UNIT – II

GREEN BUILDING PROCESS AND ASSESSMENT

Conventional versus green building delivery systems:

Conventional vs. Green Building Delivery Systems: A Comparative Analysis
Building construction is a significant contributor to global resource consumption and
environmental impact. To address this, green building practices have emerged, focusing on
sustainable and environmentally responsible construction methods. This analysis compares
and contrasts conventional and green building delivery systems:
1. Design and Planning:
 Conventional: Traditionally focused primarily on functionality and cost-
effectiveness. Design considerations often prioritize aesthetics and user needs, with
less emphasis on minimizing environmental impact.
 Green: Incorporates a holistic approach, considering the entire building lifecycle.
Design prioritizes energy efficiency, resource conservation, and the use of sustainable
materials. Building Information Modelling (BIM) is often utilized to optimize
resource use and minimize waste.
2. Materials and Construction:
 Conventional: Relies heavily on readily available, often less-sustainable materials
like concrete, steel, and non-recycled content. Construction techniques are typically
well-established and widely understood by the construction industry.
 Green: Emphasizes the use of recycled, renewable, and locally sourced materials with
lower environmental impact. This might involve using sustainable alternatives like
bamboo, recycled content concrete, or salvaged materials. Construction techniques
may require specialized knowledge and training specific to sustainable practices.
3. Energy and Water Efficiency:
 Conventional: Standard practices may not prioritize energy and water conservation.
Building systems might not be optimized for efficiency, leading to higher operating
costs and resource usage.
 Green: Focuses on maximizing energy and water efficiency throughout the building's
lifecycle. Strategies include incorporating energy-efficient appliances, utilizing
renewable energy sources like solar panels, and implementing water-saving fixtures
and rainwater harvesting systems.
4. Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ):
 Conventional: May not have a specific focus on indoor air quality, potentially
leading to issues like poor ventilation and the use of materials with harmful emissions.
  Green: Prioritizes creating a healthy and comfortable indoor environment. This
involves utilizing natural ventilation and lighting strategies, selecting low-emission
materials, and incorporating features to improve indoor air quality.
5. Cost and Benefits:
 Conventional: Generally lower upfront costs due to readily available materials and
established construction methods. However, long-term operational costs can be high
due to lower energy and water efficiency.
 Green: May have higher upfront costs due to the use of specialized materials and
potentially more complex design and construction techniques. However, long-term
benefits accrue through reduced energy and water bills, improved occupant health and
well-being, and potential tax incentives for sustainable construction.
Both conventional and green building have their advantages and disadvantages. Choosing the
right delivery system depends on priorities, budget, and the long-term vision for the project.
While conventional methods offer affordability and established practices, green building
presents a future-oriented approach, prioritizing sustainability and environmental
responsibility while offering long-term benefits. The construction industry is constantly
evolving, and as technology and awareness advance, the cost and complexity of green
building are decreasing, making it a more viable option for an environmentally conscious
future.

Execution of Green Building Process:

As previously discussed, executing a green building process involves a collaborative and
meticulous approach across the entire lifecycle. Here's a summary of the key stages:
1. Pre-Construction:
 Project Team Assembly: Create a team with expertise in green building principles,
including architects, engineers, contractors, and sustainability specialists.
 Site Selection and Assessment: Evaluate factors like sun exposure, wind patterns,
existing vegetation, and renewable energy potential when choosing a site.
 Building Design and Planning: Develop a comprehensive design prioritizing energy
efficiency, water conservation, material selection, and waste minimization. Utilize
tools like BIM to optimize resource use.
2. Construction:
 Sustainable Material Selection: Choose materials with low environmental impact,
such as recycled content, rapidly renewable resources, and locally sourced options.
Ensure responsible sourcing and minimize waste generation.
 Construction Techniques: Implement techniques that minimize environmental
impact and promote worker safety. This might involve using prefabricated
components, minimizing site disturbance, and employing energy-efficient equipment.
  Waste Management: Develop a comprehensive plan to segregate, reuse, and recycle
construction waste efficiently.
3. Post-Construction:
 Commissioning and Verification: Ensure proper installation and operation of
energy-efficient equipment and renewable energy systems. Conduct verification
testing to confirm the building meets design goals.
 Occupancy and Operation: Educate occupants on operating and maintaining the
building sustainably. This includes using energy-efficient appliances, water-saving
practices, and proper waste management protocols.
 Monitoring and Maintenance: Continuously monitor the building's performance,
including energy, water, air quality, and occupant comfort. Implement preventive
maintenance practices to ensure peak performance and extend lifespan.
Integrated Design Process (IDP):
The Integrated Design Process (IDP) is a collaborative approach to designing and
constructing buildings that emphasizes the integration of diverse expertise and perspectives
from the outset of a project. It seeks to optimize building performance, enhance sustainability,
and improve the overall quality of the built environment.
Key Principles:
 Systems Thinking: IDP takes a holistic view of the building as a complex system,
considering the interactions between various components and subsystems.
 Whole Building Design: Rather than focusing on individual building elements in
isolation, IDP considers the building as a whole, seeking integrated solutions that
maximize overall performance.
 Performance-Based Design: Design decisions are guided by performance criteria, such
as energy efficiency, indoor environmental quality, durability, and resilience, rather than
arbitrary design preferences or aesthetic considerations.
 Adaptive Design: IDP anticipates future changes in occupancy, technology, and climate,
designing buildings that are flexible, adaptable, and resilient to evolving conditions over
time.
Here's a deeper exploration of the Integrated Design Process:
1. Collaborative Approach:
 IDP brings together a multidisciplinary team of stakeholders, including
architects, engineers, contractors, building owners, occupants, and
sometimes even representatives from the local community or regulatory
agencies.
 The collaborative nature of IDP fosters communication, knowledge
sharing, and creative problem-solving among team members.
2. Early Integration of Sustainability:
  Sustainability goals are integrated into the design process from the
project's inception, rather than being considered as an afterthought or add-
on.
 The IDP approach considers environmental, social, and economic factors
holistically to achieve a balance between ecological responsibility,
occupant comfort, and financial viability.
3. Iterative Design and Analysis:
 Design iterations are conducted iteratively throughout the project lifecycle,
allowing for continuous refinement and optimization of design solutions.
 Performance simulations, such as energy modelling, daylighting analysis,
and computational fluid dynamics, are used to evaluate the impact of
design decisions on building performance and resource efficiency.
Merits:
 Optimized Performance: By integrating diverse expertise and perspectives,
IDP can identify synergistic design strategies that optimize building
performance and resource efficiency.
 Cost Savings: Early collaboration and iterative design can help identify cost-
effective solutions and avoid expensive retrofits or design changes later in the
project.
 Enhanced Stakeholder Engagement: Involving diverse stakeholders in the
design process fosters a sense of ownership, promotes knowledge sharing, and
increases buy-in for sustainable design decisions.
 Innovation and Creativity: IDP encourages innovative thinking and creative
problem-solving, leading to unique design solutions that address complex
sustainability challenges.
De-merits:
 Coordination Complexity: Balancing competing interests and priorities
among stakeholders can be challenging, leading to potential conflicts and
delays.
 Time and Resource Intensive: IDP requires extensive coordination,
communication, and collaboration among project stakeholders, which can
prolong the design phase and increase upfront costs.
 Risk of Compromise: In some cases, compromises may be made to
accommodate competing interests or constraints, potentially compromising the
project's sustainability goals.
Ecological Design:

Ecology is the study of the relationships between living organisms,

including humans, and their physical environment; it seeks to
understand the vital connections between plants and animals and the
world around them.
Ecological design, also known as eco-design or sustainable design, is an approach to creating
products, buildings, landscapes, and systems that minimize environmental impact while
enhancing ecological health and human well-being. It seeks to emulate nature's principles and
processes, creating harmonious and regenerative solutions. Here's an overview of ecological
design:
Principles of Ecological Design:
1. Whole Systems Thinking:
Whole Systems Thinking is a method to understand how things (elements and
systems) are related, and how they influence one another within a whole. An example
of systems thinking is how elements like water, sun, soil, air, plants, animals and
human beings interact and support one another as a system.
Ecological design considers the interconnectedness of all elements within a system,
recognizing that changes in one part can have ripple effects throughout the system. It
aims to address problems holistically rather than in isolation.

2. Resource Efficiency: Ecological design prioritizes the efficient use of resources,

including energy, water, materials, and land. It aims to minimize resource
consumption, waste generation, and environmental pollution throughout the lifecycle
of a product, building, or system.
3. Renewable Energy: Embracing renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, and
hydroelectric power is central to ecological design. By harnessing renewable energy,
projects can reduce reliance on fossil fuels and mitigate greenhouse gas emissions.

4. Materials Selection: Ecological design favours materials that are non-toxic, locally
sourced, renewable, and recyclable or biodegradable. It seeks to minimize the
environmental impact of material extraction, processing, transportation, and disposal.

5. Biophilic Design: Biophilic design integrates natural elements, such as vegetation,

water, and natural light, into the built environment to promote human health, well-
being, and connection to nature.
6. Regenerative Design: Beyond sustainability, ecological design aims to regenerate
ecosystems, enhance biodiversity, and restore ecological health. It seeks to create
projects that contribute positively to their surrounding environments, improving soil
health, water quality, air quality, and habitat connectivity.
Examples of Ecological Design:
1. Green Buildings: Incorporating passive design strategies, energy-efficient systems,
renewable energy sources, green materials, and biophillic elements to create buildings
that minimize environmental impact and promote occupant health and comfort.
2. Permaculture: Designing agricultural systems based on ecological principles to
create sustainable and self-sufficient food production systems. Permaculture
integrates organic farming, agroforestry, water harvesting, and soil conservation
techniques to mimic natural ecosystems.

Zone 0
 Zone 0 is home or a cluster of human dwelling structures.
 Activities well suited to Zone 0 would include an appropriately sized space for
culinary (having to do with cooking or the kitchen) preparation.
 This space should be available to process and preserve yield from your
permaculture site.
 It should accommodate sprout production and fermentation projects too.
 All wastes that are generated in Zone 0 should have designed-in systems for
their collection with a method to easily move those by-products to their
appropriate outer zone for further processing.
Zone 1
 Zone 1 encompasses the area around the home, requiring constant attention
and interaction with its elements.
 Implementing wildfire safety designs is crucial.
  Activities like meditation, cooking, and processing yield can be
accommodated here.
 Permaculture systems such as potted plants, garden beds, and compost
collection are ideal.
 Use materials like metal, and stone for improved fire protection over extensive
wood use.
Zone 2
 Zone 2 needs regular attention and fire management.
 Reduce flammable materials and consider fire-fighting systems.
 Set up greenhouses, sheds, and barns here.
 Plant hardy crops and fruit trees, and integrate plants for pollinators.
 Add bee boxes and ponds for better yields.
 Use wind breaks for protection and establish diverse guilds for long-term
systems.
Zone 3
 Also known as “the farming zone.”
 Some of the elements that are well suited in this zone include large fruit and
nut trees, orchards, berries and brambles, long-lived woody perennials,
beneficial annuals to support pollinators, pasture areas for self-
grazing animals, large water storage, guilds, and wind breaks.
Zone 4
 Zone 4 is a "wild food gathering" area, potentially beyond your property.
 If within your property, reduce fire risks.
 Activities include water storage, native plant restoration, habitat creation for
beneficial insects and animals, wood cutting, and food gathering.
 Limited technology supports the permaculture system. Infrequent visits are
expected, mainly a few times per year.
Zone 5
 Zone 5 is the outer most zone in permaculture design.
 This zone may or may not be within your permaculture boundaries.
 It could even be a zone that might not get visited.
 This area may considerbeing a “natural unmanaged area.”
 This space can serve as wildlife preserve and corridor.
3. Ecological Landscaping: Designing landscapes that enhance biodiversity, support
native wildlife, conserve water, and promote soil health. Ecological landscaping
practices include using native plants, reducing lawn areas, creating wildlife habitat,
and implementing rainwater harvesting and greywater recycling systems.
4. Urban Design: Planning cities and neighbourhoods with walkable streets, mixed land
uses, green infrastructure, and public transportation to reduce automobile dependency,
 minimize urban sprawl, and enhance quality of life while preserving natural habitats
and open spaces.
Merits and Demerits of Ecological Design:
Merits:
1. Environmental Benefits: Ecological design reduces resource consumption,
minimizes pollution, conserves biodiversity, and mitigates climate change impacts.
2. Human Health and Well-being: By integrating natural elements into the built
environment, ecological design improves indoor air quality, enhances mental health,
reduces stress, and promotes physical activity.
3. Resilience and Adaptability: Ecological design creates projects that are resilient to
environmental changes, natural disasters, and social disruptions, enhancing long-term
sustainability and community resilience.
4. Education and Inspiration: Ecological design serves as a model for sustainable
living and fosters environmental awareness, education, and inspiration.
Demerits:
1. Implementation Challenges: Incorporating ecological design principles into
conventional practices may face regulatory barriers, technical challenges, and cultural
resistance.
2. Cost Considerations: Initial costs associated with ecological design features may be
higher compared to conventional alternatives, although long-term benefits may
outweigh initial expenses.
3. Maintenance and Management: Ecological design elements require ongoing
maintenance and management to ensure their effectiveness and longevity, which can
increase operational costs and resource requirements.
4. Limited Applicability: Ecological design strategies may not be universally applicable
or suitable for all projects, depending on site conditions, project goals, and budget
constraints.
Historical perspective:
The concept of green buildings is not as emerging as we think it is. The Evolution of housing
started by utilizing nature and natural resources like trees and caves as shelter from the
severity of natural elements like sun, rain, wind, etc.

Based on such complex experiences, our Vedic philosophy evolved certain methods to
maximize the use of PanchMahabhuta or the 5 basic elements of nature, i.e., Jal (water), Agni
(fire), Prithvi (earth), Vayu (wind), and Avkash (space).

Our ancient builders tried to harmonies these five elements in building planning and
construction so that maximum advantage of these elements can be taken and ill effects can be
avoided. They called this science as Vastushastra.
The Green Building movement has gained tremendous momentum during the past 6 years,
ever since the CII- Godrej GBC embarked on achieving the prestigious LEED rating for
center at Hyderabad.
The ‘Platinum Rating ‘for the Green Business Centre building has sensitized the stakeholders
of the construction industry. Today, several corporate and Government organizations are
considering Green Buildings in a major way.

Green Buildings Rating Systems:

Green buildings are going to play a significant role in defining our future on this planet. The
design approach for such buildings thus has a major impact on the very sustainability of our
civilization. In response to this challenge, at present we have certain standards and rating
system in different parts of the world to define and qualify sustainable aspects of buildings of
different categories and scale.
LEED rating system:
LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) developed by the US Green
Building Council (USGBC) is one such Green building rating system widely accepted around
the world. Though the rating system was originally developed considering the American
context, it has been gradually accepted in more than 13 countries, including India.
In India, before the advent of LEED there existed a number of national and
international building standards and codes which fulfilled the requirements of a sustainable
design guideline and rating systems.
The official certification of LEED for Indian buildings started in November 2003,
when the US Green Building Council (USGBC) certified the CII sohrabji Godrej Green
Business Centre, Hyderabad with the highest “Platinum” certification level under its LEED
Rating System (Version 2.0) which was followed by subsequent Indian versions.
The use of Expanded Shale, Clay and Slate (ESCS) in building designs contributes toward
LEED Green Building certification credits. The Leadership in Energy and Environmental
Design (LEED) system was designed by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC)
to evaluate the influence of building design and construction on the environment.
The LEED rating system has seven areas of concentration;
 Sustainable Sites,
 Water Efficiency,
 Energy and Atmosphere,
 Materials and Resources,
 Indoor Environmental Quality,
 Innovation in Design Process and
 Regional Priority.

LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is the world’s most widely used
green building rating system. It provides a framework for creating healthy, highly efficient,
and cost-saving green buildings that offer environmental, social, and governance benefits.

LEED v4 Rating System

 The USGBC has defined a number of variants of the credit systems to address
individual aspects of different kinds of buildings and construction which include
LEED for New Construction, Core and Shell, Homes, Commercial Interiors, Retail,
Schools, Healthcare, existing buildings and Neighbourhood development.
 All these variants, however, are based on the main credit system with modification in
credit points or prerequisites.
 The Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) has two LEED systems applicable: LEED
for New construction (NC) and core and shell.
 Since, LEED NC is applicable mostly to new commercial projects and large scale
residential projects (four story and above), the focus of this research is on this
particular system.
The main structure of LEED rating system, which is the same for LEED NC, is divided into
seven categories as listed below:
 LEED v4 Points category in percentage

IGBC Rating System

Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) has developed green building rating programmes to
cover commercial, residential, factory buildings, etc., Rating programmes would help
projects to address all aspects related to environment and is an effective tool to measure the
performance of the building/ project.
 Indian Green Building Council (IGBC), part of the Confederation of Indian Industry
(CII) formed in the year 2001.
 The council is committee-based and consensus-focused.
 All the stakeholders of construction industry comprising of architects, developers,
product manufactures, Government, academia and nodal agencies participate in the
council activities through local chapters.
 The council also closely works with several state governments, central government,
World Green Building Council, bilateral multilateral agencies in promoting green
building concepts in the country.
 The purpose of this rating system is to ensure that an existing or upcoming project
should incorporate the finest green building practices that would ensure sustained
savings and enhanced operation and processes.
 The vision of the council is, “To enable a sustainable built environment for all and
facilitate India to be one of the global leaders in the sustainable built environment by
2025.”
 The council offers a wide array of services which include developing new rating
system programs, certification services and green building training programs.
 The IGBC defined an important development in the growth of green buildings with
different credit systems to address individual aspects of different kind of the buildings
and construction which include
  IGBC for New Buildings,
 Existing Buildings,
 Homes,
 Residential societies,
 Interior,
 Health care,
 Schools,
 Factory Buildings,
 Data Centre,
 Campus,
 Village,
 Township,
 Cities,
 Landscape,
 Affordable housing,
 Health and Well-being.
All the IGBC rating system are voluntary, consensus based, market- driven building
programs.
The main structure of IGBC rating system is divided in seven categories as listed
below:

IGBC POINT CATGORY

IGBC rating system addresses green features under the following categories:
 Site Preservation & Restoration
 Site Planning & Design
 Water Efficiency
 Energy Efficiency
  Materials & Resources
 Innovation & Design Process
Under these categories credits are listed which are assigned with points that can be achieved
by fulfilling the requirements of respective credits in a project.
The total number of points achieved, irrespective of category, is thus counted as the final
measure of degree of sustainability for projects.
Depending on the count different, levels of certification are provided as follows:
Certified 50-59points
Silver 60-69 points
Gold 70-79 points
Platinum 80-89 points
Super Platinum 90-100 points

GRIHA green building rating system:

Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment (GRIHA) is the national rating system of
India. It has been envisioned by TERI (The Energy and Resources Institute) and built in
cooperation with the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy; Government of India as of
November 1 2007, GRIHA is a five star rating system for green buildings which emphasizes
on the passive solar techniques for optimizing indoor visual and thermal comfort.
 GRIHA was developed as a building rating system, particularly to address and assess non-
air conditioned or partially air conditioned buildings.
 It has been developed to rate commercial, institutional and residential buildings in India
emphasizing national environmental concerns, regional climatic conditions
 It addresses energy efficiency, encourages optimization of building design to reduce
conventional energy demand and further optimize energy performance of the building
within specified comfort limit.
 GRIHA integrates all relevant Indian codes and standards for buildings and act as a tool
to facilitate implementation of the same.

Fig. GRIHA points category

Over time, with our growing technological skills, these buildings have also been increasingly
designed and operated to place exorbitant demands on natural resources, such as land, water,
and energy, etc. Therefore, incorporation of sustainable practices in building design and
operation is no longer a choice but a necessity for a sustainable future.
Eligibility
All new construction projects with built up area more than 2500 m2 (excluding parking,
basement area, and typical buildings) are eligible for certification under GRIHA v.2019.

GRIHA v.2019 fees

Built-up Area (sqm) Fees

Till 10,000 sqm Rs 3,74,000 + GST

For every sqm above 10,000 Rs 7.5/sqm + GST

 GRIHA is a guiding and performance-oriented system where points are earned for
meeting the design and performance intent of the criteria.
 Each criteria has points assigned to it.
 It means that a project intending to qualify have to meet with each criterion and earn
points.
 While the intent of some of the criteria is self-validating in nature, there are others
(for example energy consumption, thermal and visual comfort, noise control criteria
and indoor pollution levels) which need to be validated on-site through performance
monitoring.
 The points related to these criteria (specified under the relevant sections) are awarded
provisionally while certifying and are converted to firm points through monitoring,
validation and documents/photographs to support the award of point.

GRIHA V 2019 Rating

GRIHA Rating
Thresholds

25-40

41-55

56-70

71-85

86 or more
 COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS BASED ON CREDIT POINTS

International Building Assessment Standards:

1. LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design):
 Developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), LEED provides a
framework for designing, constructing, operating, and certifying green
buildings.
 It offers several rating systems tailored to different project types, including
New Construction, Existing Buildings, Core & Shell, Neighborhood
Development, and more.
 LEED evaluates buildings across categories such as Sustainable Sites, Water
Efficiency, Energy & Atmosphere, Materials & Resources, Indoor
Environmental Quality, and Innovation.
 Buildings can earn different levels of certification based on the number of
points achieved: Certified, Silver, Gold, or Platinum.
2. BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment
Method):
 Originating in the UK, BREEAM is widely used internationally and assesses
the sustainability performance of buildings across various stages, including
design, construction, and operation.
 It covers categories such as Management, Health & Wellbeing, Energy,
Transport, Water, Materials, Waste, Land Use & Ecology, and Pollution.
 BREEAM uses a scoring system to rate buildings as Pass, Good, Very Good,
Excellent, or Outstanding based on their environmental performance.
3. Green Star:
  Developed by the Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA), Green Star is
a voluntary sustainability rating system for buildings and communities.
 It evaluates projects across nine categories, including Management, Indoor
Environment Quality, Energy, Transport, Water, Materials, Land Use &
Ecology, Emissions, and Innovation.
 Green Star offers ratings from 1 to 6 stars, with 6 stars representing world
leadership in sustainable building practices.
4. WELL Building Standard:
 Administered by the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI), WELL
focuses on enhancing human health and well-being in buildings.
 It addresses seven concepts: Air, Water, Nourishment, Light, Fitness, Comfort,
and Mind, with specific criteria related to each concept.
 WELL certification is awarded at one of three levels: Silver, Gold, or
Platinum, based on the number of points achieved.
5. Living Building Challenge:
 Developed by the International Living Future Institute (ILFI), the Living
Building Challenge is an advanced certification program focusing on
regenerative building practices.
 It comprises seven performance areas, known as Petals: Place, Water, Energy,
Health & Happiness, Materials, Equity, and Beauty.
 Living Building Challenge certification is granted to projects that meet all
requirements for each Petal over a minimum of 12 consecutive months of
operation.
6. GRESB (Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark):
 GRESB assesses the ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance)
performance of real estate portfolios and infrastructure assets worldwide.
 It evaluates performance across several dimensions, including Management &
Policy, Risks & Opportunities, Performance Indicators, Stakeholder
Engagement, and more.
 GRESB provides benchmarking data and insights to investors, fund managers,
and companies to help them improve their sustainability performance over
time.
7. EDGE (Excellence in Design for Greater Efficiencies):
 Developed by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), EDGE is a green
building certification system focused on emerging markets.
 EDGE assesses buildings across three categories: Energy, Water, and
Materials, comparing their resource efficiency to a base case building.
  Buildings that achieve at least 20% savings across these categories are eligible
for EDGE certification.
Building rating system and its future:

Building rating systems play a crucial role in promoting sustainability and guiding the design,
construction, and operation of buildings. Their future is likely to involve several key trends
and developments:
1. Integration of Health and Well-being:
 Building rating systems are expected to increasingly focus on human health and
well-being, not just environmental sustainability.
 This includes factors such as indoor air quality, natural light, acoustics, thermal
comfort, and access to amenities promoting physical activity and mental well-
being.
2. Resilience and Adaptation:
 With the increasing impacts of climate change, building rating systems will likely
place greater emphasis on resilience and adaptation measures.
 This includes designing buildings to withstand extreme weather events,
incorporating passive design strategies for temperature regulation, and integrating
renewable energy sources for increased resilience.
3. Circular Economy Principles:
 Future building rating systems may prioritize the adoption of circular economy
principles, emphasizing the reduction, reuse, and recycling of materials
throughout the building lifecycle.
 This involves designing for disassembly, using recycled and low-impact materials,
and implementing strategies to minimize waste generation.
4. Digitalization and Smart Technologies:
 The integration of digitalization and smart technologies is expected to play a
significant role in future building rating systems.
 This includes the use of Building Information Modeling (BIM), Internet of Things
(IoT) sensors for real-time monitoring and optimization of building performance,
and data-driven decision-making for sustainability improvements.
5. Social Equity and Inclusivity:
 Building rating systems are likely to increasingly incorporate criteria related to
social equity and inclusivity, ensuring that buildings are accessible and beneficial
to all members of society.
 This involves considerations such as universal design principles, affordable
housing, community engagement, and equitable access to resources and amenities.
6. Embodied Carbon Reduction:
  As awareness of embodied carbon emissions grows, future building rating systems
are expected to place greater emphasis on reducing the carbon footprint associated
with materials and construction processes.
 This includes promoting low-carbon materials, incentivizing carbon offsetting
initiatives, and encouraging carbon accounting throughout the building lifecycle.
7. Performance-Based Certification:
 There may be a shift towards performance-based certification in building rating
systems, where buildings are evaluated based on actual operational performance
data rather than design intent.
 This would require the implementation of monitoring and verification protocols to
ensure ongoing compliance and optimization of building performance.
8. Global Harmonization and Collaboration:
 Efforts to harmonize and standardize building rating systems globally are likely to
continue, facilitating consistency, comparability, and recognition of sustainable
building practices across different regions.
 International collaboration and knowledge sharing will be key to driving progress
towards common sustainability goals.

Case study of a green building:

CII Sohrabji Godrej Green Business Centre, Hyderabad

The following three qualities are the essential characters of green building.
 Location: Hyderabad
 Site area: 4.5 acres
 Built-up Area: 20,000 Sq. ft.
 Architect: Ar. Karan Grover
 Building type: Commercial office building
 Award: LEED Platinum Rating

CII Sohrabji Godrej Green Business Centre, Hyderabad is one of the substantial
examples of green buildings in the world. The design of this building includes
the following three points along with few other features.
Environment friendly – Efficiently using the natural resources, pollution
reduction in its surroundings and minimal generation of wastage, comparatively.
Economical – Using local materials which cut downs the transportation rate
also affordable
Energy-saving – Using more daylight into the building and utilizing electricity
efficiently.
 Sohrabji Godrej Green Business Centre ©thearchiblog.files.wordpress.com

It is located centrally on the flattest land available with landscaping all around
providing a soothing microclimate and minimizing the impact of pollution on
the inhabitants.
The Centre is shaped and oriented such that it captures prevailing winds and
circulates them around and through the building. The wind passing over pools
of water and shady planted areas is also used to drive evaporative cooling.
The central internal courtyard acts as an energy centre binding different
independent functions of the building together. Several small green pockets
created also function as thermostats giving protection from extreme weather
while also maintaining good mental wellbeing of inhabitants by being close to
nature.

The ground floor houses an auditorium, seminar halls, offices, administration, and services
while the first floor consists mainly of workstations and a conference hall.
Ground Floor Plan

First Floor Plan

This is the first LEED Platinum-certified building outside of the US.
It is a commercial business building consists of an office area, research labs, and
conference rooms. These are the three main functions of the building.
However, the building deals with two significant concepts of architecture which
are green architecture and passive architecture.

Most of us think that green building is having a greener area in a building. We

simply refer every building as a green building which has roof gardens or
vertical green wall or which comprises more percentage of green space than
usual.
But the fact is a green building or green architecture is something which is more
than just vegetation. Let’s get a glimpse of what actually green building is?
Enforcing sustainable and passive design:
Site preservation:
This building is constructed by maintaining the natural elements and conditions
of the site like topography, rocks, landscape, etc.
 70% of the existing site, landscape is retained and the tress which are
lopped during excavation are replanted inside the site itself.
 Also, preserving site’s natural condition and designing in accordance with
the surrounding environment is one important quality in architecture
which is achieved brilliantly here.

Preserved Topography on site

 Retained natural rocks
Soil erosion inside the site is refrained by using honey comb trays in
areas where the soil is loose and has high possibilities for soil erosion. These
trays are further covered by turf. They used the soil which is discarded during
excavation for landscape.

Honeycomb trays
Passive architecture:

Wind tower
Wind towers are generally a traditional technique to maintain the circulation of
natural air inside the building.
In a wind tower, the hot air enters the tower through the openings in the tower,
gets cooled, and thus becomes heavier and sinks down.
 The inlet and outlet of rooms induce cool air movement.
 In the presence of wind, air is cooled more effectively and flows faster
down the tower and into the living area.
 After a whole day of air exchanges, the tower becomes warm in the
evenings.
 During the night, cooler ambient air comes in contact with the bottom of
the tower through the rooms.
The tower walls absorb heat during daytime and release it at night, warming the
cool night air in the tower.
  Warm air moves up, creating an upward draft, and draws cool night air
through the doors and windows into the building.
 The system works effectively in hot and dry climates where fluctuations
are high.
 A wind tower works well for individual units not for multi-storeyed
apartments.
 In dense urban areas, the wind tower has to be long enough to be able to
catch enough air.
 But protection from driving rain is difficult.
 In this building wind tower’s role is to pass the pre-cooled air directly to
the Air Handling Unit, so that the mechanism burden of AHU can be
controlled.
Another traditional element used is the jaali wall.
 Jaali walls act as a screen wall which also provides sufficient amount of
natural ventilation and daylight inside the building.
 This also performs aesthetically in the building’s exterior.
 Huge trees and plantation near the jaali wall will block and prevent the
heat from direct sunlight.
 90% of daylight is used efficiently inside the building which results in the
reduction of electricity usage during day times.
 The North lighting concept is used to block heat gain inside the building.
IBMS (Integrated Building Management System) is using to control the
whole building.
 This is for automation of lights which again controls the wastage of
electricity.
Jaali wall
 Urban heat island – The heat island effect is controlled by using a greater
number of floras, and SRI (Solar Reflective Index) tiles on roofs and roof
gardens.
SRI - The Solar Reflectance Index (SRI) is an indicator of the ability of a
roof surface to return solar energy to the atmosphere. Roofing material
surfaces with a higher SRI will be cooler than surfaces with a lower SRI
under the same solar energy exposure, especially on a sunny day.

Green pavers
 Universal design concept – This building is easily accessible to
physically challenged and senior citizens. There is a separate car parking
space for them which is nearer to the main entrance.
 Ramp provided for easy access

Water conservation and wastewater treatment :

Rainwater harvesting pond

As turfs consume more water, the site has less than 10% of the turf area to
conserve water.
Drip systems and sprinkler systems are used for the irrigation of turf and plants.
Soil moisture sensors are installed which automatically sense the moisture
content in soil and shut down the water supply to plants.
100% of wastewater is recycled by the phytoremediation technique. It is a
natural remediation technique that living plants are using to uptake the
contaminants in water through their roots.

Sprinkler system
Energy efficient:
 The wind tower directly connects to the AHU (Air Handling Unit).
 Its burden is reduced and electrical energy is saved.
 Glazing is used in North side to capture the indirect sunlight and
illuminate the interior.
 20% of energy is produced by the solar panels installed on the roof.
Remote control fans use from which 50% of electricity is saved.
Skylight
 Skylight
Building materials:

Ceramic tiles used for flooring

 Materials used in the construction of a building create a great impact on
the site as well as inside the building.
 The whole building is made up of fly-ash (Industrial waste) bricks and
cement.
 For interiors, they used Argo boards instead of plywood or wood.
 Agro boards are manufactured by compressing sugarcane waste bagasse.
  90% percentage of the materials are transported and manufactured within
a radius of 500 miles from the site.
 The entire site is a non-smoking area.
 Low-volatile organic compound paints and adhesives are used.
(Low VOC paints are the ones that contain less volatile organic
compounds or VOC solvents as compared to traditional coatings. Since
VOCs evaporate, subsequently transferring harmful chemicals into the
air, using low VOC products is better for improving air quality.)
 The ceramic tiles used for flooring are of culets, broken tiles, paper, etc.
This building sets a milestone in green architecture and promotes the green
movement all over the world especially in India. This is the perfect blend of
architecture and technology.