Construction and Architecture Magazine 12 july august 2011

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Green Projects

» July -August 2011 » Construction And Architecture Magazine024

ACC is trendsetter in green genre offering visible benchmarks for the conversion of old buildings in metropolitan cities.

hat ACC has accomplished, in a short space of time, from this Wmix of commercial, industrial

and residential structures, clearly demonstrates that green buildings do not necessarily have to be designed as Greenfield projects but can easily be conceived as simple yet imaginative solutions for restoration and renovation jobs as well. Considering the pressure on natural and economic resources, perhaps a day will come when all buildings – new and old – will be compelled to go green. In April 2010, Cement House received the Gold Shield from Indian Green Buildings Council in the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design under New Construction and Major renovation category. It is the first old building to be awarded 'green building' status.

A Green Head Office Building

Cement House has just been transformed into a green building. It stands more prominently than before in Mumbai's busy Churchgate area, flanked by the bustling Churchgate Railway Terminus and the imposing BB&CI Building (now the Western Railway Headquarters). When ACC was incorporated in 1936, its registered office was in a building called Esplanade House located in Fort, then Mumbai's main business district. Additional space was taken in the nearby Forbes and Rallis office buildings. The company decided to build its own head office and acquired a plot of land opposite Churchgate Station. An all-India competition in 1938 invited leading architects of the time to submit designs. The design submitted by Ballardie Thompson & Mathews was chosen as the winning entry.

'Sustainable development' is an integral part of ACC’s business philosophyBallardie Thompson & Mathews were reputed architects of the time with several notable structures to their credit including EID Parry's head office Dare House in Chennai, Construction of the company's head office building was completed during the Second World War period. The new building was requisitioned for use of the Royal Air Force and vacated only in 1946.

Project Orchid

Cement House was taken up for renovation in 2008, with Knight Frank India, as project management consultants and Niteen Parulekar Associates Limited as the architects. The complex assignment of renovating and refurbishing the old building was titled Project Orchid. The project's aim was to retain the building's art deco façade but transform the interiors into an contemporary workplace that is energy-efficient and exemplary of ACC's rich tradition and values. The 70-year old building has now become a well equipped and ultra modern office. This work involved modernization of all the elements of this structure with added features of intelligent lighting, climate and access control, state-of-the-art office equipment and utilities, modular furniture, workstations and well equipped conference rooms.

Unfolding Space

The best part of the refurbishment is an open office plan with no cabins or cubicles. A central shaft in the core of the building has been redesigned to serve as a ready-made grand atrium around which offices on each floor are laid out. All employees from the junior most to the Managing Director of the company now sit in open

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Green Projects

Age of eco-friendly and sustainable buildings

Kalpataru Square is designed and conceptualized on green building initiatives addressing energy efficiency, conservation of resources and the minimization of detrimental effects of construction.

Green solutions and the uniqueness:

Kalpataru Square is structured on the basis of unique green initiatives to increase sustainability of the project. With its features like sky-lit atrium designed to harvest natural sunlight thus saving on artificial lighting, sensor lighting in the staircase, terrace garden adding to the heat insulation, use of low-flow-high-efficiency water fixtures, sewage water reclamation plant (SWRP) to treat the sewage (soil and waste water), provision of rain-water harvesting, recycling of water and irrigation system in place resulted in conservation of water and energy. Also introduction of double glazed high performance glass has resulted in reducing heat and noise. Apart from others, elevators with destination control system, well-equipped Building Management System (BMS) ensures optimum utilisation of energy

resources that benefit to conserve 20-22 percent energy. Many green materials are also used in the construction of the project such as concrete with 20 percent fly-ash which is the waste generated from the power plants, 90% of steel used is re-rolled steel (made of scrap), flyash blocks with 85% of fly ash content, making it further strong in all the sense and converting it into an unique environment friendly project.

Tell us about the process of achieving the world class standards for this project? How was it qualified? How was this achieved technically and structurally?

The process of achieving world class standards without compromising on quality was challenging enough but the team at Kalpataru Square was very efficient and the challenges were overcome successfully by

Kalpataru Square is designed and conceptualized on green building initiatives. Green design addresses energy efficiency, conservation of resources and the minimization of detrimental effects of construction. Kalpataru Square is the first building in Asia and the sixth in the world to get Platinum Level Certification LEED- Core & Shell (LEED-C&S) v. 2.0 from the US Green Building Council. It has also been awarded 3 star rating by BEE (Bureau of Energy Efficiency, Ministry of Power, and Govt of India). With its green designing aspects, it also benefits for 20-22percent energy savings, 25-30percent water consumption savings, reduction in carbon emissions, and reduction in light pollution.

Kalpataru Square is first of Asia and 6th of world's

commercial building that has received the prestigious rating of

Platinum level certification LEED Core

& Shell (LEED-C&S) V. 2.0 from the US Green

Building Council.

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spaces. While many companies in India have had open office plans, especially banks and travel houses, few if any of them have chief executives seated in open spaces. Storage and utility areas on each floor are aggregated and located as a common facility. All these now leave substantial space for use as open corridors, lounges and just open spaces. The ample use of glass further accentuates the sense of space. Three unused terraces in the building have been converted into green roof gardens complete with thick grass, cobble-stones, pathways, flowers and even palm trees. Sturdy native plant species have been chosen that conserve water.

Energy conservation:

The building's interior décor maximizes the use of daylight rarely seen in large buildings of this kind. The absence of partitions, the wide windows and the huge central atrium have together flooded the office interiors with natural daylight that make electric lights redundant for most of the day. Optical and motion sensors provide automatically controlled lighting to workspaces based on occupancy. Similarly the new air-conditioning systems regulate the flow of cool air depending on ambient temperature and occupancy in different sections of the office. The use of solar water heaters together with daylight harvesting, intelligent lighting and cooling systems help reduce overall energy consumption by 25 per cent.

Recycled elegance

The materials selected for use in flooring, ceiling, furniture, wall coverings, carpets, partitions and various housekeeping items are non-toxic and mostly high in their recycled content or amenable to future recycling. Only low Volatile Organic Compound paints, adhesives and sealants have been used to safeguard the indoor environment:

A green building

Cement House has been awarded the Gold Shield under LEED New Construction & Major Renovation rating of the Indian Green Building Council. It is the first project in the country to be registered under the criteria of major renovation of an existing building. The transformation of Cement House visibly demonstrates

ACC's culture of being a planet-friendly organization without boundaries which fosters teamwork and e f fect ive communication.

What are the advantages of doing a green building? Can it save your money on operating costs, thus driving up your net yield? Elaborate on the same?

The initial cost of constructing a green building is slightly expensive with a payback period of 5 to 6 years. The advantages of a green building are many; firstly it provides a healthier and more comfortable environment for our employees to work in. Environmentally, it incorporates energy and water efficient technologies, makes use recyc led content mater i a l s for construction and includes renewable energy technologies. Green Buildings reduce construction and demolition waste, and are easier to maintain and are far more sustainable that normal buildings. The transformation of our Head Office has enabled us to reduce our power and water consumption substantially by 25% and 50% respectively. Cement House is the first project in India to be registered under the criteria of major renovation of an existing building.

In the making of green projects what are the pros and cons considered before considering the building for any kind of certification?

In India, the negatives of a green building are highlighted more that the positive side of it. Most important of them all is the cost of constructing a green building. Yes constructing a green building is costlier than constructing a normal one. Approximately, the cost of constructing a green building is 10 percent higher than a normal building as the equipments that go into a green building like solar panels, wind energy sources are extremely expensive which add to the cost of the construction. The workforce required to construct such buildings has to be highly efficient and such workforce is hard to find. All these factors add to the hurdles in constructing green buildings. However the advantages have surpassed the negatives way beyond. There are lots of lifelong advantages to

a green building. Green Buildings reduce carbon emissions and hence play a very important role in conserving the environment. These buildings save money, starting the very first day of being into use. One most crucial benefit is it reduces the demand for electricity and water as such structures can do more with less of these utilities. Green building, both residential and commercial buildings maintain a high resale value. The latest to add to the list of pros of Green Buildings is that today even the Government is providing incentives for such buildings.

What are the company's plan towards green sustainable projects and materials in near future? How are they going to implement in their current and under developed projects?

'Sustainable Development' is an integral part of our business philosophy & various processes incorporate these guidelines based on our and Holcim Group's learning. Over the years, ACC has been instrumental in introducing step-changes in Sustainable Development of Cement Industry. Sustainable development is recognized by us as a process of development that "meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”. We believe this constitutes balancing the Triple Bottom Line - defined as the achievement of three interdependent and mutually reinforcing goals of economic development, social development, and environmental protection. Hence as a corporate we will continue to contribute to sustainable developments. We have just completed our 4th Green Building which is a control room in Chanda. We have also launched 2 environmentally cements known as Concrete+ and Coastal+. Another remarkable green initiative by ACC is to utilize wastes of all kinds to generate energy replacing coal consumption in cement industry. This initiative is known as Alternative Fuels and Raw Materials (AFR). The AFR unit specializes in finding substitutes for coal consumption in the production of cement. With this initiative, the company co-processes non-biodegradable wastes including plastic wastes to generate energ y for manufacturing cement with zero emissions. This process has been successfully initiated in many ACC's plants situated at Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan to name a few. ACC also was among the first companies in the country to utilize fly – ash and slag.

A Modern Office

In its new renovated identity, Cement House is quite probably among the most modern offices in Mumbai. There are brand new conference halls, meeting rooms and breakout areas in every floor. Each conference room has the latest facilities in video projection, telephone conferencing and video-conferencing. Each room is named after one of ACC's many cement plants across India.


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Sustainable design and construction

Environmental pollution tends to have several stereotypical culprits such as the automotive industry and big oil, but the average building emits more global warming contaminants than all other sources combined. How seriously have the real-estate developers taken up this issue?

Real Estate developers have started recognizing the importance of green developments, more specifically with the entry of corporates such as Tata Housing, Godrej, Mahindra Lifespaces; have given i m p e t u s t o c o r p o r a t e s o c i a l responsibilities in the realty sector, which was not the case before. Green initiatives forms essential part of corporate social

BROTIN BANERJEE, MD & CEO, Tata Housing Development Limited, talks on the advantages of Green Buildings in today's times.

he basic essence of a Green Building is very succinctly Tsummarized by the US Green

Building Council (USGBC) as follows: Green Building design strives to balance environmental responsibility, resource efficiency, occupant comfort, well being and community sensitivity. The Green Building design includes all players in an integrated development process, from the design team (building owners, architects, engineers and consultants), the construction team (material manufacturers, contractors and waste haulers), and maintenance staff and building occupants. The initial cost for developing a green building may be higher (5-7%) than that of conventional buildings but the long term benefits – tangible and intangible are many. This extra cost can be recovered in 2-3 years through energy savings and low operational and maintenance costs.

responsibility of a responsible developer but also acts as a key differentiator for their projects. More and more customers today have also started recognizing and are giving preference to buildings developed under green norms as they understand the economic as well as health benefits from such developments, this again have also put pressure on developers who did not consider going green as an important aspect for their business. According to relevant sources, there is expected to be around 92.9 million sq mt (1 billion sq ft or 1,000 mn sq ft) of green developed area in our country by 2012.


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various ways like selection of energy eff icient equipment and material , appointment of lighting consultant, selection of appropriate landscaping, irrigation system, covered parking systems, top soil preservation, energy simulation studies, etc. The entire process was qualified on the basis of the output which did not compromise on quality and at the same time was eco-friendly. Kalpataru Square is first of Asia and 6th of world's commercial building that has received the prestigious rating of Platinum level certification LEED Core & Shell (LEED-C&S) V. 2.0 from the US Green Building Council. This is the one of the highest ever green building standard in the world from the U.S Green Building Council (USGBC). The USGBC confers the certification to a project for lower operating costs and increased asset value, reduction of waste sent to landfills, conservation of energy and water, healthier and safer environments for occupants and reduction of harmful greenhouse gas emissions. LEED for Core and Shell version 2.0 constructions cover base building elements, such as the structure, envelope and building level systems, such as central HVAC.

Brief us about the challenges involved and how did you overcome them?

Under site development, a careful selection of plant species and planting beds had to be made for landscape design. The challenge here was in designing the landscape with low maintenance for large areas at the same time the landscape design had to meet the aesthetic goals of the project. So here, the landscape was designed with native plants which require low maintenance. The external lighting had to be designed such that no light trespassed into the night sky, so this was tackled with a highly reflective and a green roof to reduce urban heat island effect. For water efficiency, the challenge here was to choose more energy efficient equipment without compromising on goals

of water efficiency, so the project chose low-flow-high-efficiency water fixtures and treated all black and grey water volumes to tertiary levels. This treated water was prioritized for use for landscape irrigation-which was very low as mostly native vegetation was preferred, next the treated water was used to meet flushing requirements, and the balance used for meeting HVAC requirements. Energy conservation is the most stressed upon feature in any green building, mainly because that is one of the few areas, where there is a tangible and a highly visible benefit of going green. The use of highly efficient HVAC system, including design features such as heat recovery, variable frequency drives along with efficient lighting design and building envelope design such as appropriate glass that allows the right amount of daylight to come through without increasing the heat load resulted in a saving of more than 22% savings. For material selection, use of green materials has been done to the maximum extent possible and also the 45% of the material used has been sourced within the 500 mile radius to optimize the energy that goes into transportation. Finally for better indoor environment quality, use of Low VOC materials has been done to protect the occupants from the health hazards while improving upon the water and energy efficiency in the building, the quality of environment within the building was not compromised.

Technological Innovation

Kalpataru Square is a project based on Green Building initiatives, so most of the innovations are towards the green. Some of the innovations are use of low-flow-high-efficiency water fixtures to conserve water, a terrace garden which shields the building from the external heat thereby saving on power costs, over deck insulation for the roof done by extended Polystyrene insulation, and native vegetation giving an advantage of low maintenance. Also we have used Energy Simulation studies to guide us on correct choice of materials that helped us save energy, without diluting the architect's original vision for the project.

Difference from the rest of the current lot:

The key differentiator of Kalpataru Square from other commercial projects is an efficient use of space with large and efficient floor plates, the appearance, finish, the sustainability initiatives and the safety and security aspects. Kalpataru Square has been honored with the distinction of Platinum Level Certification LEED Core & Shell V.2.0 from the US Green Building Council last year. Kalpataru Square has also won 5 star rating for 'Best Office Development' at Asia Pacific Property Awards 2010 in association with Bloomberg television.

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Mayur Shah, MD, Marathon Group says the biggest challenge faced by companies with reference to green technologies is the high initial, capital expenses (capex) costs on Green Constructions.

All about green structures

reen construction is an entire new concept in India. It has been picking Gup fast across all the segments of

constructions. Thanks to the global awareness about the environment. The biggest challenge faced by companies with reference to green technologies is the high initial, capital expenses (capex) costs. Typically, the return on investments for green equipments is projected to be more than five years. In the current economic scenario, such a long term investments are difficult to factor into business plans. The long term scenario also introduced higher risks through unforeseen circumstances. Also green technology was seen to require above average footprints. This in turn increased logistical costs and sometimes affected rental related expenses. Further to tackle the technological aspects of green buildings, expert consultants are required for designing sustainable green projects. Availability of raw materials and the updated technology that is required for constructing such projects is also a major


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Welcome Lounge at Suzlon One Earth

What are the currents norms for green buildings in new construction and do they differ in the process of redevelopment structures?

Re-development refers to the process of reconstruction of the residential / commercial premises by demolition of the existing structure and construction of a new structure, by utilizing the potential of the land by exploiting additional TDR, FSI as specified under the Control Regulations of Municipal Corporation. Green Building Stipulations currently followed:

Design and architecture: Design and architecture of a green building, including landscaping and the exterior design, should ensure there is more shaded area and also the area to plant and grow local species of plants within the plot.

Conservation of water has to be aimed in various ways. Rain falling over the whole area of the complex should be harvested and used in the building. The toilet design should be chosen to flush with minimal water and plumbing should have separate lines for drinking and flushing. Used water from kitchen and bath has to be treated and reused for gardening.

Use of solar/wind energy: The solar and wind energy has to be used to supplement the electrical grid power. Rooms are to be designed to use the natural light so as to minimise the usage of electricity. CFL and LED light fixtures save the energy. Efficient insulation in walls, ceilings and floors should be used for better temperature control.

S o l a r w a t e r h e a t i n g : F u l l y programmable solar hybrid water heating systems make available hot water instantaneously on 24×365 basis. Such a solar water heating system will save at least 7.2 units/flat/day for an average of 300 days.

Sewage and garbage processing: Presently, sewage is treated by physical and biological treatment units using conventional method. In another natural treatment system, they use wetland species for sewage treatment. This ancient technology using wetland species is named root zone cleaning system. Such a root zone of plant along with the soil system plays an important role in wastewater treatment. The treatment efficiency is 90 to 98 per cent.

What measures are taken for new construction projects and what are the challenges involved in acquiring the certification and sustaining it?

On the face of it, just by looking, it may not be possible to differentiate between a conventional building and a green one. The differences are literally under the skin and

embedded in the philosophy underlying the development and in the incorporation of sustainable systems that allow the structure and the occupants of the building to be in harmony with the environment outside at many different levels. Building green can involve many facets, but the main objectives include efficient use of land and energy, water conservation, improved indoor air quality, and resource conservation, primarily by using recycled and regional materials. Green building brings together a vast array of practices and techniques to reduce and ultimately eliminate the impacts of buildings on the environment. Conventionally built buildings use more energy than necessary. Designing and operating buildings from an energy efficient perspective can significantly reduce the waste in energy, water usage and materials. The five main aspects currently adopted are design and architecture of a green building, water conservation, use of solar/wind energy, solar water heating and sewage and garbage processing.

W h a t a re t h e p a r a m e t e r s c o n s i d e r e d f o r a c q u i r i n g certification? In what ways does it h e l p a n y p r o j e c t u n d e r construction?

Different levels of green building certification are awarded based on the total credits earned. However every Green Home should meet certain mandatory requirements which are non-negotiable. The certification recognizes the building as a whole & its living / work environment and not the individual products. However, green building products can contribute to points under the certification system. In attempting to meet these requirements, green building practitioners identify products / e q u i p m e n t t h a t h ave d e s i r e d environmental performance attributes. Certification provides an independent, third-party verification that a building or neighborhood development project meets the highest green building and neighborhood performance measures. LEED certification is the internationally recognized distinction that a building or

n e i g hbo rhood deve l opmen t i s environmentally responsible, profitable and a healthy place to live and work.

Besides this which are your projects on green lines? What level of LEED certification are you planning?

Tata Housing Development Company Limited has been the biggest proponent of Green initiatives in the Indian Real Estate space. It pioneered sustainable green developments at a time when such concept did not even exist. As a responsible corporate citizen, all projects of Tata Housing are sustainable green developments under the guidelines of Indian Green Building Council (IGBC). The company's first green development executed under this motto is Xylem, which is also Bengaluru's first LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environment Design) Gold-certified green IT Park. The company's other properties such as Aquila Heights in Bengaluru and Raisina Residency in Gurgaon are also IGBC Gold certified green developments, while the company's premium luxury villas at Lonavala is platinum rated by IGBC. Tata Housing is developing over 45 million sq ft, which is under various stages of developments, all built under the guidelines drawn by IGBC.

What is the current buzz in the mak ing the green bu i ld ing structures? Tell us about the new trends in material and its impact in the future structures?

With growing awareness about green buildings and higher demand for the same, the market for such eco-friendly structures is expected to reach an all-time high. The day is not far off when going green and constructing green buildings will be the norm of the day and green buildings will play a catalytic role in addressing issues of climate change. In fact, over a thousand green buildings have been registered with the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) till date. IGBC certifies green buildings based on their energy efficiency and sensitivity towards the environment.

What are the company's plan towards green sustainable projects and materials in near future? How are they going to implement in their current and under developed projects?

All our projects, be in the value home segment or ultra premium luxury s e g m e n t s a re c e r t i f i e d g re e n developments having the platinum or silver ratings. So even in future we will follow the green norms for all our developments and will be pre-approved sustainable green developments by IGBC.

With growing awareness about green buildings and

higher demand for the same, the market for such eco-friendly structures is expected to reach an all-

time high.

Green Projects


Engaging Earth

Tell us about your green compliant or sustainability projects which you are currently developing? What standards or norms have you adhere to?

For PRIL, Sustainability has become a commitment more than a word. PRIL understands the importance of sustainability in today's world and hence we are engaging our earth with thought, sustainability, design and technology to create projects that create wonderful and last ing experiences for the people that inhabit them while preserving and utilizing our resources efficiently. It

follows the LEED India Core and Shell standards for one of our projects - Patel Estate in Mumbai, and IGBC Green Township standards for our integrated township - Neotown, Bangalore South.

What are the advantages of doing a green building? Can it save your money on operating costs, thus driving up your net yield? Elaborate on the same?

G r e e n b u i l d i n g s c a n h a v e tremendous benefits, both tangible and intangible. The most tangible benefits are the reduction in water

Green buildings can have tremendous benefits, both tangible and intangible. The most tangible benefits are the reduction in water and energy consumption right from day one of occupancy.

Today developers are more aware about the

potential global warming impact of buildings and

have started adopting and implementing

green/sustainable strategies in their projects

to mitigate the same.

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hurdle. In addition to this time required for completion of documentation process further delays the schedule fixed for project completion. The material/products which are being used in the green construction is also not available in India. Most of the time we (developers) had to import it from the international market, which is escalating the construction cost of the project.

This project (Marathon Futurex) what ways does the concept of sustainable building incorporates and integrates a variety of strategies across project lifecycle?

The eco-friendly project, titled ‘Marathon Futurex’, is unique for its design, construction, energy, water efficiency and building management system. This project is designed to utilize the maximum sun-light throughout the year. This was possible through the Low Emittance Glass (Low E Glass) which helps in minimizing artificial cooling to ke e p a ro o m a t t h e d e s i re d temperature. We have brought this specialized Low E Glasse from the Shanghais as they are playing a key role in reducing the energy consumption while offering more light and less heating effect at the same time, which is generally not possible . With its initiatives, Futurex is expected to bring down its energy consumption by about 20 per cent. Our green initiatives for e ne r g y con s e r v a t i on a re a l s o recognized by IGBC which honored Marathon Futurex with a GOLD pre-certification rating according to LEED standards. Marathon Futurex adopted several approaches to conserve water, including low-flow toilets and urinals, aerators on faucets, reclaimed water for irrigation of site planting, native plants for landscaping , energy-ef f ic ient lighting.Fly ash and micro silica has been used in the construction. Low volatile paints have been used in the building. Flooring materials are chosen such that they do not contain harmful volatile organic compounds (VOCs).

Most of the products are available in India as mostly green products are locally sourced. But there is very low manufacturer and consumer awareness in the market. What is your take? Do you think Indian brands need to help raise consumer consciousness?

Our experience is that the green products are not available in India, most of the time we have to source it from international market, which is adding the cost of the construction further. In our case, we had sources the specialized Low E Glasses from Shanghai. Similarly, there are many other things; the developers had to depend on China.

While India is on the way to becoming a genuine green building market, there is still a dearth of building materials needed for these structures. Do you foresee that the demand for such products will go up in the future and as that happens?

Indian Real Estate market is stepping in to the next level of construction which is all about 'Green Building Features'. However so far as green building concept is concerned, our markets are still in promising phase. Therefore green products are not easily available in Indian markets and developers have to import these products from international markets. However we are quite optimistic that 'Green Building' segment has very bright future in Indian Real Estate market and there will be increase in demand for the same from both commercial as well as residential segment of real estate which will create a market for the our suppliers of the green products in our market.

There is a large gap between the current situation and where we should be. Standards for various products needs to be defined, credible third party testing and certifying agencies have to become available. Tell us the level of competition and the theory of experience curve? Will start working and eventually the availability will increase and costs will come down.

As far as standards are concerned for the green construction, they are already defined and at par with the US Green Building Council. The certification issued by the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) has same parameters that the USGBC had. The difference between the situations is only the tax sops and incentive. I think, going ahead, the Indian authorities too consider of similar benefits to the green projects that would bring down the cost of green projects substantially. Also the changing trend would make ample availability of green products in India; the same could offer relief in increasing cost.

In future do you intend to construct more such sustainable structures? How the future looks like for green buildings? What impacts will the p r i c i n g f a c t o r p l ay i n t h e competitive matured market like India where material cost keeps fluctuating?

The concept of Green Building is in its initial phase in India. Naturally it will take some time to spread awareness about the same amongst the var ious stakeholders of real estate sector i.e. developers, manufacturers, raw material suppliers, authorities and prominently buyers. Other aspects like setting up benchmarks and qual ity control mechanism for raw materials used for green construction wil l develop simultaneously once the sector will enter to the next phase of growth. On economical front though green buildings may be costly compared to conventional structures, the recurring expenses on energy saving, water resources and other resources could be immense in long-term. I think as this awareness about green projects increases over the period of time, d e m a n d f o r t h e e c o - f r i e n d l y constructions will keep on moving on upward trajectory which will lead to overall construction cost down to a certain extent, which will again vary on various factors such as geography, av a i l a b i l i t y o f r aw m a t e r i a l s , transportation costs etc. We at Marathon Group are adopting green construction techniques through innovation and research. We are quite optimistic that there will be a strong demand for eco-friendly houses in coming future.

The eco-friendly project, titled ‘Marathon Futurex’,

is unique for its design, construction, energy, water efficiency and

building management system. This project is designed to utilise the

maximum sun-light throughout the year.

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Futuristic and first of its kind.

With the construction of Technopolis, the Group started the

in the real estate industry in Kolkata.

Green revolution

i th the construct ion o f Technopolis, the Group started Wthe Green revolution in the real

estate industry in Kolkata. As real estate developers, the core strength of Forum Projects is to create the right development mix based on location, market scenario and the needs of the society. This was the third green building project to be announced in India and soon several more projects were announced in Kolkata. Technopolis demystified the green building concept and proved that not only is it beneficial for the end user to work in a green building, but it is also inexpensive to build and economical in the long run. After the successful completion of Technopolis, the Group has decided to make all its future projects green compliant. With a desire to build IT infrastructure that has the maximum impact on the occupants and minimum impact on the environment, the Group has decided to create Technopolis 2.

In 2005 the Forum Projects gave to Kolkata, India's first green IT infrastructure – Technopolis. With a total investment size of Rs 125 crore, this 7.75 lakh sq ft of IT space is a unique project. It has been built as per the strict guidelines of US Green Building Council and upon completion, has achieved Gold certification under USGBC's LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environment Design) rating system. Technopolis is an environment friendly development that has

been able to achieve 35.5% energy efficiency by adopting innovative engineering practices. By doing so, Technopolis is further credited to be one of the only projects in the world that has the ability to earn carbon credit points as a CDM (Clean Development Mechanism) project under the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change).

Green building standards

In Technopolis, special emphasis has been given on maintaining indoor air quality through online carbon dioxide monitoring, having treated fresh air as per ASHRAE norms of 20cfm per person and special fans for complete air exchange. This not only enhances productivity of the occupants but also ensures physical and mental well-being thereby lowering attrition rates in the organizations. A completely networked, ready to plug in and get connected facility, Technopolis has provisions for broadband connectivity through optical fibre cabling. It has complete infrastructure for the last mile connectivity giving maximum freedom to the end user of alternate bandwidth options for telephony, data processing transfer, and voice over IP etc. Uninterrupted power supply with 100 percent power back up and scale of

e c o n o m i e s further ensures attractive power tariffs for the occupants.

Designed by the renowned DP Arch i t e c t s o f S i n g a p o r e , Technopolis 2 has b e e n conceptualised as an exclusive IT Resort. This 1.7 million sq ft of IT space will have

twin towers with artificial water bodies and lap pools creating an ambience of serenity and peace – a perfect offset for the high pressures of the IT and ITES industry. It will have duplex offices with a ceiling height of 30 ft incorporating imported raised floor to allow seamless services and connectivity. Again, another first for Kolkata. The central entrance pavilion will have a café, gym, sports and recreation club, multi cuisine food court, pools and deck pools. Hanging sky terraces overlooking the wetlands and exclusive landscaping will further add to the beauty and air of quiet efficiency. To avoid congestion and easy movement, both the buildings would have different access with car parking capacity of more than 1,800 cars at 2 levels.

With the Group's experience in building and operating an energy efficient IT infrastructure, Technopolis 2 will also be designed and built as per green building specifications. Green features like indoor air quality, energy conservation, and waste and water management system will be an important part of this development. Like Technopolis, this IT Resort will also be planned as a zero discharge facility. Once completed, Technopolis 2 will be an environmentally compliant IT Resort that will attract some of the biggest names in IT and ITES both national and international.

Technopolis IT Park: Green Building with TAC Technopolis IT Park, Kolkata, is India's first such Green Information Technology building. It is a 14-story office building creating 4, 25,000 sq ft. of workspace, complete with a Business Center and Conference Facilities. This project ensures high occupant comfort and energy savings by integrating and monitoring HVAC, energy meters, water management, vertical transport and fire systems. Technopolis boasts of a flexible and reliable building management system. TAC was chosen as the

» July -August 2011 » Construction And Architecture Magazine044» July -August 2011 » Construction And Architecture Magazine042

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and energy consumption right from day one of occupancy. The energy savings could range from 20 – 30 % and water savings around 30 – 50%. The Intangible benefits of Green buildings which cannot be easily quantified include enhanced air quality, excellent day lighting, health & wellbeing of the occupants, safety benefits and conservation of scarce national resources. Green Buildings can also enhance marketability of a project. While it is true that initial cost for construction of a green building is high owing to some elements like solar panels or wind energy sources etc. but over the lifetime of the building the savings more than make up for the impending cost. Green b u i l d i n g m e a s u r e s c a n b e incorporated with very minimal costs and yield massive savings.

Implementing green building practices when investing can lower operating costs thus driving up your net yield. How true is this statement? How is it justified?

Implementing green building practices does reduce the operating cost through energy efficiency, water efficiency and intelligent choice of materials. In addition, the ROI of additional green features in buildings have now reduced to almost 2 – 3 years as the additional green building features have become less expensive and more efficient.

What are the current norms for g r e e n b u i l d i n g s i n n e w construction and do they differ in the process of redevelopment structures?

The current green buildings norms focus on sustainability in site, water efficiency, energy efficiency, emphasis on local materials and incorporating

more daylight in indoor spaces. In the new construction, these can be implemented at the concept stages through integrated project design approach. For the Re-development Structures, there is need to access t h e e x i s t i n g b u i l d i n g s f o r sustainability and implement these norms in a manner that enhances the buildings efficiency during operation and maintenance.

What is the current buzz in the making the green building structures? Tell us about the new trends in material and its impact in the future structures?

The Green building movement in India has started bringing in awareness about increasing building e f f i c i enc ies tha t reduce the operating cost and enhance building performance during its life-cycle. With the current construction boom in India, most developers, owners, governmental agencies, p r i v a t e compan i e s wan t t o implement these strategies and thereby a buzz for making green buildings. To address this growing need of green buildings, many green bu i l d i n g ma t e r i a l s a nd new construction practices have been introduced in the market. This trend will continue to grow and the prices of these materials will reduce due to competition and availability, thereby making them conventional in the regular construction practices.

Environmental pollution tends to have several stereotypical culprits such as the automotive industry and big oil, but the average building emits more global warming contaminants than all other sources combined. How seriously have the real-estate developers taken up this issue?

Awareness on sustainability in the real estate sector is on the rise. Today developers are more aware about the potential global warming impact of buildings and have started adopting and implementing green/sustainable strategies in their projects to mitigate the same. The percentage of the developers who adopt green building practices as compared to the overall construction industry in India is minimal and has to increase by spreading awareness through conferences, workshops and seminars. Government s h o u l d a l s o e n c o u r a g e developers by extending SOPs to them.

The Green building movement in India has

started bringing in awareness about increasing

building efficiencies that reduce the operating cost

and enhance building performance during its life-

cycle. With the current construction boom in India,

most developers, owners, governmental agencies,

private companies want to implement these strategies

and thereby a buzz for making green buildings.

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Green Projects

Nitesh Columbus Square is one of the most impressive interpretations of luxury living.

pre-certified Gold, IGBC Green Homes project, this eco-friendly Aresidential conclave is located in

upcoming North Bangalore off Bellary Road. It is in close proximity to modern conveniences, premium healthcare facilities and educational institutions. Fitted out with the best amenities like a tennis and squash court, amphitheatre, multi -storied clubhouse with a rooftop swimming pool, high-end gymnasium, billiards and card room, library and a lot more, Nitesh Columbus Square caters to a life of absolute repose.

The most interesting feature at Nitesh Columbus Square are the vertical green walls and the long landscaped terrace garden which seamlessly interconnects the entire project together to give it a 100percent 'green' finish. This helps enhancing the green area and create a barrier between the outside and the inside temperature by cutting off heat from seeping indoors. The walls are obviously given high-end water proofing to seal off all possibilities of leakage. Built-in irrigation system is fitted with moisture sensor, which lets off water when the moisture level in the soil drops.

In the rainy season these walls do not require irrigation. With a great location and designed with rich specifications, your home at Nitesh Columbus Square will be an absolute joy to own.

Green Building features: Site Efficiency

The project fulfills the norm of Local Regulations- Plan approval from competence Govt Authority

Soil Erosion- 20 CM Top-soil has been protected and there is barricade around the site to prevent air pollution. Sedimentation pit to remove top soil sedimentation and watering of site during construction Landscaping during post occupancy is fully taken care of.

Basic Amenities Site selection adheres to the provision of basic Amenities within 1 km walking distance, for example educational institutes, healthcare facilities and public transport system with ample seating areas, tot- lots and toilets in the common area.

residential conclaveAn eco-friendly

The most interesting feature at Nitesh

Columbus Square are the vertical green walls and

the long landscaped terrace garden which

seamlessly interconnects the entire project

together to give it a 100percent 'green' finish.

residential conclaveAn eco-friendly

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solution provider for this project because of its expertise in delivering creative solutions that use the latest open system networking technology. Green buildings are the future. They reduce the operating costs by up to 30%, provide the highest quality of indoor air and ensure optimal health and safety for the employees; this leads to high levels of productivity for our new cutting edge industries.

The Challenge

Technopolis was conceptualized as India's first Green IT building. The project was built to adhere to strict pre-requisites for US Green Building Council's Leed Certification, such as:

Healthy IAQ

30% reduction in energy consumption

Water & waste water management systems

The intelligent integrated project had three main building management demands:

1. Technopolis was to be designed to meet the LEED certification and thus required improved energy optimization and control.

2. It needed an intelligent network that could enable temperature control at individual workplaces and in multiple offices.

3. The system had to be user-friendly, inexpensive to operate and upgrade, and flexible to handle numerous office reorganizations without operational shutdowns. In addition, the promoters wanted a system that would provide off-site monitoring capability for better building management.

The Solution

Leveraging and consolidating its vast experience of designing and integrating building management systems across the globe, the TAC team installed the TAC Vista™ open system using LONWORKS technology. As an industrial standard for network communications, LONWORKS provides future-proof system architecture enabling Heating, Ventilating and Air Conditioning subsystems solutions. These are managed by programming energy optimizing intelligent algorithms into TAC Xenta™ freely programmable controllers. A broad array of systems are monitored, managed and controlled by this system, including water, HVAC, fire detection and elevators. Dynamic real-time data from every subsystem throughout the building is collected and centralized, allowing authorized personnel to respond immediately to faults or emergency alarms. The TAC Vista Workstation presents the information in a user-friendly format allowing fast and simple analysis and an ability to change subsystem parameters with just a few keystrokes. The Xenta 511 is used as a Web Server to monitor this live data over the web for off-site monitoring.

The Bottomline

The TAC system provides energy optimization and control, imparts flexibility for future expansion, integrates equipment such as energy meters and fire alarm panels from third-party vendors, addresses the changing needs of occupants and tenants, and most importantly meets the stringent product and execution norms for LEED certification. As the leader in Open Integrated Systems for Building IT, TAC

provides solutions that ensure reliable building system control and operational efficiency. This allows facility owners and operators to concentrate on their top priority - providing the highest value to their clients and users.


TAC Equipment Installed:

3 - Xenta 511 as Web Server, 3 - Xenta 400 freely programmable controller for HVAC, 1 - Xenta 400 for Water Management, 1 - Xenta 400 for Lift Monitoring, 56 - Xenta 300 freely programmable controllers for HVAC, 1 - Xenta 300 for DG Set, 1 - Vista Workstation

Project at a glance

Project Type: HVAC Control and Water Management

Location: Kolkata, West Bengal, India

Total Area: 425,000 sq. ft.

Applications:

HVAC Control

Water Management

Energy Management System

Total System Points: 1,800

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Highest rated green campus

Green Projects

Suzlon One Earth, a built-to-suit office space for Suzlon Group, world's third largest wind Energy Company, was awarded for development to Synefra from concept to commissioning.

There are two major programmes at One Earth:

� Corporate office (Four interconnected office buildings)

� Suzlon Excellence Academy – Global Learning and Development

The Corporate Office houses all the functional business verticals of the Group and the Suzlon Excellence Academy within its premises. Taking the theme of One Earth further, the corporate offices have named after five key elements of nature - Aqua (Water), Tree (Wind + Wood), Sky (Ether) and Sun (Fire) and the entire basement as Terra (Earth) to make the One Earth complete.

Wellbeing

� Sustainable solution and practices are integrated towards efficiency in energy use, water use, waste management, material use, healthy air quality, practices. A Green Design Education provision through defined green awareness signage, wind gallery and open door policy for visitors on defined days. Green Housekeeping policy is through which green housekeeping products and process have been implemented. Exemplary performance by using regional materials which measure to about 50% of the total value of the materials in the project.

The project offsets more than 50% annual energy consumption used during construction with renewable energy. Light (Electricity, Lighting, Renewable energy). When we talk about reducing the energy load and making the services and utilities more efficient the major criteria to be taken care are HVAC, lighting and water related. This was a big task and also a challenge for the team but by bringing in the hybrid solar and wind power changed the complete equation. This kind of thought came in almost after a year into the work progress but it changed the way

Suzlon One Earth Project is a global village concept complimented beautifully by office-in garden architecture is a perfect fit for target market and has become a game changer infrastructure as it is a counterblast to the prevailing tall glass box office architecture commonly dotting the ugly skylines.

of looking at low energy building and helped in achieving targets set for Green certification. The common brief and the basic challenge that was given to each expert consultant was that the design solution should have the basic five criteria: Independent for each building yet centralized to IBMS to save cost, control operative costs per building and also failure or fault at one spot should not affect balance spaces. LEED and GRIHA specified benchmarks were the minimal standards to be achieved and go beyond. Most of the services have achieved the same. The focus was on long term cost savings and not just initial cost cutting in order to avoid recurring cost escalation during operations and maintenance.


Being the global headquarters of Suzlon

Group, this development is ideally suited for the

target audience catering to the entire gamut of services as required by

the client. Being the location of company's think tank, the project

needed a quiet place but still easily accessible for

business needs.


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Retention of at least 15- 25 per cent of natural topography of the site and landscaping the same.

Provision of reducing heat island effect, by protecting the roof from gaining heat by 50%, 75%. Nitesh Columbus Square is provided with green roof, excluding the equipment area (white tiles/high albedo paints).

Parking Facilities for Visitors-Parking capacity as per local Norms: Visitors Parking - 10 % more than the local norms. Electric Charging Facility for Vehicles-- 10% of the parking capacity for occupants and visitors. Design for Differently Abled 'Design for physically Challenged - preferred parking (1 parking for 100 units) - Easy access to the entrance, Ramp.

Water efficiency:

Rainwater harvesting- Provision for 75% 95% of roof run off-I00% rain water harvesting from the roof. Turf Design - applicable to project as per the IGBC norm with provision for 15% of the area landscaped, with draught tolerant species to be planted in at least 25 % of landscaped area.

The project is provided with good management of Irrigation System, for example Central shut off valve, sub meter for irrigation, Moisture sensors, 50% of landscape area with drip irrigation, timer based valve control to minimize evaporation loss, pressure regulating device to maintain optimal pressure.

Water efficient fixture for offering maximum washing efficiency, with minimal use of water, duel flush system.

Grey Water Treatment- 100% on site STP. And grey water reuse for l andscap ing 100% I rr i ga t ion requirements through treated waste water.

100% Flushing Requirements will also be met through treated waste water.

Water Metering which brings under its ambit treated grey water applications, Landscape water consumption, Toilet flushing, Rain water use, AC make up, Hot water consumption, swimming pool, car wash, etc.

Energy EfficiencyCFC Free refrigerant.

External lighting, grey water pumping, M u n i c i p a l w a t e r p u m p i n g , Landscaping.

Solar Water Heating Systems to satisfy the hot water requirements 50 %, 75 %, 95%

Captive power Generation 10% of the total connected loads and meets CPCB emission norms

Onsite Renewable Energy the project has installed Solar PV to cater the requirements of the building

Lighting External- with provision for all light fixtures to be of minimum of 3 star rated (BEE) and exterior LPD is 0.24 watts/sq ft.

All electrical equipment to be used that offer maximum energy efficiency

Waste management :Separation of Wastes -Separate Bins at individual Housing level - Organic waste, Paper and Plastic Common collection area for metals, lamps, batteries and e waste.

Waste reduction during construction with 75 percent recycling and reuse.

Organic waste management post occupancy with facility to cater the building with features like Digester and Vermi-compost

Material Efficiency

The project is set to use almost 30 percent high recycled content materials like Fly ash cement and bricks

Procure all the building Materials within 500 Km radius

At least 10 to 20 per cent will be reuse of salvaged Building Materials

Site SustainabilityNitesh Columbus square complies to the green building principles of being locate at a site that is within very short distance from important locations, such as premium schools, which are within 1 to 3 Kms, good healthcare facilities, within 5 kms, office spaces within 5 to 7Kms. The site is also close to leisure and recreational centres, such as, upcoming luxury hotels which are within 3Kms and the upcoming Hardware Tech Park, within 10Kms.

U.S. GREEN BUILDING COUNCILNitesh Estates has partnered with the United States Green Building Council (USGBC). We share USGBC's mission to transform the way building and communities are designed, built and operated, enabling environmentally and socially responsible, healthy and prosperous environment that improves quality of life. In India, Nitesh Estates will be one of the first few developers to be focusing on USGBC'S Leed Green Building Rating systems. Through our corpora te commi tment to sustainable design development and operation, Nitesh Estates will become a leader of Green Buildings across asset classes.

The project will use FSC Certified Wood

Indoor Environmental Quality

Prohibit Smoking in common areas.

The project ensures at least 50 % of the living spaces achieving daylight factor of 2 minimum.

Provides operable windows for good air circulation.

Fresh Air ventilation - 30% More than normal buildings with Living spaces: 13%, Kitchen: 10.5% and bath room : 5%

The project will also use low VOC Materials - Paints and Adhesives in the interiors.

Day Lighting, 75% to 85%.

Good provision of Cross Ventilation thorough efficient designing with each room to have minimum 2 openings in different orientation to get cross ventilation.

In India, Nitesh Estates will be one of the first few

developers to be focusing on USGBC'S Leed Green Building Rating systems. Through our corporate

commitment to sustainable design development and

operation, Nitesh Estates will become a leader of Green Buildings across

asset classes.

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In the project what ways does the concept of sustainable building incorporates and integrates a variety of strategies across project lifecycle?

A sustainable building is the one that allows quality life to the inhabitants and the users, by using less energy and other natural resources, and yet offering greater living comforts. The technology and systems used provide for maximizing the principles of reuse, recycle and renew. The site selection comply with sustainability criteria offering minimum use of vehicle to travel to work places and other places, such as schools, shopping areas and healthcare centers. All of these facilities must be availed within a short distance from the location and easily accessible to public transport, and Ackruti Gold we have incorporated all of that. We have used high Solar Reflective Index (SRI) materials on the roof and other areas to reduce the heat island effect. Some of these products are vegetative roofs; china mosaic tiles, solar panel and photo voltaic systems, use of LED and CFL lighting to save energy would save almost 32 percent of electricity consumption.

Green Hemant Shah, Chairman, Ackruti City Limited believes sustainable building is the one that allows quality life to the inhabitants and the users, by using less energy and other natural resources.MOVEMENT

CONSTRUCTION

Green development has to become the future

development mission. It is understood that everything

has a lifecycle and will be subject to wear and tear. Hence there should be

enough scope for retrofitting, besides enough thinking that could go into

keeping aside funds for replacement of equipment.

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RENEWABLE ENERGY SOLUTION

Wind Solar Hybrid system

There are total 18 Nos. Wind turbines provided which are mounted on a tubular tower of 24 meters. The towers are situated in the outer periphery of the entire complex. Each tower is having capacity of the @4.75 KW. The solar photovoltaic panels of capacity 230 Watt, 243 numbers are mounted on the roof top of the SEA and Aqua Lounge. The combination of solar and wind system which are divided into four cluster is charging a set of batteries (for battery bank details refer file no SOE/BATT/11) and convert the battery DC power to 230V AC sine wave through the PCU (Power Conditioning Unit) which will act as a back up as well as main stream power with the help of MPPT (Maximum Power point tracking mode).

Ventilation System

i) Evaporative cooling system: Principle of Operation: The evaporative cooling system is also called as Indirect-Direct Evaporative cooling system. This system consists of two stages of the cooling for the air being circulated in the core area. The air is passed through a fine filter of 10 micron capacity and then passed through the heat exchanger which air to air type the cools the air by absorbing its sensible heat and sent to the second heat exchanger where air cooled by circulating water it follows an adiabatic process and sent to cooling tower where this heat from water is release to atmosphere. Multi stage evaporative cooling system is selected for providing the comfort cooling in the range of 20 to 28 degree Celsius with Humidity in the range of 40 to 70 %. System is custom designed, engineered, supplied and installed by Mumbai based 'Unidyne Energy Systems'. This system is installed for comfort cooling at Energy Court (S.E.A.) and similar system is provided by 'Sumaya HMX' Bangalore, which is been installed at Building Lounges, Cafeteria & Gym.

Parking ventilation system

The entire Terminus area is provided with the new technological concept of ductless jet fans. These fans have the suction of the air from one end and delivery on the other where as the


Aesthetic landscape at Suzlon One Earth

Cafeteria at Suzlon One Earth

Traditional deepstambh at Suzlon One Earth

Highlights of the system:

One earth is the first campus in India wherein LED lights are used extensively for external general lighting to achieve desired levels of energy conservation.

Total load of external lighting is only 50 kW for the entire campus.

External light design is on the basis of m in imum l i g h t po l l u t i on a t night.

All buildings are designed to harvest maximum day light through glass & louvers with almost 90% of regularly occupied places not requiring switching on lights during daytime.

Large parking spaces, Common meeting rooms, individual cabins are provided with occupancy sensors while parking areas and open work stations are equipped with day light sensors and occupancy sensor combination to control lighting load and wastage thereof.

Entire office space is provided with task lighting over the working areas and is controlled individually as well as through occupancy sensors.

1850 m ED strips used for external lighting gives the building a floating effect. There is no UV, no heat dissipation from the usage of this lights and their lifespan is 5,000 burning hours.

Landscape lighting is fixed in a way that it will compliment and illuminate the features of the architecture and landscape as visualized by the designers. According to LEED requirement, landscape cannot have more than 5 per cent of light load as upward light hence very few up lighters are used that illuminate only what is needed and yet gives the entire garden a highly enhanced ambience. The Deepstambh or the tower of light located as pivotal campus element uses fiber optics for all the forty arms of the tower which come out of a single light source box, which is maintenance friendly and the makes the lamp accessible for repair etc.

The common areas created by the buildings have been provided a very beautiful lounge effect which is created by indirect lighting.


delivery of the all fans are discharged to the atmosphere with a help of a common extraction fan unit of 32500 CFM.

Separate ventilation system has been provided for the toilets. The system consists of exhaust fan located at the terraces and ducting provide up to toilet. This exhaust fan creating negative pressure in toilet and getting fresh air from office area.

Water Distribution System:

Water distribution network is designed to provide minimum pressure of 1.1 kg/cm2 to all the taps with adequate discharge. There are two separate distribution networks for domestic & flushing water. Flushing water is treated sewage/ raw water & is supplied for flushing, Irrigation and HVAC. Domestic water (drinking quality) is supplied to all taps other than flushing.

Waste management solution

All waste is get collected at this room and segregated, All recyclable waste is sold to scrap vendor and non recyclable, hazardous waste is send for treatment to authorized agency by pollution control board. All organic waste which is coming from water from cafeteria, landscape and pantries is treated through Organic waste converter.

Organic Waste Converter (OWC):

The organic waste converter in the Suzlon One Earth Project treats the waste that is generated from the office canteen. Food waste is mixed with a bucket of saw dust or a bucket of compost manure as additives along with a big spoon of bioculum bacteria mix. Water is sprinkled over the mixture through a pipe line. After around 15 minutes this compost and saw dust mixes with the wet garbage and a brown colored mix is the output from OWC. The OWC blends the waste with the saw dust and manure giving an odour-free output. This material loaded in plastic trays after composting for 10 days becomes free flowing manure.

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Our nation is obsessed with price points and the evolution and understanding of construction technology will come only with education and involvement foreign companies that have been their done that.

In the current times what are the benefits of having a sustainable green structure? What is the need of the hour for going green?

Benefits are totally dependent on what size we take into perspective. Often benefits outweigh the investment and in case of green building the pay back are typically longer. In terms of absolute benefits of green structure is that they emit very low Co2 footprint into the atmosphere during structure operations. How to achieve this and benchmark this footprint and at what cost is the spot where its starts getting complicated.

The need of the hour for going green is providing incentive to industries/builders to 'build green' and then go green, having an agency that audit's claimed 'green structures' based in transparent criteria's and verify the criteria of qualification on a yearly basis. This will only take shape if people find that the upfront investment in 'building green' sustainable green structures have a 'ROI'. For sake of example we can take 'Energy policy' for installing windmills from the state governments for industries etc.

Tell us about the product-oriented t o o l s w h i c h c a n c o m b i n e environmental measures with economic indicators to provide a final rating for making the structure green compliant?

I would come back to the 'incentivized' system. Give people subsidy of interest on the loan that they take for building green buildings. This subsidy would only be payable after the approved 'green plan' which would details the technology for building green and material used for building resulting in savings from current conventional systems. After the building is made, the same should be audited by an independent body to certify the building and this would pave way for subsidiary reimbursement. This binds both the sides.

In green construction what best practices are evolving over time as practices change, new technologies

A sizeable green structure

evolve, and environmental needs are better understood?

To be honest, I don't think the green construction practices are evolving in India at all. Maybe for the high rises but where is the majority and look at the construction practices that are being used, I would say they are not to blame! Our nation is obsessed with price points and the evo lut ion and understand ing o f construction technology will come only with education and involvement foreign companies that have been their done that!

As compared to earlier scenario, more vendors are attracted towards t h e g re e n b u i l d i n g m a r ke t considering its huge potential. In such case how the future looks like and approximately in the next 5-10 what

i s yo u r e s t i m a t i o n o n t h e development green projects?

Look at projects that are announced in last 2 years and the projects that have been completed after being announced in certain' green certification categories' the figures will not tally. People may talk about millions and billions but the common man still has to live in an ecology that is not green. Japan was one of the greenest nations in the world, but look what happened with the nuclear disaster. Often policies and green structure are not enough it has to be a full eco system.

What are the social issues that are barriers to sustainable development? How can we tackle marginalization and environmental challenges for different categories such as individual homes, gated communities, high rise residential apartments and residential buildings with major renovation?

While there are several issues that form barriers in the evolution of sustainable development, I would like to focus on the three most common ones.

Lack of Information: The lack of information about performance and cost attributes of building elements can force projects to depend on specialized consultants. Alternatively, designers and builders risk costly call-backs to remedy green products that don't perform well. Green products can only deliver their air quality and energy conservation benefits if regulators allow them to be used.

Builder Incentives: One of the most significant challenges faced by builders is financially benefiting from the design of green buildings. Though there are several benefits in green buildings, but these only translate to the final owners and users of the building. The additional costs incurred by developers cannot be easily passed on to owners. The challenge is to create a structure that allows some of the value of the long-term benefits to be transferred to the builder to offset first-time costs.

People may talk about millions and billions but the common man still

has to live in an ecology that is not green.


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Ackruti Gold conserves 50% less water compared to the conventional buildings as we have incorporated STPs to treat black and gray water and the landscaping is water resistant, which includes plants that do not require permanent irrigation systems. Besides these Ackruti Gold is provided with rain water harvesting and storm water management reducing the dependence on municipal water.

How does the Integration of green products help into building projects that is also instrumental to reduce the environmental impacts associated with the extraction, transport, processing, fabrication, installation, reuse, recycling, and disposal of the materials?

We design and construct our buildings ensuring that there is minimal impact to the environment. For site sustainability, we take care that most of the materials used on site are procured from local manufacturers having their plant located within 750 kms from the site. We ensure the optimum use of recycled materials comprising of post consumer, post industrial, re-reinforcement steel, low VOC paints, sealants and adhesive, fly ash content which are sourced regionally. There is a dedicated area for separation, collection and storage of waste mater i a l s post occupancy i s provided in our most of the projects (paper, cardboard, glass, plastics and m e t a l s e t c ) . M o s t o f t h e construct ion waste is e i ther effectively reused on-site or sold out to local scrap vendor for recycling. Hence the environmental impacts associated with the extraction, transport, processing, fabrication, installation, reuse, recycling, and d isposa l o f the mater ia l s i s minimised to a great extent, helping achieve ecological balance.

Most of the products available in India as mostly green products are locally sourced. But there is very low manufacturer and consumer awareness in the market. What is your take? Do you think Indian brands need to h e l p r a i s e c o n s u m e r consciousness?

That is true. The commercial viability of the brands and their production for industrial consumption needs to be looked at with more seriousness. We need to increase their volume as the market for the products within India is humongous. In the last few years some efforts are made to raise consumer awareness.. Sustained effort in this are will lead to better acceptance of the concept and the products.

While India is on the way to becoming a genuine green building market, there is still a dearth of building materials needed for these structures. Do you foresee that the demand for such products will go up in the future and as that happens?

That is already happening. In fact over a period we also hope that the costs of these products will also come down as the profitability will come from the volume and not from the margin.

There is a large gap between the current situation and where we should be. Standards for various products needs to be defined, credible third party testing and certifying agencies have to become available. Tell us the level of competition and the theory of experience curve? Will start working and eventual ly the availability will increase and costs will come down.

It takes time for standardization to come about and things are being looked into. Right now the foreign companies are coming with their products and ideas. However within the country we have developed some advanced technologies to suit our conditions and finally these will p r e v a i l . M a r ke t b e c o m i n g competitive is a healthy sign and there will be a race to produce the best as the consumers become more discerning and quality conscious. We are on the right track.

In future do you intend to construct more such sustainable structures? How the future looks like for green buildings? What impacts will the pricing factor play in the competitive matured market like India where material cost keeps fluctuating?

Ackruti City Limited is dedicated to become a forerunner in developing e nv i ro n m e n t a l l y s u s t a i n a b l e projects . We are consciously constructing green buildings as it is our mission. At the moment the movement towards sustainable development has just begun, with more people opting for green building which they will do as it has become imperative, cost will even out. At present, high-end green buildings cost only 10- 15 per cent more than the normal buildings in the same category. More over sustainable development will bring into its fold affordable housing and townships where cost would even out when there are more volumes generated.

What is the life cycle assessment that can help avoid a narrow outlook on environmental, social and economic concerns?

Green development has to become the future development mission. It is understood that everything has a lifecycle and will be subject to wear and tear. Hence there should be enough scope for retrofitting, besides enough thinking that could go into keeping aside funds for replacement of equipment.

Ackruti Gold conserves 50% less water compared to the conventional buildings as we have incorporated STPs

to treat black and gray water and the landscaping is water

resistant, which includes plants that do not require

permanent irrigation systems. Besides these

Ackruti Gold is provided with rain water harvesting and storm water management

reducing the dependence on municipal water.

We design and construct our buildings ensuring that there is minimal impact to the

environment.

Design (LEED) India committee to rate buildings on environmental criteria. The second system that is endorsed by the government and promoted by the Energy Resource Institute (TERI) is the Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment (GRIHA).

“Energy is the single largest operating expense and accounts for more than a $100 billion in expenses for commercial buildings each year. With a view to improve efficiency and thereby enable conservation of energy, the Thermal Insulation Division of Supreme provides top-of-the-line insulation solutions with its 'INSU' range of products. Backed by a deep understanding of the changing trends, new-age requirements as well as intensive research and state-of-the-art technology, the Thermal Insulation Division develops customized solutions for the insulation requirements of various industries,” he said.

Each of the products that we offer i.e. INSUshield (FR, closed cell, chemically crosslinked polyethylene), INSUboard ( e x t r u d e d p o l y s t y r e n e ) a n d INSUreflector (radiant heat reflective insulation material) are for the purpose of saving energy in different segments of the industry and for different market applications. All our insulation products are manufactured from virgin raw material, he added.

In our endeavor to provide world-class materials and continuously upgrade these to comply with the latest market requirements, we now offer Class 'O' fire rated material in FR, closed cell, chemically crosslinked polyethylene.

We are the first company to successfully commission India's first extruded polystyrene plant at our Nagothane polystyrene complex. Our plant uses state-of-the-art technology to produce 1,50,000 m3 of extruded polystyrene thermal insulat ion board using environment friendly CO2 as blowing

closed cell, tri dimensional chemically cross-linked polyethylene foam. An ideal environment friendly insulation material, with a perfect solution for all your insulation needs for ducts, roofs, pipes, vessels, etc. The divergent advantages of 'INSUshield' are ease of installation, low thermal conductivity and good moisture & vapour resistance preventing microbial growth and optimum condensation protection.

'INSUreflector' is a radiant heat reflective insulation material made of polyethylene air bubble film (ABF) laminated with aluminum foil on one or both sides. It is a low e-reflective insulation material with a low mass to air ratio, which effectively blocks the radiant heat transfer. The bright surface of the aluminium foil, which encases the FR polyethylene air bubble material, reflects 96 per cent to 99 per cent infra-red radiation received by the surface of the heated slated roof.

'INSUboard' – Extruded polystyrene is an ultimate solution for building insulation. It enhances the durability of the building structure and resists extreme ambient conditions, absorbs thermal shocks, mechanical loading and stresses without any deterioration in insulation properties of the product.

Amongst others, there are 4 primary reasons why Supreme's Thermal Insulation Division is a choice of discerning customers seeking superior insulation solutions:

Quality: A methodical, systematic and stringent approach to quality ensures all our products are not only world-class but also durable. We adhere to international quality standards while manufacturing our products. ISO 9001:2000 and ISO 14001 certifications and NABL Accreditation for our various plants is a testimony to our serious approach to quality.

agent. The plant is capable of producing boards with various thicknesses from 25 mm to 100 mm & density ranging from 30 kg to 50 kg/m3. This would help the nation to save the much-needed foreign exchange and service the home industry to meet energy efficiency requirements for the commercial building sector.

Supreme's Thermal Insulation Division offers solutions in the following areas:

Ducting Insulation in Hospitals, Shopping Malls, Airports, PEBs, IT/ BPO etc.

Pipe Insulation for Split AC Tubings, Chiller Piping, Drain Pipes, Chilled Water Lines etc.

Floor Insulation in Server Rooms, Data Centers, Medical & Diagnostic Centers, and Control Rooms for Petrochemicals.

Underdeck Insulation in PEBs, textile Units, Malls, Airports etc.

Overdeck and Wall Insulation in Commercial Buildings, Residential Buildings, Cold Storages etc.

'INSUshield' is a non-fibrous, fire retardant ('Class O' in Fire Propagation and 'Class 1' in Surface Spread of Flame),


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Ducting Insulation

Green Projects- Construction Material

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ounded in 1942, the Supreme Industries Ltd. became a pioneer of Fmany path-breaking products and a

trendsetter in plastics products by introducing advanced solutions for various applications and industries. We have been innovating to provide our customers with solutions that are appropriate and cost- effective. We follow the philosophy of SAVE – Supreme Always Value Efficient. The drives of this conviction are applied intelligence and innovation to enable cost-effectiveness and precision in delivery. Every requirement is studied in great detail, various solutions are taken into consideration and the most suitable one is implemented flawlessly. Whatever is the value, whether it is superior protection, energy-saving insulation or durable and long-lasting solutions in the civil/thermal insulation industry, our customers are promised a solution from Supreme.

Research and development form an integral element of our solutions. At

Top of the line solutions

Atul Khanna, General Manager, Thermal Insulation Division, Supreme Industries Ltd, talks about the company's thermal insulation products, through environmentally friendly manner

regular intervals, we invest resources in developing breakthrough insulation products that help enrich energy efficiency. A systematic study of changing trends, shifting demands and new arrivals in technology facilitate our pursuit of advanced solutions. A team of highly qualified and vastly experienced professionals at the helm of our R&D activities ensures gradual development in products the industry seeks.

During the past year, the world faced one of the worst downturns that led to serious financial crisis in reputed companies and institutions, bankruptcy of investment banks, liquidity crunch, company closures and huge job losses. The impact has been felt more by developed economies than developing ones.

The growth in production sectors and the building industry has been adversely affected by the global crisis. The slowdown in the manufacturing sector was due to the combined impact of fall in exports followed by a decline in domestic demand. These extraordinary difficult times resulted in companies inventing more efficient means of operation.

High crude oil prices have been one of the contributory reasons for the economic meltdown. Oil demand moderation and with sentiments turning negative on commodity exchanges, caused the oil prices to nose dive. This provides us a lesson on the increasing need to curb energy consumption, which happens to be one of the major components of the industry, including commercial building operation. The building sector accounts for approx 30-35 per cent of the total energy consumption in the country.

The cause of energy saving has also been taken up by the Indian Green Building Council formed in 2001, which set up the Leadership in Energy and Environmental


Construction and Architecture Magazine 12 july august 2011

Business

Transcript of Construction and Architecture Magazine 12 july august 2011