Western Images of Asia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Western Images of Asia - Essay Example The reason for this shared animosity (That has passed from generation to generation), is that throughout history, each religion and people have felt that their God is in fact the only God and that the other faith is filled with Heretics or Infidels. In modern times another reason for western peoples apprehension towards Islam is that they do not understand its people or customs, they may see a women wearing a veil and automatically think she is a grenade-toting terrorist. In the last 25 years there has been a resurgence of Islamic fundamentalism and many western people automatically link these groups to the mainstream Muslim population and state, this is probably the main reason people believe that Islam is a threat to the west. This is far from the case that, "Political, rather than religious, considerations have been as much the driving force in Islamic states as elsewhere. The 1991 Gulf War patently demonstrated that religious considerations of the regions countries were supersede d by their political calculations. The behaviour of Iran, Turkey, Israel, and the Arab countries throughout the war was clearly based on a pragmatic style of politics." ( Monshipouri, 2003, pg25) After the terrorists attacks on The U.S. in September 2002 further made the western public feel that the religion of Islam was a threat to the west. These attacks, carried out by a small extreme group of fundamentalists has succeeded in raising the awareness of Islamic fundamentalism in the west and raising sense of threat from the extreme version of the faith. The attacks also displayed the differences between cultures and religions, as states, "Americans have tended to believe that their institutions and values-democracy, individual rights, the rule of law and prosperity based on economic freedom-represent universal aspirations that will ultimately be shared by people all

Sustainable and Intelligent Buildings Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Sustainable and Intelligent Buildings - Essay Example Prevailing climate is hot and tropical with average temperature of 22Â °C and average humidity of 78%. There is also considerable wind exposure due to its location. From December to March, trade winds can reach average speeds of 20 km/h with peaks as high as 74 km/h. During the rest of the year, winds has an average speed of 10 km/h. Annual rainfall on the site is 1.9 m falling mostly during the rainy season of May to December. Hurricanes are not common but are damaging when they do pass by the country. Holcim wanted to create an office building in Costa Rica which highlighted their commitment to green buildings and sustainable construction. The design would have to comply with the five principles of sustainable construction set forth by the foundation. These are as follows: Ecological quality and conservation – common building projects are not only wasteful during construction but also in its entire service. Sustainable buildings should be made of durable and energy efficient materials and system thru the use of environmental energy. Economic performance and compatibility – building projects pose a significant investment. Sustainable buildings are those that realize savings in its long term performance thru the use of free natural energy. These five core principles form Holcim’s sustainable building objectives and formed the basis for the design concept of its office in Costa Rica. There were many ideas offered by architectural firms but the one that stood out was the proposal made by the firm of Bruno Stagno. The architect had in mind the idea of ‘passive building, active people’. Stagno argued that people usually relied on building systems such as mechanical air conditioning systems for making the indoor environment more comfortable hence making them passive. The Lead Architect wanted an office wherein people are actively engaged in control of