26 Construction Infrastructure Architect World April 2012

COVER STORY

26 Construction Infrastructure Architect World January 2012

GREEN BUILDING

27April 2012 Construction Infrastructure Architect World

COVER STORY

27January 2012 Construction Infrastructure Architect World

Sustainable building plays a pivotal role in sustainable development. Climate change caused by anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases is considered to be of the most important threats of today, and a core issue in sustainable development.

– A REAL NEED FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT”

GREEN BUILDING

COVER STORY

28 Construction Infrastructure Architect World April 2012

Sustainable development is a development that meets the needs of the present without compro-mising the ability of future genera-

tions to meet their own needs” A glob-ally recognized definition by Brundt-land. After Rio in 1992, the UN head, Boutro Boutros-Ghali, proclaimed: “One day we will have to do better”. He was right. To achieve sustainable

development we need to further increase

our knowl-edge for

the in-

teraction between:• Economicgrowthintheformof

industrialization, urbanization and increase of prosperity,

• Conservationandenhancementofnatural resources,

• Environmentalimpactsrelatedtoproduction and consumption of resources,

• Andlastly,Socialandculturalde-velopment, including the elimina-tion of poverty.

Sustainable building plays a piv-otal role in sustainable development. Climatechangecausedbyanthropo-genic emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) is considered to be of the most important threats of today, and a core issue in sustainable development. Ap-proximately 40% of the global energy use is ascribed to the building sector, so there is a close link between build-ing energy consumption and climate change.

From the 2002 Sustainable Build-ing conference held at Oslo in Norway, it was clear to see that progress in sustainable building is only incremen-tal, especially in those countries with a large existing building stock. The progress will not be enough to meet Kyoto targets, to avoid severe prob-lems in resource availability, in water supply, and social cohesion in urban settlements.

We need new concepts, a radical change in the management of our resource cycles, and initiatives for providing shelter. And, in addition to preventing climate change, the build-ing sector will have to withstand the anticipated effects of climate change.

Traditionally, from an eco-efficien-cy perspective, research concerning sustainable building has focused on the following viewpoints:• Firstly,howdobuildingsaffectthe

environment, locally, regionally and globally, both in the construc-tion phase, and in use? Important aspects are: rational and efficient use of resources such as land, level of energy consumption, type

of energy used, water consump-tion, emissions of substances, and impact on biodiversity.

• Secondly,howistheclimatere-gime of today affecting structures, building enclosures and construc-tion materials regarding utiliza-tion, maintenance and extended lifetime?

• Today,wefaceathirdissue:thepossible impacts of climate change onthebuiltenvironment.Extremeweather events remind us of how vulnerable society is when faced with major climatic variations and severe weather conditions.

Observations increasingly point to global warming and other changes in the climate system. Different scenarios have been formulated, from best to worst cases, for climate change over thenext50-100years.Climatechangecan be seen as having 3 spheres of impacts:• Primary(temperatures,wind

speeds, water tables, floods, driv-ing rain, extreme climatic events),

• Secondary(rangesoffloraandfauna, biological agents and dis-ease),

• And,Tertiary(social,behavioraland institutional).

Global warming is likely to lead to changes in the local climate in several parts of the world. We must believe in finding many paths towards the com-mongoalofasustainablefuture.Eachone of us, representing different com-munities, ethnic and religious groups, regions, countries and human cul-tures, must search for our own unique approaches based on historical roots, technologies, population dynamics and specific natural conditions.OurmotherEarthhasatreasureof

natural resources which we are using since long time back in the history for our benefit and comfort. Human consumption of natural resources todayovershootstheEarth’sbiologi-cal capacity by about 20% Looking at theworld’secologicalfootprint,which

COVER STORY

29April 2012 Construction Infrastructure Architect World

compares the consumption of renew-ablenaturalresourceswithnature’sbiologically productive capacity, we seethatitwouldtake1.2Earthstore-generate resources at the rate we are usingthem.Nowit’sthetimewhentheoveruse of these resources have lead totheirscarcityandsoonwewon’thave them anymore.

Using these valuable resources in an efficient manner and execution is the need of the hour. Among all differ-ent sectors, construction sector is the one, which is utilizing the resources at a greater pace and is posing a great impactonourEnvironment.Buildingsare not only consuming the natural resources but also are responsible for their contribution to the problems such as GHG emissions, climate change, water pollution, water scarcity, excess waste generation & other associated impacts on health and environment. Green Building concept is a sustain-able approach & solution to overcome these problems. Making Green build-ings is a strong commitment towards climate change mitigation and sus-tainable development. Green Building concept with inclusive approach will

surely transform the existing communi-ties into sustainable communities

The construction sector poses a major challenge to the environment. Globally, buildings are responsible for at least 40 % of energy use. Build-ings, when taking into account the manufacture, construction and opera-tional period of buildings consume an estimated 42% of the global water consumption and 50% of the global consumption of raw materials. In ad-dition, building activities contribute an estimated50%oftheWorld’sairpollu-tion, 42% of its greenhouse gases, 50% of all water pollution, 48% of all solid wastesand50%ofallCFCs(chloro-fluorocarbons) to the environment. A Green Building is the one which uses less water, optimizes energy efficien-cy, conserves the natural resources, generates less waste and provides healthier spaces for occupants as compared to a conventional build-ing.TheConceptbehindthegreenbuildings is absolutely based on the key five elements of the nature which areEarth,Water,Fire,AirandSky.Required parameters for constructing building project to provide an effective

and sustainable approach are 1. Sustainable Site & Design plan-

ning2. Water Management System 3. EnergyManagementSystem4. Materials & Waste Management

System 5. IndoorEnvironmentQuality6. Innovations 7. GreenEducation

Green Building rating system is a well defined tool to use a sustainable approach from the planning level & also help to evaluate the environmen-tal performance of the green build-ing. In India, Indian Green Building Councilhasdesignedanuniquerating system for the different types of buildings including residential & com-mercialortownshipi.e.IGBCGreenHomes,LEEDINDIA(CS),LEEDINDIA(NC),IGBCGreenTownship,IGBCGreenSEZandIGBCGreenfactoryetc. These rating systems are most popular and it is being adopted by the Projectdeveloperseffectively.Cur-rently, there is a tremendous growth in thecertifiedGreenBuildingsbyIGBCin India. 214 buildings are certified by

April 2012

COVER STORY

IndianGreenBuildingCouncil&morethan 1500 buildings are registered.

SUTAINABLE APPROACH & PLANNING REQUIRED FOR DEVELOPING “GREEN BUILDING” PROJECT:

To use a sustainable approach & planning for the site management, the sensitive areas such as wetlands, coastal areas, forestland and flood prone area need to be avoided. Minimum disturbance to the natural topography, retaining existing trees or transplantation, landscape plan-ning, top soil preservation and soil erosion sedimentation control plan are the required initial strategies to be a part of the sustainable site planning management. A holistic and inte-grated approach is required to make a sustainable design in the planning itself. Building footprints & paved area need to be minimized during concep-tual site planning. The orientation of the building is the most important aspect for obtaining appropriate day lighting and ventilation as per the climatology. New innovated software technologies can be used for the assessment for day lighting & ventila-tion factor during design planning. These analysis predict the amount of

sunlight received and the air volumes entering the building respectively. Local codes and bye laws are also needed to be incorporate in the design planning to avoid regulatory risks. After the design finalization, the Green & sustainable material & technology selection becomes the area of concern to procure and use. To design, build-ing envelope is very important aspect w.r.tclimatology.BuildingEnvelopecovers, roof & wall assembly, glazing type etc. Optimized building envelope finallyleadstoEnergyefficiency.En-ergyConservationBuildingCode2007orASHRAEStandardcanbereferredto design the building envelope of a Green Building. These standards help to understand the type of material and required technical specifications.

Water management in the green building involves an adequate water balance with a holistic & integrated approach. It covers 3 R principles Reduce, Recycle, Reuse. It starts from water efficiency through water efficient fitting & fixtures to reduce the usage of water. A well defined Rainwater harvesting system is an integral part to collect the runoff from paved and unpaved areas. Which helps recharge aquifer and water volume availability for the other usage of the building. On site wastewater treatment plant is also an integral part of the water manage-ment system to fulfill the objective of Recycling of waste water and its reuse for landscape and flushing etc. Water efficiency is also achieved through water efficient landscaping like use of drought tolerant species, management

of irrigation system like drip irri-gation system and sprinkler

etc, and reduction in turf design. These all strate-gies finally lead to water conservation.

Energyconservationin a Green Building is mainly achieved by maximizing the use of renewable energy like solar and wind energy.

Hence, solar hot water

systemandphotovoltaic’splayaveryimportantrole.EnergyefficientlightinglikeCFLorLED,BEEstarratedequip-ments are required to achieve energy efficiency in the Green Buildings. During planning energy modeling & simulation studies assess the predicted savings through energy efficient system & technologies. An adequate building management system helps to monitor & maintain, energy efficient system and technologies effectively and also evalu-ate or control energy performance of the building during operation.

A well defined waste management plan is also an integral part of plan-ning management. Intent of waste man-agement is to reduce the waste from the source, recycle & reuse efficiently. It covers two phases: - During con-struction&postConstruction.DuringConstruction,thestrategiestominimizethe wastage reuse it maximum extent within the site premises and recycling through authorized vendors are a part of construction waste management. DuringPostoccupancy,mainstrategiesare collection, segregation, storage, recycle, reuse & technologies like waste converter/ vermicomposting etc. Any kind of exemplary performance in the above mentioned strategies or extraor-dinary innovation in the design also leads to achieve the goal of innovative sustainable design. To convert Green Building into a sustainable habitat or community, Green education through awareness & training program plays a vital role to make the development more inclusive in nature as well for sustainable development.

Mala Singh, Founder & CEO, PEC Solu-tions. Mala is also a Green Building Committee Mem-ber- MoEF, Govt. of Gujarat and Ex-ecutive Committee

Member – Indian Green Building Council & Mumbai Chapter. Mala is also CIA World’s Sustainability Advisor.