WHAT IS SO GREEN ABOUT GREEN BUILDINGS!!!!!!!
Chandoo
I am hereby attaching the entire text of my article on green buildings through this for your reading and hence giving me valuable comments if i went wrong at any instance. I apologise for my previous attempt of just sending a link, which i am now enlightened, is not encouraged. Here goes my article.
WHAT IS SO GREEN ABOUT GREEN BUILDINGS!!!!!!!
Thesis
is a one time hectic schedule in the life of an architecture student.
This involves a great deal of surfing books, internet and other reports
to get the right topic that interests you and which is in your
perspective "something different". This was the same mindset with which
I began my hunt for thesis topics. I ran several hundreds of searches
online to find that one topic which I like. My basic idea was to take
up an office complex design as my thesis, because the earlier semester
I had done one and had fallen love with the designing process and found
it a little easier to handle office complex (well the ease was due to
the fact that I was still in my college and the pressure is far lesser
than what a real practice brings in and also that I faired well in the
previous attempt).I had some luck but again was not up to the mark.
Finally
the schedule was put for me to submit my synopsis. This was the real
hectic, hurry burry time when I ran amok and then through one of my
friends learnt about the project proposal in my hometown for a habitat
center. This topic struck me. Earlier that semester we were touring
North India and had happened to visit the Indian Habitat Center,
was really impressed by the design principles and the energy efficiency
principles and the way the whole project was sculpted out as one whole
entity. This led me to take up the project. The next phase after
project selection was crucial because it was the part where I had to
choose my special topic without which my synopsis was not going to be
approved. The chief who did the approvals was not particularly
impressed by idea to take up energy efficiency as he felt that it
weighted less and he suggested me "GREEN BUILDINGS". Wow!!!!!!!!! That
was the first time I heard about such a topic and was really thrilled
at first thought, because my peers were running into various special
topics that were catchy and sounded good (Most of the students feel
that their thesis topics should be catchy and sound good, at least to
what I have seen and realized from my peers).
The lines were
straightened out and I prepared myself to get down to the road to
thesis. The first step which gave me more reason to love my thesis
topic was the case study selection part, during which I found out that
the highest rated green building as per the LEED was in India and the
second best too was in India and the fact that a lot more green
buildings were proposed in India. This was a great feeling, which is
inexplicable, as you have to feel those emotions you undergo when you
realize that your country stands first in this field, which you have
elected as your thesis topic. I was really excited about the topic.
The
first question was what is a green building? Who has coined this term
and for what apparent reasoning? And why has this become an upcoming
fashion in the construction industry especially commercial office
spaces? Some of these above questions of were automatically answered
when I understood what LEED is. So what is LEED???
LEED stands
for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. The next subsequent
question was what its relation to Green Buildings was. So it goes like
this, LEED was created to Define the meaning of "Green Building" by
chalking out a standard of measurement which was to be followed by the
aspirants of Green Buildings. Their main idea was to stimulate a
competition within player's world wide, by awarding credits based on
the standards of measurement, which was common to the entire world.
Hence raise the consumer awareness of green building's benefits to the
earth. Hence the players began to compete as a Platinum award from LEED
(The highest being platinum, the next gold and then the silver) means
the whole world is going to recognize that building and not jus that
building but the company which has run the show in the evolution of
that building. This concept has interested me due to the fact that it
has levied an entire set of rules, which governs the entire design
process and puts a check on the entire construction of the building.
The major points which ear marks this are the following-
Water Conservation.
Waste management.
Renewable energy resources.
Re-use or use of recycled material thereby reducing the impact on the nature.
Energy efficiency – which encourages the use of solar cells and other renewable resources.
Hence after I received a gist on what Green Building
business was, I proceeded to collect data on several book studies which
were readily available online. The book studies helped me understand
how the theories based on green buildings were composed into a song in
the form of rated buildings. However the term Green Building
has intrigued me on its rising demand, the way it entered into the
present day practice. Well just a thought to it made me realize that
this was no sudden discovery but it was always a part of Architecture,
it's the right approach to actual practice and bringing out the best of
the architects. If we just set apart some time and put ourselves in a
thinking process what were the skeleton of this new concept one would
realize that this is the correct mode of operandi for a design i.e.,
climatic approach to design, energy efficiency and the water efficiency.
Instead
of having a motive to achieve the LEED's award why don't all of us (I
mean responsible architects) take an oath that we should follow those
principles and not commercialize our attempts and try and make
understand our clients what are the essentials for the space we
choreograph for them. But present days the awareness is there, but
because of the name the company/person earns if his/her building is an
accredited Green Building.
This not be the reason but the fact that Green Buildings should be the
popular but it should be an untold song which run in our sub conscious
mind day in and day out.
Let us try and bring in a green
building in every attempt of ours and at least follow the basic
principles to not earn fame but to supply a wholesome product rather
space to the clients who are to made aware that their banking on us has
been proved worthy when they realize what we have tried to sculpt of
their piece of land by the sheer experience they get when they live/use
it. When we do such exercise we would automatically become pioneers in
saving the earth of its depletion in resources and hence bring about
the balance in nature and all of us would become not just Architects
but ECO-ARCHITECTS!!!!!!!!!!!!
Well these were some of my
experience which I gained through my study on green building which I
did as an exercise for my thesis study topic. Rather than students
taking it up as their thesis topics it would be more desirable if the
think tank take in steps to introduce this as a core subject in our
architecture stream so it benefits all of the young aspirants and
future eco-architects.
if anybody would like to register their comments on my view your are most welcome to do so by going to my blog throgh the below link.
http://the6thsensenonsense.blogspot.com/2005/12/what-is-so-green-about-green-buildings.html
I thank the reader for investing their valuable time on what i had to say.
Regards,
--
ANOOP MENON
PH: +919884365567
SAM PONRAJ
with glass facade and Aluminum facade with centralized
air conditioning system. Even some of the buildings
won the award from our institution.
Where was the green building concept at those times ?
Do we have an institution that copies the west ???
Are we copycats ????
As Mr.Jaisim rightly said we have lot of examples of
green building in our own country in the past and also
now lot of sensible architects are doing their best to
develope the concept.
Why do we have to follow a ranking system from another
country ?
Do our Institution have Backbones to stand up and
develope our own system ????
Can we think of a building that doesn't use Electeric
current ??
regards
sam.
WE BUILD THE NATION
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Prof. Ar. .Jaisim
Benny Kuriakose
Aparna
anyways ....this is Aparna here..a student of architecture now in 5th
yr....i have been a member of this group and keep reading the posts as
when i get time from my college schedule and i really love the
coversations but this was a topic i couldnt resist writing. well
actually Green buildings and energy efficiency are the topics that
thrill me..i seriously dont know y...but i just like them truely. I
very well agree to what u all have said that these principles r seiosly
not just for earning name or profits but these should be applied in
each n every space we design.Its not a formality tht we are doing by
applying these principles...well i don't think so but we gotto conserve
our very much depleting resources but on top of that what i feel is the
quality of space that is generated has an amazing feeling which we
can't even generate with those closed rooms having artificial lights n
ventilating systems(well this is wht i feel).well ofcourse whr
necessary we gotto provide those...no hassles.
we can actually see how the air could be made cool using passive
systems in our old traditional buildings.....for eg:Amer fort whr u can
actually feel the cold air from the tunne can be taken as a small
example n thr are n number of examples available here in india
itself.These principles were being used by ou ancestors but we never
realised.The streets of Jaisalmer,Jaipur planning, Hawa Mahal, we can
see them in all most every building.well these cannot be categorized
under green buildings though but they still use some energy efficiency
principles. well i must say that thr r still places in India which do
apply these things in practica..such as Auroville n those i think can
truely be called as green buildings.The way they use their
materials,harvest water,manage their waste,its simply amazing..well i
havent been there but whatever i have heard n read n seen pics from
that i feel this n will definitely land up at that place to see it one
day very soon.
well i got an exposure abt green buildings from the green building
conference tht was held here in Delhi the last year and read abt it
alot for writting an essay in it abt green buildings which also got
selected in the top12. well thn i also had a chance to do my training
whr in i got more exposed to energy efficiency principles. so that ways
i got a brief idea abt these are so interesting that i still want to
study abt these n more importantly learn to apply these in practical.
well now is my 5th yr and i am really stuck up to choose a thesis
topic but i want to do something in this refernce only.So pls if anyone
could help me in suggesting some suggested projects really
interesting...it would really help me.
shankar narayan
An interesting aside is that the CII centre in Hyderabad- Platinum LEED- cost Rs.10 crore for 20000 sft of space- a staggering Rs5000/- per sft whereas a normal building in HYD costs rs 500/- per sft. If you calculate the environmental costs of all the material that has gone into the extra Rs4500/- to make it eco-friendly, you come back to where you started!
Shankar Narayan