Green Buildings are Eco Friendly Structures
When the pre historic man constructed a hut for the first time using bamboo trees and coconut leaves to protect himself from sun and rain, he was starting to exploit nature for his humble needs. Apart from killing the trees he also disturbed the natural habital of the insects and birds in those trees and interfered in the cycles of nature. That was a beginning.
Now, it is beyond imagination, how much damage has been inflicted on earth by the construction of various types of buildings using sand and water from the rivers, stones from the mountains, cement manufactured from the ingredients dug from the land. In addition, carbon emission from the buildings and manufacture of construction materials warm up the air and space.
But, after getting conscious about the environment and after feeling the environmental responsibilities, the way our people try to address this problem is wonderful. One of the intelligent initiative is the concept of “Green Buildings”.
The concept of Green Buildings envision a new approach to save water, energy and material resources in the construction and maintenance of the buildings and can reduce or eliminate the adverse impact of buildings on the environment and occupants.
A model plan of a Green Building
By preferring Green Building over a conventional building we help this planet earth and the people to retain nature to a maximum extent possible in three ways with reference to the location of the buildings.
1. Retain the external environment at the location of the building.
2. Improve internal environment for the occupants
3. Preserve the environment at places far away from the building
Green Buildings Retain the Environment at the location of the Building.
Suppose we propose a multistoried office complex to accommodate thousands of officers and staff, it requires a vast area. Therefore selection of a site for such a building complex should consider retention of local vegetation, wild life, natural water courses etc. Either a site with bio diversity should be avoided or the building should be planned to reduce site disturbance.
Concept cross section of a Green Building
Land :The landscaping and the exterior design in a green building shall be in such a way that there is more shaded area, the light trespass is eliminated and local species of plants are grown.
Water : The green building by its design and shape shall not disrupt the natural water flows, it should orient and stand just like a tree. Rain falling over the whole area of the complex shall be harvested in full either to replenish the ground water table in and around the building or to be utilized in the services of the building. The toilets shall be fitted with low flesh fixtures. The plumbing system should have separate lines for drinking and flushing. Grey water from kitchenette, bath and laundry shall be treated and reused for gardening or in cooling towers of air conditioning.
Energy: The solar energy at the top of a green building is harvested to supplement the conventional energy,. The natural light is harvested in the intermediate floors to minimize the usage of electricity. Sunlight is restricted by the high grown trees outside the lower floors of the building. High efficiency light fixtures make a pleasant lighting apart from saving the energy. High-efficiency windows and insulation in walls, ceilings, and floors are used for the benefit of better temperature control.
Green buildings improve internal environment for the occupants
Light: In a designed green building the occupants shall feel as if they are in outdoor location. The interior and exterior designs shall go hand in hand by blending the natural and artificial lighting and presenting transparent views wherever possible.
Air: In the air conditioned environment, a green building shall be specially equipped to ensure the Indoor Air Quality for a healthy atmosphere. Even the nasal feelings shall be pleasant free from the odour of paints and furnishings.
A comfortable atmosphere at work stations improve the attendance of the staff and increase the productivity.
Model elevation of another Green Building
Green buildings preserve the environment at places far away from the buildings.
We all know that a building is constructed using cement, sand, steel, stones, bricks, and a lot of finishing materials. These materials are quarried or procured from far way from the location of the buildings. Building materials are responsible for about 20 percent of the greenhouse gasses emitted by a building during its lifetime,.
Green buildings shall use the products that are non-toxic, reusable, renewable, and/or recyclable wherever possible. Locally manufactured products are prefered so that the collective material environment of the locality remains a constant and moreover the fuel for the transport of materials is saved.
As we see, our food and domestic products are tagged with green as a fashion of eco friendly practices, building materials are also going green. The futuristic green buildings are to use green materials which are in research stage now.
Green wood : A Stanford team has done a research for wood alternate. Hemp fibers and biodegradable plastic when pressed together and heated form layers and this material is as strong as wood. When buried in land fill, it degrades faster. This wood creates more raw materials when it breaks down. Microbes produce methane gas when they decompose this wood substitute and other debris thrown into landfills. Another type of bacteria absorbs this gas and turns it into plastic that can be used to create a new wooden plank. By this cycle, there is a continuous source of raw material for this wood. When this material at research comes to market, it may help to control deforestation and promote the rainfall.
Green Cement: Bruce Constantz at Calera, based in Los Gatos, has developed a green method to produce both cement and aggregate, another component of Concrete. Their method sequesters Carbon Di Oxide from power plant flues and mixes the gas with sea water to produce the mineral raw materials of concrete. For every ton of green cement Calera manufactures half a ton of fly ash from coal plants is used apart from preventing production and emission of Corbon Di Oxide.
Other Green Building materials: Renewable plant materials like bamboo (because bamboo grows quickly) and straw, lumber from forests ecology blocks, dimension stone.recycled stone, recycled metal are some of the other materials used in a Green Building.
Savings due to Green Buildings
LEED GREEN BUILDINGS RATING SYSTEM
The Buildings constructed based on the Green concepts should confirm to the prescribed standards. There should be continuous assessment and and monitoring from the planning/design stage upto the completion of construction, for declaring a building as a Green Building.
For this, LEED ( Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design ) Green Building Rating system is followed. In this system points are awarded for adopting Green concepts in various categories and the Buildings are certified Green at levels such as Silver, Gold or Platinam based on the total number of points they get in LEED Rating.
The CII-Sohrabji Godrej Green Business Centre (also known as CII or CIIGBC) earned a LEED® rating of 56 credits and became certified “LEED Platinum” in 2003;
Measurement / Audit for Green Concept in Buildings
Categories for Rating LEED points
Sustainable site 12
Water efficiency 8
Energy and atmosphere 17
Material and resources 13
Indoor Environment Quality 15
Design process and innovation 4
Employing LEED designer 1
Total points 70
Certification for Green Buildings
Level Points required
LEED Certified 26 to 32
Silver Level 33 to 38
Gold Level 40 to 52
Platinam Level 53 and above
There are only few Certified Green Buildings in India. But it is good to know that the awareness is gathering momentum and we look forward for a greener future.
Unpolluted Water, Soil, Mountains and thick Forests
are the Forts defending a Land
( ThiruValluvar 742)
Written by Malarthamil on the eve of observing World Environment Day on June 5
Malarthamil is a civil engineer and writer-poet inspired by Thirukkural – a classical Tamil poetry that expounds various aspects of life.
Tags: Atmosphere, Bricks, Buildings, Carbon, Carbon Di Oxide, Carbon Emission, Cement, Construction materials, earth, Energy, Environment, green, Green Buildings, Green Cement, Green wood, House, LEED, Nature, Pollution, Sand, Steel, World Environment Day
29 Comments
We installed a radiant barrier from RadiantGUARD.com and were very pleased with the results and their customer service. They have a lot of advice about installations and very detailed explanations of how radiant barriers work.
Thanks Tim for your information.
Radiantguard may have good future in India, if it can be used in the roof of the top floor to cool down the room temperature of the top floor. Most of the roof areas in the Indian houses are used for drying home made foods, pickles, cloth etc. Some grow roof gardens.And we sleep in the free air too. The summers are very hot.One may have to find out the ways of using suitable material to apply over the roof without affecting domestic use of the roof.
How much more (as a percentage of initial cost) does it take to build a Green Building compared to a normal one, Malar?
I will come up with percentage cost after some more analysis. The debate goes on about the cost, Some estimating too high and some saying that it needs no extra budget. However we have to see tangible and intangible benefits. The benefit of Green cannot be compared.
One of the new system in the upgrading of old buildings developed by quality circle in which I was a participant was selected for national level presentation in Singapore. It was selected competing with five other projects showing tangible benefits. A project which saved more papers and manhours rather than money was recognised to the heartburn of the rest of the competitors. That is my flash back.
From
http://www.nrdc.org/buildinggreen/factsheets/cost.asp
‘A 2004 study by Davis Langdon Adamson, a construction cost-planning and management company, found that the first costs of constructing a sustainable building tend to match or only slightly exceed those of comparable non-green buildings. The study, Costing Green: A Comprehensive Cost Database and Budgeting Methodology measured the square-foot construction costs of 61 buildings seeking certification under the LEED green building rating system against those of buildings of similar type that did not aim for sustainability. Taking into account a range of construction factors including climate, location, market conditions and local standards, the study found that for many of the green projects, pursuing LEED certification had little or no budgetary impact. ‘
Please send the details of Air and Water Purity Levels , Sound Levels, Lighting Perfection data , Building Orientaion to avoid high radiation Transmission into Buildings.
or send the web site addressess in which data ias available.
isn’t culture and religion another strong aspect of green buildings. Eg. as buddhist we respect life (all organisms including plant life.) our cultures are essentially intertwined with our religion. therefore could not green buildings be our religious belief and cultural practice.
I need some tips on green building concepts.Along with some of my freinds Iam going for a green home project , where we are intending to build an appartment at Bhubaneswar,Orissa. Can u provide me how to proceed in this project?
Ramesh bamidi
Geologist.
thank you so much. will you help me in my term paper?
uhm, why green is the name of green building?
I really need your help in my term paper.
what are the advantages and disadvantages of green buildings?
We are a design and consultancy firm.
I would like to know about green building products.. how the can be used for a individual bungalow or a mass housing projects.. we wish to implement/ use them at our projects.
I would like to attained seminar on this subject in pune.
Regards.
Abhijit
Please can you tell me how green buildings can be incorporated into the cultural, religious and sociological practices in India? its for my dissertation
For Helen and others
The queries regarding Green homes and traditional green concepts have to be addressed after deep studies and I fear I cannot come up with replies immediately.
The Chettinad homes of Tamil Nadu are examples of Green Homes. You have to visit Karaikudi in Tamil nadu to see it yourself on how traditionally the green concepts were followed in Housing
Except for use of wood, the Chettinad houses can be called green houses for adopting natural light and ventillation concepts. You can see http://www.karaikudi.com/chettinadhouse.htm or any other site after searching for Chettinad homes.
malar
THE INFORMATION IS VERY USEFUL N INTERESTING.
PLS SEND ME ADVANTAGES N DISADVANTAGES OF GREEN BUILDINGS WHRE IT HAS BEEN FOLLOWED IN INDIA
i need full details about green buildigs for my paper presentation
We are looking for building materials and methods for green buildings (multystoried ) in and around New Delhi also if you could suggest a contractor / supplier for the same. Looking forward to your reply. Thanx
pls send me t advantages n disadvantages of green buildings
hi..iam very intigrued by ur site.its very nice.guess wht we are doing final year civil project on this same subject.well we need more data for the same…pls help if possible
pls send me the information about environmental friendly construction matarials
pls send me the information about environmental friendly construction matarials
We are looking for building materials and methods for green buildings (multystoried ) in and around New Delhi also if you could suggest a contractor / supplier for the same. Looking forward to your reply. Thanks
we need details about green building ,what are the raw material used in green building?(specially in hill area like Ooty)advantage and disadvantage of green building ?what are the concept in green building its not affect the environment?recent project of green building kindly help me
respected sir
please send detail information about green building
I want latest tech. or multiple option in sustainable green buildings or technique to convert any house into energy efficient house.
Kindly provide me complete details about Green Building Concept. I have to prepre for the College Presentation.
Await your reply at the earliest.
Thanx
Could you please send me information of sustainable materials for green buildings, for example how concrete steel and masonry for instance can be manufactured in a way that is environmental friendly? Please help. I’m busy with my thesis on green buildings
SC Jonker
South Africa
I am a Lead Auditor for QMS ISO 9001 & EMS ISO 14001 and consultant for Certification to ISO 9001 & ISO 14001. I want to have Training on Green Building Concepts and also to implement this concept in Industry. What will be the procedure.
what the example for practices of green building?
Please give me complete report about green building concept and some examples. i have to prepare a college presentation. Await your reply at the earliest.Thank you……
Please send me information and if possible electrical layouts for Green Building Lighting and electrification processes.
Also check out the green roofs. In Chicago you get tax benefits if you apply a green roof for your home
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_roof