather changing in current situation. We will not  know when our country will face the problems and natural disasters other western countries are facing  like, tornado, hurricane, volcanic eruption and others that affects the environment, and leads to financial, environmental and human losses. If we started to think how to prevent and protect earlier by starting now, when the natural disaster landed, we can reduce the human losses.

Underground design Save Life

Underground structure ,especially if provided with the ability to exclude or filter contaminated outside air, can be valuable emergency shelter facilities .for example the factory in Malaysia release a lot of gas to the air . It damages the air pollution and destroys the health of humanity. Besides that, small amounts of earth cover are very effective at preventing the transmission of airborne noise like the transportation and the heavy construction sound. This attribute can be very important for structures located in exceptionally noisy locations such as those adjacent to freeways and major airports. Surface opening provide the major transmission path for noise to the interior but in underground space design totally have been reduce the airborne noise from exterior to the interior because underground design is more enclose with concrete and most of the wall have been surrounding with soil it help the space reduce the sound pollution from outside.

In addition, underground architecture can also help us to avoid natural disaster like tornado which resulted the humanity loses. Underground architecture definitely has more strength than surface building. Surface buildings are using materials to support from mother of earth but underground architecture is urban landscape blend with underground utilization space. Besides that underground architecture’s goal is to prevent a damaging release from the facility to the surface ecosystem.it is more environmental friendly than concept surface building.