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Abstract

The rapid urbanization has resulted in high concentrations of high-rise building in the cities. The increase in high-rise building led to an increase in building’s energy consumption that aggravates the urban heat island (UHI) effects and other environmental issues. The recent trend of “greening” building in urban areas allows an alternative way of reducing energy use in building and contributes to cooling effects. It is crucial in a hot and climate tropic where it is almost impossible to achieve thermal comfort outdoors, especially in hot seasons. Plants can be integrated in building design in several forms such as in a biofacade, a green roof and any landscape space. It is essential to understand the nature of plants and its characteristics in its localized settings to benefit the microclimate in the long run. Common issues of plantings in high-rise buildings are related to maintenance issues that involved cost, non-suitability of plants and under maintenance problem. The use of plants in buildings with proper planning and maintenance allows the future development to restore the loss of greenery in the concrete jungle development today.

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Correspondence to Nooriati Taib .

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Taib, N., Abdullah, A. (2016). The Cooling Effects of Plants on the Built Environment. In: Ahmad, M., Ismail, M., Riffat, S. (eds) Renewable Energy and Sustainable Technologies for Building and Environmental Applications. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-31840-0_9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-31840-0_9

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