ACC GREENS VILLAGE-A

CASE STUDY
LOCATION: BELLARY, KARNATAKA
CLIMATE TYPE: HOT AND DRY (SEMI ARID)
PROGRAM: INDUSTRIAL HOUSING
ARCHITECT: ASHOK. B. LALL

URVI AJITKUMAR KHADAKBAN

ROLL NO 13.
1) CLIMATE
• Bellary is located in the north eastern part of Karnataka and south
central part of India.
Factors for climatic study for Bellary, Karnataka:
a) Temperature
b) Precipitation
c) Humidity
d) Daylight
e) Cloud cover
TEMPERATURE

Climate data for Bellary

Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record 36.0 46.0
high °C (96.8 38.0 42.5 (114.8 44.2 41.6 37.0 38.5 37.8 38.0 34.5 35.0 46.0
(100.4) (108.5) (111.6) (106.9) (98.6) (101.3) (100.0) (100.4) (94.1) (95.0) (114.8)
(°F) ) )

Averag 29.8
33.4 36.0 37.6 37.2 32.5 29.9 30.3 30.9 30.7 29.4 29.0 32.2
e high (85.6 (92.1) (96.8) (99.7) (99.0) (90.5) (85.8) (86.5) (87.6) (87.3) (84.9) (84.2) (90.0)
°C (°F) )
Daily 22.8 25.5 27.6 31.2 31.3 28.2 26.7 26.8 26.7 26.2 23.2 22.0 26.5
mean (73.0
(77.9) (81.7) (88.2) (88.3) (82.8) (80.1) (80.2) (80.1) (79.2) (73.8) (71.6) (79.7)
°C (°F) )
Averag 15.9
17.2 20.9 24.3 25.0 23.5 22.5 22.2 21.9 21.4 17.0 15.5 20.6
e low (60.6
(63.0) (69.6) (75.7) (77.0) (74.3) (72.5) (72.0) (71.4) (70.5) (62.6) (59.9) (69.1)
°C (°F) )

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bellary
ANALYSIS OF TEMPERATURE:
• The temperature throughout the months is generally high ( 30 to 33
degree C) throughout the year however drops to few degrees in
November, December
• January, September October November, December are the most
bearable months of the year with average temperature ranging from
25 to 30 degree C
• March, April, May are the most unbearable months with average high
temperature going up to from o 33 to 35 degree C)
HUMIDITY

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0
jan feb match april may june july august sept oct nov dec

Average humidity in Bellary (in percentage)

Source:
https://www.weather-ind.com/en/india/b
ANALYSIS OF HUMIDITY
• Bellary being a semi arid hot steppe climate it has a relatively higher
humidity as compared to the extreme hot and dry climate zone. Also
since it is has sloping lands, it proves to play an effect on the climatic
variations.
• The average humidity throughout the year is near to 55 percent
• August September having higher rainfall, have higher percentage of
humidity.
• March April may are the hottest as compared and and of negligible
humidity
 Precipitation
140

120

100

80

60

40

20

0
jan feb march april may june july august sept oct nov dec

Source:
https://www.weather-ind.com/en/indi
Average precipitation in Bellary in (mm) a/ballari-climate
ANALYSIS OF PRECIPIATION
• January February march December generally have very less
precipitation
• Highest rainfall about 130 mm is recorded in September
• Records suggest the year's highest daily chance of a wet day
is 36% on September 26, and its lowest chance is 1% on February 6.
• Average rainfall throughout the year is just 80mm
• The only chances of some precipitation is in august, September and
October.
• Overall Bellary doesn’t receive much rainfall
Daylight
12

10

0
jan feb march april may june july august sept oct nov dec

Source:
Daylight in Bellary annually ( hours) https://www.weather-ind.com/en/india/bal
Analysis of daylight
• Hottest months of January till may have higher sun cover ranging put
10 to 12 hours a day
• Months seeing a bit higher precipitation and humidity have sun cover
ranging for 5 to 6hours
• The months following these witness a gradually increase in the sun
cover, returning back to the more warm time of the year
Cloud cover
60

50

40

30

20

10

0
jan feb march april may june july a august sept oct nov dec

Source:
Cloud cover for Bellary in percentage https://www.weather-ind.com/en/i
ndia/ballari-climate
Analysis of cloud cover
• In accordance with the sun cover, and precipitation data, about 50
percent cloud cover is seen around the months of august September.
However it is less
• very low cloud cover is seen in the beginning of the year suggesting a
very warm, well lit area
• Rest of the months witness low cloud cover over 20 to 30 percent
only.
2) Acc greens village.

• Acc is a cement manufacturing company, who promotes sustainability

through its products, designs, as well in their inhouse structures
• Acc greens village in located in Bellary, and his designed by senior
architect ashok b lall
• ACC had initiated the process of building their entire residential
campus for their staff colony of their cement grinding plant at
Kudithini, in Bellary, Karnataka
• The ACC Greens Village is significant as it highlights innovate use of
cement, apart from other building materials & systems, in creating a
low ecological footprint built environment. 
ALTERNTIVE TO RCC SLABS
• ACC Green village was based on solar passive design principles and
were based on an innovate thermal management of the interior spaces
through cooling tubes, insulation and aided hydration for those hotter
months
• Essentially, the building type can be described as being sandwiched
between cooling tubes to the east and west, and verandahs to the
north and south. The cooling tubes had a wind scoop from the
northwest and an exhaust side towards the southeast. The verandahs
had openable insulated screens that would remain shut during the
hotter months (trapping air which would retard any heat exchange) and
be kept open for the more cooler months.
• One feature designed originally by the ABLA was to pass cool air from the cooling tubes through
the slabs of the building, therefore resulting in a deeper RCC slab and with PVC pipes as passages to
this air.
• A pre-cast system, which involved the placing of semi cast latticed RCC rafters and hollow pre-cast
blocks that were cast to fit the needed profile. This system involved the usage of lesser concrete
than the RCC slab originally suggested, and also meant the reduction in the usage of steel in the
slab.
• The rafters were latticed t-beams, and were semi-cast (2 inches of the base was cast first) on the
ground and cured. They were then lifted and set in place, using nothing more than a team of four
(these rafters were limited to maximum spans of 4 metres). Props are placed at 1.5 metre intervals
of each rafter to ensure that no buckling or cracking occurs during construction. The pre-cast filler
blocks were made using a custom template on an egg-laying type block making machine. Once
cured, they would be lifted into place and set on the protruding flanges of the t-beam. Above this, a
grid using welded mesh is placed to cater for any upward thrust. Apart from that in the rafters, this
is the only steel in this kind of slab. Concrete is then poured over this to create a layer of 1.5-2
inches above the pre-cast blocks.
• As a total, this building used about 1.4 kg per sq. ft of steel.... A saving of about 40% steel when
compared to a conventionally built structure. (this is in spite of the extra steel used in the RCC tie
bands as seismic area construction, and in the precast slabs used to cover the cooling tubes).
Resource sensitive block
• The Cudighi cement plant had been procuring hundreds of tons of GGBS (ground slag) from
the nearby Jindal steel plant. GGBS is a by product of the steel manufacturing process. This
was used in the cement that the plant manufactured. And was a pozzolanic material. And had
incredible strengths even at a high 40% GGBS constitution of the block (the remaining being
quarry dust and cement).
• The block manufacturing was initiated at site using manual presses, which resulted in the
manufacture of over 800-1000 blocks per day. These blocks were designed as 200 the blocks
and were to meet a density requirement of about 2.0 kg/cm3 to ensure a requisite thermal
mass design to meet the thermal dynamics of this design ie to make the structure more
breathable due to the semi arid climate
• Another impact of building use these site made GGBS blocks, were that the architect could
control quality and due to the good consistency of these blocks, they could afford to leave the
walls exposed. Though they had to opt for some surface pointing to secure them from any
untoward seepage.
WHY GGBS
• Concrete is the most commonly used material in the construction industry in
which cement is its vital ingredient. Although the advantages of concrete are
many, there are side effects leading to environmental issues. The manufacturing
process of cement emits considerable amount of carbon dioxide (CO2). Therefore
is an urgent need to reduce the usage of cement
• . Ground Granulated Blast furnace Slag (GGBS) is a by-product from steel industry.
It has good structural and durable properties with less environmental effects.
• From the review of literature, it was found that the use of GGBS in concrete
construction will be eco-friendly and economical. The optimum percentage of
replacement of cement by GGBS lies between 40 - 45 % by weight. New materials
that can be added in addition to GGBS for getting better strength and durability
also highlighted.
Bamboo engineered wood replacing plywood
• As per the thermal management design of this building type, adjustable screens were provided in the
verandahs. The purpose of these screens was to provide an adjustable thermal barrier when needed.
• These screens were panels that were built around a metal frame. The core layer was insulation and it was clad
with plywood and a thin veneer on either side. To reduce the usage of conventional wood (plywood being a
contributing factor) it was proposed the usage of Bamboo mat board, BMB, as a replacement to the plywood.
BMB is an engineered product that is a glued laminate of several bamboo mats.
• As BMB was attractive by itself, one did not require the use of a veneer over this. BMB is akin to marine grade
ply and some manufacturers make versions that are external grade, with a protective UV resistant coat.
• Bamboo being a renewable resource (it is actually a fast growing grass and not a wood), is the ideal resource
for the manufacture of woody boards, sheets, etc. An aside- bamboo is said to sequester more carbon than
most woods. 
•
There are a number of manufacturers of such Bamboo Engineered products in the country, but there are
differences in quality. (incidentally, there are is a Bamboo Mat Corrugated Sheet, BMCS, alternative to
corrugated tin sheets.
LOWER ENERGY FLOOR
• Bellary is situated at the border of central Karnataka and Anantapur in Andhra Pradesh. It is a dry
arid belt, and is close to some repositories of granite (in Karnataka) and some slates (from AP).
Originally, a granite was considered for all the flooring, but after discussions it was felt that we
could achieve a further lower embodied energy footprint by opting for a pigmented cement floor.
• The architect decided to go  for an ochre colored oxide floor, which would create a nice contrast to
the grey surfaces of the GGBS blocks.
• The floor areas were divided into a 1m x 1m grid of panels. Alternate panels were cast first, and
once set, the remaining panels were cast. Yes, this did take a bit more time than casting this
floor in one shot, but it also meant that chances of large size cracks would be limited as one could
consider the casts as limited to a smaller size, and therefore leading to a controlled expansion and
contraction. leading to lesser cracking.
• Apart from a vibrant aesthetic and being a more resource efficient alternative, this also saved the
client money as a pigmented cement floor costs much less than a stone floor.
• those high energy industrialized tiles (vitrified, ceramic, etc.) were not even an option!!
Re using timber.
• The properties of such a timber source is that it can be used as is, if the door/window(older ) component is in
good shape, or has to be re-sized, planed and finished to suit the new design. The wooden members bear the
scars of nails and pegs, that were removed in the resizing exercise. Care had to be taken to develop an
aesthetic that incorporates these blemishes and scars (which add character to the wood), or, to mask them
appropriately.
• A big benefit of the exercise is that wood can be considered as super treated wood due to both the more
thorough treatment processes followed back in the day, and due to the natural conditioning of this wood over
the years. Chances of deflection are extremely rare in the use of such wood.
• Another important aspect to consider while using such wood is that since merchants don't segregate the wood
based on wood type (neem, mathi, teak, sal, etc.) the raw material is a mixture. The most one can do (with
ease) is to ensure that each door component, is made from one wood. One can tone, or, paint over to bring an
element of congruity over a much larger usage.
• Most of this wood is sourced from areas that are seeing great urban renewal.... mostly smaller towns of
Karnataka
•  The challenge was to find sections that were as wide as the designed double shuttered windows however the
team just about managed to get a guarantee of the sections of that width for the entire project. 
This Village also incorporated into the brief
• a huge afforestation programme,
• food sustainability- which saw the development of a sizable farm, a
cattle shed (for milk) and a fish pond
• rainwater management, harvesting and recharge,
• energy sustainability which saw the incorporation of biomass
gasification infrastructure, supplement by woody biomass from the
afforestation programme, and a bio-methanisation unit supplement
by the dung from the cattle shed.