green building... leads to concrete jungle.

[manas rajkumar]

I have been wondering how a building is rated as green building.... the organization may list down there fulfill needs like optimum use of energy.. use of solar device or else terrace gardening..... but the thing is that why should not we see the amount of steel use which is manufacture from the iron ores that are produce from ores mining... and mining means digging of earth core which lead to earth exploitation .. and the amount of cement.. which   means crushing of lime stone and many minerals...,brick , crushed stone bombing of many rocky mountains .. etc..

Every people know about these concern's but no one is steping ahead to the government because India is lacking behind in infrastructure due to the growth of population but if will not stop these concrete jungle's how to make the environment green....

May my writing is raw but i just want to contribute my views and concern about the exploitation of our earth ,as i am a architecture student we should come forward with new techniques which may help to our environment n our future generation may see green world.

We should also discusses about vernacular techniques as well some short of technology which will prove to  be a booming in coming future in construction buildings..

[Love Goyal]

Any developing country like India is suffering from this problem. But with India, this problem increases many folds due to such a large population, a considerable portion of which is deprived of even basic necessities. So, politically, i think, India gives priority to economic development rather than sustainable development. I hope you are able to connect this with the context of the post like i am.

But on our part, we can TRY and keep trying to develop a sustainable future. i would like to say that there are many, probably infinite, approaches to achieve what we want, which MUST take up simultaneously. One of the approaches is, to efficiently use whatever we use, and to even minimize it to a considerable extent. Green buildings are examples of such an approach. And this is a popular one.

And like you, i too think we (at least some of us) should also explore the area of alternative approaches. But i feel its relatively more difficult in the given situation. There are much less factors which motivate us and help us than those which inhibit and prevent us in doing so. In Particular, financial support, infrastructure and guidance.

So what we need is to develop enough motivation in ourselves, to raise a little above the instant monetary benefits and to steadily work towards a greener world.

[manas rajkumar]

yup i agree and you said the truth... we need motivation and beside that we have to organize seminar to aware people in state like assam..... once upon a time its a greenest place but now it deprive more n more.

Love Goyal said:

Any developing country like India is suffering from this problem. But with India, this problem increases many folds due to such a large population, a considerable portion of which is deprived of even basic necessities. So, politically, i think, India gives priority to economic development rather than sustainable development. I hope you are able to connect this with the context of the post like i am.

But on our part, we can TRY and keep trying to develop a sustainable future. i would like to say that there are many, probably infinite, approaches to achieve what we want, which MUST take up simultaneously. One of the approaches is, to efficiently use whatever we use, and to even minimize it to a considerable extent. Green buildings are examples of such an approach. And this is a popular one.

And like you, i too think we (at least some of us) should also explore the area of alternative approaches. But i feel its relatively more difficult in the given situation. There are much less factors which motivate us and help us than those which inhibit and prevent us in doing so. In Particular, financial support, infrastructure and guidance.

So what we need is to develop enough motivation in ourselves, to raise a little above the instant monetary benefits and to steadily work towards a greener world.

[srinivasan]

I APPRECIATE YOU BOTH FOR THE VIEWS , WHICH I DO ADHERE AND ACKNOWLEDGE, AS 

goyal said green building is  a concept born to reduce wastage of energy ( e.g unnecessary using electricity for show off now cut by glass walls allowing sunlight)

many such initiatives were also born by such ideas exchanged... as an architectural student , you people have to explore various other sources than steel , as earthquake born countries use wood ,card boards etc

in those days people have  built using mud and stones alone ,

but crowding in metropolitan cities have pushed to buildings or else  

we have enough land , and mud houses or any other source would be good , but transportation will be an issue as we still lack on road infrastructure (  due to ploitical corruption)

lets expolre various possibilities ,, good luck

[Monu Kumar Goyal]

your view are true but at the same time we can not stop construction because it is a major path in development of any country...So green building is just a way to reduce or avoid the impact of wrong construction practices..

If building is using steel than at same time green building says to use recycle steel, so it reduces the use of virgin steel ores, same case is with cement, green building promotes use of flyash mixed cement so to avoid virgin contents.

So if can not avoid exploitation of natural resources at least can try to reduce consumption...

[GOPI KANTA GHOSH]

Absolutely right...this question was pricking my conscience since several days. Thanks for posting. I will share.

[Sushant Neville Figueiredo]

Valid point. I dont know the scene in other states but in Mumbai the incentive is if you go for GRIHA Certification, you can skip the queue for EIA clearance (which is massive). However, as soon as pre-certification (only through documentation) is obtained, a vast majority of the builders dont bother about final certification or taking any 'green' measures in the construction.

Point I am trying to make here is slow and steady wins the race. Until the basic issues like water, energy, and site conservation are not tackled and put into practice effectively, issues of such complexity are a long way off. Guess thats the biggest problem of the country, full of ideas and solutions, but super lax with implementation.

[BALA SATYANARAYANA]

Very useful idea. But this should be implemented through the Acts and made compulsory before giving permissions for construction.Government should also encourage this by providing various benifits and schemes to the public.Few states like Karnataka already encouraging the rain water harvesting methods,no permission is granted without this.

[Prof Dr V N Sivasankara Pillai]

Truly to be green the building must be of earth with leaf thatching, water from local well, composting toilet (or biogas toilet with black and gray water used for irrigation. It must be a "parnasala". The green building as advocated today is more of a concrete and glass structure, aiming at energy reduction.

[Vinodh Valluri]

No matter the quality of the language, a solid argument never fails. You hit the nail on the head. Green building, in a way, justifies the greed for more by necessitating new construction. However, it is still  better than the conventional design and engineering cliches which riddle every town and city. Green buildings are supposed to re-use scrap material or salvaged parts, and recycled fiber/ glass/ metal/ and even ceramics and carpets. Another aspect is to redefine the need - e.g., do away with air conditioning and use natural techniques to regulate temperatures. More deeply, one should contemplate on whether there is a real need for more construction (a misnomer for destruction). That way, instead of just 'building', we would be building sustainability.

[sanjaya kumar patnaik]

I think green building is a concept for energy conservation and not concerned with greenery.

[manas rajkumar]

yeah sir i just want to put my concern what you have mention above.... its should be like a vernacular house too get a LEED certified.. why they should certified ambani's house "antalya" as green building where the electric cost came 2 lakh a month...

Prof Dr V N Sivasankara Pillai said:

Truly to be green the building must be of earth with leaf thatching, water from local well, composting toilet (or biogas toilet with black and gray water used for irrigation. It must be a "parnasala". The green building as advocated today is more of a concrete and glass structure, aiming at energy reduction.

[manas rajkumar]

thanx vinod what you have mentioned in your discussion... i really appreciate your views.. scrape material is one good concept i should better incorporate in my projects..  

Vinodh Valluri said:

No matter the quality of the language, a solid argument never fails. You hit the nail on the head. Green building, in a way, justifies the greed for more by necessitating new construction. However, it is still  better than the conventional design and engineering cliches which riddle every town and city. Green buildings are supposed to re-use scrap material or salvaged parts, and recycled fiber/ glass/ metal/ and even ceramics and carpets. Another aspect is to redefine the need - e.g., do away with air conditioning and use natural techniques to regulate temperatures. More deeply, one should contemplate on whether there is a real need for more construction (a misnomer for destruction). That way, instead of just 'building', we would be building sustainability.