SUSTAINABLE ENVIRONMENT

Energy Efficient Buildings:

A Comprehensive and Integrated Design Approach
Priya Choudhary, Madhura Rathod and Sonal Fuke

A perspective towards
adopting in integrated
approach for environmental
conscious design

36 ARCHITECTURE - Time Space & People June 2009

PREAMBLE
Since prehistory, man, unlike any other
animal made the environment adapt to
suit to his needs. Mans increasing needs
made him invent new things and led to
new discoveries.
After Industrial Revolution, progress
caught speed, our needs increased leading to increased industrial production
and it did not strike us that whatever
earth has to offer, will finish, if all used up.
These are the non renewable resources.

When we talk about man and his

basic needs, we often mention food,
clothing and shelter. Here we fail to
remember the element air. Air that we
breathe, is getting polluted badly by the
gases that are released by the factories.
The industry emitted gases not only
spoil the air, but also forms an impenetrable envelope around the earth. The
rays of the sun that reach earth everyday do not get reflected back as they
should, nor did a couple of centuries

ago. As a result, the temperature of

earth is on the rise what we call today as
Global Warming. Global warming, gives
rise to many complicated issues such as
melting of the polar caps, the rise of sea
water level, extinction of several
species, increased vectors for new infections, etc. In other words, it leads to
imbalance of the ecology.
It is the responsibility of every single human being to contribute at the
individual level, for their own future
generations. Saving energy, using
biodegradable material in everyday life
could be a simple but very important
contribution by an individual regarding this issue. We as architects also
need to understand the urgency of the
issue and develop methods to contribute towards saving the environment through our professional practice. In this paper the focus is on the relationship of buildings and global warming, and the possible means and methods of conveying the responsibility of an
architect towards our environment
through architectural education.

Source: Earth and Space research organization. The CO2 concentrations are recorded in the Law
dome (Antarctic) ice core and at the Mauna Loa monitoring station in Hawaii (1999).

1. ENERGY AND BUILDINGS

1.1 RELATION OF RISE IN CO2 LEVELS
AND TEMPERATURES
From the figure above it is evident that
there is significant rise in the CO2 levels
accompanied by the rise in temperatures and the rise is drastic in the last
100 years.
The figure shows that architecture or
building industry consumes about 48%
of the energy which includes operational and embodied energy, and 46% of
CO2 emissions by building industry.
Thus we the designers have a huge role
in contributing towards the issue.
Edward Mazria, a US based architect
mentions that Rather than depending solely on technology to bring down
building energy use, Mazria believes
design strategies concerned with siting,

World Energy Consumption, Source:RSA journal,october1994;available at www.rsg.org.uk/index.asp

June 2009 ARCHITECTURE - Time Space & People 37

fenestration, and material

selection can go a long
way toward energy efficiency.

2. CONCERNS FOR
ARCHITECTS
The issue of energy crisis
and
sustainability
approach to deal it is
wide encompassing all
walks of life. But certainBuilding plan and view of Bidani House,
ly, we the designers all
Faridabad. Zone:Composite
various kinds of physical
environs have a major
role to play. There is already a good load due to extensive use of glass.
amount of discussion and emphasis by Naturally the energy saved by day lightarchitectural fraternity to environmen- ing will be much smaller component to
tal concerns. Yet, there is certainly a added energy use on air-conditioning.
need to look at this issue from holistic This is happening mostly because of
and realistic point of view. Nowadays it superficial understanding and westernhas become a marketing tool and most ized outlook that we all are adopting to
of the time it is very superficial, deal with this issue. We need to train presapplied approach to sustainability ent and future generations to look for
which is evident and hence there is a more generic and inherent design soluneed to make future architects under- tions for energy efficient buildings so that
stand the real meaning of sustain- they are appropriate to the context.
ability in architecture. An appropriate
Energy efficiency and Sustainability
decision-making process with inherent are well rooted in Indian traditional
or inbuilt approach to human comfort architecture and Indian culture. Its not
through built form design would always the use of hi-tech solutions
always be sustainable.
which will lead to energy efficiency but
If we see the present scenario about if one while designing looks for context
environmental concerns for architects specific solutions with emphasis on
and designers, one thing that has decentralization, then the issue can be
emerged are the various myths related to resolved quite easily. That means we
the issue. For example , using solar cells is need to develop our own Indian stanthe best possible option for converting dards for designing and evaluation.
solar energy to electrical energy. There Though the rating systems such as TERI
are certainly better options such as solar GRIHA and regulations such as ECBC are
bowl or using geothermal energy. being devised, the basis to all that is
Secondly, most of the time the approach still not very indigenous.
by designers is very fragmented and they
Third major concern for us is the prihardly think about implications of one oritization process that we need to
decision on other aspect of energy effi- adopt while taking design decisions.
ciency. Use of glass will certainly be help- Everything cannot be achieved and
ful in reducing energy use for lighting but hence we need to trade off between
what about increase in air-conditioning decisions by taking into consideration,
38 ARCHITECTURE - Time Space & People June 2009

the importance of one decision in terms

of affecting energy efficiency visa-a-vis
other decisions.
Thus there is a need to device and
adopt an integrated approach for achieving energy efficiency in buildings.

3. INTEGRATED APPROACH
FOR ENERGY EFFICIENCY IN
BUILDINGS
As a result the architects must seek
opportunities to excel the design of a
building to participate fully in the
design and the development of larger
environments. Sanoff says (1992), our
environments are designed by a few and
affects many. The approach towards
sustainable architectural design helps
to establish positive and appropriate
contributions to social environment. It
has small ecological footprints and the
energy efficiency in buildings is affected by decisions to be taken at all the
stages mentioned below:
1. Design, 2. Construction (materials
and techniques), 3. Maintenance
and management.
3.1 DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS FOR
ENERGY EFFICIENCY:
Design is all about optimum resource
usage. Sustainability need not have some
extra efforts to be put in but it has to be

intrinsic in designs. Solar radiation and

wind are two important aspects that
could be favorable or unfavorable with
respect to the context. These are the
aspects that can be taken care of by
appropriate orientation

American Institute of Indian Studies, GurgaonZone:Composite, The walls are angled at 45

degrees to the site boundary, which allows N/S orientation for the walls thus reducing heat gain
through windows.

Fig:3 Sections of Bidani House, Faridabad. During summer and winter respectively.

Fig: 4 Perimeter to Area ratio

3.1.1 Orientation:
The most significant design consideration
is the placement of the building with
regard to the solar radiation and wind. In
customarily cold regions, buildings
should be oriented to maximize solar
gain; the reverse is advisable for hot
regions. In regions where seasonal
changes are distinct, both the situations
may arise sporadically. For a cold climate,
an orientation slightly east of south is
favoured (15 degree east of south), as this
exposes the unit to more morning than
afternoon sun and enables the house to
begin to heat during the day. This can be
noticed in Bidani House at Faridabad
(Refer Fig.3 ) where the climate is composite in nature. The form corresponds to
the climate of site and maximizes heat
loss in summer and heat gain during winter. The design shows maximum exposure to south east of living spaces and
buffer spaces on the south west to eliminate heat gains during summer.
Wind can be advantageous or objectionable. Quite frequently, compromise is
required between sun and wind orientations with careful design. Shading and
reflecting devices can be incorporated to
rule out the sun or redirect it into the
building, just as wind can be diverted or
directed to the extent desired.
3.1.2 Built form:
The volume of space inside a building that
needs to be heated or cooled and its relationship with the area of the envelope
enclosing the volume affect the thermal
performance of the building. This parameter called as the Surface Area /Floor Area
ratio is determined by the building form.
June 2009 ARCHITECTURE - Time Space & People 39

Comparing the heat gain and SA/FA , Surface area to floor area for different configuration with
increasing number of storey.

For any given building volume, more

compact shape, is less wasteful in gaining/ losing heat. Hence, in hot and dry
regions and cold climates, buildings are
compact in form with a low Surface/
Volume ratio to reduce heat gain and
losses, respectively. Also, the building
form determines the airflow pattern
around the building, directly affecting its
ventilation. The depth of a building also
determines the requirements for artificial
lighting. Greater the depth, higher the
need for artificial lighting.
Perimeter/Area indicates Radiative
gains or losses and efficient ventilation.
Low P/A ratios are suitable for hot-dry climates. Plan form, which enhances ventilation, is not an important issue in hot-dry
climates, as the breeze is often warm. The
P/A ratios for various shapes are shown in
the adjacent figure .
3.1.4 Effect of size and shape of building
The heat gains calculated for 4mx4m to
64mx64m configuration sizes and with 5
percent fenestration have been presented in a graphical manner for single and
multi-storied buildings. The curves of
40 ARCHITECTURE - Time Space & People June 2009

heat gain and SA/FA for the configurations are found to be exactly equivalent
to each otherwise show that SA to FA
ratio for a given building is a good index
for arbitrate its thermal performance. The
SA/FA ratio decreases rapidly with the
increase in the perimeter of configuration
and tends to become almost constant
after 28mX28m and heat gain curves also
follow the same prototype. Refer adja-

cent figure.Thus while playing with the

three dimensional forms the designer can
surely evaluate the options with regard to
the SA/FA ratio and the P/A ratio to
understand the implications of chosen
built form on heat gain.
In case of design of Office building
of the West Bengal Renewable Energy
Development Agency, Kolkata. (Zone:
warm and humid) as shown in the figure below, one can observe how the
design decisions affect energy efficiency of the building. The building plan
has been envisaged to be rectangular
facing east and west to reduce heat
gain. The areas which are not frequently under use like store, toilet and staircase are located on east and west to act
as buffer against direct solar heat. The
air conditioned areas are planned
towards north of the building.
The ground towards east and west
are designed to cover with grass or water
to minimize heat gain from surrounding.
Non air conditioned areas are composed
on the south to take advantage of the
prevailing wind during hot and humid
period. Southern face of the wall is protected by overhangs. The water body is
placed towards south, to best utilize the

Office building of the West Bengal Renewable Energy Development Agency, Kolkata.

Plan and sketches of concept evolution of building design.

prevailing south breeze. It has in turn

uplifted the aesthetic value of the design
concept. The south breeze blowing over
the water body gets trapped at the bottom of the building and the same is vented through the building with suitable cut
outs, ventilators, windows, so that the
cool south breeze can blow up to the
deepest portion of the building .
Space planning, landscaping, ventilation, day lighting strategies, insulation,
glazing system, use of renewable energy
system are the important parameters that
are well integrated together so as to produce an energy efficient building .
Thus in brief, we as a designer should
be conscious enough to handle the issue
of energy efficiency in every design we
proceed with. We should try to incorporate as much approaches as possible to
generate energy efficient building.
However, Sustainability need not have
some extra efforts to be put in but it has
to be intrinsic in design.
Buildings consume energy for heating,
cooling, ventilation, lighting, equipment
and appliances. This is the Operational
Energy. And this type of energy requirements is greatly affected by appropriate
design considerations. The other type of
energy is - Embodied energy.

Embodied energy is the energy consumed by all of the processes associated

with the production of a building, from
the acquisition of natural resources to
product delivery. This includes the mining and manufacturing of materials and
equipment, the transport of the materials
and the administrative functions.
Embodied energy is a significant component of the lifecycle of a building. Every
building is a complex combination of
many processed materials, each of which
contributes to the buildings total embodied energy. Renovation and maintenance
also add to the embodied energy over a
buildings life.
3.2 MATERIALS AND TECHNOLOGY
It was thought until recently that the
embodied energy content of a building
was small compared to the energy used
in operating the building over its life.
Most effort was therefore put into reducing operating energy by improving the
energy efficiency of the building envelope. Research has shown that this is not
always the case. Embodied energy can be
the equivalent of many years of operational energy.
Choices of materials and construction
methods can significantly change the

amount of energy embodied in the structure of a building. True low energy building design will consider this important
aspect and take a broader life cycle
approach to energy assessment. Merely
looking at the energy used to operate the
building is not really acceptable.
Operational energy consumption is
dependent on the occupants. Embodied
energy is not occupant dependent - the
energy is built into the materials.
Embodied energy content is incurred
once (apart from maintenance and renovation) whereas operational energy accumulates over time and can be influenced
throughout the life of the building.
3.2.1 Building materials and the environmental impacts
The materials we use to build our homes
have many unseenadverse environmental impacts. A building industry that
depends on diminishing resources will
ultimately become more costly as the
resources will continue to be depleted,
and would pose a negative environmental impact. The building industry in the
future needs a decision system for selecting environmentally responsible materials and construction technology.
The underlining principle assumes
that at all stages in the life of the material,
right from the raw material extraction,
manufacture and transportation to the
installation, operation, maintenance and
the recycling and waste managementcause, some degree of environmental
impact needs to be evaluated.
The elements affecting the performance of a building envelope are:

Sustainably managed materials

Structural elements

Fenestration and Shading

Finishes
The building envelope, structure
and services contribute fairly equally
and account for about three-quarters of
total initial embodied energy. The finJune 2009 ARCHITECTURE - Time Space & People 41

Average Total Embodied Energy 4.82 GJ/m2

ishes, which represent only 13% of the

embodied energy initially, typically
account for the highest increase in
recurring embodied energy. Embodied
energy may not be significantly different between building systems (e.g.,
wood versus steel versus concrete),
however, the environmental impacts
associated with one material versus
another can be dramatically different.

3.2.2 Achieving Energy efficiency in

buildings through materials and construction techniques
Energy efficiency can be achieved by
taking the appropriate design decisions at various levels of the design
problem starting from the site planning and zoning level to the orientation of the building, to the use of construction materials and techniques

Structural- 25% of the total

initial embodied energy (Mj/m3)

Non Structural- envelope, finishes,

construction; Energy in (Mj/m3)

Aggregate
Stone (local)
Concrete block
Concrete precast
Brick
Steel recycled
Steel 251200

150
2030
3180
2780
5170
37210
251200

Gypsum wallboard
5890
Particle board
4400
Recycled aluminium
21870
Plywood
5720
PVC
93620
Copper
631164
Aluminium
515700
Zinc
371280
Brass
519560
Paint
117500
Glass
37550
Carpet
84900
Source: http://www.architecture2030.org/regional_solutions/materials.html
42 ARCHITECTURE - Time Space & People June 2009

adapted, to the provision of heating

and cooling systems matter as far as
consumption of energy is concerned.
Eco friendliness is not an added on feature but an inherent quality of the
building and it can be achieved with
different solutions for various typologies of the buildings, may it be a low
rise urban building or a high rise high
technical urban building. The solutions
will change per the context, and the
requirement. Thus ecofriendliness cannot be a standardized solution. Not all
aspects of sustainability can be
achieved at the same time. Evaluation
must be done as to what matters most
in that situation and design decisions
must be made as per the context, site,
and typology of the building.
In architecture, aesthetics and form of
the building is always at the forefront, but
consciousness and awareness of the difference that the building can make at a
global level if it is energy efficient will
help the architect approach the design
problem in a more efficient way.

External wall is left without any

treatment.

Insulation layer on domes is with

broken fire bricks and other locally
available materials.

Outdoor paving is done with terracotta tiles, cudappah stones and

granite slabs.
CASE STUDY:
3.2.3 AUROVILLE VISITORS CENTRE
Materials ~ Structural elements ~
Fenestration and shading
devices~ finishes
The Auroville building centre is a
research cum training organization in
appropriate building technology.
The building material used here is
manufactured locally using a manual
press. The soil used is excavated on site
and the resulting ditch is used as waste
recycling pond.

1. Openings are spanned by arches in

compressed earth blocks.
2. All pillars, arches and walls are in
compressed earth blocks, which are
cement stabilized with 4-5% cement
content as required.
3. RCC is avoided as far as possible.

building, but also reduces the operational cost required to cool and illuminate the internal spaces

3.2.4 Laurie Bakers approach

Use of sustainable materials

As a design

For the structure

For energy efficiency

STRUCTURAL SYSTEM FOR ENERGY
EFFICIENCY:
1. Extensive use of locally available
material.
2. Jaalis as a cavity wall for thermal
insulation
3. Openings spanned by locally made
brick arches.
4. Use of jaalis instead of windows.
5. Minimal use of RCC.

The modular grid has reduced the

structural costs significantly and construction has been simplified.

Use of jaalis as a design element and

as a means of ventilation and indirect
light. Use of such jaalis not only
reduces embodied energy of the

SUSTAINABLE DESIGN:
Innovative patterns of jaali designs
impart a peculiar character to Laurie
Bakers design.

Creative use of broken terracotta or

ceramic tiles, and reuse of waste materials
such as bottles, etc. is predominantly
seen in the designs.
3.2.5 ECO FRIENDLY TALL BUILDINGS
Ken Yeang is a pioneer in the passive lowenergy design of skyscrapers, what he has
called bioclimatic design.
Yeang has spent his career refuting
the conventional wisdom that tall buildings are inherently destructive to the
environment. His bioclimatic techniques,
include vertical landscaping, external louvers to reduce solar heat gain, extensive
natural ventilation and lighting, and an
active Intelligent Building system for
automated energy savings.

June 2009 ARCHITECTURE - Time Space & People 43

Less energy intensive construction

techniques
Maintenance: waste water recycling,
solid waste management,
use of Renewable energy as
against electricity,
adaptability, flexibility to changes.
Rainwater harvesting, recycling
systems, self sufficient sewage disposal systems are also a part of Ken
Yeangs design.
1. Cover against hot Sun,
2. Retractable and movable shading
device
3. Intermediate landscape as
windbreakers
4. Generation of form responsive to
the climate
5. Meaningful cladding, not just an
added on aesthetic element.

The project: Green Architecture,

office building at MIHAN 2007
Sustainability: An Inherent Approach
For Evolution Of Built Form
It is a building for Maharashtra
Airports Development Company, which is
a
implementation
agency
for
MIHAN(Multi Modal International Hub
Airport) at Nagpur. The project, MIHAN is
expected to generate tremendous potential for development of Nagpur which
may change the face of Nagpur. The
building of MADC is the first one to come
in MIHAN and its architecture no doubt
will start a trend to be followed by others.
Though it is a small building as far as built
up area is concerned but it is very essential to generate an appropriate vocabulary through its design.
4.1 THE PROCESS:
Stage I: Interaction with the client
The students were taken to the MADC
office and the site of MIHAN to acquaint
with the project MIHAN, the role of MADC
in its implementation and the site allocated to MADC building.

Stage III: Evolution of Built form through

Model making and assigning a north,
scale to model

Here, again the specific process of

microclimate analysis; advised by Centre
for Environmental Studies, Bharti
Vidyapeeth, Pune has been adopted. With
the designed model, students evaluated
w.r.t. sun and wind; modified the model
as per analysis and again evaluated. This
iterative comparative evaluative process
was continued till the satisfactory form
was achieved.

To inculcate these values of energy

efficiency in future generation of architects, a design approach adopted to
achieve it is discussed here.
44 ARCHITECTURE - Time Space & People June 2009

Stage II: study

1. Understanding of Green Architecture
2. Levels at which concept of Green can
be incorporated:
Design: Through built form, orientation, site planning, landscaping, design
of openings, passive cooling techniques.
Construction: materials and
technology
Eco-friendly materials: recyclable,
reusable with less embodied heat

Documentation of shadows
Modifications
Final built form

Stage IV: Site analysis and understanding the user

Stage VI: Material and techniques,

design of openings, formulation of
architectural vocabulary, services:
The design project with the
adopted methodology has made students aware and conscious about the
following facts :
The sustainability approach in evolution of built form has to be inherent
aspect of decision making.
As far as energy efficiency in built
environment is concerned; the solutions
are always simple and simple solutions
are more effective than the applied,
superficial and hi-tech approach.
A comparative evaluative approach

is what is required for arriving at ultimate solution.

Such projects and the process aim at
developing a sense of social, moral and
ethical responsibility amongst students
towards their designs.
SUMMARY

It is important to note that eco

friendly architecture does not mean
compromise on modernization,
development, aesthetics, convenience or growth. Eco friendly architecture does not mean only use of
mud and other local materials or vernacular architecture.

Site zoning, site development

Its impact on built form: change and
modification
Detailed design programme
Defining service area and served area
Design of service core
Modifications to built-form

Stage V: Detailed design of floors

Floor plans, sections and Modifications to
built form.
June 2009 ARCHITECTURE - Time Space & People 45

Eco friendliness is not an added on

feature but an inherent quality of the
building. Design decisions made at various
levels starting from site planning and zoning level to the orientation of the building
to the use of construction materials and
techniques, to the provision of heating
and cooling systems matter as far as consumption of energy is concerned. Thus an
integrated design approach is necessary
rather than compartmentalized approach.

REFERENCES
1. Mujumdar Mili(2001), Energy Efficient
Buildings in India TERI,New Delhi.

5. Dr. Srla Sahu(Nov2006) , Solar Heat

Gain to Buildings,A+D
6. Vikki Miller, Buildings (2006)
issue 44.
7. Edward Mazria (Feburary 2004),
Architecture week
8. http://www.architecture2030.org/
regional_solutions/materials.html
9. Design studio work of eight semester(2006-07) of Smt.M.M.College of
Architecture,Nagpur.

2. Yeang Ken (1948), The Green

Skyscraper,Prestel

10. Sustainable Building Design

Manual Vol-1(2004), The Energy
and Resources Institute,New
Delhi,India.

3. Yeang Ken(2001), The Ecology of the

Sky,The Images Publishing
GroupPvt.Ltd.

11. Sustainable Building Design Manual

Vol-2(2004),The Energy and
Resources Institute,New Delhi,India.

4. Gautam Bhatia(1994),Laurie BakerWorks,life and writings,Penguin books.

12. Raven and Berg(2004), Environment

Hermitage Publishing Services.

46 ARCHITECTURE - Time Space & People June 2009

13. Christian Schittich(2003), Solar

Architecture, publishers for
Architecture Baasel, Switzerland
14. Paola Sassi(2006), Strategies for
sustainable Architecture, Taylor
and Francis.
This paper is based on the work done by
students of M.Arch.(Architecture Education)
for an elective, Environmental Issues in
Architecture at Smt. Manoramabai Mundle

College of Architecture, Nagpur.

Priya Choudhary is an
architect, planner and Asstt.
Professor at Smt. Manoramabai
Mundle College of Architecture,
Nagpur and Madhura Rathod is
an architect and lecturer at Smt.
Manoramabai Mundle College
of Architecture, Nagpur and
Sonal Fuke is an architect and
visiting faculty at Smt.
Manoramabai Mundle College
of Architecture, Nagpur
Photographs: Courtesy the
Authors.