In a conversation with JR Tanti, Managing Director, Synefra E&C, Mitali Saha discovers the aspects of efficiency that must be kept in mind when building responsibly
This approach has been adopted by Synefra E&C in its project, ‘One Earth,’ which has been sustainably developed on an area of 443,473 square feet (10.75 acres) and is expected to be one of the largest green building projects in the country. One Earth has the capacity to accommodate around 2,300 employees, and is so named as a tribute to earth’s unique existence as a self-replenishing eco-system. An overall 20 per cent project cost saving in comparison to a similar scale project has been reaped. One Earth has been built on the principles of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) and Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment (GRIHA), the national rating system of India developed by TERI. In an exclusive with TJCD, Mr Tantri reveals his passion for sustainable property development.  Could you discuss some energy and water efficiency practices?Energy consumption, which largely contributes towards disturbing the environment, is one of the key issues addressed during green building. At one of our projects, One Earth, which is the corporate headquarters of a multi-national, we drastically reduced the Heating, Ventilating and Air Conditioning (HVAC) load by cutting building heat gain. We insulated the building by incorporating water-cooled HVAC systems that consume 40 per cent less natural energy than conventional HVAC systems.
Lighting is another area that needs attention if we are to be more accountable towards the environment. At One Earth, we reduced the lighting load on the facility by incorporating efficient light fixtures along with daylight and motion sensors. The architectural design harvests maximum daylight, allowing almost 90 per cent of the occupants to not switch to artificial sources during the day. The corporate campus functions totally on renewable energy sources, achieved by the installation of offsite wind turbines as well as an onsite wind-solar hybrid system. As much as 6 per cent of the total energy requirement is satisfied from onsite generation of green power. Building operation and maintenance is an important activity which will run throughout the building life cycle. To manage it effectively and achieve energy efficiency, we have adopted an integrated building management system i.e. complete automation of all the important services. This system keeps a close watch on all energy and water consumption, helping reduce operational cost and monitoring performance and wastage. Saving water is another deciding element for a green building. To save water, we used low-flow fixtures, dual-flushing systems and sensor-based fixtures. Apart from this, we have installed a sewage water treatment plant at the site and the same water is re-used for gardening, flushing and HVAC, ensuring minimal wastage. An important decision was to collect huge amounts of rainwater, sort it and use it as required. Rainwater is collected in rainwater tanks which can accommodate three days’ worth of average rainfall from the entire area. This water, after treatment, is also used for gardening, HVAC and flushing.  What other green measures have been taken keeping in mind the well-being of residents and workmen?The health and well-being of the occupants, as well as construction workers, was a top priority for us. We initiated many efforts for working labour safety and achieved ‘zero accidents’ during construction. Good sanitation facilities, crèches for all construction workers’ children with teaching facilities and regular health check-up camps were organised for the workers.
Material selection is an important activity, as each material has embedded energy. Assessing and using low-energy materials makes the space more environment-friendly. Sourcing the right materials is the key to choosing a more sustainable option. At One Earth, not only were low-energy materials selected, but there was also a preference for local materials, which helped to substantially reduce transport costs. Building occupants have almost 30 per cent more fresh air inside the building than a conventional building of this scale, and almost 90 per cent of the people here have an outside view to experience daylight changes and seasons. Natural light is proven to make the indoor atmosphere healthy and less stressful. A burning issue in all the metros today is waste management. To minimise any load on the municipal corporation, we initiated the process of waste segregation at source and treatment onsite. All recyclable waste is sent for recycling. Tie-ups have been undertaken with local government-approved organisations for responsible disposal of e-waste and other hazardous waste. An organic waste convertor helps recycle onsite organic waste such as paper, horticulture waste and food waste. All organic waste is converted into rich organic manure and used as landscape manure. What are the new technologies that need to become more accessible and economical for wide-spread use? There is tremendous scope for innovation in the field of infrastructure. Today, when the need for both industrial and commercial infrastructure is high-solution providers, they are compromising on quality due to time constraints. Air-conditioning which is one of the major energy-consuming services in buildings, can be re-thought. A water-cooled VRV system is a non-explored technology which consumes almost 40 per cent less energy than conventional systems. An organic waste converter is another available, but rarely-used technology, which would reduce the unnecessary burden on civic bodies as well as generate organic by-products which can be further utilised for better living. The use of LED is more energy-efficient than using compact fluorescent lamp (CFL) lights and needs to be popularised and implemented widely. This innovation is a tremendous resource lying untapped due to set conventions and thought processes of designers. Maxmising the use of natural light while designing and installing renewable resources like photovoltaic cells, conventional solar panels and domestic wind turbines needs to be promoted widely. What is the market acceptability of these projects and in which areas is there a need for regulatory action? The end user today has definitely become more informed and is demanding value for every penny spent. Hence, there is definitely a demand for properties with open areas, landscaped areas, daylight access and efficient light fixtures to reduce electricity bills and provide comfort. Just as users are asking for value for their money, developers need to wake up to the fact that green cannot be sold as luxury, but as an essential. They need to design, plan, build, execute, and if required, operate and maintain, in order to translate more beneficial green projects that are economical in the long run. Services and utilities, comprising mainly HVAC, lighting, electricals and water, are the major sectors where green can revolutionise the way we deal with projects. If innovative and efficient resources are tapped by engineers and architects, great results can be achieved. Sustainable development has to become a way of life and companies must continue to improve practices and innovate in each and every area of infrastructure development as well as project management. There is high potential demand for sustainable and green infrastructure in the future and forward-looking players must position themselves into a space that presently seems to have large vacancies. Unless governments integrate mandates pertaining to the requirement of green building criteria in existing town planning and local bodies’ procedures, it would become difficult to implement or simplify green practices in construction. A very real and sincere intention of Central, state and local bodies to implement regulations can be witnessed today, but a synergy and connect with existing systems along with necessary changes in existing laws and regulations is the need of the day. |
