Applying “Green” Thought

Building: Wipro Technology

Location: Gurgaon, India

Build in area: 1,75,000SqFt

Architect: Ar.Vidur Bharadwaj

                  Design & Development

                  consultants

Significance:        Platinum Rated green building

Rated by:             USGBC-LEED (US Green Building Council -Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) through CII IGBC, Hyderabad

www.igbc.in 

Year awarded       2005                                                 

Points Scored       57/69

Energy consumption Statistics

·        Estimated cost of construction                     INR 36.69 crore

·        Increase in cost of construction                   8%

·        Payback years                                           5 years

·        Contract Demand                                     1040 Kw

·        Normal building electricity consumption     43,77,043 Kwh/annum

·        Actual building consumption                      21,09,000 Kwh/annum

·        Daytime building (12 hours/day)

·        Comparison between May-Sep 06 and May-Sep 07

Non-LEED building                           506 kWh /person /month

LEED rated building                          329 kWh /person /month

·        Reduction in energy consumption             48%

·        Annual energy saving INR in millions        10.2

                                               

                                                                  

 Architect’s design intent                                                                

The main focus of the design in WIPRO technology, Gurgoan is the inverted cone, the tip of which symbolizes the seed of this software world which grows both horizontally and vertically. This dynamic flower symbolizes the growth of technology. Wipro project was targeted for platinum with very little extra cost

About the project

The Wipro-Gurgoan center has a built up area of    1,60,000 sq ft built on a 1.12 acre plot includes two basements and G+5 floors. The Center houses 1,305 people.

Architect: Vidur Bharadwaj (Design & Development Consultants) Structural designs:  M/s. Juneja Structural Consultants L & T, Blue Star and Johnson Controls were others involved.

Energy consultants: CII was the LEED consultant supported by EDS    

Commissioning agents: Godrej & Boyce

                            

Building design

Project demographics

·        Gurgoan, NCR Delhi, India

·        2.0km from NH –8, corner plot

·        Orientation           South-East

·        Wind direction     NE-SW

·        Climatic Zone       Composite

·        The main circulation spines both horizontal and vertical and originates from this dynamic public realm.

·        This public realm forms a link between outside and the inside world. People meet in this realm to exchange ideas and information.

·        Meeting rooms, conferences, training room, library, cafeteria form part of this public area

Wipro Technologies Development Centre's courtyard design is inspired by the traditional inward looking haveli plan that performs varied functions –

·        designed to form a light well

·         acts as a micro-climate generator, thus reducing energy consumption;

·        mutual shading of the courtyard walls keeps them cooler than outside walls;

·        a big water-body and vegetation in the middle of the courtyard reduces its temperature by evaporative cooling.

·        free cooling method or blowing natural air that passes through air filters is used for         the building, again saving on electricity by not using air conditioners

·        AAC walls, insulated rooftops and terrace gardens that again reduce the solar gain of the building.

·        grass concrete pavers on the outside surface of the building area reduce storm water run-off and decrease the heat-island effect caused by asphalt pavers.

·         terrace gardens at various levels and the grass concrete pavers help to filter sediments and pollutants from storm water before it reaches the rainwater-harvesting pits.

·        channeling the direction of sunlight and wind, insulating walls and having the right kind of windows.

Glass Design

·        The overall Window Wall Ratio (WWR) for the building is 21.7%.

·        Glass specifications were developed very carefully in order to enhance available daylight in the space and maintain visual comfort for occupants

·        Requirement of high performance glazing with high visual light transmission to efficiently use the day lighting, allowing the natural lighting to enter into the building

Windows Shading / Recessed Windows

·        Exterior lighting shelves / slab projections to shade the daylight glazing. The west façade uses vertical Fins to cut-off the low sun angles during late afternoon.

·        Deeper Recessed windows with wider light shelves on south east and south west façade

·        Vertical fins to protect terrace and Windows from low west sun

·        Recessed windows with shallower light shelves on north east façade

·        Design of light shelves

·        Vegetation reduce temperature of the court by evaporative cooling

·        Design inspired by the traditional inward looking haveli plan.

·        Solid walls, with recessed peep windows, face outside

·        Compact building, greater transparency towards courtyard

·        Mutual shading of the courtyard walls

Glass solution for day-lighting & energy efficiency strategy

Saint-Gobain’s 5mm SGG Planitherm Pristine White - advanced thermal control glass with 12mm air gap and 6mm SGG Parsol Green was selected as the final glass solution after a detailed study

·        Visual light transmission    53%

·        Solar Factor SF                            0.38

·        U value                               1.8W/SqmK

         

Green Building Features

Varied features were incorporated in the building which helped it to go Green.

Materials and Resources:

·        With the increased concern over resource depletion, the concept of ‘Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle’ (3R) was the need of the hour

o   Resource Reuse: More than 10% of the building materials used was salvaged from the old building.

o   Recycled Content: Some materials used in the project, like fly ash based aerated aerocon (AAC) blocks, acoustic cladding, glass, ceramic tiles and MDF boards had recycled content in them and accounted for more than 10% of the cost of building materials that went into the structure cost comprises of materials with high recycled content.

·        Local materials: More than 95% of the building materials were sourced from within 500 miles of the project site.

·        Rapidly renewable materials: MDF boards were used for interior partitions. These were made from materials like bagasse, agricultural waste, etc.

·        Certified wood: More than 75% of virgin wood used in the building is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council.

·        During Excavation the top layer fertile soil was removed and reused for greenery purposes.

·        All the existing trees (57) were left untouched though they limited the workspace.

·        Vertical excavation was done to prevent the removal of trees. Since excavation depth was more than 9 m, L&T introduced state-of-the-art Nailing Concept for vertical excavation.

Energy Efficiency

·        Energy conserved was to the tune of 51% vis-à-vis ASHRAE 90.1 requirements.

·        Various energy efficient features incorporated in the building have made this possible. The building envelope is constructed of fly ash based AAC blocks, double glazed windows with high efficiency glass from Saint-Gobain.

·        75mm thick expanded polystyrene insulation is provided in the roof against heat penetration.

·        Other energy efficient features in the building are solar thermal heating for hot water, chiller COP of 6.1, double skinned AHU’s , VFD’s for fans, pumps.       

Water Conservation

·        Water efficiency too was an integral part of the building through the use of recycled water for irrigation in the campus and use of high efficiency irrigation systems.

·        A sewage treatment plant operating on extended aeration process treats the entire Waste water discharged from the building. 

Indoor Environment Quality

Some features which enhance the indoor environment quality at WIPRO Gurgaon are:

·        CO2 Monitoring Sensors are provided inside the air-conditioned spaces to ensure that the concentration is maintained within acceptable limits of 530 ppm differential with the outside environment

·        Low emitting material -The Paints, Adhesives and Sealants used in the building are low in emitting VOC

·        An internal courtyard provides extensive day lighting to the building occupants

·        A unique feature of the building is controllability of systems. To enhance occupant comfort, individual controls viz., temperature and airflow, have been provided. This is the first green building in India to have this facility

Storm Water Management

·        Rain water run-off is not discharged into the municipal drainage but used to recharge the ground water

Transportation

·        Parking, shower and changing facilities have been provided for the bicyclists

·        Reserved parking for car pooling

·        Bus pooling for employees

·        Battery charging facility for electric cars

Lighting

·        Managed exterior lighting with low height units to reduce disturbance to neighboring areas

·        Reduced energy consumption using energy efficient dimmable ballasts and movement sensors of Wipro lighting

·        Use of light shelves for increasing the natural lighting in the building resulting in low density requirement

The site was awarded “Certificate of Merit” for Zero Accident Rate during the year April 2004-March 2005. The clients commended ECC for maintaining quality standards, workmanship, timely completion and contribution towards LEED Certification.

Green points at Wipro Technologies Development Centre

·        82.2% of the total roof area is green, covered with terrace gardens

·        27% of the external area has concrete grass pavers and 17% is covered with vegetation

·        100% of the water is recycled

·        50% of occupants have personalised temperature, light and thermal conditions

·        75% of the area is daylit

·        95% of workspaces have direct access to outside view

·        46% saving in the electricity bill by channeling natural light and air

·        Wood used in construction of building sourced from shipwrecks from Jamnagar port

·        Cafeteria furniture hand-picked from chor bazaars (flea markets)

·        Leftover building material used for landscaping external area

·        Photocell-based controls automatically dim available light based on daylight, reducing energy wastage

·        Daylight Sensors The interiors have an access to daylight and this has been achieved with the selection of glass with higher visible transmittance. Energy model by using daylight sensors, which dim / switch off interior lights depending on daylight

Thoughts on sustainable concept

“Applying thought, Wipro’s positioning statement governs all our actions and guides to go beyond the ordinary. This guided us right through the proc ess from the original concepts to the final percepts,” says SS Ramesh – General Manager (Civil Infrastructure) Wipro. 

Team Members

Anand Pratap Singh                              Resource Engineer

N. Hariharan                                        Planning Engineer

Ar.Vidur Bharadwaj                             Design & development consultant

M/s.Spectral consultant Pvt.Ltd            HVAC consultants

M/s. Juneja Structural Consultants        Structural consultants

L & T                                                  Builder

CII                                                      LEED consultant

EDS                                                    Energy consultant

Godrej & Boyce                                 Commissioning agent

The building has been awarded the prestigious Leed Platinum Rating by the US Green Building Council and has the unique distinction of having received all the 57 points attempted.

Advanced Solar Control Glass - SGG ENVISION

SGG Envision is an advanced solar control and thermal insulation glass manufactured by depositing a coating of metallic oxides by magnetically enhanced cathodic sputtering under vacuum conditions onto clear or body-tinted glass. This coating gives the glass its solar control and thermal insulation properties and its distinctive appearance. SGG Envision gives a spectrally selective solar control performance together with excellent thermal insulation properties.

SGG Envision has higher light transmission, low reflectance and is more transparent than other solar control glasses.

So why do you need reflective glass for energy-efficiency?

As an architect or builder, your building needs to comply with the Energy Conservation and Building Code (ECBC) brought out by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), Ministry of Power, Government of India. This code is essentially a document that specifies the energy performance requirements for all commercial buildings that are to be constructed in India. Buildings with an electrical connected load of 500 kW or more are covered by the ECBC.

Some of the elements of a building for which the ECBC provides design norms for are:

• Building envelope, including thermal performance requirements for walls, roofs, and windows
• Lighting system, including daylighting, and lamps and luminary performance requirements
• HVAC system, including energy performance of chillers and air distribution systems

A key concept to understand the code is the Window to Wall Ratio (WWR)

Window Wall Ratio is the ratio of the building's total window area, measured to the outside of the frame, to the gross exterior wall area

Window wall ratio = Total Glazing / Total gross area 

X = Vision area
Y = Total Gross wall area
Window Wall area = X / Y

Climatic Zones 
The code takes in to consideration the climatic conditions. There are 5 distinct climatic zones in India and the ECBC takes in to account these climatic zones for Building Envelop Design. 

• Hot & Dry (Ahmedabad)
• Warm & Humid (Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkotta)
• Composite (New Delhi)
• Temperate (Bangalore)
• Cold (Shillong)

Compliance Approach
Compliance with the ECBC can be accomplished through three different approaches, depending on the flexibility desired, expertise available, and general process that the designer finds suitable to the project.

The Code provides three options for compliance: 
Component Base Approach (Prescriptive): It specifies the minimum performance requirement for each building components like windows, walls, lighting, air-conditioning etc. This approach is quick and easy to use but somewhat restrictive because requirements have to be met exactly as specified for each component depending on climatic zones .

System Based Approach (Trade-Off): It allows the designer to trade enhanced energy efficiency in one component against decreased energy efficiency in another component thereby offering flexibility. This trade-offs typically occur between components of major building system eg: envelope, lighting and or mechanical system. The Solar factor or the Solar Heat gain coefficient of the prescriptive requirements can be traded off with the use of the shading devices/overhangs and/or side fins.

Whole Building Design Analysis Approach (Performance): It compares a proposed design with a reference design and demonstrates the proposed design is more energy efficient than the reference design. This approach allows greater flexibility and is done using sophisticated software and ensures that the energy performance index of the building is as mandated by ECBC.

The following are the compliance requirements with respect to the glazing of buildings for energy-efficiency. 

Compliance Requirement : Glass Light Transmission
WWR	Minimum Light Transmission
< 30%	27%
31% to 40%	20%
41% to 50%	16%
51% to 60%	13%
61% to 70%	11%

Compliance Requirement : Heat Gain through glazing
Climate Factor	WWR Ratio
	≤ 40%		41% to 60%
	SF or SHGC	U Value	SF or SHGC	U Value
Hot & Dry	0.25	3.3	0.2	3.3
Composite	0.25	3.3	0.2	3.3
Warm & Humid	0.25	3.3	0.2	3.3
Moderate	0.4	6.9	0.3	6.9
Cold	0.51	3.3	0.51	3.3

Ways to Build Your Own Green Home

Lately there is a big fuzz going on every where regarding Water Consumption, Environmental Causes, Protecting the Earth from toxics, Recycling & Going Green. But most of us forget that we can do our part of “BEING GREEN” from our home itself. Saving Energy means saving money. But if the right ways are not known while building ones Green Home, it can turn out to be your worst nightmare. Rather it gets more complicated when you already have a house and building another house seems out of the question. So some of the basic ways to build your own house greener are below:

Window Orientation:-The first thought while remodeling the house is about the windows. Window size plays a major impact on the energy efficiency of a building. The most important orientation aspect to consider is the direction your house and windows face and their solar access. Window safety should also be kept in mind. Accident prone areas of the house should be fitted with GRADE” A” safety glass.

Water saving: - Fixing the loose faucet, toilet leeks and replacing the old fixtures and shower heads. People having lawn and outdoor plants should water them in the early morning or evening hours to reduce evaporation. Watering the lawn on windy days should be avoided.
• Use a broom instead of a hose to clean the driveway or sidewalks. Use a mug of water when brushing your teeth, shaving or washing your hands and face. Instead of a shower or tub bath, use a bucket.
• Consumption of rain water also helps in saving water.

Electricity saving:-Turning off the electronic appliances when you’re not using them helps you in saving thousands of kilograms of carbon dioxide a year.
• Replace incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescents (CFLs).
• Buy a laptop instead of a desktop.If you buy a desktop, get an LCD screen.
• Sunlight can be used in many different ways to save energy. Use a solar water heater.

Natural and Recycled Material:-For truly green house natural, local or recycled materials as the main ingredient in your building.Use cheap and readily available materials like earth and straw. Likewise Cob is a simple, labor-intensive method of building with earth. If you want to build a house then high-end finishing materials should be avoided.
Consider building a house without a pitched roof. Choose at least one or two walls of your home as a green building project when possible, like earth-bag walls or recycled cordwood walls. Use less wood.

Glass and Orientation for Green Buildings

Glazing of a green building should reflect harmony of daylight and shading, views and protection, energy conservation, cost of material as well as highlight the individual character of the building.

The usage of high performance glass contributes towards achieving several points in the LEED rating system, and helps reduce energy consumption as well as increase the comfort of occupants. Glass selection for a Green Building has to be a well thought out affair to maximize the benefits from the glazing. Low quality glass would increase energy consumption for air conditioning unnecessarily, while a darker glass would increase artificial lighting load. Also the design of glazed areas in the building has great impact on energy consumption - daylight as well as maintenance costs too. An excellent design of a green building with respect to glazing requires a dedicated architect and inputs from the glass manufacturer, the green building consultant and a façade consultant. There are a few thumb rules, which help everyone in the design team to make the building energy-efficient and comfortable for the occupants:

Orientation:
East & West

The east and west side of the building façade receives a lot of direct radiation, this heats up the building and allows sunlight to enter through the glass which may result in glare and discomfort to the occupants.

Green measures focus on choosing a low Solar factor glass and also plan for some passive designs like: shading. Preferably the east and west façade of the building should have lesser openings or glass with high solar performance compared to south and north facades. Non air conditioned areas like staircases, lift shafts, machine rooms, wash rooms and corridors can be oriented as buffer spaces on the east and west. Glazed areas on these orientations should be optimized and/or shaded from direct sunlight. Some of the architectural design strategies of fenestration system include vertical fins. Glass must indicate a low solar heat gain coefficient (SHGC) and a low U-value. High performance glass double glazed with solar control coating provides insulation from solar and thermal heat gain.

North & South

North and South Façades of the building are the best orientations to maximize benefits from glass ie for day lighting. Workstations, offices and regularly occupied areas find best conditions if oriented to these sides. Green building design achieves to strike a balance of bringing daylight into the space and shading windows from direct sunlight. For south façade glazing overhangs help in cutting solar heat gain through windows.

The selected glass for this orientation should have a low U-value and a high VLT to allow sufficient daylight into the room.

There are numerous other green building strategies to optimize the use of glass and selection of the correct glass type which include:

-Energy Simulation and Daylight Simulation
A computer assisted simulation helps to make a decision on the right glass type as well as the shading strategies. Energy savings can be calculated and different types of glazing solution can be compared on a case to case basis.

-Window-Wall Ratio
The wall to window ratio in a green building should be between 25% - 45% depending on the design of the building. Spandrel glazing can be used additionally.

-Shading Devices
For maximum glazed areas it shading devices like louvers, blinds or fins can be introduces. Best Results can be achieved if the shading device is optimized for the specific orientation and installed on the outside.

-Double Glazed Units
Double glazed units maximize the benefits from the glazing and are a prerequisite to many green standards as they provide a much higher insulation value (U-value) compared to single glass.

-Building Integrated Photovoltaic
Photovoltaic panels can also be integrated in the façade to simultaneously tap the solar energy to generate electricity.
The different green building strategies are part of a series initiated by GlassisGreen.com and will be discussed over the next few months. For more information on the topic please write to
designstudio@saint-gobain.com

Green Healing; LEED Certified Health Care

Author: Ar Mayank Kaushal (Max Healthcare)

The new trend in India is to craft green buildings by focusing on environment friendly options which are LEED rated, ECBC compliant or Griha rated. Also, the sudden wake in the construction industry is good for the country as a whole, and one cannot sideline factors like environmental protection, global warming, and good and healthy building construction practice among others in this infrastructure growth.

Max Healthcare, having created a distinction in healthcare with a clear focus on service and medical Excellencies, also nurtures a vision to incorporate the best practices in its infrastructure. With a built up area of approx 0.23 million sq.ft , The “Max Super Specialty Hospital” in Patparganj received LEED India Gold Rating under IGBC and is the First LEED certified Hospital Building of Northern India and also the first building in Delhi to be awarded the Gold Rating with LEED Certification.

It houses 258 bed facilities with best patient care services in sync with the technology and strives to merge sustainable features within the complex services of a Tertiary Care Super Specialty Hospital Building. It is designed to enhance the maintenance of health, rather than the management of disease, reduce stress by creating a more relaxed environment and support inmates’ dignity and identity. The basic design principles include, ‘the healing environment’, patient focus, energy efficiency, life cycle costing involving a wealth of previous experience/post occupancy evaluation, knowledge of current and future trends, value for money, community involvement with cultural references, natural light and views, clarity of entrances and circulation (people oriented).

The hospital uses energy-efficient light fixtures which reduce the power consumption and further the air-conditioning power load because of less heat from fixtures. The power consumption (post survey) shows reduced energy levels of more than 18 percent which includes power usages of machines and equipments used in the hospital. The building also maintains the LPD (Light Power Density) of as low as 0.7 watts per sq.ft. of area which is very low for hospital lighting design. Power savings are achieved without sacrificing the Lux level of such a critical environment, the hospital maintains the Lux required by NBC (National Building Code).
The project has given significant importance to air-conditioning, heat reduction and incorporated passive green measures such as High performance solar & thermal insulated double glazed glass windows and facade, reflective roof top tiles etc, to reduce maximum heat impact on the building. The building follows ASHRAE (American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air-conditioning Engineers) which is the bench mark standard for HVAC and is known for their accuracy in calculating permutations and combinations for savings (LEED recognizes and follow these standards). The hospital uses R134a, which is worldwide considered as safe refrigerant. Post completion, stringent indoor air quality checks were carried out on-site to ensure that the best quality of air is circulated for the end users. To maintain good air quality standards, the hospital has also used low VOC compounds for all finishing materials such as paints, adhesives, etc.

Glass being the only construction material that provides the benefits of daylight integration & blending of interiors with exteriors (Outdoor views) helped achieve the objectives of being green and enhancing aesthetics required for a temple of healing. The introduction of daylight and outside views at strategic points within the building plan enhance the quality of the internal environment - mandatory for a hospital environment. Productivity of building users (Working staff) & mental harmony of the patients & visitor increases within a properly ventilated day lit and well designed environment. The building is designed to use less energy, with a more economical running and maintenance cost in the long term. The design of the project focuses on careful attention to, Orientation, design and planning for user comfort rather than the costly innovation or high maintenance controls. Glass brought into the design - the advantage of being a clean & easy maintainance material that also helps bring in a Hygienic & clean environment.

Saint-Gobain advanced Solar Control & thermal insulation Low-e glass SGG Tropica Green (KT 440) was used for the glass facade for building envelope. The Glass with adequate light transmission of 30% allows soothing natural daylight - eliminating the use of artificial lights during daytime operation & use of venation blinds. The High Solar & thermal properties of 0.20 & 1.8 W/SqmK respectively reduce the heat gain and hence the cooling requirements. The low internal reflection of 12% eliminates "Mirror effect" that occurs during evenings when artificial lights are ON, this is a key aspect of design intent for glass selection because it allows vision beyond the carpet area & eliminates "Claustrophobic" effect due to enclosed spaces - again a welcome atmosphere for a healing environment. The Green Colour symbolizes harmony and brings in a sense of faster cure for the inmates - the patients.

The UV transmission of glass is as low as 6%, a key functional aspect that helps keep the lit interiors safe from harmful and hazardous UV radiation.
Keeping all LEED certification measures as top priority, Max Healthcare has declared its commitment towards the environment protection campaign. The Max Super Specialty Hospital Palparganj will now encourage and accelerate the global adoption of the concept of a Green Building and has become a paradigm not only for the upcoming hospitals, but also for the green building aspirants of the nation.

Thus, choosing a right glass contributed to the project's expectations of becoming a green citadel of healing.

Max Super Speciality Hospital’ in Patparganj, New Delhi.
Owner - Max Healthcare Institute Ltd.
Chief of projects - Mr Pritipal Singh
International Architect - Ar Richard Wood (Wood Associates)
Lead Architect - ArApurva Srivastava (Max Healthcare)
Project Architect (Green Building Coordinator)- ArMayank Kaushal (Max Healthcare)
Project Manager - Mr Vijay Kumar Tyagi
Plumbing Consultants – Kothari Associates.
Local Architect – Kothari Associates
Electrical Consultants - Kanwar KrishenAssociates PvtLtd
HVAC Consultants - Enviorocon Engineering Services
Area - 2,23,593 st ft
LEED Facilitator – Enviornmental Design Solutions

Role of Glass in Green Architecture

Green building design criteria emphasizes the energy-efficient performance of fenestration materials and maximum use of natural daylight. Given this background,
Glass is an indispensable material for green building. It has wide range of functional benefits. Its transparency allows day lighting of the interiors and integrates the interiors with the exteriors. Studies have proven time and again that this substantially improves the productivity and health of the occupants of the building.

Glass is completely recyclable and non-toxic in nature. It satisfies all the ecological parameters of being the most sought after “green” building material in Green Buildings. Moreover it harmonizes a structure with its environment.

Glass has varied “Green” benefits of which some of them are:

• Day lighting - The use of glass brings in lot of light that helps in giving high amount of natural day lighting instead of depending solely on artificial lighting thus reducing considerably electricity consumption.

• Blending interiors with exteriors (Views) - Glass facades give a spectacular view of the outside world from the cozy interiors.

• Recyclability - Glass being recyclable satisfies the important parameter of being a “Green” building material.

• Achieving energy efficiency - High performance glass helps in controlling the solar and thermal heat in the interiors and helps to maintain the temperature at its minimum best and in turn helps to tone down the air-conditioning expenses.

• Innovative application - Being very flexible building material Glass helps to satisfy and capture an architect's utmost imagination in its shape and form.

• Controls noise: Double glazed glass facades help in achieving a high degree of acoustic comfort by keeping away noise penetrating from the exteriors to the interiors thus ensuring a calmer atmosphere inside.

• Self Cleaning: The future belongs to self cleaning Glass which keeps itself clean on its own and brings out an ever sparkling effect.