Title: Undergraduate Thesis: Green Building Awareness Centre
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The Hybrid_Link#03Hybridization between Form and Energy ISSN 2039-4608 Title: Undergraduate thesis: Green Building Awareness Centre. Anup Kumar Prasad B. Arch. from Dept. of Architecture, Jadavpur University Kolkata, West Bengal 700032, India. Sr. Architect in CEFD, Larsen & Toubro Chennai, Tamil Nadu 600089, India Anup Kumar Prasad Email: [email protected] [email protected] Abstract Nature is rich of resources which are costless, but still one has to expend energy to get those resources in a desired manner. E.g., in hot/warm environment one wants sunlight without sun heat, for ventilation one needs external wind flow unaccompanied by dust or noise, and these filtering devour large quantity of energy. If one learn to design a building which itself can act as a filtering machine, one can save plenty of energy. As a part of UG-thesis author started research on various ‘building forms’ to develop a module of building which can adequately deals and blends with the environment. Author also visited various Green buildings around India for case study. Later on author get involved in developing a software for ‘Climate Optimized Synthesis of Architectural Forms’. Through this paper author wants to share his Study, Research, Synopsis and Conclusions for developing a building module to save energy. Keywords: GBAC – Green Building Awareness Centre, Fig. – Figure, OAT – Open Air Theatre 1. Introduction The construction process and building use not only consumes the most of energy and creates a lot of carbon dioxide emissions, they also creates large amount of wastes, use of maximum non-energy related resources and also responsible for the heavy pollution. Fig. 1 – Pollution by building industry 2 Undergraduate thesis: Green Building Awareness Centre At the one end fact is that mankind are serious about climatic changes and need to stop such happenings which goes against the environment, on the other hand buildings fulfil their basic needs by providing shelter for living and working. From above inferences, it is necessary to achieve sustainability in buildings. Sustainability can be achieved by adopts the creates structures with minimum intervention to the environment due to this construction requires less energy and time along with using processes which are environmentally responsible and resource-efficient throughout a building's life-cycle. One of the highly effective steps towards sustainability of any building usually occurs during design process by incorporating zero- energy and green building concepts. There are many organisations like Indian Green Building Council (IGBC), The Energy and Research Institute (TERI), Energy Star, Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI), Built Green (BG), etc. are coming out with various techniques, practices, methods and materials towards making any design sustainable, green and zero energy by several rating system like Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment (GRIHA), Leadership in Energy and Environment Design (LEED) etc. However, with a concerning about these, author in this paper titled “Undergraduate thesis: Green Building Awareness Centre”, willing to give a general idea for proposing a building for Indian climatic conditions along with the structure using process that is environmentally responsible and resource-efficient throughout a building's life-cycle: from siting to design, construction, operation, maintenance, renovation, and demolition. This building in topic provides model for the application of alternative energy systems at a larger urban scale. It has to be design as a demonstration of a modern building in which the building’s materiality and its spatial qualities are based on energy conserving considerations. Along with that author also considered necessary to give brief information of some potential green buildings around India as a case study. 2. Historical Background Security and protection from climatic elements have been the prime considerations in human beings effort to create shelter for themselves. Man has relied on various resources to build shelters for protection from the heat, cold and rain. As materials and techniques of construction developed, vernacular built forms evolved, through trial and error, to provide a harmonious balance between buildings, climate and people’s life style. Man’s endeavor in finding a shelter for himself probably began with a cave. In caves he found protection from the fury of nature as well as wild animals. The insulating and absorption properties of the earth mass provided warmth in winter and coolness, shade in hot summer. In different parts of world, man has found various solutions for protection against climatically unkind conditions through locally available materials. For example, in the hot and humid regions of Asia, Australia, Polynesia and Amazon, the roof was more important than walls for modifying the indoor conditions. In fact the walls could be Fig. 2 - Lohani Caves, Mandu [2] omitted altogether. Hence, lightweight structures of timber skeleton, wooden Also, the cooling by radiation exchange to frames, thatched roofs and woven, lathe and the night sky is faster [3]. venture walling were used in such regions. On the other hand, in the mountainous cold forest regions in the north-west U.S.A., Scandinavia and Himalayas, one found well- insulated timber houses. In case of early vernacular architecture, the roof played a determining role in the general form and appearance [3]. Flat roofs appeared in hot regions, vaulted roofs in hot and dry regions and inclined roofs in temperature dry climates. Higher pitched roofs were used in wet-temperature and cooler places. Both domes and vaults were popular in the hot-arid regions of the Middle East and northern Africa, where low humidity leads to intense radiation exchange, and the variations between day and night temperatures are high. The logic here is that a hemispherical vault has about 3 times the Fig. 3 – types of Roof [4] surface area as the base of a square roof, so the solar radiation is diluted to that extent. Bio-climatic aspects such as orientation, house form, open spaces, etc. were well integrated in vernacular residential architecture. For example, the ancient Greeks gave their homes a southern orientation and used thermal mass for heating purposes. Thick earthen walls stored the heat and prevented undesirable air-infiltration. Later, the Romans improved on their techniques to incorporate clear window-coverings, greenhouses and radiant floor heating. Natural lighting through clerestories and skylights has been used in many historical buildings such as the temple of Amman at Karnak and the Pantheon at Rome. Palladio, the great renaissance architect, employed ‘thermal windows’ to transmit the sun’s rays into the building interior for heating, as key features of his designs. A group of six villas near Vicenza, Italy, built in the 16th century AD, incorporated a remarkable system of underground air conduits that provided air-conditioning during the hot summer [3]. Building with natural and local materials, using process that is environmentally responsible and resource-efficient isn't anything new in India. Fig. 4 – Pantheon, Rome 4 Undergraduate thesis: Green Building Awareness Centre 2.1 Traditional Indian Architecture Indian experiences diverse climatic conditions which in turn have influenced the development of vernacular architecture in various regions. Control of microclimate around the building was always an important aspect of indigenous designs. The urban forms ensured that individual buildings were not exposed to the sun. While planning a town, care was taken to orient the streets keeping the effects of sun and wind in mind. For example, towns in Gujarat and Rajasthan which experience hot and dry climate had row-houses with common walls. In towns like Kolkata which is warm and humid are laid out to make maximum use of the prevailing breeze. Buildings are scattered vegetations are arranged to provide maximum shade without hindering natural ventilation. Fig. 5 – Typical settlement for hot and dry regions [4] These were tightly packed along the streets and lanes to minimise the exposure to Fig. 7 – Typical settlement for warm- direct sun and hot winds. The front facades humid regions [4] were further shades with well-articulated balconies called ‘Jharokhas’. 2.2 Punchbhutas Punchbhutas for centuries, man has manipulated the five elements to build comfortable houses even in the most hostile environments. For example, in the Desert, where the heat of the Sun (Fire) can make it impossible to live, man has built houses with internal courtyards (Space), thick walls (Earth), slit windows (Air) and water bodies and fountains (Water) to cool the house by ensuring good ventilation and flow of air [1]. Fig. 6 – Jharokhas at Rajasthan [5] Air inlets were usually located on the front facades where the air was relatively cooler since the streets and the lanes were well- shaded. Each house had an open courtyard which acted as an exhaust for warm air and provides enough natural light for the interior of the house [3]. Fig. 8 – Punchbhutas 2.3 Vastu shastra South-West (Nairuthya) House is static and sun is moving around (Pitru/ancestors) the earth so, house should design in such a South-East (Aagneya) (Fire/Agni) way that windows and all sources of ventilation absorb as many positive rays as possible. Vastu shastra prescribes an ideal plan called Vastu Purusha Mandala, in which each room (depending on its function) is located in specific Cardinal direction. East (Poorva): It is common knowledge that the sun rises in the East. (Surya/Sun) West (Paschima): Sun sets in the west (Varuna/Water) North (Uttara): (Kuber/Wealth) South (Dakhshina): (Yama) North-East (Eeshanya): (Supreme being/God) Fig. 9 - Vastu Purusha Mandala North-West (Vaayavya) (Vayu/Wind) Sun – synthesis of vitamin D and has germicidal property. Aim of Vastu Shastra is to ensure that the inmates of a house are inadvertently exposed to the useful rays of sunlight even if they are inside the house whole day. 3. Case Study: 1. The Energy and Resource Institute University, New Delhi 2.