GREEN

ARCHITECTURE
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INTRODUCTION
Sustainability is a complex subject. It is of vital importance to all because it deals with the survival
of human species and almost every living creature on the planet. Sustainable and eco-friendly
architecture is one of the main aims that humans for creating a better life have made as the
ultimate model for all their activities. For this reason, moving towards a greener architecture

is well-thought-out the main goal of the present architecture of our time.

At the rate the development needs of this world is using the scarce and limited resources found on
the earth, it is becoming obvious that unless there are major changes to Man's thinking and
behaviour, the future of civilization as known today is dubious.

Green architecture produces environmental, social and economic benefits. Environmentally, green
architecture helps reduce pollution, conserve natural resources and prevent environmental
degradation. Economically, it reduces the amount of money that the building's operators have to
spend on water and energy and improves the productivity of those using the facility. And, socially,
green buildings are meant to be beautiful and cause only minimal strain on the local infrastructure.
GREEN
ARCHITECTURE

Green architecture, or green design, is an approach to building that

minimizes harmful effects on human health and the environment. The
"green" architect or designer attempts to safeguard air, water, and earth
by choosing eco-friendly building materials and construction practices.
GREEN ARCHITECTURE
& GREEN DESIGN

Green architecture defines an understanding of environment-friendly architecture under all

classifications, and contains some universal consent, It may have many of these characteristics:

• Ventilation systems designed for efficient heating and cooling

• Energy-efficient lighting and appliances
• Water-saving plumbing fixtures
• Landscapes planned to maximize passive solar energy
• Minimal harm to the natural habitat
• Alternate power sources such as solar power or wind power
• Non-synthetic, non-toxic materials
• Locally-obtained woods and stone
• Responsibly-harvested woods
• Adaptive reuse of older buildings
• Use of recycled architectural salvage
• Efficient use of space
CONSIDERATION FOR GREEN
BUILDING
Green building involves consideration in four main areas: site development, material selection and
minimization, energy efficiency, and indoor air quality.

• Consider site development to reduce the impact of development on the natural environment. For
example, orient the buildings to take advantage of solar access, shading and wind patterns that
will lessen heating and cooling loads.
• Carefully select materials that are durable, contain recycled content, and are locally manufactured
to reduce negative environmental impacts.

• Incorporate energy-efficient design into buildings to create an efficient and comfortable

environment. Take advantage of the natural elements and technologies to conserve resources and
increase occupant comfort/productivity while lowering long-term operational costs and
pollutants.

• Design for high indoor air quality to promote occupant health and productivity.
• Minimize the waste in construction and demolition processes by recovering materials and reusing
or recycling those.
GO
GREEN
THE PRINCIPLES OF GREEN
BUILDING
The green building design process begins with an intimate understanding of the site in all its
beauties and complexities. Designers can create features in their buildings that mimic the functions
of particular eco-systems. Creating new habitat on structures in urbanized areas is especially
important to support bio-diversity and a healthy ecosystem.

The following points summarize key principles, strategies and technologies which are associated with
the five major elements of green building design which are:
PASSIVE SOLAR
DESIGN
Passive solar design refers to the use of the sun’s energy for the heating and cooling of living
spaces. The building itself or some element of it takes advantage of natural energy characteristics
in its materials to absorb and radiate the heat created by exposure to the sun. Passive systems are
simple, have few moving parts and no mechanical systems, require minimal maintenance and can
decrease, or even eliminate, heating and cooling costs.

Passive solar design uses these to capture the sun’s energy:

• Solar passive features
• Shape and form of buildings.
• Orientation of the facades.
• Design of Building plan and section.
• Thermal insulation and thermal storage of roof.
• Thermal Insulation and thermal storage of the exterior walls.

Designs depend on direction & intensity of Sun & wind, ambient temp., humidity etc. Different
designs for different climatic zones.
GREEN BUILDING
MATERIALS

Green building materials are generally composed of renewable rather than non-renewable resources.
Green building materials can be selected by evaluating characteristics such as reused and recycled
content, zero or low off-gassing of harmful air emissions, zero or low toxicity, high recyclability,
durability, and local production.

The materials common to many types of natural building are clay and sand. When mixed with water
and, usually, straw or another fibre, the mixture may form adobe (clay blocks).

Other materials commonly used in natural building are: earth (as rammed earth or earth bag),
wood (cordwood or timber frame/post-and-beam), straw, rice-hulls, bamboo and stone.

A wide variety of reused or recycled non-toxic materials are common in natural building, including
urbanite (salvaged chunks of used concrete).
GREEN ROOFS

Green roofs serve several purposes for a building, such as absorbing rainwater, providing
insulation, creating a habitat for wildlife, increasing goodness and decreasing stress of the
people around the roof by providing a more aesthetically pleasing landscape, and helping to lower
urban air temperatures and mitigate the heat island effect.

There are two types of green roof:

• Intensive roofs, which are thicker, with a minimum depth of 12.8 cm, and can support a wider
variety of plants but are heavier and require more maintenance.

• Extensive roofs, which are shallow, ranging in depth from 2 cm to 12.7 cm, lighter than
intensive green roofs, and require minimal maintenance.

The term green roof may also be used to indicate roofs that use some form of green technology,
such as a cool roof, a roof with solar thermal collectors or photovoltaic panels.
GREEN WALLS
Also known as vertical greenery is actually introducing plants onto the building façade.
Comparing to green roof, green walls can cover more exposed hard surfaces in the built
environment where skyscrapers are the predominant building style.

There are three types of Green Walls:

The green walls can be divided into three fundamental types according to the species of the
plants; types of growing media and construction method.

• Wall-climbing Green wall is the very common and traditional green wall method. Although it is a
time consuming process, climbing plants can cover the walls of building naturally. Sometimes
they are grown upwards with the help of a trellis or other supporting systems.

• Hanging-down Green Wall is also another popular approach for green walls. It can easily form a
complete vertical green belt on a multi-story building through planting at every story compare to
the wall-climbing type.

• Module Green Wall is the latest concept compared to the previous two types. It requires more
complicated design and planning considerations before a vertical system can come to place. It
is also probably the most expensive green walls method.
GO
GREEN
GREEN BUILDING
BENEFITS
Green building is not a simple development trend; it is an approach to building suited to the
demands of its time, whose relevance and importance will only continue to increase.

• Comfort. Because a well-designed passive solar home or building is highly energy efficient, it is
free of drafts. Extra sunlight from the south windows makes it more cheerful and pleasant in the
winter than a conventional house.

• Economy. If addressed at the design stage, passive solar construction doesn’t have to cost more
than conventional construction, and it can save money on fuel bills.

• Aesthetics. Passive solar buildings can have a conventional appearance on the outside, and the
passive solar features make them bright and pleasant inside.

• Environmentally responsible. Passive solar homes can significantly cut use of heating fuel and
electricity used for lighting. If passive cooling strategies are used in the design, summer air
conditioning costs can be reduced as well.
TYPICAL PROTOTYPES FOR
SUSTAINABLE DESIGN
1. Courtyard

Courtyard homes are more prevalent in the study area, as an open central court can be an
important aid to cooling house in warm weather. Courtyard draws fresh air down through the wind
catch. The comforts offered by a courtyard-air, light, privacy, security, and tranquillity - provides the
shadows are properties nearly universally desired in human housing. Courtyard used for many
purposes including cooking, sleeping, working, playing, gardening, and even places to keep
animals.
2. Thickness of stone walls
The walls are designed to provide insulation, sunlight filters through increase wall thickness (40-
50 cm).

3. Roof
It is placed a mixture of sand and lime mortar above the linoleum protect the bishop from the
impact of the sun's heat and reduces the permeability of water falling from the rain in the winter.

4. Narrow openings
Narrow openings and high from the ground to prevent the entry of heat during the day for the
inside and maintain them for the night
This study produced prototype referred to as Typical Housing Prototype which is built with a
central courtyard, single-story two bedrooms. The plan of the prototype is shown in Fig. below:

Building orientation determines the amount of solar radiation it receives. In addition to other elements such
as Evergreen trees were planted on north side to act as a wind break in winter, while deciduous trees on south
side to shade in summer only.
• Courtyard design. The central courtyard allows spaces for relaxation and interaction of
occupants keeping their activities away from neighbours in addition to passive cooling
strategies. It achieves enough daylight penetration, reduces solar heat and promotes cooling
breezes while keeping out hot and dusty wind.

• Sun angles and Shadings. The design doesn’t oversize the amount of south-facing windows
as oversizing can lead to overheating. Horizontal exterior overhangs are used on the south
side of the building to block direct summer sun. The overhang is large enough to block
summer sun, but doesn’t block sun in winter.
• Thermal Mass. The walls of the house are thick and massive. The high-mass walls are cooled
from the cool night time temperatures. In turn, the walls then cool the occupants during the
day by accepting the heat radiating from their bodies.

• Construction Materials. Walls: Solid 8" Masonry wall which could be double wall for
maximizing thermal mass. Roof Construction: Flat light weight concrete (20 cm) and plaster
(1 cm). Floor: Slab on Grade covered by carpet or casework.

• Rain water harvesting. The roof of the building consists of gutters or pipes that deliver
rainwater falling on the rooftop to the storage tank. Harvested water can be used for toilet
flushing and garden irrigation.

• Aquifer water. Well pumps are built to be used for extracting water from an underground
source.
Energy Systems

• Biogas Plant production. Biogas is one of many renewable energy systems that provide greater
independence at very low cost. Produced gas from anaerobic digestion of organic material will
usually be piped from the top of the tank to a biogas cooking stove and/or biogas lights.
• Photovoltaic (PV array). Photovoltaic panels are installed on south-facing roof which is inclined
with an angle to maximize the amount of electricity produced.

• Solar domestic hot water. Solar hot water systems are used to collect energy from the sun in
panels or tubes to produce domestic hot water used in the house.
CASE STUDY

Vastukar Design Studio

Location : Bhubaneswar, Odisha
Site Area : 308 sq.m.
Built up area : 453 sq.m.
Typology : Office
SVA GRIHA rating : 5 star
The following strategies were adopted to reduce the building impact on the natural environment:
• Landscape - 3 new native trees have been planted on site.
• Energy - Over 88% of total living area falls under daylit zone.
• Lighting power density of the project is 2.19 W/sq.m, which is lower than the ECBC specified LPD
limit, of 10.80 W/sq.m for offices.

• 1.75 kWp solar photovoltaic panels have been installed on the roof of the building.
• All air-conditioners and fans installed in the residence are BEE 5 star rated.
• Thermal efficiency of the building envelope is 105 W/sq.m.
• Water and waste - Use of low-flow fixtures reduces the building water demand by 40% as compared
to SVAGRIHA base case.
• Rainwater storage tank of 13.52 kL capacity water pond has been constructed in the building to
capture rainwater; surplus rainwater is recharged in groundwater aquifer through filtration
bed.
• The project has reduced its landscape water demand by 52% as compared to the SVA GRIHA
base case.

• Materials - Use of low-VOC and lead free paints has been used to maintain good indoor air
quality.

• Over 74% of interior finishes are low-energy like khandolite stone, granite stone, plywood etc.

Integrated Design Team

Client: Professor S.S. Ray, President & Founder, Vastukar Foundation
Architect: Ar. S.S. Ray, Director, Vastukar Design Studio
Green building consultant: Ar. Sudipta Singh, Sustainable Buildings & Habitat, Odisha
Residence of Mr. Azad Jain and Mrs. Asha Jain
Location : Indore, Madhya Pradesh
Site Area : 3714 sq.m.
Built up area : 541 sq.m.
Typology : Residential
SVA GRIHA rating : 5 star

The following strategies were adopted to reduce the building impact on the natural environment: •
Landscape - 34 new native trees have been planted on site, 2 existing mature trees have been

preserved on site.
• Energy - Over 91% of total living area falls under daylit zone. The LPD of the project is 3.02 W/sq.m.
which is lower than the ECBC specified LPD limit of 7.5 W/sq.m. for multifamily buildings.

• 2 kWp solar photovoltaic panels and solar water heater of 200 lpd capacity have been installed on
the roof of the residence.

• All air-conditioners and fans installed in the residence are BEE 5 star rated.
• Water and waste - Use of low-flow fixtures reduces the building water demand by about 50%
compared to SVAGRIHA base case.

• Rainwater storage tank of 20,000 litre capacity has been installed on site to capture and utilize
rainwater.
• The project is converting organic kitchen waste into manure through installation of “Vermi-
Composting”.

• Materials - Use of low-VOC and lead free paints has been used to maintain good indoor air
quality.

• The project has demonstrated a reduction in embodied energy of over 33% against the SVA
GRIHA base case by using low-energy materials for wall construction.

• Over 70% of floor area materials are low-energy materials.

Integrated Design Team

Client: Mr. Azad Jain and Mrs. Aasha Jain
Architect: Mr. Umang Agrawal & Mr. Azad Jain, Indore, Madhya Pradesh
Green building consultant: Mr. Umang Agrawal, Indore, Madhya Pradesh
👍 THANKS!