Advising the client,site and location analysis Assignment

Advising the client,site and location analysis - Assignment Example While the initial construction of factories was solely based on their functionality as a mechanism for the mass production of goods, giving little consideration to the environmental or social ramifications of its existence, the architects of the MAS Intimates facility sought to counteract this trend by creating a structure that would allow every occupant to enjoy the fresh air, natural light, comfortable surroundings, and beautiful outdoor views of intact natural settings within their work environment (Holcim, 2008). Such considerations have allowed MAS Intimates to surpass the traditional model of the factory to create an extraordinary facility that is not a detriment to the environment, but an asset to the ecosystem in which it occupies (Holcim, 2008). From the humble beginnings of a small factory sweatshop in Ratmalana with 26 sewing machines and 60 employees purchased by three brothers in 1986 (Business Superbrands) and revitalized by MAS Holdings in 2006, MAS has grown into a wo rkplace in unison with nature that has significantly diminished its carbon footprint through carbon-neutral power sources and uses 25-40% less energy than companies of the same magnitude (Holcim, 2008; MAS Intimates Thurulie, 2009). ... This plan was initiated as a 340 million (USD), five-year, company-wide environmental and social sustainability program consisting of a hundred points to be achieved by 2012, including establishing green factories that supply goods to Marks & Spencer (MAS Intimates Thurulie, 2009). MAS Intimates Thurulie was the first purpose-built green clothing factory in the world to be designed in compliance with USGBC (U.S. Green Building Council) standards for green buildings and to attempt to qualify for LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification (Holcim, 2008). MAS Fabric Park cost 2.66 million (USD), which Marks & Spencer partially financed in the amount of 400,000 (USD), paying for the majority of the green design and the largest photovoltaic system in Sri Lanka (MAS Intimates Thurulie, 2009). The concept of sustainable construction seeks to incorporate the concepts of fairness and respectful treatment to everyone throughout the design, construction, use, and recycli ng of buildings and cities (Holcim, 2008) and the ecological design of the factory was conceived as an ethical response to consumers demanding stronger environmental stewardship from the businesses they patronized (MAS Intimates Thurulie, 2009). The new MAS Fabric Park factory has renewed a historic industrial center and reestablished a local economic base while providing sustainable long-term employment for 1,300 neighborhood inhabitants (Holcim, 2008). In the renewal of the Thulhiriya Textile Mills, 75% of the MAS Intimates Thurulie spatial area has been left in its natural state left to nature and managed as a habitat for the native flora and fauna (see Appendices 1-5) (Holcim, 2008). In the landscaping of the new site, approximately 400 trees