The Urgency of Green Buildings

It's a prettier world with lesser buildings. At least, the birds will find more trees to land on them. India's urban population stands at 493 million today and an additional 300 million are expected to arrive by 2050. This means buildings and other infrastructure will continue to expand.

Last year, the country was filled with 40.6 billion tonnes of carbon. As this creates rainfall disturbances and long periods of heat waves, India may see large rural-to-urban migrations as the agriculture sector plummets. In 2022, roughly 1.8 million hectares of soil were affected.

As these statistics rise, we certainly have no other option but to expand building projects. However, we can adopt green practices while erecting buildings to decarbonize the atmosphere and provide a hospitable space for people.

What is so special about green buildings?

Green buildings emerged just two decades ago. These projects aim to source green local materials, cut down on operation costs, use recycled water, and switch to renewable sources of energy. It's a tiny prototype of the future. It aims for efficiency, not convenience.

A green building redesigns the interiors of buildings. The project uses Rammed earth, terra cotta tiles, bamboo, and materials you can find nearby as alternatives. It uses passive tech. to cool the house instead of ACs. Windows are double-glazed to trap heat, the flooring stores heat for later use, and the project develops a ventilation system to keep houses fresh and airy.

Green buildings plan to function on solar and wind energy for their electricity consumption, engineer water management, and rain-water harvesting system, follow careful segregation of construction waste, and leave adequate areas for plenty of plants and trees while designing buildings.

Does it have an impact?

The housing sector produces 33% of the national greenhouse gas emissions and 22 % of carbon emissions. A green design can reduce anywhere between 30-50% of water and about 30% of energy consumption.

Although such housing costs 5-20% extra than traditional houses initially, there are far bigger discounts on electricity, water, and maintenance of such houses. As the materials are low-cost and local, renovating houses becomes a much cheaper prospect.

The government supports it too. Ministry of Environment, Forest, Climate Change provides faster land clearance approval for green buildings certified by IGBC, particularly in the states of Rajasthan and Punjab. Many incentives are provided for green projects by central agencies like IGBC, the Ministry of Skill Development, and the Small Industries Development bank of India.

Is This Helpful for You?

Interior designing is much easier as most of the resources are locally sourced.
Green projects are committed to designing healthy and safe houses. Meaning, houses are now free from mites, dust, and microbes, have good ventilation, utilize space cleverly, and leave lots of room for pretty scenery.
Energy Risk Management Solutions states that a building can save up to 30% of its annual operating cost as buildings are relatively low maintenance.
Organizations like bdcnetwork and Realtytrack report that a house's overall resale value adds up to 8 -20 % more than the original cost.

Green buildings provide an architecture to sustain future generations. Quite possibly, it's our only viable option!