Green IT : Future of IT will be green alternatives

We all know about the challenges that India is facing in dealing with rising demand for Houses and Buildings apart from Corporate houses. The Metro Cities are exploding with Construction with not even an inch to spare. All this is leading to deforestation and increase in Pollution level. The Rising temperatures and increase in Environmental Pollution all signify that somewhere India has to rethink the way new Constructions are done.

 Leading the way is an Indian Architect Karan Grover. The architect has taken initiatives to Renovate the way in which Construction is done. He says he gets inspiration from Ancient Indian Architectures which not only managed with less resources but were also Eco Friendly.

Traditional Indian architecture not only reflected ancient ecosystem but it evolved out of environment. Natural solutions had to be found for extremes of Heat and Cold, to searing winds and torrential rains.

While it may come as a surprise to many that the world’s ‘greenest’ building stands on Indian soil, a reading of the specifications of the CII-Sohrabji Godrej Green Business Centre (GBC) in Hyderabad is enough to dispel any doubts.

Designed by Vadodara-based architect Karan Grover, the 20,000-square-foot business centre, which stands on a five-acre site, uses the traditional Indian circular courtyard design to enhance air and light.

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.

Given all these factors, bagging the title of the world’s greenest building, awarded by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC), Pittsburgh, was a cinch. The council recognises structures that combine new technologies and materials with energy-efficient architecture.

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.

“We have hundreds of years of legacy in such construction, which we have all but forgotten. We decided to revive all our traditional methods and present it in the modern idiom,” said Grover who received the USGBC award in Pittsburgh, on November 14.

Awards aside, what is significant about the Hyderabad building is that it is dedicated to propagating environmental consciousness among Indian industry.

The Hyderabad building, which will be formally inaugurated in January 2004, was conceived by the CII (Confederation of Indian Industry)-Godrej combine during US President Bill Clinton’s 2000 visit to the city. Former head of the CII, Jamshed Godrej, funded the project, which received active support from Andhra Pradesh chief minister Chandrababu Naidu. Godrej named the building after his uncle, an ardent environmentalist.

Grover himself is not new to the green approach. His design for the CII-ABB Centre for Quality, outside Bangalore, is already known for its eco-friendliness. Preserving history has been part of his work since his student days — from his Masters on housing for the urban poor in London to getting world monument status for the medieval site of Champaner in Gujarat.

Grover is delighted that his project has won such recognition. “From the very beginning we aimed to get the top award in the business, not for the sake of the award but simply to showcase some of our forgotten methods,” he says.

Grover is one of the few men taking initiatives to think for the future. Eco Designs  is the need of the hour and it will certainly help in redefining the future of many nations.