Development of an Architectural Design Performance Evaluation Matrix for Meeting Ecological Architecture Criteria: A Case Study of Apartment Design Precedents

Abstract

The growth of the population has resulted in an increasing demand for housing from year to year, particularly in urban areas of Indonesia. Large-scale apartment construction has been carried out to meet this demand. However, the rapid growth of apartment development has also led to land-use conversion, which negatively affects environmental quality by contributing to biodiversity loss. This phenomenon calls for architectural design approaches that can mitigate the environmental impact of apartment development. One such approach is ecological architecture. The ecological architecture approach aims to minimize the adverse environmental impacts of architectural products by integrating them with natural elements, consisting of both biotic and abiotic components. Based on this background, this paper seeks to elaborate the ecological architecture approach in architectural design by developing an evaluation matrix to assess architectural products. This matrix is then applied to analyze selected apartment design precedents to identify the extent to which they fulfill ecological architecture criteria. The main theoretical foundations of the matrix are drawn from the ecological architecture concepts of Sim Van der Ryn and Ken Yeang, further elaborated with supporting literature. The primary criteria employed include improving human health, enhancing biodiversity, and ensuring water quality. The proposed evaluation matrix was applied to assess five apartment design precedents. The results demonstrate that ecological architecture in apartment design can be realized through three main strategies: utilizing healthy strategies, enhancing habitat diversity, and guiding water flow. Each precedent exhibits unique characteristics in fulfilling the criteria within the matrix. In general, all selected precedents were able to meet part of the established criteria. The findings of this study indicate that apartments designed according to ecological architecture principles have the potential to improve environmental quality.