Rising sea levels, unpredictable weather patterns, depleting ozone layers: what have these to do with architects and building designers? A lot. If statistics are to be believed, data from the US Energy Information Administration illustrates that buildings are responsible for almost half (48%) of all GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions annually. Seventysix percent of the electricity generated by US power plants is supplied to the building sector. The building sector in India is also growing at a rapid pace and stands as the third largest consumer of energy after industry and agriculture.

Thus a certain amount of responsibility lies on the architects and designers to postpone the ravages of carbon footprints on this planet. Green architecture seeks to minimize the negative impacts that a building leaves behind. Also, thanks to the Internet, the concept of green architecture is no longer mere
textbook knowledgemany architectural practices have become sensitive to the growing need to adopt methods, processes, materials, and products to construct buildings that are in harmony with nature.

What is a Green Building?
Some of the salient features of a green building are minimal disturbance to site conditions, use of non-toxic, recycled and environmental friendly building materials, efficient use of water, efficient use of energy through eco friendly appliances, usage of renewable energy, and the use of intelligent building management systems. It is also important to monitor the quality of indoor air for human safety and comfort.

Processing and transportation hassles can also be minimized by using local natural resources, in turn lowering economic and environmental costs. Moreover, using any natural material (be it stone, glass, lime or mud plasters, rammed earth, bricks, tiles, untreated wood, cork, paper, reeds, bamboo, canes and grasses) is considered environmentally healthy and sustainable in the long run. Development Alternatives World Headquaters, New Delhi has used recycled waste flyash bricks, mud compressed bricks, and ferro cement roofing in its construction. The trilogy of reduce, reuse and recycle is also important to achieve material efficiency.

Water efficiency for one aspect can be achieved by using low flow faucets and dual flush systems in toilets. More importantly in todays scenario of water scarcity, rainwater harvesting should be an integral part of every buildings architecture to minimize the quantity of water that runs off. In ITC Green Center, Gurgaon, there has been a 40% reduction in potable water use by the implementation of this method. Moreover, they use treated grey water for flushing and landscaping.

The C11-Godrej Green Building center in Hyderabad

Conserving Energy
The most important aspect of green architecture is energy efficiency. It is not just energy savings, but its more to do with energy management, efficient use of energy, daylight harvesting, HVAC integration, and energy generation by green means. This would help minimize operational costs and conserve energy. In CII Godrej GBC, the first green building in India, fresh air to the AHUs is precooled in the two wind towers that sit on either sides of the building. Precooling reduces the load on the air conditioning system, and saves 60% of the energy required for cooling as compared to other buildings of similar size. Building orientation, and insulation of roofs and walls has also become important in this context. Lawn trays, made out of recycled plastic protects against heat ingress through the roof, while providing a green and pleasing surrounding.

In Wipro Technologies, Gurgaon, the traditional inward looking haveli inspired the basic design for the building; a typical Indian rural home with a central courtyard that uses ancient architectural wisdom to build a comfortable and environmentally friendly edifice. The central courtyard acts as a microclimate generator that reduces energy consumption; an important factor to consider when constructing energy efficient buildings.

Some of the unique green features of NEG-Micon, Chennai are 100% day lighting, wind energy, insulated walls, green lawns, waste recycling, as well as building maintenance through green products and consumables. There is a 50% saving in overall energy consumption as compared to a normal building, as well as an 88% reduction in lighting consumption.

Olympia Technology Park, an IT workspace located at Guindy, Chennai, has been awarded the leadership in energy and environmental design (LEED) gold rating by the US Green Building Council. The LEED rating system is considered the yardstick for the design, construction, and operation of high performance green buildings.

A Global Phenomenon
From generating solar power from a small residential window, to having solar farms; and from saving energy by applying EMS (energy management systems), to saving harmful emissions they all go towards creating a green environment.

Besides energy efficiency, creating a workplace that is environmentally friendly is a growing, global phenomenon. Increasingly, buildings are going green and the benefits of this step for the environment as well as corporations and their employees are numerous. Sick building syndrome has been attributed to poor air quality caused by air-tight construction and the off-gassing of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from such things as finishes, adhesives, furniture systems, wall coverings, office machinery, and in some instances, molds. The release of harmful VOCs (such as carcinogenic urea formaldehyde) is one of the biggest concerns when choosing products and materials for interior spaces.

In Grundfos Pumps, Chennai construction methods on a green building was not that different as compared to a normal building, except that a lot of documentation had to be done from the time of choosing the site to commissioning the building. In terms of materials used, they differ when compared to a normal building, in that, Grundfos had to use some recycled materials and materials with a low VOC (volatile organic compounds) content

S Srinivas, senior counsellor, CII-Sohrabji Godrej Green Business Centre says, [that] apart from saving on operating costs, adopting environmentally friendly technologies and practices in the building sector can address sustainability issues, as well as contribute to the conservation of national resources.

The Indian industry is gradually recognizing the role of environmental management as a tool to enhance competitiveness. Be it a residence, a retail space, a hotel or an IT office, the awareness to go green is evident. Articles are being written about it, debates are being aired in the audio-visual media; programs are being themed around it. But this growing awareness has to be complemented with the education of manufacturers that should come under a common umbrella like greenguard or ecomark, bodies certifying green materials and products. Moreover, it is important to have some sort of recognition and encouragement from the government so that this positive movement in environmentally and socially responsible architecture does not stop at just being a gimmick.

Soma Majumdar
The writer is manager, Design Resources and Marketing, DFC, Design For Change, Bangalore.
maildqindia@cybermedia.co.in

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