greenlifestyle
Environmental architecture hastaken on a number of differentmeanings as a result of rapid
changes in building and design tech-niques, energy performance and 'intel-ligent' systems.
Every new building or retrofit isclaimed to be an environment-friendlyor low-energy development. How realare these claims? How low is "low en-ergy" then? Does low stay the same, ordoes it get lower with time? How im-portant is energy anyway, compared toother functional, architectural, engi-neering, environmental issues of build-ings? If energy and environment areimportant and brought into the designprocess, how will they affect the archi-tectural expression of a building? Mostimportantly, is sustainability the sameas energy and environment issues?
The quick answers to the above are:no, we should not believe any suchclaims without looking at them criti-cally and being able to compare themwith benchmarks. Detailed answers tothe above emerge from the very basisof sustainability that require the intentof the architect and developer to go be-yond a 'greenwash' and strive for high-er performance standards and more ho-listic approach. Sustainability can, inprinciple, address a wider set of issuesthan just energy and environment - but,unfortunately, today, it often does notdo so.
In an attempt to define low-energy, theshift toward green building certificationis increasingly popular. How-ever, the need of our times re-
quires us to go beyond the certification- such that our buildings become inde-pendent of non-renewable energy sys-tems- a state where zero conventionalenergy and zero emissions from build-ings is achieved.
Therefore, while energy might seemto be just one parameter, it is a director indirect indicator to most other is-sues and can provide insights on all as-pects of building design and operation.
The holistic approach requires ar-chitectural design to be informed by cli-mate, site, building type, and designbrief; and in wider terms by social andcultural conditions and aspirations.
An appropriate response to 'where,for whom, for what purpose, when, forhow long, and why' translates into creative architectural design solutions
that combine tradition with innovation.On that note, we could draw from ver-nacular architecture for its climate re-sponsive design and passive strategiesbest suited to the function of the space.
However, with changing buildingfunctions and the need to mimic thewest or adhere to the notions of 'mod-ernism', buildings are increasingly un-responsive to the climatic context, thusleading to inefficient use of resources.The result is the constant creation ofproblems that require expensive andtechnologically enhanced solutions.This requires us to rethink our ap-proach to design - to integrate climateresponsive architecture with appropri-ate building skins, technology and con-trollability resulting in enhanced build-ing performance.
Therefore, how is sustainability de-fined? It is to be established at all scalesof the project - the macro-scale (urbanplanning), meso-scale (building archi-tecture orientation and layout) and themicro-scale (façade elements and con-trollability). It should percolate intoevery aspect of the built environment.
Therefore, while striving for zero fos-sil fuel energy for all building types inall climates is a global objective, themeans for achieving this objective mustbe based on local conditions that re-spond to the context and appropriatebuilding and construction techniques.
Now we only need to question whyall buildings are not built inherently sustainable.
Climate change is happening and humans are contributing to it. Risingtemperatures vouch for this: the av-
erage temperature has risen globally, bymore than 0.7 °C over the last 100 years.
We have a consensus that we cannot havea temperature rise of more than 2 degreescentigrade, as after this there will be un-controlled consequences. The challenge isto find a solution that involves all the coun-tries in the world to agree to keep the tem-perature rise to below 2 degrees centigrade,
which is to collectively limit the CO2 levelsin the air, to under 450 ppm.
We are already at 390 ppm, increasing itby 3 ppm or more each year. And the timeis running out for all of us. Today, build-ings consume 40% of the World's energyand it is about 30% in India and 60% inUSA.
If we are to achieve our national goal ofreducing energy by 25%, we can easily lookto the 75% of India that is yet to be builtand make sure that the new buildings are
all Energy efficient and Green certified-IGBC or TERI GRIHA or BEE Energy Starrated.
IGBC Green building registered projectsare about 322 million sq. ft at present andthis is very little compared to the potential.Water, Energy, Waste Management togeth-er with Indoor Air Quality are very impor-tant verticals in any building and we needto stress on health and quality of indoor airmore than we have in the past.
Conservation and sustainable develop-
ment strategies should be attempted andencouraged to curb the climate changeimpact. We can reduce emissions byswitching from Coal based energy to So-lar, Hydro, Nuclear, Wind or Geo thermal(the Earth's temperature is more than 200degrees centigrade about 2,000 meters be-low ground level).
Clean and efficient energy technologiesare essential in all uses including vehi-cles, pumps, electric motors, automobiles,lighting, air-conditioning, production of
cement, steel etc. We need carbon storage,Alternative Energy - Nuclear, Wind, Pho-tovoltaic, Fuel Cells, Bio - fuels, besidesincrease of forest cover. Regulatory meas-ures are a must to promote energy effi-ciency in buildings.
Water could pose a larger threat thanenergy. Solutions lie in better manage-ment of water resources. Our policiesshould include efficient water usage andreduction of water wastage in transmis-sion. Similarly, water harvesting shouldbe compulsory for green areas and build-ings.
Outlaw conventional lamps and en-courage CFL, use only 4-5 star air condi-tioners, refrigerators, electric motors,transformers etc. Charge a high exciseduty on energy inefficient products andzero duty on energy efficient ones. Use so-lar heating in all the buildings as far aspossible.
Promote use of energy from waste. Setup gobar (cow dung) gas plants in eachvillage and use the methane gas for cook-ing and the residual material as fertilis-er. Some of the gas can also be stored torun a fuel-cell electric generator for pro-ducing electricity at night for poweringmobile telephone towers, and LED andCFL based electric lighting.
Encourage lifestyle change, keep tem-perature in offices between 24 - 25 degreesCentigrade and do away with wearingneck-ties in offices in summer. Let thecolour of green be white: encourage theuse of white colour roofs and facades andwhite colour vehicles, as they reflect lightand heat.
As responsible people we should takeinsurance and do what we need to do nowand not any later.
8pg.
[FAST FACT] Regulatory measures are a must to promote energy efficiency in buildings
A T i m e s o f I n d i a P r e s e n t a t i o n , M U M B A I , F E B RUA RY 6 , 2 0 1 0 T I M E S P R O P E RT Y
� WHITE ROOFS ANDFACADES AND WHITEVEHICLES REFLECTLIGHT AND HEAT, THUS HELPING TO COOL SPACES
CLIMATICCONTEXT
Defining sustainable architecture is necessary, especiallywhen it is the foreseeable future, says AR. PRIYA VAKIL
Simple lifestyle changes could go a long way towards combating global warming, says KAMAL MEATTLE
NO SMALL CHANGE
QUICKBYTES
� IF WE ARETO ACHIEVE
OURNATIONAL
GOAL OFREDUCING
ENERGY BY25%, WE CANLOOK TO THE75% OF INDIA
THAT IS YETTO BE BUILT
AND MAKESURE THAT
NEWBUILDINGS
ARE ALLENERGY
EFFICIENT ANDGREEN
CERTIFIED
� WATER,ENERGY,
WASTEMANAGEMENT
TOGETHERWITH INDOOR
AIR QUALITYARE VERY
IMPORTANTVERTICALS IN
ANY BUILDING
KAMAL MEATTLE
is Chief Executive Officer Paharpur Business Centre &
Software Technology Incubator Park
EDITORIAL CO-ORDINATION:THE SOURCE/
MENKA SHIVDASANI.Email:
REGISTRATION NO. MAHENG/2001/4179 VOLUME
NO. 9, ISSUE NO. 49 PUBLISHED FOR THE PROPRI-
ETORS, BENNETT COLEMAN & CO. LTD., BY R.VENKA-
TA KESAVAN AT THE TIMES OF INDIA BUILDING, DR.
D. N. ROAD, MUMBAI - 400001 AND PRINTED BY HIM
AT THE TIMES OF INDIA SUBURBAN PRESS, AKURLI
ROAD, WESTERN EXPRESS HIGHWAY, KANDIVLI (E),
MUMBAI - 400101. TEL.NO: 4027 0555, FAX: 4027 0509.
Editor: Sridhar Ramakrishnan, (Responsible for
selection of news under PRB Act). Reproduction in
whole or in part without the written permission of
the publisher is probihited.
PRIYA VAKIL
Partner, EdEn, Educated Environments
QUICKBYTES
� BUILDINGS AREINCREASINGLYUNRESPONSIVE TOTHE CLIMATICCONTEXT, THUSLEADING TOINEFFICIENT USE OFRESOURCES
� THE RESULT OFTHIS APPROACH ISTHE CONSTANTCREATION OFPROBLEMS THATREQUIRE EXPENSIVEANDTECHNOLOGICALLYENHANCEDSOLUTIONS
� THIS REQUIRES USTO RETHINK OURAPPROACH TODESIGN- TOINTEGRATE CLIMATERESPONSIVEARCHITECTURE WITHAPPROPRIATEBUILDING SKINS,TECHNOLOGY ANDCONTROLLABILITY
There are no predeterminedsolutions. Environmental ar-chitecture is an evolving con-cept and practice and not a fixedset of objectives and techniques;it has to be continually redefinedand reassessed. Assessment ofenvironmental sustainabilitycan be only by rigorous appli-cation of the cognitive, empiri-cal and analytic faculties.With a specialization in sustainable
environmental design from the
Architectural Association in
London, UK, Priya Vakil has
pursued a green agenda in the field
or architecture and related avenues.
After spending initial years as a
graduate in architecture with John
Portman and Associates in Atlanta,
Priya returned to Mumbai to initiate
green design processes as the
partner of EdEn, Educated
Environments, in Mumbai.
PIC: SUBHANGI V
PIC: KALPATARU
Kamal Meattle is Chief Executive Officer,
Paharpur Business Centre & Software
Technology Incubator Park, which is
currently developing GreenSpaces™, a
Special Economic Zone near Delhi. This is a
'Flagship Project' for the Asia Pacific Partnership, a
Government partnership of seven countries - USA,
Canada, Australia, Japan, China, South Korea and
India, and is being described as the world's most
energy efficient green commercial building.
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