Environment
Earthscrapers
Earthscrapers
Growth of Indian building sector and growth of glitz
Experts today believe that buildings account for a sixth of the world's fresh water withdrawals, a quarter of its wood harvest, and two-fifths of its material and energy flows. The recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's (ipcc) report, Climate Change 2007 Mitigation of Climate Change, estimates that the growth of direct emissions from buildings was 26 per cent between 1970 and 1990. The report reckons that adoption of energy efficiency measures could lead to a 30 per cent fall in the building sector's green house gas (ghg) emissions by 2003. Buildings thus offer a great chance to reduce--and avoid--climate-forcing emissions.
The industrialised world's carbon balance-sheet makes this evident.In the us, buildings account for about 36 per cent of its total energy use, 65 per cent of electricity consumption, 30 per cent of total raw material use, 12 per cent of potable water consumption, 35 per cent of carbon dioxide emissions, and 49 per cent of sulphur dioxide emissions. According to a report of department of communities and local government of the uk government, Building a greener future Towards zero carbon development, "The uk emitted more than 150 million tonnes of carbon dioxide in 2004. Energy use in buildings accounted for nearly half these emissions, and more than a quarter came from the energy [used] to heat, light and run homes."
The uk government has now set a target for moving to zero carbon housing in the next 10 years. It has set three steps moving first, in 2010 to a 25 per cent improvement in the energy/carbon performance set in building regulations; then second, in 2013, to a 44 per cent improvement; then, finally, in 2016, to zero carbon.
Green architecture then is all about reducing ecological footprints of buildings. It looks at the embodied energy of a building and follows the life cycle assessment approach. Embodied energy is what is consumed by all the processes associated with constructing a building. This includes mining and manufacture of materials, their transport and administrative functions. Until recently, it was thought that the embodied energy content of a building was small compared to energy used in operating the building over its life. So, most efforts went into reducing operating energy by improving the energy efficiency of the building envelope. But recent research shows that embodied energy is equivalent to many years of operational energy. Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, has found that materials used in constructing an average house embody about 1,000 gigaJoule--equivalent to about 15 years of operational energy use. For a house that lasts 100 years this is over 10 per cent of the energy used in its life.
What then is the situation in India? The construction industry is growing at a rate of 9.2 per cent per annum as against the world average of 5.5 per cent per annum. It is one of the largest in terms of economic expenditure, use of raw materials (natural resources) and environmental impacts. But there is little real green thought in the sector. Malls, office multiplexes, housing conglomerates springing across the country, ape the Western look. Think Gurgaon near New Delhi, or Whitefield in Bangalore, or Bandra-Kurla Complex in Mumbai. They conjure up images of centrally air-conditioned glitzy glass buildings.But in Indian context where the chief aim is to keep buildings cool, the conventional glass used in these buildings ends up increasing the indoor temperature, forcing air-conditioners to be set at low temperatures. Then, windows cannot be opened and the advantages of India's seasons cannot be taken to reduce energy use. Because windows need blinds, natural light, our other natural advantage, is wasted. That glass manufacturing is highly energy-intensive process is also forgotten. The green building industry believes the answer lies in new expensive glass types, which are better in insulation. That is is why they see green architecture as a huge business opportunity. But will this work in India?
Currently, there are no environmental regulations for India's construction industry. Most building codes are voluntary. They focus on reducing operational energy, leaving out other important factors such as water, waste, indoor air pollution, raw materials, renewable energy use. But the good news is that Indian architects are following local climate and local ecology to find new and diverse answers.
Experts today believe that buildings account for a sixth of the world's fresh water withdrawals, a quarter of its wood harvest, and two-fifths of its material and energy flows. The recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's (ipcc) report, Climate Change 2007 Mitigation of Climate Change, estimates that the growth of direct emissions from buildings was 26 per cent between 1970 and 1990. The report reckons that adoption of energy efficiency measures could lead to a 30 per cent fall in the building sector's green house gas (ghg) emissions by 2003. Buildings thus offer a great chance to reduce--and avoid--climate-forcing emissions. The industrialised world's carbon balance-sheet makes this evident.In the us, buildings account for about 36 per cent of its total energy use, 65 per cent of electricity consumption, 30 per cent of total raw material use, 12 per cent of potable water consumption, 35 per cent of carbon dioxide emissions, and 49 per cent of sulphur dioxide emissions. According to a report of department of communities and local government of the uk government, Building a greener future Towards zero carbon development, "The uk emitted more than 150 million tonnes of carbon dioxide in 2004. Energy use in buildings accounted for nearly half these emissions, and more than a quarter came from the energy [used] to heat, light and run homes."
The uk government has now set a target for moving to zero carbon housing in the next 10 years. It has set three steps moving first, in 2010 to a 25 per cent improvement in the energy/carbon performance set in building regulations; then second, in 2013, to a 44 per cent improvement; then, finally, in 2016, to zero carbon.
Green architecture then is all about reducing ecological footprints of buildings. It looks at the embodied energy of a building and follows the life cycle assessment approach. Embodied energy is what is consumed by all the processes associated with constructing a building. This includes mining and manufacture of materials, their transport and administrative functions. Until recently, it was thought that the embodied energy content of a building was small compared to energy used in operating the building over its life. So, most efforts went into reducing operating energy by improving the energy efficiency of the building envelope. But recent research shows that embodied energy is equivalent to many years of operational energy. Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, has found that materials used in constructing an average house embody about 1,000 gigaJoule--equivalent to about 15 years of operational energy use. For a house that lasts 100 years this is over 10 per cent of the energy used in its life.
What then is the situation in India? The construction industry is growing at a rate of 9.2 per cent per annum as against the world average of 5.5 per cent per annum. It is one of the largest in terms of economic expenditure, use of raw materials (natural resources) and environmental impacts. But there is little real green thought in the sector. Malls, office multiplexes, housing conglomerates springing across the country, ape the Western look. Think Gurgaon near New Delhi, or Whitefield in Bangalore, or Bandra-Kurla Complex in Mumbai. They conjure up images of centrally air-conditioned glitzy glass buildings.But in Indian context where the chief aim is to keep buildings cool, the conventional glass used in these buildings ends up increasing the indoor temperature, forcing air-conditioners to be set at low temperatures. Then, windows cannot be opened and the advantages of India's seasons cannot be taken to reduce energy use. Because windows need blinds, natural light, our other natural advantage, is wasted. That glass manufacturing is highly energy-intensive process is also forgotten. The green building industry believes the answer lies in new expensive glass types, which are better in insulation. That is is why they see green architecture as a huge business opportunity. But will this work in India?
Currently, there are no environmental regulations for India's construction industry. Most building codes are voluntary. They focus on reducing operational energy, leaving out other important factors such as water, waste, indoor air pollution, raw materials, renewable energy use. But the good news is that Indian architects are following local climate and local ecology to find new and diverse answers.