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VOL. XXIV NO. 16, December 1-15, 2014
Forgetting our building traditions?
(by Sakuntala Narasimhan)

Abacus School, Chennai, the work of Laurie Baker, building in the traditional way.

Building Sense – Beyond the Green Facade of Sustainable Habitat, published by the Centre for Science and Environment, New Delhi, is a comprehensive, well-researched study that not only lists and explains the various ‘green’ statutes that the government has put in place for the building industry but also describes how lack of political will in implementing these laws, plus lackadaisical enforcement and monitoring, has resulted in making a mockery of the mandatory norms that are supposed to reduce the harmful environmental impact of inappropriate design in the construction sector.

We tend to ape the West in everything, including building design, without reference to its appropriateness for our tropical climate and our resource constraints. In the name of modernity, it has become fashionable to build malls and office blocks with liberal use of glass, which shuts off natural ventilation of the kind that our indigenous building traditions specialised in, resulting in the need for air- conditioning which, in turn, guzzles energy. In order to use airconditioning, buildings need insulation. With insulation norms written into the guidelines for getting a ‘green’ rating from the authorities, construction design which does not call for insulation, becomes anomalously ‘substandard’.

Glass leads to heat ingress (in our hot and humid climate), plus glare. Using artificial lighting and blinds further increases energy use and costs (taking into account not only running costs but also the energy guzzling processes in the manufacture of these components, compared to traditional materials like brick and wood). Besides, working under artificial lighting and poor ventilation causes depression and psychological disorders, as medical studies have confirmed. So why are we abandoning the wisdom that is embedded in our own building traditions that included jaalis, jharokas and courtyards? Vitrified tiles are highly energy intensive; why are they seen as a ‘fashion statement’ and something to flaunt?

Compressed bricks are eco-friendly and stronger than ordinary bricks. Builders and buyers do not take such facts into account, partly because there is little information available in the public domain about green measures, environmental costs and paybacks, not to mention the lack of coordination between the different ministries (urban affairs, environment, town planning). The Minister of Environment does not even have details of buildings and township projects that have got environmental clearance, the book points out.

A few architects have used innovative designs (vernacular architecture, based on Lauire Baker’s designs, has shown that it is possible to build very aesthetic and beautiful edifices such as the offices of the CIEDS collective and Vimochana in East Bangalore, with plenty of natural lighting and cool terracotta roofing using indigenous materials). Dwellings constructed for the tsunami survivors in Tamil Nadu are another example of innovative design that minimises energy use. Auroville, likewise, offers examples of innovative building design that is cost-effective, sustainable, and pleasant to live in, with minimal environmental impact.

The ECBC (Energy Conservation Building Code) does not promote non-AC construction for large commercial buildings. This does not make sense. Buildings that meet the specified norms for energy saving get rewarded in the form of sanction for extra built-up area, fast track clearance, etc. but in the absence of monitoring and checking that the norms spelt out in the rules, and the pre-certification promises have actually been adhered to by the building, such sops end up rewarding defaulters; imposing a fine or penalty becomes ineffective because once the construction is over, the damage in terms of environmental destruction is already done. (In contrast, when a federal building in Ohio failed to meet standards, a media expose led to a $5 million law suit against the greening agency.)

Having an Environment Protection Act (passed in 1986), National Habitat Standards, a National Climate Action Plan, a National Green Tribunal, and a Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) becomes pointless if sustainable practices in construction are not enforced, particularly since a whopping 10 per cent of India’s GDP goes into construction. The developer can “promise the moon and do nothing,” as the report says, once he has got the pre-clearance sanction.

This year’s (2014-15) budget mentioned a target of 100 ‘smart’ cities but the way the building industry is booming without adequate checks on unsustainable design and processes, we are surely headed towards a crisis. Poor monitoring also results in builders showing compliance in the proposals they submit but quietly violating the sanctioned plan. Since the environmental impact assessment rules apply only to construction exceeding 20,000 sq.m. one builder in Delhi split his proposal into two adjacent plans, each of 19,000 sq.m. and went on to combine the two plans while actually building.

The law requiring periodic reporting of energy consumption (to prove compliance with green norms) is not enforced. In the case of the Lavasa Project in Maharashtra, the mandatory public hearing and assessment of its environmental impact report were bypassed. the government’s enforcement authorities, then, are as culpable as builders who cut corners in their pursuit of profits.

Gated communities, the report points out, are extremely inappropriate on several counts – they worsen urban sprawl, flout the guidelines for mixed residential complexes by promoting ghettos, increase commuting times, and increase service delivery costs (water, electricity, roads) over longer distances compared to community blocks within the city. And yet they proliferate.

Waste generated during construction and demolition is another aspect that has received no attention, either from the law-makers or from the builders. Colossal amounts of waste get dumped, sometimes into water bodies (as in Mumbai, where mangroves were flattened with rubble to develop a golf course in Andheri). Debris can also be recycled to reduce the environmental burden of construction. If Singapore recycles 98 per cent of its demolition waste, why can’t we?

Discussions about construction invariably assume that the focus is only on middle and upper income strata. No thought has been given to the requirements of the low-income groups and the need for designing dwelling spaces that combine comfort and safety with low monetary as well as real costs.

Every middle class citizen who plans to own a dwelling should become aware of the points raised by this book about how we can ‘green’ our houses and in the process reach for a better quality of life. (Courtesy: Grassroots)

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In this issue

Whose water is it anyway?
It's a wholly illegal town – George Town
Madras Landmarks - 50 years ago
A Neglected Monument
Century-old Alliance gets a new look
Christmas in old Madras
Losing out on a paid housemanship
Forgetting our building traditions?
D.K.Pattammal & other masters remembered

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