Asian Architecture

1. PJ TRADE CENTRE,
DAMANSARA PERDANA PETALING JAYA

2. RESEARCH TITLE :
PASSIVE DESIGN STRATEGIES AS EFFECTIVE
NATURAL COOLING DEVICES IN ACHIEVING
THERMAL COMFORT AT PJ TRADE CENTRE

3. The Effectiveness of Passive Design Strategies as Natural Cooling
Devices in Achieving Thermal Comfort at PJ Trade Centre.
(Concept Mapping)

4. RESEARCH QUESTIONS
1) How effective is the shading device used in PJ Trade Centre
in order to achieve thermal comfort?
2) How does the concrete vent blocks at PJ Trade Centre help to
improve the indoor thermal comfort and enhance ventilation?
3) How does the orientation of the building contribute to the
cooling of the building and enhance user’s comfort?

5. Research Question 1 :
How effective is the shading device used in PJ Trade
Centre in order to achieve thermal comfort?

6. Research Question 1 :
How effective is the shading device used in PJ Trade Centre in order to achieve thermal
comfort?
Two Main Shading Devices:
- The Vegetation - Concrete Vent Blocks
 PJ Trade uses a lot of trees and concrete vent block around the building to provide
shade and ventilation to the user.
 The hollow concrete vent blocks allows the cool wind to pass through the holes and at
the same time provide protection against the sun.
 This helps to increase thermal comfort as the building is well protected from the hot sun.
 The tall trees are mostly planted at the entrance of the building to where its facing East.
This allow little amount of sun to shine in and increase user’s comfort.

7.  PJ Trade has a landscape plaza with more than 1400 mature trees planted, 12 Sky Terraces
with tall trees, wall creepers and hanging vines.
 The trees planted all around the building and the wall creepers function as shading device
that provide shade for the user.
 The Plaza & trees also act as filtration to cool the heated air hence increasing the natural
ventilation around the building to achieve thermal comfort.
 User will also have the feeling of being close to nature.
Vegetation
Supporting Evidence
Ground Floor Plan
Trees
Entrance
Highway
Garden Plaza
Entrance Trees
LEGEND
Highway

8. Traditional Malay House
Comparison
PJ Trade Centre
In Traditional Malay Houses, the coconut trees and
other tall trees are use to provide good shade. It does
not also block the flow of wind passing through the
house level.
In PJ Trade Centre, the landscape plaza and tall trees are
planted to avoid maximum amount of hot sun to enter
and allow user to be close to nature. It is also to provide
shading and help reduce the temperature of the
surrounding.

9. Conclusion :
Just like the Traditional Malay house, PJ Trade Centre are built considering the site
context. The concept of PJ Trade Centre is to merge the building with the
surrounding green context. The trees does not only provide shading but also helps
filter the hot air. Therefore, average temperature and thermal comfort is achieved.

10. Research Question 2 :
How does the concrete vent blocks at
PJ Trade Centre help to improve the
indoor thermal comfort and enhance
ventilation?

11. Concrete Vent Block
The concrete vent blocks are ventilation blocks
that is made from concrete which provides
excellent protection from the sun’s heat and at
the same time allowing breezy air to flow in. It
also provide practical protection against
heavy wind and rain while allowing sufficient
amount of light and air to flow into the
spaces.
Other advantages of using concrete vent block :
 Provides privacy
 The air space provides good
thermal insulation
 Aesthetically pleasing

12. Research Question 2 :
How does the concrete vent blocks at PJ Trade Centre help to improve the indoor
thermal comfort and enhance ventilation?
 The concrete vent block were applied on the west side of the building to function as
shading mask against direct heat penetration into the building.
 It controls the amount of direct sunlight in context with the office building.
 When temperature is low, thermal comfort is achieved.
 Wind passes through the holes of the concrete vent block, allowing more ventilation.
 It also act as a natural air filter which trap dust particles from polluted air, controlling
indoor air quality of the building for user’s comfort.

13. Natural Ventilation
 The concrete vent block allows airflow while providing shade.
 The open balcony on every floor of the building allows better ventilation and more
wind to flow in.
 The 3.8 meters ceiling height of the office allows better ventilation for the user.
Supporting Evidence

14.  The stack effect also allows for better ventilation as the hot air inside the
building is flushed out with the cool air coming in as wind passes through
the sky terraces. This design of the PJ Trade Centre enhance the
ventilation of the building thus improving user’s comfort.

15. Traditional Malay House
PJ Trade Centre
The houses in Traditional Malay Houses are
elevated to capture higher wind velocity
and to allow air to circulate in the building.
PJ Trade uses stacking effect to more wind for effective
ventilation. Wind passes in between the open space of
the building.
Comparison

16. Conclusion :
Just like the Traditional Malay house, PJ Trade Centre also uses the idea of
elevated which is the stack effect in designing the building to capture more
natural ventilation into the building. It also has a lot of openings and open
space in between the building to allow natural sunlight to enter and enhance
ventilation to increase thermal comfort.

17. Research Question 3 :
How does the orientation of the building
contribute to the cooling of the building
and enhance user comfort?

18. Research Question 3 :
How does the orientation of the building contribute to the cooling of the
building and enhance user’s comfort?
Orientation
Concrete vent block
Entrance
Ground Floor Plan
 The building is designed to which the longer façade is
facing East and West.
 The architect wants to capture direct sunlight but at the
same time provide effective shading device and
ventilation to achieve user’s comfort.
 The East façade is shaded by garden plaza and the
building next to it.
 It allows the user to sit comfortably without feeling hot.
 The West façade is fully shaded by the concrete vent
block.
 Concrete vent block does not only allow great amount
of ventilation but also shades the building from direct
sunlight while still bring in sufficient amount of
daylight to the spaces.
 It allows high thermal comfort to the spaces.

19. Materials
Supporting Evidence
 PJ Trade Centre’s uses Brick as the main
material.
 Steel, concrete and glass are the
supporting material that helps integrate
the building to the surrounding.
 Dense materials such as bricks and
concrete are excellent at absorbing
heat.
A study conducted that materials control how the heat is absorbed, stored, released and distribute
throughout the building. It is important to choose the right of material in designing a building.

20. Comparison
PJ Trade CentreTraditional Malay House
Just like the Traditional Malay House, PJ Trade Centre uses a lot of openings and low thermal
material for better ventilation. The longer façade of the building that is facing East-West and
is effectively shaded by the concrete vent blocks that not only allow protection against the
sun, but also allowing air to flow through. This help decrease the temperature of the
surrounding and enhance the user’s comfort in PJ Trade Centre.

21. Conclusion
 Concrete vent blocks, vegetation, natural ventilation, orientation and material act as
effective passive design and plays an important role in achieving thermal comfort.
 The garden plaza and trees planted around the building acts as filtration to cool the
heated air.
 The use of concrete vent blocks on parts of the building improve the space quality and
enhance the ventilation for user’s comfort.
 The concrete vent block also act as shading device that allows air to flow in thus
making the building naturally ventilated.
 The orientation of the building helps support the design of the concrete vent block as
natural cooling strategy.
 The brick material on the building also help to absorb heat to achieve an average
temperate of the surrounding for thermal comfort.

22. References
1) Architectural Screen Blocks. (n.d.). Retrieved May 21, 2016, from
http://carrollsbuildingmaterials.com/concrete-block/architectural-screen-
blocks/
2) http://vancouver.ca/files/cov/passive-home-design.pdf
This book talks about passive design
3) http://www.pjtradecentre.com/da.pdf
The book explains about the design of PJ Trade Centre
4) http://www.pjtradecentre.com/blueprint.pdf
This book explains on the concept and approach in designing PJ Trade Centre