GREEN BUILDINGS

How green is Green

Environmentalists and experts are now unanimous that the way forward is green architecture, which helps save energy and makes the whole growth story of mankind sustainable, says Krishna Kumar Mangalam


What is a Green B u i l d i n g What makes it different from a conventional building Why are corporates going in for these green buildings How important is it for us to live in a green building How expensive are these green building technologies The list of questions around this buzzword Green Buildings is significantly huge and the answers are not only simple but also provoke us to take a pledge to Go Green .
A number of organizations have recently been set up to promote this concept. Dr P C Jain, chairman of India Green Building Council (IGBC), recently said at a seminar, Green building is a concept fast catching the fancy of people across the world, and India is no exception.
Although the concept has come in an entirely new avatar, it is not as novel as being considered by many. The biggest advantage of a green building is if it is designed well, this may accrue life-long benefits at small makeup costs. As socialists, our effort is to promote the concept of sustainable deve l o p m e n t that is in h a r m o ny with nature while keeping intact the t r a d i t i o n s and practices of ancient India.
IGBC estimates the demand for green building materials and equipment will reach $4 billion per annum by 2010. Industry experts feel that in tune with the global trend to protect environment, the number of green building projects in India may go up from the current 164 to over 2,000 by 2012. Green Building technology is a futuristic idea for the planet and is pro life. It is inspired from various elements of nature and innovatively designed to generate significant economic and health advantages to us. It takes us closer to nature by bringing nature closer to home. In fact, it makes the whole growth story of mankind sustainable. Some of the facets of green buildings are: heat reduction insulated roofs and walls that substantially reduce heat ingress (up to 60%) thereby resulting in lower AC loads; cross ventilation with fresh breeze; goodbye to high energy costs (up to 40%); solar lighting is safe for people as well as the planet; 100% natural light all across, thereby cutting down usage of artificial light by 50%.
Healthy indoors: One can enjoy healthy living with innovative solid waste management, waste segregation system and nature-friendly infrastructural facilities. Recycling to conserve nature: Owners can take pride in being a responsible citizen and make the most of 0% discharge building .
Vidur Bharadwaj, director of The 3C Company and chairman IGBC, Delhi Chapter, says, I found the quality of buildings in this part of the world was largely not respecting environment . There was a need to make people aware of sustainable development that will drive them to use green buildings and benefit from a better living environment .
Vidur is the only architect who has to his credit two Platinum Rated LEED certified Green Buildings PATNI Campus in Noida and WIPRO Campus in Gurgaon.
While voluntarily teaching at the School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi, Vidur shared with the future generation of architects the philosophy of green architecture:
Generally the cost difference while raising a green building is approximately between 5% and 8% more than a conventional building but the investor recovers costs within 3 years.
Not only do green buildings consume less energy to build but also reduce running costs of buildings up to 35-40 %.
In a study in Australia it was found that by working in green buildings, productivity of the people had gone up, sickness reduced by 20% making it a much healthier environment to work or live in.
Vidur also enumerated a few general practices that make for a green building like double glazing, AAC block with insulation on external peripheral brick wall, roof insulation, vertical and horizontal sun shading, orientation of building as per sun path diagram, high performance chillers, pre-cooling and free-cooling , among others. According to Vidur, a team of 350 professionals is working to add on another contribution towards their pledge to reduce the carbon footprint on earth. After working on two Platinum Rated LEED Certified Green Buildings in the NCR, this team is all set to now usher in Indias largest green residential project in Sector 100, Noida. Officials say The 3C Company has already set very high standards and created benchmarks in the concept of green construction and pledged to reduce the carbon footprint while developing such projects. They say these sustainable developments not only use far less natural resources and energy in the way they are built but are also more durable and require less maintenance.
Some reputed brands that have gone Green along with The 3C Company are Sapient, Accenture, Nokia Siemens Network, Pearson, etc. ITC Building in Gurgaon , Wipro Campus in Gurgaon, Patni Campus in Noida , Green Boulevard in Noida, Knowledge Boulevard at Noida are a few green buildings in the NCR.