Green Buildings and Green

Architecture
 What is green building?

A ‘green’ building is a building that, in its design, construction or operation,

reduces or eliminates negative impacts, and can create positive impacts,
on our climate and natural environment. Green buildings preserve
precious natural resources and improve our quality of life.
-World Green Building Council
“green” building is always or not always
“sustainable!!!???"

Green vs. Sustainable

 Aim of Green Building
•Efficient use of energy, water and other resources
•Use of renewable energy, such as solar energy
•Pollution and waste reduction measures, and the enabling of re-use and
recycling
•Good indoor environmental air quality
•Use of materials that are non-toxic, ethical and sustainable
•Consideration of the environment in design, construction and operation
•Consideration of the quality of life of occupants in design, construction and
operation
•A design that enables adaptation to a changing environment
Following aspects of the building design are looked into in an integrated way
in a green building.

➢ Site planning
➢ Building envelope design
➢ Building system design ((HVAC) heating ventilation and air conditioning,
➢ lighting, electrical, and water heating)
➢ Integration of renewable energy sources to generate energy onsite.
➢ Water and waste management
➢ Selection of ecologically sustainable materials (with high recycled content, rapidly
➢ renewable resources with low emission potential, etc.).
➢ Indoor environmental quality (maintain indoor thermal and visual comfort, and air
➢ quality)
Benefits of a green design to a building owner, user, and the society as a
whole are as follows :

➢ Reduced energy consumption without sacrificing the comfort levels

➢ Reduced destruction of natural areas, habitats, and biodiversity, and reduced soil
➢ loss from erosion, etc.
➢ Reduced air and water pollution (with direct health benefits)
➢ Reduced water consumption
➢ Limited waste generation due to recycling and reuse
➢ Reduced pollution loads
➢ Increased user productivity
➢ Enhanced image and marketability
Reduce Energy Consumption
Non Erodible Mud Plaster • Bitumen Cutback Emulsion = Hot Bitumen + Kerosene Oil.
• Applied Along With Mud Mortar + Wheat/ Rice Straw.
• Thickness Of 12mm.
• Apply 2 Coats Of Mud Cow Dung Slurry With Cutback After
Plaster Dryings Dry.

100 % burnt bricks are saved

Embodied
Energy Is
100
Reduced %
 AAC
Perforated clay Bricks Parameter Porotherm Concrete Block
Block
Solid Clay Brick

Comparative Analysis of Various Masonry Blocks

650 to
Product
700 - 800 Kg/m3 2000 kg/m3 750 1800 to 1900 Kg/m3
Density
Kg/m3
Slow and
cumbersome due to
Mason can be 50 % As the block is
small size of the brick.
Speed of faster than concrete heavy masons Same
1 brick of
masonry block while need more as
POROTHERM can
/Constructio constructing a wall helpers & the POROT
accommodate 9 solid
n with POROTHERM due productivity of HERM
clay bricks. Need
• Main Advantages: to its light weight job is as well slow
substantially more
• 60% less weight than a solid concrete block mortar
• Compressive strength >3.5 N/mm2 Savings in structural Heavy structures Same
Savings in Heavy structures need
• Density of approx. 694 to 783 kg/m3 cost up to 15% due to need to be as
Structural to be designed for
• Large size & low weight costs
light weight of the designed for POROT
heavier dead load
• Excellent thermal insulation material concrete walls HERM
• Reduction of dead loads & structural costs Optimization in
Due to porous
• Faster construction thickness of plaster
nature of the Demands higher
can be achieved due Same
surface & uneven plaster thickness -
Plaster to perfect shape & as
40% Thickness size and even surface
faces plaster
POROT
uneven sizes and

40% reductio finish, thickness of the

plaster can be as low
thickness
optimization is
HERM
small brick sizes
receive more mortar
reductio n in as 10 to 12mm
difficult

n in soil embodie Dimensional

Highly
d energy Stability at
Highly stable Sufficiently stable UN- Highly Un-Stable
site - under
STABLE
Optimization of material use
 Think on these lines

What is What is its

How it is
material role in Green Way forward
achieved?
optimization Building?

What are its

advantages
Why its
and Case studies
important?
disadvantages
?
 What is material optimization How it is achieved?
Usage of materials in construction by Through design evolution, systematic
minimizing wastage through design methodology during design
and appropriate material selection development and execution

Why its important?

Helps to minimise wastage and helps conserve
resources for future

What is its advantages and disadvantages?

Pros: minimize wastage, helps conserve resources for future, minimize cost,
lowers embodied energy
Cons: May extend construction time, availability of materials
 What is its role in Green Building?
• A green building cannot be green if the products and finishes used within it have a very high
embodied energy and ecological footprint. That neutralizes the GHG emission reductions
caused by them.
• While selecting a material for construction in a building, care should be taken to ensure that
the materials have low embodied energy, help save energy and water during operational
phase of a building and should be easily recyclable
• increase material/resource conservations
• Minimize embodied energy
• Explores more option of natural materials
• Optimizes design
• Minimizes cost of construction
• Optimizes water usage
• Limits usage of virgin materials like wood.
• Conserves fossil fuel through RE usage.
• Reuses of waste like manure, compost etc.
A green building material:
 Direct Intervention
preservation of
wood through
protection of trees

optimizing the
road width and protection of soil
Techniques length thereby
reducing the
by avoiding
erosion
applied in Site material usage

& landscape
Restricting of paved preservation of top
areas on site soil avoids buying
reduces usage of of extra soil post
paving materials construction
Technique 1:
Preservation of wood
through protection of trees
 Saves 100%
During
of soil from
construction
site

Technique 2:
Sedimentation trap
during construction
Soft drainage channel
during construction
 Saves 100% To be used
of the for post
Technique 3: Top soil preservation during existing top construction
construction optimizes usage of fertile soil soil landscape
during post construction landscape
 Saves 30 -
Conventional
40% of the
concrete
concrete
paving
w.r.t.

Technique 4: Preservation of wood

through protection of trees
Technique 5:
Paved area for the parking to be restricted for parking
on site

w.r.t.
Saves 75% of
Conventional
paving
concrete
materials
paving
Technique 6:
Designing aggregate utility corridor under the
existing pedestrian path for conduiting.

Saves 25% of Conventional

additional service
material corridors
 Design Intervention:
Fly ash being a wastage from thermal power plant, has
been used along with OPC or blended in PPC to be used for
concrete , plaster and mortar. Other usage has been seen in
case of extruded blocks, fly ash bricks, silt usage for brick
making. Here fly has been used to reduce its environmental
impact.
 Common Recycled Industrial Materials
four industrial categories that present opportunities for
recycling
Usage of industrial
• 1. Demolition & Construction Materials
waste in Building – glass, metals, wood, concrete, plastics, furniture,
construction fixtures, pipes
• 2. Coal Combustion Products
– Fly Ash, Bottom Ash, Boiler Slag, Flue Gas Material
(FGD); and other materials such as cenospheres,
fluidized bed combustion ash, and scrubber residues
• 3. Foundry Sand
– foundry sands produced by aluminium, steel, and
iron foundries
• 4. Scrap Tires
– Used tyres from passenger cars and heavy-duty
equipment
 Usage of the industrial wastes
Industrial wastes Usages
Demolition & glass, metals, wood, concrete, plastics, and recovered building
Construction Materials components such as furniture, fixtures, pipes can be recycled and
reused
Fly Ash, Bottom Ash, Boiler Slag, Flue Gas Material (FGD);
Coal Combustion cenospheres, fluidized bed combustion ash, and scrubber residues
Products as a substitute for gypsum, gravel, or sand in building materials
CCPs include use in wallboard, concrete, cement, grout, structural
and flow able fill, ice and snow traction control, soil amendment,
blasting grit and abrasives, roofing granules, stabilization and
solidification of waste
Foundry Sand utilizing recycled foundry sands as base material at construction
site extends the work season as recycled foundry sands have a
lower freezing temperature than most soils in cold climate
Scrap Tires Aggregate derived from tires for landfill and road construction.
Rubber flooring and ground materials for use in new products such as
sports surfaces and playground.
Rubberized asphalt for use in road surfaces.
Tire-derived fuel as a fossil fuels replacement in certain devices.
 It reduces dead load on structures due to light weight

Fly-ash based concrete blocks

(2.6 KG, dimension : 230 mm X 110 mm X 70 mm).

Same number of bricks will cover more area than

clay bricks

High Fire Insulation

Due to high strength, practically no breakage

Advantages during transport and use.

Due to uniform size of bricks mortar required

for joints and plaster reduces almost by 50%.

Due to lower water penetration seepage of water

through bricks is considerably reduced.

Gypsum plaster can be directly applied on these bricks

without a backing coat of lime plaster.
 Design Intervention:
Structural design to be used in minimising/optimising the usage
of concrete and steel in RCC structure. Here the method of
design optimization is used as advance design techniques like
post tension, pre tension, flat slab. The reduction in concrete and
steel is measured in terms of embodied energy reduction
Examples of low-energy products and technologies Pre-stressed and pre-cast Floor U-
used in structural applications Technologies beam and Foundation piles
pre-stressed slab,
extruded structural clay joist and filler slab,
hollow floor/ roof slabs,
burned clay filler pots with RCC structure,
micro-concrete roofing,
precast hollow plank roofing,
funicular shells, zip bloc system,
composite columns,
reinforced grouted brick masonry,
stone masonry,
precast stone blocks,
Pre-cast concrete blocks,
pre-cast finished concrete blocks,
light-weight concrete blocks over dense concrete blocks
Rat-trap masonry. Source:
http://www.prestressinternational.com/productsservices.htm
 Design Intervention:
Non-Structural design has been used in minimising/optimising
the usage of materials in walling. Here the method of design
optimization has been used where advance design techniques
like cavity wall, hollow wall, hollow blocks are used to attain
material reduction, thus reduction is measured in terms of
embodied energy reduction
Examples of low-energy product and technologies in traditional mud walling system
non-structural applications Infill wall system using
stabilized adobe walling
compressed earth blocks
hollow, perforated/ modular bricks
interlocking bricks
traditional stone masonry
pre-cast non-load-bearing concrete blocks Source:
http://www.hindu.com/pp/2006/05/27/images/
2006052701250301.jpg
finished concrete blocks
light weight concrete blocks over dense concrete blocks
pre-cast brick panels
composite Ferro-cement walling
interlocking concrete blocks Source:
http://www.easy2source.com/products/building-and-
Rat traps masonry construction/construction-products-and-
equipment/hollow-bricks/
 Resources efficient bricks

Source: http://www.cpwrconstructionsolutions.org/gallery/image/lightweight%20block%203.jpg Source: http://www.geckostone.com/lwc.html

 Design Intervention
The materials are used with recycled content so that,
usage of virgin wood can be eradicated/minimised. The
usage of any finishing materials with virgin materials has
been restricted to enhance usage of industrial waste
product in manufacturing interior finishing products.
Thus materials with virgin raw materials has been
optimised
The waste generated during the construction process has been
reused through recycling like usage of gunny bags for tress
guard, waste steel cut pieces for jalli work, shredding the
plastic/card board/paper generated for recycling plant
Case studies
BPCL Residential Building, (Block No. 39),Chembur
Mumbai
Principal Architect : CNA Architects, Mumbai, Ar. Rakesh Amin,
Ar. Rajesh Kr Singh
Green Building Design and Certification : Surmount Energy
Solutions Pvt. Ltd. & CNA Architects

High grade steel & concrete has been adopted to optimize

the embodied energy of the materials used in concrete

Materials with recycle content such as fly ash brick are

used for block work

Regionally available materials such as athangudi tiles are

used in the project

All the paints, adhesives & sealants used in the project are
of Low VOC products.
Govardhan Ecovillage
Galtare, Wada, Thane, Maharashtra
Principal Architect : Biome Environmental Solutions Pvt
Ltd, Bangalore

Precast arch panels for roofs

Stabilized Soil Cement blocks on walls & unplastered .

(mixing ratio is 1:4:6 (Cement/lime, quarry dust, soil) and

cement lime at 80%, 20%)

composite mortar of proportion 1:11::Cement site

Sills and lintels with U-blocks (reduces concrete)

double tiled sloping roof

Thatch roof made of sugarcane thatch

Grand Chola, ITC Hotels Limited
Chennai
Principal Architect : M/S Smallwood
Reynold Stewart Stewart, Singapore
Green Building Design and Energy
Consultant : TERI

• Use of Plywood and MDF boards

manufactured by Uniply, Greenply and
Centuryply certified by SGS and

recyclable fabric

Use of high density composite wood panels

Use of AAC blocks in the infill wall system.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmoy27E
Z8y0