Platinum Green
Indian architect wows world with 'greenest' building The design incorporates a number of energy-saving features. Two 45-foot wind towers and screen walls provide air pre-cooled by 10 degrees to the air-conditioning system, thereby reducing the amount of energy required for cooling. Says Grover: "This is called the 'venturi effect' in modern buildings. It helps pre-cool the air." Pointing out the jali (lattice) work in a photograph of the Taj Mahal, he explains: "It's not the first time for India. We have been doing it since ancient times."
The Rs 6 crore structure also has photovoltaic panels built into it to generate solar energy that takes care of 20% of the building's annual energy requirements. Likewise, the electrical fixtures have been automated to save power; 90% of the building does not require any artificial lighting during the day because its circular design allows sunlight to reach every part of it. The building also boasts variable speed motors for its blowers and pumps, and the elaborate use of sensors feeding back to the controls.
Thanks to its circular design, fewer materials were used in the building's construction. Those that were, were recycled and eco-friendly -- broken mosaic tiles, steel, wood, glass, fly ash brick, oil-and CFC-free equipment and the locally-available bettum cherla stone. Inside, all the carpets and paint are non-toxic. The workers employed in the building's construction were all local people.
Water is regarded as a precious resource -- the building employs water-harvesting methods and wastewater is treated on-site and diverted for storage, to a water body on the edge of the plot, to be used for the garden. Here again there is a harking back to ancient architecture. "The root zone water regeneration system we have used in the GBC is very common in Mughal gardens," says Grover.
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Grover's design received an unprecedented 'Version 2 Platinum' rating, credited with 57 of the 62 parameters it competed in, under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), a system of rating environmentally conscious buildings. This is the highest possible award for sustainable design, ahead of 'Version 1 Platinum', won by only three other buildings in the United States. In fact, the Indian design was considered so revolutionary that the USGBC had to upgrade its rating system to recognise its unique characteristics.
* Ray, 2/03/2004 10:53:20 AM
