ArchitectureDesign_2014-03

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A N I N D I A N J O U R N A L O F A R C H I T E C T U R EA N I N D I A N J O U R N A L O F A R C H I T E C T U R E

VOLUME 31 ISSUE 3

SOCIAL SUSTAINABILITYSOCIAL SUSTAINABILITY

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07 ABOUT THE ISSUE

08 REFLECTIONS

10 UPDATES

16 AWARDS ANNOUNCEMENT

SOCIAL SUSTAINABILITY

22 The Critical Practice of SustainabilityHimanshu Burte

26 Aesthetics of Simplicity Madhu Industries Ltd, Ahmedabad

Kakani Associates, Ahmedabad

34 Sustainable Architecture in The Developing WorldAshok Lall

38 Green Eye My Eye Hospital, Nuvem, Goa

Vikram Varma & Associates, New Delhi

46 Sufficiency Concept in ArchitectureSanjay Prakash

50 A Holistic ApproachCampus for Agilent Technologies at IMT Manesar, GurgaonSHiFt (earlier Sanjay Prakash & Associates), New Delhi

60 Sustainability Beyond Buildings Dr Vinod Gupta and Mohan Rao

68 Minimalist ApproachStudio Building of Shankar Narayan Architects, SecunderabadShankar Narayan Architects, Secunderabad

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF SUNEET PAULSENIOR EDITORIAL ASSOCIATENIJITA NANDAN KADAMARCHITECTURAL ASSISTANTASHNA PURISENIOR SUB EDITORPOTSHANGBAM JULYSECRETARIAL CO-ORDINATORPRITI SHRIVASTAVACREATIVE DIRECTORBIPIN KUMARSENIOR VISUALIZERJOHN ROYMARKETING:BENGALURU: JOY TALAPATRATel: 080-22219578; Fax: 080-22243428 CHENNAI: D KARTHIKTel: 044-28141816, 044-28140159KOLKATA: SUJIT BOSETel: 033-22874298, 033-22805323MUMBAI: PRAKASH ANJALEKARTel: 022-26053702/6; Fax: 022-26053710NEW DELHI: SONA LI ROY (GM)GANESH DIXIT (Manager - Ad Sales)NEERAJ RAWAT (Manager - Marketing)Tel: 0124-4759691; Fax: 0124-4759550PRODUCTIONSUNIL DUBEY (DGM)RITESH ROY (Sr. Manager) DEVENDER PANDEY (Manager)PRE-PRESS EXECUTIVEBRIJESH KUMAR JUYAL MANAGER SCHEDULINGC P SREEDHARAN PRODUCT SALES & CONSUMER SERVICESVIPUL JAIN (Head Retail)ASHISH SAWHNEY (Manager Subscription)REGIONAL MANAGERSSATHYA NARAYANA T S (South)SOMNATH PRAMANIK (East)SUBASH MISHRA (West)MANAGER HR SONYA CAROLINE SHAHEDITORIAL AND ADVERTISING OFFICEMedia Transasia India Pvt. Ltd. Plot No. 323, Udyog Vihar, Phase-4, Gurgaon-122016, Haryana.Ph: 0124-4759500; Fax: 0124-4759550.E-mail: Editorial: [email protected], [email protected] SUBSCRIPTIONCall: Gurgaon: 0124-4759616/17Mobile: 09899414369, Fax: 0124-4759550Mumbai: 022-42467777, Fax: 022-26503710 Bengaluru: 080-22219578, Fax: 080-22243428 Chennai: Telefax: 044-28141816Kolkata: Telefax: 033-22874298Email: [email protected]: www.mediatransasiaindia.com

MEDIA TRANSASIA GROUP

CHAIRMAN J S UBEROIPRESIDENTXAVIER COLLACODIRECTORAMRITA SHAHRACEOPIYUSH SHARMAFINANCIAL CONTROLLERPUNEET NANDA

PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY Xavier Collaco on behalf of MediaTransasia India Pvt. Ltd., having registered office at 323, Udyog Vihar,Phase IV, Gurgaon 122016 and printed at Aegean Offset Printers,220B, Udyog Kendra - 1, Greater Noida (UP)-201306.Editor: Suneet Paul. Opinions expressed in the articles are of theauthors and do not necessarily reflect those of the editors orpublishers. Material published in this magazine may be reproducedonly with written permission from the editors. Every effort will bemade to return submitted material if accompanied by a stamped,addressed envelope, but the editors and publishers are notresponsible for loss or damage. While the editors do their utmost toverify information published they do not accept responsibility for itsabsolute accuracy.

A N I N D I A N J O U R N A L O F A R C H I T E C T U R E

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74 Environmentally Sensitive Practice Chitra Vishwanath

80 Innovative Traditional Systems Hunnarshala Foundation Campus, Bhuj A Case StudySandeep Virmani

PROJECT FEATURE

88 Sinuous StructureMartin Luther Church Hainburg, Austria

COOP HIMMELB(L)AU, Wolf D Prix / W Dreibholz & Partner ZT GmbH, Vienna, Austria

RESIDENCE DESIGN

96 Low Carbon Footprint Homes-Futuristic HomesShreya Dalwadi

102 Urban SustainabilityResidence Design, MogriHARMONY Planning Services Pvt Ltd, Vadodara, Gujarat

A N I N D I A N J O U R N A L O F A R C H I T E C T U R E

What Green architecture represents and how to make our buildings sustainablehas been keenly debated over the years throughout the globe. Differentagencies as we know have brought out various rating mechanisms based onidentified parameters to ascertain the greenness of a building. From being just individualefforts, this process has now got a wider base and has also been institutionalised. A fewmonths back during a conversation with a fellow colleague in the profession, I came toknow about an association of focussed architects who had been very intensely debatingthese issues. They had formulated a group named Gubbi and kept their practices inspiredthrough the exchange of shared ideas which got translated in their architecture. Theybelieve that we need to develop an approach to sustainability that is consistent, anchoredto human and ecological survival, plural and critical. Independence, innovation, opennessand sharing are among the core values that matter most to us. A section of the magazinebrings you across their views and approach to sustainable development in architecture.

In a world today where there is a serious concern towards energy conservation and in adeveloping country such as India with an ever increasing urban population, it thenbecomes all the more relevant to continue exploring and promoting innovative alternativesin architecture to curtail energy consumption. It is here that design has to react to thecontext. We also carry a few projects of theirs which incorporate design solutions asenvisaged by them. These projects bring to the fore the necessity of selection ofappropriate materials and utility of construction technologies that are eco-sensitive. A fewof them also exemplify how these methodologies can be incorporated in largecontemporary institutional projects. There are others which bring forth the significance oftraditional construction and craft to achieve the end goal. They bring us closer toaesthetics of simplicity and minimalism. The architectural vocabulary that they incorporateis attuned to a holistic dimension related to ecology and the basics.It responds to culture,context and local traditions.

We welcome you to join this debate as to further explore venues to reduce emissionlevels and forge a sustaining non-destructive link between man-made structures andnature for a cleaner habitat.

PS: We appreciate the efforts of architects Vinod Gupta and Himanshu Burte to coordinatethe section on Social Sustainability

about the issue

The newly lit Gateway of India, Mumbai

ImageMonthoofftthhee

ARCHITECTURE+ARCHITECTURE+DESIGNM A R C H 2 0 1 4 ` 175

A N I N D I A N J O U R N A L O F A R C H I T E C T U R EA N I N D I A N J O U R N A L O F A R C H I T E C T U R E

VOLUME 31 ISSUE 3

SOCIAL SUSTAINABILITYSOCIAL SUSTAINABILITY

All drawings and visuals for theprojects and articles, unlessmentioned otherwise, are

courtesy the architects/authors.

Residence Design, Mogri(Architects: HARMONY

Planning Services Pvt Ltd,Vadodara, Gujarat)

A modern building should derive its architectural significance solely from the vigour and consequence of its own organic proportions. It must be true to itself, logically transparent, and virginal of lies or trivialities...

Walter Gropius

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MMaarrcchh 22001144 ARCHITECTURE+DESIGN8

Reflections

VanaVana is the prototype for a large scale canopy construction that has

been developed as an iso-surface around an anastomotic network diagram, as the cortex around the venation system. In a continuous transformation, nature merges into architecture, columns merge into the sky and solid merges into

the ephemeral. Designed by New Delhi based architectural firm Orproject, the installation appears to grow like branches of a tree blending into a

continuous canopy that floats above the visitor. It was designed for the India Design Forum and is on display at The Brick House,

Project Jan-Path, New Delhi.

Photo Credit: Sumedh Prasad and Orproject

Project Architects: Rajat Sodhi, Christoph Klemmt; Project Team: Sambit Samant, Manu Sharma

R


Updates

Competitions

The International Garden Festival hasannounced the names of thedesigners selected by the jury for the15th edition. The festival will be heldfrom June 28 to September 28, 2014, atthe Reford Gardens, Qubec.

The jury panel of the current edition

were Ccile Combelle, architect withAtelier Barda and designer of the Sacrpotager garden for the 2013 edition of theFestival; Vincent Lemay, landscapearchitect; Matei Paquin, projectdevelopment director of Moment Factory;Ann Webb, past executive director andpublisher, Canadian Art Foundation andAlexander Reford, director of Jardins deMtis/Reford Gardens and theInternational Garden Festival. The six newprojects that have been selected will befeatured at the 2014 edition. Thedesigners of these projecs are fromCanada, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland

and the United States. The competitionattracted 293 proposals for contemporarygardens submitted by over 700 architects,landscape architects, designers and artistsfrom 35 countries.

The International Garden Festival ispresented with financial assistance frommany public and private partners and eachyear the festival exhibits conceptualgardens created by more than sixtyarchitects, landscape architects anddesigners from various disciplines in anatural environment.

To know more, visit:www.refordgardens.com/english

Saint-Gobain Glass India recently announced the NationalWinners of Transparence 2013 at the Grand Finale inHyderabad during the annual 56th NASA (National Association ofStudents of Architecture) 2014 convention.

Judged by an eminent jury comprising Ar Ranjit Sabikhi, ArShahab Ghani Khan and Ar Mustapha Khalid Palash, thecompetition saw Academy of Architecture, Mumbai, emerged asthe winners. The National Runner up 1 was from IIT-Kharagpurand SPA Vijayawada stood third and COMSATS UniversityIslamabad won the rest of SAARC countries edition ofTransparence. Saint-Gobain also gave away scholarship to threestudents to pursue activities in the field of architecture rangingfrom projects on reusing urban waste to modular shelters forstreet children.

Speaking on the occasion, R Subramanian, managing director,

Saint-Gobain Glass India Ltd, said, Transparence is Saint-Gobainsinnovative response to the changing times the use of glass as asustainable material for design is testimony to this. Transparencehas always aimed to inspire and motivate the student communityto showcase their talent and Transparence 2013 this year, hasbeen a resounding success.

Transparence, an annual design competition for students ofarchitecture and interior design, is a unique initiative by Saint-Gobain Glass to integrate the student community, architects andthe industry. The event is supported by Ms Gita Balakrishnan run'Ethos'. The competition originally being held for Indian studentssince 2005 was made open for the SAARC nations to participatesince 2013.

For more details, visit: www.transparence.in or http://in.saint-gobain-glass.com

Exhibition

New London Architecture (NLA) Londons centre for the builtenvironment is all set to explore the rapidly changing skylineof London through an exhibition titled Londons Growing Up!in April. Through the use of images, videos, models, CGIs andvisitor interactions, the exhibition will present a past, present andfuture view of Londons skyline as the developers focus on buildingupwards rather than outwards. There are over 200 towers, eachmore than 20-storey, currently planned in London and around 150of them are residential blocks. The exhibition will offer anexploration into this highly debated subject.

The exhibition will also explore the significant growth in high-rise residential development. The growing trend of luxury towers iscurrently providing the majority of new developments in thecapital. Areas such as Nine Elms, Waterloo and White City will beexplored, looking at why these new areas are attracting high-rise

development and how luxuryand affordable residences cancoincide in Londons newvertical city.

Peter Murray, chairman ofNLA and curator of LondonsGrowing Up!, commented,

As Londons population gets bigger and bigger and newdevelopment for London takes place within the constraints of theGreen Belt, we have to increase the density of the city. Thisresults in our buildings getting taller. The huge number of towersin the pipeline will have a significant impact on the look ofLondon. The exhibition will look at the current controls andplanning processes to see whether they are fit for purpose andhow they can cope with this upsurge in construction.

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Updates

Award

Blocher Blocher India Pvt Ltd was recently honoured withthe VM&RD Award 2014. The Mondeal Retail Park wonthe prize in the category Shopping Malls & Arcades. Theoutdoor mall in one of the most exclusive areas of Ahmedabad(India) combines retail, services and restaurants withextraordinary architecture. A green, shady plaza makes theoffer complete.

For more information, visit: www.blocherblocher.com

Trade News

Sonear Industriesrecently opened itsfirst Sonear DesignStudio in Jalandhar.The studio is aninnovative retail

concept, spreading over 1000sq ft. The studio houses over 500 designs, 35

textures and numerous plattersof decorative plywood, veneers and

laminates under one roof, sourced fromvarious parts of the world.

Anuj Sangal, director operations (COO),Sonear Industries, said, We wanted tobring in freshness and innovation in theway consumers see the plywood, laminateand veneer category and realised that itcan be done by creating an experientialzone for our consumers, thus the birth ofSonear Design Studio. The retail concept

allows our patrons to bring their familiesand experience the product and optionsavailable. I am glad we have been able tooffer this in Punjab and hope to expandthis concept pan India.

Besides, the studio will have highlytrained and technically competent staffand will assist interior designers andconsumers in making right purchasedecisions.

Dreamworks Consultants has developed a Solar Curtail walland Solar Skylight system for making buildings more energy-efficient. The advantages of these panels are their energypotential and diversity in size, shape, and exceptionalapplicability in construction. They can be used to constructskylight roofing, ventilated facades, curtain walls, canopies andparking lots. With the help of these panels energy usage in abuilding can be preserved and restored, reducing the emission ofcarbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Thermal surroundingmethods can reduce about 20-40 per cent of the energyconsumed by a building.

FORM IV(See Rule 8)

Statement of ownership and other details of the Magazine:

1. Place of Publication : Gurgaon, Haryana

2. Periodicity : Monthly

3. Printer : Xavier CollacoNationality : IndianAddress : Plot 323, Phase IV,

Udyog Vihar, GurgaonHaryana-122016Phone: +91-124-4759500

4. Publishers name : Xavier CollacoNationality : IndianAddress : Plot 323, Phase IV,


5. Editors Name : Suneet PaulNationality : IndianAddress : Plot 323, Phase IV,


6. Names and addresses of individuals who own the magazineand partners or shareholders holding more than one per centof the total capital:Shareholders : (a) Mr. J. S. Uberoi

14th Floor, Orakavin Building, 26, Chidlam Road, Ploenchit, Bangkok, Thailand.

(b) M/s Hitech Realities Private Limited, 5A, Chitra Building, West Avenue, Santa Cruz (W), Mumbai-400054.

I, Xavier Collaco, hereby declare that the particulars given aboveare true to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Date Signature of publisher01 March, 2014 Sd/Xavier Collaco

N


Updates

The Stockholm Design Week

The Stockholm Design Week 2014along with the Stockholm Furnitureand Light Fair, the worlds largest meetingplace for Scandinavian furniture andlighting design was recently held inStockholm. More than 60 high-profile

design events were organised at various venues around the cityincluding the fair which has for more than 60 years attractedpurchasers, architects, designers and journalists toStockholmsmssan and Stockholm each year in February. Withthe fair as its natural hub, the whole city got involved as a largenumber of events, showrooms and parties were organisedduring the Stockholm Design Week. The intent of the organiserswas to create a space to facilitate exchanges for the designers,visitors and press.

Cecilia Nyberg, event manager for Stockholm Furniture &Light Fair and Stockholm Design Week, said, The design weekserves as a meeting place for promoting the furniture andlighting design industry in Scandinavia that extends wellbeyond Stockholmsmssans walls. It is important to us that ourvisitors get as positive an overall experience of the week aspossible. Business and deals are done during the day, while theevenings are intended for mingling and parties in the city. Asthe organizer of Stockholm Design Week, we are delighted tosee the week develop and grow in this way.

The fair attracted around 40,000 visitors from more than 60countries and around 750 companies exhibited their furniture,lighting and textile products with latest innovations in interiordesign and lighting for both homes and public spaces. New

products, materials, trends and new environmental andtechnological solutions were displayed in a both informativeand inspirational manner. The exhibitions were of the highestrate and the seminar programme was extensive. The largestexhibitor nations, apart from Sweden, were Denmark, Finlandand Norway, and around 80 percent of all exhibitors camefrom Scandinavia.

The Danish-Italian design studio GamFratesi, renownedinternational designers, were this years Guest of Honour andcreated the lounge in Stockholmsmssans entrance hallBalance. Their motive was to create an installation to remindman's search for balance, primarily with textile objects.

For us, as for most people, each day is a struggle to findbalance in life. The exhibition we create at Stockholm Furniture& Light Fair is meant to remind us of that. At the same time,

our installation emphasizes the movement of the fairs visitorsthrough the space of the exhibition. Elements hung from theceiling of the enormous entrance hall, dividing it into smaller,more intimate lounge areas. The exhibition combines textilesand metal elements. In addition to being sculptures and roomdividers, the elements are also sound absorbers a featurewhich is invaluable in such a large space, said Stine Gam andEnrico Fratesi, designers - GamFratesi.

Another highlight of the fair was the Greenhouse hall foryoung designers. This year Note Design Studio had designedthis space inspired by the intense social interaction that the fair gives the exhibitor. This was the second year in a row thatNote was commissioned to create a concept for theGreenhouse exhibition.

After an invigorating tenth cycle of & Awards, we are pleased to announce theCall for Entries for the eleventh one. We and our close partners in this endeavour feel

youthfully charged and committed to further fortify this platform to appreciate creativity andintelligent architecture. This strength obviously comes from the overwhelming participation in the

last cycle and the positive vibrations and response from the architectural fraternity. The experienceof the earlier cycles has been very rewarding and educative. We are resolved to bolster this process

that applauds out-of-the-box architectural solutions excelling in functionality, environmentalconcerns, aesthetic values and exuding innovation in a context.

and have pleasure in inviting entries for the different categories and assure theparticipants of their commitment to unbiased, honest and fair jury outcomes, respecting the inherent

dynamic spirit in architecture and design.

ARCHITECTURE+ DESIGN


Announcement

Call for Entries

2014

Award for Residence Design with a DifferenceRs.1,00,000, Trophy & CitationCommendation Trophy for Residence Designwith a DifferenceTrophy & CitationThree Special MentionsCitation(On a plot area up to 2,000sq m)The residence should display somespecial/unique features in design/materialutility/environment concerns, etc.Project Time Frame: Completed within the last8 years, that is between January 2006 andDecember 2013

The Institutional Architecture Award forDesign Development ofInstitutional/Office/Campus BuildingsRs.1,00,000, Trophy & CitationThe Institutional Architecture CommendationTrophy for Design Development ofInstitutional/Office/Campus BuildingsTrophy & CitationThree Special MentionsCitationProject Time Frame: Architectural projectcompleted within the last 8 years, that isbetween January 2006 and December 2013

The Recreational Architecture AwardRs.1,00,000, Trophy & CitationThe Recreational Architecture CommendationTrophyTrophy & CitationThree Special MentionsCitation(For hotels, malls, museums, theaters, parks &public spaces, etc. For this category, please donot send interior related projects.)Project Time Frame: Architectural projectcompleted within the last 8 years, that isbetween January 2006 and December 2013

The Innovative Design Award forOffice/Commercial Utility Interior DesignRs.1,00,000, Trophy & CitationThe Innovative Design Commendation Trophyfor Office/Commercial Utility Design.Trophy & CitationThree Special MentionsCitationProject Time Frame: Architectural projectcompleted within the last 8 years, that isbetween January 2006 and December 2013

The Innovative Design Award for ResidenceInterior Design.Rs.1,00,000, Trophy & CitationThe Innovative Design Commendation Trophy

for Residence Interior Design.Trophy & CitationThree Special MentionsCitationProject Time Frame: Architectural projectcompleted within the last 8 years, that isbetween January 2006 and December 2013

The Young Enthused Architect Award(up to 40 years)Rs.1,00,000, Trophy & CitationThe Young Enthused ArchitectCommendation TrophyTrophy & CitationThree Special MentionsCitationProject Time Frame: Based on two bestprojects submitted

The Golden Architect AwardRs. 2,00,000, Trophy & Citation(For architectural excellence to an architectwho is 50 years and above) Each jurymember of all the respective categorieswould give five nominations. The Awardeewould be selected based on the finalindividual nominations of each jury member.

Creative Thesis Project' MedalMedal & CertificateThese would be given to the three toppersin the thesis projects in their respectivepremier architectural institutes of thecountry. The Award Secretariat would beasking for the recommendations from thethree chosen institutions.Time Frame: Academic Year 2012-2013

The Golden Award for GlobalContribution in ArchitectureTo be awarded to an architect who hascontributed internationally towards thegrowth and development of a purposefularchitecture.

The Golden Award for EmergingArchitectTo award an emerging architect who is inthe process of setting trends/directions forthe architecture for his country. Therecipients for these awards would benominated from Thailand, Turkey, SriLanka, Malaysia and Singapore.

The Hall of Fame AwardTo be awarded to an architect who hasmade a definitive impact through hisarchitecture in shaping society and wholeaves behind a signature through his work.

Individual architects andarchitecture firms interested inparticipating, should send in arequest at the earliest for theentry form worth Rs. 500/-(Fivehundred only) by a demanddraft/cheque favouring MediaTransasia India Ltd., New Delhi.Add Rs. 20/- for outstationcheque.

Participants could send amaximum of two projects perentry form. However, participantsare free to send in as manyprojects for each category.

The various Award categorieswould be adjudged by anesteemed and impartial jury fromthe practicing and academicfraternity in the architectural fieldand allied professions.

Selected/Awardee entries would be retained by the AwardsSecretariat for possiblepublication/display.

All requests for the entry formsshould be addressed to: TheSecretarial Co-ordinator,Architecture+Design & CERAAwards 2014, Media TransasiaIndia Ltd. Plot no. 323, UdyogVihar, HSIIDC, Phase-4,Gurgaon 122 016 (Haryana), Ph:91-124-4759500 (Extn-674) oremail [email protected]

The last date for receiving entrieswould be May 31, 2014

The Award winners would befelicitated at an Award Ceremony.An exhibition of the awardeesprojects would also be held onthis occasion. All the awardees,i.e., the Principal, Commendation,three Special Mentions of eachcategory respectively, the threeCreative Thesis Medal Winnersand all the Jury members would be provided travel/accommodation to attend theAward Function.

ABOUT THE

AWARDS


Advertorial

Trends are changing in home and office interiors, andfurniture plays a vital role in it. Trend is shifting towardsmodular furniture in all the major cities. As it is veryorganised, easy to assemble, very convenient to use and leapahead of traditional carpenter made furniture in terms offinish, look and quality. There has been innovations invarious styling, accessories, fascias, cabinets, lights, etc. Forall those who are looking at making their homes and offices ahead turner and an eye drooling place, modular furniture isthe solution. They are the most progressive way of fabricatingoffice and homes and give them a real great outlook.

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Every Spacewood store boasts of furniture consisting ofvaried styles for the kitchen bedroom, living room, dining,wardrobe and office solutions. Created while keepingcurrent international trends in mind, the collection is allabout oomph and attitude. Spacewood is also a one-stopdestination for all furniture needs for architects, corporates,projects and individuals.

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Kitchens: A modern and chic kitchen helps to deal withthe modern day chores more efficiently and helps to utilisethe space effectively. Modular kitchen furniture is anaggregation of several fittings available in diverse colourpatterns, styles and specifications. A professional designerwould take account of the dimensions and create amodular kitchen that serves the purpose best. Whilemoving to some other place, one may just dismantle andinstall the kitchen in the new house. Its usability andfunctionality are unsurpassed. They are an indispensablechoice for most of the contemporary homemakers. It isconsidered to be the best option for Indian householdssince more storage is needed.

Precision Engineered Furniture ChangingHomescape and Office Spaces of India...


ARCHITECTURE+DESIGNMMaarrcchh 22001144 19

Spacewood is a pioneer in kitchen as every year 50,000plus kitchens cabinets are installed. With an experience inmore than 20 years in kitchens and related components,Spacewood is Indias largest precision engineered furnituremanufacturer. Spacewood is a national brand specialised inkitchens. Designed by professional designers withinternational exposure, they are fully factory assembledand use special cabinet assembly technology which is usedby top German companies. By partnering with leadingGerman fittings brands, the company offers more than 50finishes in kitchens. Customer gets top end kitchen athighly competitive price.

Spacewood kitchens are made on high precision machinesensuring the finishing and accuracy of products, useswaterproof plywood ensuring durability of products, offerswide choices of shutters such as membrane pressedMDF/plywood, acrylic on plywood from Italy giving completeinternational look to the products. All the kitchens are factoryassembled to ensure the smooth movement of drawers andfittings and perfect alignment of cabinets.

It recently launched Sinousa Curve Kitchens, which hasorganic-curve shape. The curve kitchen gives soft look,

ergonomic storage options instead of the conventionalboxy look.

People have strong desire for organic shapes, curves, etc.like fore cars, mobile phones, TV screens, and definitelymodular kitchens are also not left out. Spacewood hasmastered with its latest technology to achieve those curvesand use it in modular kitchens and other furniture.

Customized Wardrobes: Spacewood had redefined thepersonal storages space with its infinity range of wardrobes.These wardrobes are statement of luxury which comes withworld class hardware to enhance functionality and style. Asthe name suggests, the infinity range of wardrobes come withextensive options to fit into any space.

Spacewood uses Bertolucci sliding fittings, which are usedby worlds leading wardrobe manufacturers. This includes100kg door and height up to 10ft. Infinity range has specialfabric finish internals for wardrobes. All these wardrobesperform at par with any European wardrobe. These wardrobesare available with wide choice of mirrors, veneer, high glossand leather finish options. All these come with 30mm thickshelves, soft close drawer, lit on opening of door as options.

Home: Spacewoods home furniture is a perfect balanceof what is new and what is needed. Timeless designs andfunctionality go hand in hand to create harmony in homespaces that are welcoming, relaxing and refreshing and arecrafted to complement each other.

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High gloss finished beds with hydraulic storage and sliding wardrobe is the new trend in bedrooms.Bedroom sets can be divided in two categories i.e. modern and contemporary.

The new high gloss designer bedroom series offers a widevariety in the designs which varies from traditional, modernand contemporary. The bedroom set consists of bed withwide storage options, a night stand, dresser and a widechoice for wardrobes. The entire bedroom sets are made onstate-of-the-art German machines using high qualityengineered wood to ensure durability of the products. Theentire range comes with five years warranty andmaintenance-free everlasting finishing. The designerbedroom set range starts from Rs 80,000 to Rs 2,00,000.

Today, with changing lifestyle, everybody has becomedesign conscious and wish to express this with their livingstyle. The designer bedroom set is ready to change theordinary bedroom to a designer deluxe suite. Spacewood hasa team of highly professional product designers whodevelops products based on the new international trend.

Office: Spacewood office solution offers ergonomic andelegant products for office spaces. All products aredesigned to create aesthetic and efficient work spaces.Spacewood office solution has complete spectrum ofproducts for varied requirements.

Spacewood office range includes workstations, full heightpartitions, premium desking, storages, conference tables,metal storages and seating solutions.

With the ability to deliver over 40,000 workstations in ayear, the company has successfully made and installed

workstations and cabins for companies like Capgemini,Mahindra, Tata Motors, Piaggieo, Fed Ex, Jet Airways,Thermax and many more.

We have a very strong operations team besides ourproduction strength. The approach is to offer good serviceand customer experience. Most of the customers are repeatcustomers, claimed Nitin Sudame, director, SpacewoodOffice Solutions.

There is a wide choice for work stations. Newly launchedLineo is fully desk-based workstation. Combination of MSpowder coated legs and aluminum frame screens givesinternational looks. There are cable beams and racewayswhich run below work tops to take care of wire management.The most popular product in workstation segment is Slide 60with anodized look and 60mm removable panels, it offerscomplete flexibility.

Newly launched Estillo desking is highly appreciated andused by architects. It compliments with desk-based workstation, which are mostly used now a days. Besides, EstilloSpacewood has Z Line cabin and conference furniture. It usesmembrane pressing technology offering soft edges. It is theideal solution for director suite. The Nova Range which ismade up of Melamine Panels and designer profile wrappedtechnology is a perfect answer for Value Desking, which ishighly affordable and has elegant design.

Also, the metal storages offers wide choices in book cases,filing drawer, swing door shelf storages, pedestal, etc.

Plum Bedroom

Mikado Bedroom

Estillo

Lineo Workstation

S


Social Sustainability

The Critical Practice of Sustainability

s

Gubbi Alliance for Sustainable Habitat is a self-fundedassociation of habitat professionals and researchers who seek tomainstream sustainability as a core concern in design, policy andhabitat management. Gubbi has come into being over a series ofmeetings that began with a workshop near Bangalore in 2008.Among its 20 members spread across the country, are pioneers andleading Indian practitioners of genuinely sustainable approaches inarchitecture, construction and participatory rehabilitation. The wordGubbi means sparrow in Kannada, and also creatively misinterpretsthe name of the place where the association members first met toexplore joint action.

Today, sustainable has become a buzz word that means differentthings to different people. It has also become another way in whichmarket interests are promoted. Gubbi believes that we need todevelop an approach to sustainability that is consistent, anchored to

human and ecological survival, plural and critical. To do thisarchitecture needs to consciously embrace values related to sufficiency(reducing consumption and questioning demand), justice, resilience,equity and the cultural identity. All of this inevitably means that wemust question every tenet of society currently taken for granted. Suchtenets include the adequacy of values related to technologicalefficiency, the market economy, unceasing consumption andundemocratic governance.

For Gubbi, the challenge of sustainability offers the possibility ofreal architectural innovation that matters. Such innovation goesbeyond the narrow formal and technical pursuits ruling over thearchitectural imagination today. Real innovation may be based ontraditional wisdom and materials, modern scientific knowledge,advanced technologies or very often on a combination of all these assome of the writings and projects in this issue demonstrate.

T

About Gubbi

No reasonable, educated persontoday needs to be convinced thatwe are in the midst of anintensifying eco-social crisis. Building as

usual is increasingly a part of the problem,

but that is how increasingly we build.

Short term cost economies, profitability, a

globalised image, the prestige of

consuming (and wasting) are concerns

actually driving architecture everywhere.

Of course, over the last decade or so,

much is being said about the necessity to

build sustainably. We keep improving our

knowledge of how to build with less

damaging ecological impact. We may not

have a comprehensive framework that

guides us towards sustainable building,

and which everybody agrees on. Yet, we

know enough to agree that we must cut

down on the energy consumption,

GHG emissions, water consumption and

waste production from our buildings. For

many, this is enough, and doubtlessly, it

is an advance.

However, from time to time, we are

reminded about how poorly we

understand what is meant by sustainable

(or, more accurately, more sustainable

than usual) architecture. For one, we are

regularly confused when looking at the

variety of buildings that claim to be

sustainable: air-conditioned buildings

with too much glass on them but also

lots of energy saving gizmos win as

many awards for sustainability as do

those built in mud and designed for

natural ventilation. Both kinds of

buildings appear to make important

claims to sustainability. Common sense

tells us that the mud building usually

reduces embodied energy of a building.

But the glass building also has its weight:

energy saving gizmos in it claim to save

much more electricity in the long run than

the energy embodied in the glass faade

or the RCC structure as a whole. Are both

equally sustainable then?

On one hand, this is a problem for

environmental accounting of some kind

the better we get at the science, we

assume, this debate will be more

productive. On the other hand, such

routine confusions also suggest the need

for another way of approaching the issue,

since we shall probably never have

perfect and comprehensive accounting of

impact. This essay attempts to propose

one way at a more philosophical level.

The Critical Practice of Sustainable

Architecture

The question of sustainability should be

approached in terms of the idea of critical

practice. That is, we must ask whether a

particular practice is a critical practice of

sustainable architecture. Such an approach

includes but also goes beyond the

technical concerns like those about energy-

efficiency or waste recycling.

For simplicity, it is suggested that any

building can be usefully examined in

terms of where each aspect of its various

design (and other) decisions can be

located on a conceptual spectrum

stretching between critical practice of

Himanshu Burte

ARCHITECTURE+DESIGN FFeebbrruuaarryy 22001144 25

around. Each nook and corner of the house highlights thesimplistic and minimalistic approach, a signature style of thearchitect. There is an apparent play with the emptiness tocreate the rich experience where architectural detailingblends with the interior design in the most natural wayleaving no scope for plasticity.

The material palette constitutes all natural materials likebrick wall, Kota stone, white marble and wood. Amplenatural light floods through the house and it is also wellventilated minimising the use of conventional sources ofenergy. The building complies with major green buildingnorms. Experimentation with the right stroke of simplistic

design and natural materials creates a beautiful and rhythmicsubstance inhabitable with comfort and luxury.

Text by: Nidhi Patel

Photo credit: Tejas Shah

FactFileClient: Mr Kothari

Design team: Dipen Gada (Principal Designer), Shalini Pereira,

Aditi Dave & Dolly Pari, Biren Patwa (Site Coordinator)

Built up area: 8700sq ft

Year of completion: 2012


sustainability at one end and uncritical

practice at the other1. In other words, the

entire buildings, or different decisions

shaping them, can be placed on some

point on such an imaginary scale. The

decisions could be about different

aspects: chosen configurations of spaces

and masses, or materials (mud, glass) user

demands and practices (air-conditioning,

natural ventilation, laptops being charged

all night)2 . These decisions must be

evaluated, even if subjectively, with

regards to the stated criteria for criticality.

The process of making an argument

should be more important than the

conclusion here. So, the idea of critical

practice (and the imaginary scale for it) is

a tool to help argue our way towards

broad, but reasonably systematic,

judgements about the value of a

particular approach. Scientific precision,

or measurability, is not the point here.

Rather, the quest is to establish how close

a practice is to a critical approach.

The articles and projects in this issue reveal the differentopportunities and challenges of pursuing sustainability througharchitecture. An exceptional project in more ways than one isShankar Narayans office in Hyderabad. It emphasises our delight inthe fact that there are many professionals who share our values.

Independence, innovation, openness and sharing are among thecore values that matter most for Gubbi. Gubbi seeks to be aconvivial organisation. There is no patent on the Gubbi way, nomaterial rewards (except for the satisfaction of doing the right andsensible thing creatively) that Gubbi asks or promises for a rigorous practice of sustainability. Gubbi recognises that the socialand technical challenges that must be overcome to move towards asignificantly more sustainable architecture are serious. But it believes that will and creativity exist in a scattered way to meetthese challenges.

To catalyse dialogue that will help this process along, Gubbi hasorganised and will continue to organise various activities andplatforms (including a website that is in the works) on whichconversations for shaping a better present and future can beconducted. The first interdisciplinary workshop was dedicated tounpacking the idea of sustainability from different perspectives. Thesecond focused on challenges of practising genuine architecturalsustainability. Another which Gubbi members helped conceptualisediscussed the possibilities of cooling without air-conditioning. Thisissue of A+D is the latest initiative. The themes reveal Gubbiscommitment to connecting the philosophical dots to the practicalones, so that we see the bigger picture more clearly than before,and act to improve it.

To know more, visit: www.gubbi.org

A

Good Earth Hamlet, Kochi

N


So, what do we mean by critical

practice? The common sense

understanding of criticality is of an

attitude that does not accept any givens

without question3. A critically minded

person subjects all beliefs, methods and

outcomes to independent and objective

scrutiny in the light of the best shared

social and technical goals. This is what we

expect of good critics. But another core

implication of the word critical must be

emphasised here, in keeping with the

original inspiration provided by early

20th century critical theory (Brenner,

2009), an influential approach to social

theory and philosophy. Critical theory

built on Marxs inspiration, and sought to

identify and critique unjust social

arrangements that underlie various social

practices. It also sought knowledge (or

theory) that would help transform the

world into a more just order. This suggests

that we can think of the critical attitude as

one that is not only critical in the

common sense meaning of the word, but

also oriented towards transforming the

world through practice (and not just

through theory), into a more just and

sustainable place4.

The focus on justice might appear

strange to some in a discussion about

architecture. However, with sustainability,

particularly, the question of justice is

central. After all, the core of the most

widely accepted definition and discussion

of sustainability proposed by the

Brundtland Commission in 1987 is

concerned with justice: it emphasises that

we do not have a right to snatch away the

ecological basis of future generations

through our actions today5. So, ecological

sustainability can be seen as a means to

ensuring social justice (apart from

survival), especially now that intra-

generational justice has come to be

considered as important as inter-

generational justice. Thus, from the

perspective of critical practice, the social

impact of architecture must be considered

as central as its ecological impact, in our

examination of architecture that claims to

be sustainable. Both are also understood as

being always interlinked.

This impact might range from causing

an increase (or decrease) in livelihoods for

the poor, causing or preventing

displacement of people, helping

concentrate or redistribute wealth,

popularising more or less sustainable

cultural values, sustaining or destroying

building traditions and cultural knowledge,

among other things. Architecture, and the

process of building, clearly has such

impacts. For instance, apart from reducing

energy consumption and GHG emissions,

load-bearing construction with local and

natural materials usually puts more money

into the hands of poorer construction

workers, and less in those of oil and coal

companies, or other industrial

manufacturers. The extensive use of energy

intensive materials like steel, cement and

aluminium does the opposite on social and

ecological counts. Similarly, large campuses

and townships in rural areas can deprive

subsistence pastoralists of natural

resources, and of grasslands on which their

livestock can graze, and ultimately drive

them out of their historic habitats6.

Of course, technical rigour is central to

ensuring both, prolonged human survival

and social justice, through sustainable

architecture. So, an ideal critical practice

may be expected to have chosen the most

ecologically benign design and

techn3logical strategies, considering long

and short term impacts. It would also be

expected to keep questioning and

improving the way in which it evaluates

these impacts by asking questions like

are any important kinds of impact missing

in the usual list? Are the utilised ways of

measuring impact the best we can use

practically? It may also be expected to

steer society towards more sustainable

architectural values in general. These

could include sufficiency to curb

demand; better maintenance, recycling

and a celebration of old things to prolong

the life of a consumed resource; an

improved health performance of built

environments; or even a more sustainable

aesthetics in general.

Some questions above highlight an

important characteristic of critical

practices: reflexivity, or, self-criticality. This

self criticality must be trained on the

inevitable internal contradictions that

sustainable architectural practices must

constantly negotiate. If not recognised and

addressed, they can quickly result in

moving a practice back two steps for every

step it believes it has taken towards

sustainability. This is important for a real

shift to sustainability, even if rating systems

and criteria for awards may not always

consider such contradictions.

The most important contradictions here

are those that lead to actions and decisions

that either contradict each other, or violate

stated or unstated core values related to

sustainability. These might relate to the

process of design or of building. Such

contradictions might be born of external or

practical constraints. For instance,

thorough bioclimatic design requires more

design and supervisory effort from the

architect, while often reducing the fee

he/she may get (because of lower capital

costs of construction, to which fees are

usually linked), making it unviable to

practice. It might be more viable

financially to build as usual with additional

energy-saving gadgetry and claim the

same sustainability achievement for a

better fee. Other contradictions might be

between client demands (or brief) and the

architects commitments, as say, in a

5000sq ft air-conditioned bachelor pad

built in stabilised earth block. Such

contradictions are not easy to resolve. The

Baker Suresh Residence, Thiruvananthapuram

c


choice of staying consistent with the core

goal of sustainability may involve

significant personal sacrifice and risk you

might need to be willing to be underpaid

(or even penalized) for doing the right

thing. Evaluating the seriousness of a

contradiction is also not always easy. If the

oversized bachelor pad will allow one to

experiment and become better at mud

building (so, one can save energy in the

hundreds of future buildings), is the

contradiction acute enough to let the

project go?

There are other contradictions,

however, that are less wicked. These are

internal to a practice, and should probably

be easier for the practitioner to identify

and resolve. Two kinds suggest themselves

immediately. One is the contradiction

between sustainability goals and the

aesthetic (or technological palette) an

architect is already committed to over

time. The other is between the opposed

sustainability outcomes of some among

many architectural strategies and decisions

employed in a project. These can emerge

separately or together in every practice.

For example, if someone loves to design

unbroken, exposed RCC forms, the

buildings will remain internally

contradictory at a basic level, even if

he/she tries to employ passive solar or

technological sustainability strategies for

other relevant issues. Arguably, any

avoidable use of energy intensive materials

say through RCC walls in bungalows

contradicts in spirit and material the

widely agreed upon need to consciously

move towards low-energy technologies7.

The other kind of internal contradiction is

equally important, and perhaps more

common. Much gadgetry is routinely used

in office buildings to cut down lighting

energy consumption, even as the design

itself enables very little day-lighting of

work areas, for instance.

It is quite clear that the practices acutely

marked by important contradictions can be

considered uncritical. In particular, the

practices contradicting important social

goals in the pursuit of ecological ones, may

be considered particularly uncritical from a

sustainability perspective. A building might

save a lot of running energy, but may

concentrate wealth further through

excessive use of energy intensive

construction technology, that can only be

built through capital intensive industry

which increasingly also directly exploits

the poor working for it. It may thus

contribute to some measure in inter-

generational equity (by saving energy for

future generations) while undermining

intra-generational equity, in an already

unequal world.

Negotiated Judgements

Some cautions and caveats are now in

order to put the concept of critical

practice in perspective. As stated earlier, it

does not seek to yield a measurable scale

like say, rating systems. It is a conceptual

tool that we define and apply through

argument. Further, the concept can only

be defined in relation to its opposite,

uncritical practice. This gives it a peculiar

robustness. For one, it frees us from the

impossible burden of creating categories

critical or uncritical, for instance in

which specific designs, practices or

practitioners can be neatly boxed. It thus

helps us see each practice as potentially

having both, critical and uncritical

aspects. This is not surprising. All practice

is marked by contradictions that are

impossible to resolve within the

constraints and possibilities of any real

context. No practitioner can be perfectly

consistent to his or her avowed principles.

Yet we are routinely able to judge the

broad direction in which a practice or

practitioner (of architecture, politics or

medicine) is headed, through the thicket

of cross cutting orientations. We may

quibble about whether Laurie Baker

allowed users to participate in design, or

complain that he largely used

conventional land polluting sanitation

systems; but we still agree that he cut an

early path towards a critical practice of

sustainable architecture.

Architect Himanshu Burte is an assistant

professor at the School of Habitat Studies, Tata

Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai.

This article draws on research conducted by the

author under one grant each from India

Foundation for the Arts, Bangalore and Graham

Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine

Arts, Chicago.

References

1. This spectrum is here suggested for making

sense of sustainability claims in architecture. But

it can be usefully applied to evaluate all

architecture.

2. It is not a hard measuring scale. If it helps

orient us better, it would have served its

purpose. If it even helps us find a surer way

through the inevitable uncertainties that

scientific data presents us about technical

decisions, even better.

3. Wikipedias definition is ---

4. The term critical practice has been

intermittently fashionable in architectural

discourse in the West. There are even

educational programs devoted to it (See

http://www.gold.ac.uk/pg/ma-design-critical-

practice/). Of course, the way the term has been

used in architecture does not always share in the

progressive aims of critical theory.

Much of such practice critiques mass and

consumer culture without being adequately self

critical beyond such an argument, about its own

claims or aesthetic and technological choices.

5. . [detailed citation] The report is available at

http://www.un-documents.net/our-common-

future.pdf

6. For the last, see

http://www.downtoearth.org.in/content/graziers-

protest-land-diversion and

http://www.downtoearth.org.in/content/green-

tribunal-stays-development-activities-karnataka-

grasslands

7. In principle, this illustrative contradiction does

not have a black and white diagnosis. It can be

argued, as Gurjit Singh Matharoo has done in

personal conversations with me as well as in

public presentations, that an economical design,

reduced dead weight due to thin walls, and high

level of quality control of his exposed concrete

buildings, actually reduce energy consumption

compared to usual RCC, brick, cement plaster

and synthetic paint combination. One line of

discussion here would be an empirical

investigation to see if this really is the case.

However, the other line along the idea of a

critical practice could also consider many other

impacts, beyond just energy, to make a decision

about the criticality of the practice.



P

Project: Madhu Industries Ltd, Ahmedabad

Architects: Kakani Associates, Ahmedabad

The project required a space for housing an exportoriented bed linen manufacturing unit, which is people-intensive with close to 800 staff working at peak. Theproject envisaged to provide efficient production systems withflexibility, and a human comfort through good quality light, airand ventilation.

The design brief was to provide an institution-likeframework to an otherwise grim factory-like atmosphere. Theproject in keeping with the practices concern of consumptionv/s conservation (of resources) explores the aesthetics ofsimplicity through a holistic framework.

The building comprises three floors with a footprint of50mx70m and column spacing of 10.2m internally and a load-bearing skin. This load-bearing skin helps remove 32 peripheralcolumns in addition to acting as ducts for the air coolingsystem. The slab uses hollow blocks made of fly ash and wastepolystyrene (thermocol) to reduce dead weight and increaseinsulation, effectively saving on steel and concrete used in thebuilding. There has also been a conscious concern for efficiencyin the building construction process, for example, walls are notinterrupted by lintels allowing the external masonryconstruction to move up fast.

Aesthetics ofSimplicity

Fly ash bricks were used for load-bearing walls. Thermocolwaste was used in hollow blocks made of fly ash concrete andproduced at site. These hollow blocks were used to reduce thedead load of the slab by reducing concrete and in turn thepercentage of steel used in the structure. As burnt rice husk isa low weight high volume material, it was used with fly ashand cement to insulate the flat terrace. Broken white tiles werefixed over the insulating layer to further reflect heat and allowsmooth flow of rain-water over the terrace.

Avoiding the construction of beams and lintels in the deeprecessed windows, helped natural light washed deep along thesoffit of the flat slab into the interiors. The central skylightsthrough the three floors further enhanced this. Artificial lightingis placed closest to the place of requirement reducing wastage.

The thick-load bearing walls with ducts and the hollow blockslab with rice husk bedding covered by white China mosaic ontop, keep the building well insulated. The double glazing in thewindows further reduces the heat gain.

1. CORPORATE OFFICE2. FACTORY BUILDING3. EXISTING BUILDING4. PARKING


SITE PLAN

1

2

3

4


The ducts in the load-bearing walls move up beyond theterrace level and house the cooling system that sends freshcool air through to the three floors below during peaksummer months. The central courts help in evacuating thewarm air from the inside with the help of convection andmechanical fans, thus setting up a cycle of constant fresh airchanges.

Besides, the use of traditional materials/skills like localbricks and load-bearing structural construction, has a majorsocial impact as it provides large-scale employment. Theextensive use of concrete has made this method ofconstruction almost non-existent (as walls are used only asinfill partitions between columns in the present context) thus

SECTION

M


reviving the traditional load-bearing construction in brickshas become imperative. This skill in masonry was harnessedto make the load-bearing walls which use 15 lakh watercured flyash bricks along with one lakh burnt red bricksarranged in a predetermined reducing coursing pattern to thetop. Increasing labour component in the buildingconstruction process helps in employment and therebyfurthering social equity.

FactFileClient: Madhu Industries

Design Team: Surya Kakani, Shweta Ranpura, Kasi Raju

Consultants: Himanshu Parikh (Structural), Dr Chamanlal Gupta (PDEC)

Contractors: Western India Engineering

Project Manager: Keyur Sarda

Built-up area: 11000sq m

Cost of Project: Rs 6.8 crores

Year of completion: 2008

ELEVATION

M



The emergent paradigm for sustainablearchitecture in the Developing World

By Ashok Lall

The article is an attempt to bringtogether a stream of thoughts thathave been developing over threeyears of conversations and meetings of a

group of professionals concerning the

practice of sustainability in designing and

managing the built environment for the

real world of developing societies.

The current trends are strong and

unmistakable. Human population

continues to grow and the demand for

material consumption and carbon dioxide

emissions continue to increase. With

rapid economic growth and growing

populations in many parts of Asia, Africa

and South America, the demand for

energy and the material consumption in

the developing world is accelerating. In

the developed world, the present

consumption of energy and material

consumption per capita are unsustainably

high, many times the per capita demand

in the developing world, and continues to

rise even though its populations have

stabilised. These trends are causing

pollution of the natural commons of air,

water and land, ecological imbalances

and climate change and competition for

the finite resources of the planet.

The loss of biodiversity, the extinction

of living species, the depletion of forests

and natural habitats, too, are largely

attributable to human activity. For a

sustainable future for the earths living

species, including human beings, these

trends need to be arrested and reversed.

Theoretically, the developed world

would innovate ways to substantially curtail

its environmental impact while it protects

its good life and would seek further

growth without further environmental

damage. In the long run, the developed

world must substantially reduce its levels of

consumption. The developing world, on

the other hand, will necessarily be

increasing its levels of consumption to meet

the basic needs of its populations. But, in

the long run, it must devise an alternative

paradigm for development, for it is clear

that if all of humanity were to aspire to the

present levels of consumption of the

developed world many more earths would

be needed.

In the above stated view, whether for

the developed world or for the developing

world, the practice of sustainability

becomes a pragmatic necessity. Yet,

significantly, the global consensus for

Sustainable Development has an ethical

basis. It rests on the axiomatic principle of

Equity equitable rights to life and

freedom amongst all human societies and

individuals, including the right to

development. This principle is extended to

those who are yet to be born and also to

all living species. This belief is the engine

that provides the moral force for a move

towards sustainability.

The ground realities, though, are quite

different. Today, with some notable

exceptions, all developing nations are

pursuing the western paradigm of

development. This paradigm is led by the

Load-bearing stone masonry and integrated evaporative cooling for a contemporary institution

S


forces of technology and trade continually

expanding the quantum of material

consumption accompanied by the burning

of fossil fuels for energy. After basic needs

are largely met, this turns into an addiction

to consumption of novelty. The process

perpetuates itself. Accumulated economic

capital will seek ever greater wealth. It will

cast its net across the globe. Globalisation,

the free flow of economic capital, trade

and technology in search of profit, is now

being seen as a necessary mechanism for

the economic advancement of the

developing world. It has already entered

and established itself among the wealthy

and upper- middle classes in emerging

economies. Would this lead us into the

trap of unsustainable consumption?

Historically, those who gained

command over the transformative power

of industrial technology and the networks

of trade have accumulated economic

wealth and enjoy the good life of

comfort, security and material plentitude.

The rest are left behind. In most

developing nations, there are islands of

wealth in seas of poverty. Then, there are

besieged, ancient societies, living outside

this paradigm of development. Their

livelihood and the stability of their ways

of life are threatened by intrusion into

their homelands and expropriation of the

resources of their lands to meet the

demands of development of others. Will

this paradigm of development perpetuate

inequities?

As the developing world constitutes

about 70 percent of the worlds

population, its path of development poses

the most significant challenge to the

potential of a future that is more equitable

and environmentally sustainable.

In this global context, what then is the

role of the professionals and practitioners

of the built environment? It must be one

of re- directing the present paradigm of

development - away from its trajectory

towards unsustainable levels of material

consumption along with great inequities

of wealth towards creating the good life

with sustainable levels of consumption

such that available resources can be

enjoyed equitably.

Following are some guiding principles

which may be considered for bringing

about the required shift:

Sufficiency: Perhaps the operative

principle for meeting material needs

ought to be sufficiency rather than

plentitude. Sufficiency represents an

optimal cost benefit of how much

environmental damage we incur to satisfy

our many and unending needs. It

disciplines excessive consumption. The

designers task is to create joyful

sufficiency. If opening a window or

turning on a ceiling fan gives you

reasonable comfort, why bother with

the paraphernalia and expense of

air-conditioning?

Anthropometrics: Use measures that are

based on per capita consumption as to

measure efficiency e.g. land per student

in a campus, kilowatt hours per annum per

employee for an office, litres of water per

bed space per day for a hotel, cost of

construction per person housed for

housing schemes because people, not

buildings, are the consumers of materials

and energy resources.

Resilience: Intelligent organisms are

resilient. They have the capacity to adapt

and evolve in order to cope with stress

and change. They are at low risk. On the

other hand, organisms that are complex,

rigid and inflexible are at high risk and

require more and more layers of security

and protection. For example - a 50-storey

high block of flats would require a great

deal of additional support and safety

measures to make it as resilient as a four-

storey building. Design for economical

resilience is needed at all scales from the

scale of a home to that of the city.

Equity: Building construction is an

economic process. It is an engine for

distribution of wealth. Development of

construction techniques to improve

productivity and economy with reliability

enhances knowledge and skills. Urban

development too is an economic process.

Its task is to distribute wealth by giving

equitable access to land, to shelter and

economic advantage of location. The

production and planning of the built

environment are ways towards greater

social and economic equity.

Aspiration: Once basic needs roti, kapda

aur makan are met, safety and health are

reasonably secured aspirations need not

be about more material possession and

consumption. They could be about the

sharing of the creative imagination the

offering of beauty and joy in sufficiency.

They could be for every individual to be

able to share and participate in cultural life

sport, dance, music, literature and crafts.

Stone cladding, teak wood windows, lightweight shading system industrial principles ofproduction applied to traditional material and craft.

A


This, indeed, is the lesson of the fullness of

life that could be enjoyed in the pre-

industrial age.

Pragmatism: When professionals and

practitioners of the built environment have

made an ethical choice in favour of

Sustainability, their task is to develop a

practice that engages with the real world

the realities faced today by the majority.

We hardly need to emphasise the fact

that the way we build our homes,

buildings, towns and cities to meet the

needs and aspirations of the majority will

play a critical role in the process of

development. In the face of rapid

urbanisation with growing congestion,

slums and pollution, impoverishment of

rural communities, degradation of

productive lands - there are urgent issues

that the practice of sustainability has

to address.

Contrary to all the cynicism that is

voiced or lip service that is paid, it is

evident that many professionals involved

in the design of the built environment

across the globe, including India, are

making their ethical choice. This

movement has attained a critical mass

that would progressively integrate the

values and methods of design towards

sustainability in the practice of

architecture and urbanism.

Fundamentally, design towards

sustainability embodies the principles of

bhog, ahimsa, and samanta. You maydefine it as that wise way of enjoying the

bounty of nature, which causes no harm,

such that all may share this bounty for all

times to come.

Who would disagree with that? But like

all ideals, it will never be attained

absolutely. One can only be guided by it

and choose to move towards it. Design

towards sustainability is an evolving

process guided by these ideals.

Ashok Lall is a practising architect basedin Delhi.

Innovation is needed on all fronts. Here are a few practical tasks:

Develop land resource management practices for settlement planning to

capture rain and regenerate natural degraded ecologies, conserving rich

agriculture.

Develop simple decentralised techniques for water resource development,

waste treatment and recycling. Reduce dependence on distant water sources

and complex engineering centralised waste treatment.

Integrate water, energy and agriculture. Develop closed loop balanced

environmental systems and grow food in and around buildings.

Build with low process energy, renewable and recycled materials. Minimise

the use of high process energy materials, such as steel, aluminium and glass.

Design for day light and thermal comfort with passive or low energy means

so that artificial lights are needed only at night and air conditioning is

resorted to sparingly. Design by common sense standards of adaptive

comfort rather than those prescribed by American engineering.

Devise low-carbon urban settlement patterns where personal motor cars are

not necessary; where the microclimate is such that the outdoor environment

is comfortable; where one does not become dependent on lifts and air

conditioners backed by noisy and noxious generators.

Devise production methods that increase efficiency and productivity at low

capital cost as these would be more income distributive than high capital cost

technologies.

Design an all-weather bicycling kit; a weather-proof external window shade

that is adjustable and a silent ceiling fan for class rooms

Affordable housing - low embodied energy solutions for comfort;roof as a community resource and integration of urban agriculture.

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Green Eye

Project: My Eye Hospital, Nuvem, Goa

Architects: Vikram Varma & Associates, New Delhi

Through the design of the project, the architect sought toprovide an alternative to the typical sensory journey thatone associates with a regular hospital and keep salarybills and energy consumption low. The facility allows a groupof like-minded medical professionals, who were averse tojoining the big chains and losing their boutique character, toshare a high quality common infrastructure.

The architect decided to give importance to the designaspirations rooted in sustainability values. These values wereimplemented by maintaining the highest aesthetic standardswhile using appropriate technical means.

The design involves two structures, separated by a coveredstreet. One block is hospitality and the other is the hospital.Based on the operational hours, floors and areas were either

segregated or linked with bridges. This was also an importantphasing strategy (currently, only one of the phases has beenfinished internally). Many facilities have been planned forthe relatives and aides. The internal street formed betweenthe two blocks acts like a plaza and generates a relationshipbetween these two buildings. It also protects variousentrances that open into it.

Services are all linked at the basement level, andstrategically placed public/patient service cores allowcomplete segregation of the served from the serving. Allincoming materials or personnel have a place of arrival andsegregation. Guards have been replaced by strategicplacement of reception spaces which are capable of doublingas other functions. Since the maximum number of visitorscomes for a short duration, their needs are met on theground floor itself. A very compact and efficient work forcecan operate this facility with ease. This clarity enhances theexperience of the visitor.

The hospital faces a perfect south-west direction. The clientwanted a glass and steel look for the front faade to lookmodern enough to compete in the market. The architectdecided to provide a second skin not only to double up as ashading device for the glass facade but also as a screen for the

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access corridor on two floors. A visit to the timber workshop onsite suggested the possibility of a three-storey high hexagonalmesh made of waste coconut wood that could bear plants onit. The architect proposed the graphic of an eye to be achievedthrough differentiated plant selection, which was welcomed bythe client who is an eye doctor, and has been executed.

A Treated Fresh Air (TFA) unit has been used to pump infiltered, oxygen rich and dehumidified air in all usable spaceswhich takes care of humidity. As a result most non-criticalareas dont even need to switch on the air-conditioning.

Low embodied energy materials like coconut wood andcement bonded particle board were used as the mainfinishing materials along with glass to finish all internalspace making. Vitrified ceramic and soy protein-basedsurface coatings were selected as they are absorptionresistant. Soy protein-based polishes and paints have alsobeen used to assure an allergen and Volatile OrganicCompound (VOC) free interior environment.

A resilient interior planning which uses MEP free storagecabinets as partitions sitting on contiguous flooring, allows for


SITE PLAN 1. FUTURE EXPANSION2. HOSPITALITY BLOCK3. PLAZA4. HOSPITAL BLOCK

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GROUND FLOOR PLAN

SECOND FLOOR PLAN

1. PUBLIC STREET2. RECEPTION3. REGISTRATION4. OPD5. OPD WAITING6. RECORD ROOM7. DOCTORS LOUNGE8. LAB COLLECTION AND REPORT9. REFRACTION10. STORE11. SLUICE ROOM12. PUBLIC TOILET13. STAFF TOILET14. SERVICE LIFT15. PUBLIC LIFT16. PERSONNEL LIFT17. PHARMACY18. OPTICAL SHOP19. CAFETERIA20. GOODS ARRIVAL21. STAFF ARRIVAL22. EMERGENCY23. ADMINISTRATION24. ADMIN HEAD25. CMO26. RELATIVE WAITING27. PROCEDURE BRIEFING

1. CONFERENCE ROOM2. PANTRY/STORE3. PUBLIC LIFT4. SERVICE LIFT5. PERSONAL LIFT6. MULTIPURPOSE HALL7. LECTURE HALL8. LADIES TOILET9. GENTS TOILET10. STAFFS CHANGE ROOM11. DOCTORS REST ROOM12. PANTRY13. DOCTORS CHANGE ROOM14. PREPARATION ROOM15. SUPERVISOR16. POST OP RECOVERY17. OT18. OT LASIK19. LASIK RECEPTION20. LASIK PREPARATION21. LIGHT SHAFT22. CONSUMABLE STORES23. CHANGE ROOM24. AUTOCLAVE25. RETIRING ROOM26. WAITING


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business plan adjustments. Future usage adjustments will notrequire full mobilisation of construction teams or wet work.

The central atrium in the hospital block which providesnatural light in most interior spaces including OTs and OPDwaiting also helps release positive air pressure from the top.While all the MEP concepts are conserving, optimising, efficientand resilient, the architect also aimed to create oxygen rich, dust


and pollen free interiors. By positively pressurising all usableair-conditioned spaces with the aroma laced desiccated air fromthe terrace garden, the architect believes that the antibioticsused to mask the indoor air deficiencies can be avoided.

Central drinking water using chiller diversity, ambient airpowered water heating, gravity priority water supplysegregation, dual piping and silent solid waste and nutritionrecovery systems are some of the salient features of this hospital.These make sure that the treatment costs are competitive and ofinternational standards for a long time to come.

Photo credit: Shrinivas Ananthanarayanan, Goa

FactFileClient: Chandrakant Gaonkar

Design team: Vikram Varma

Consultants: Group Genesis (Structural), Celsius Consultants (HVAC), Art Consultants

(Electricals), Green Envirotech, Gurgaon (Biological Waste Management), Babli

Prabhu Desai, Dr Shaba, My Eye Hospital (PMC)

Contractors: N J Construction (Civil), Saundh Construction, Sastha Construction

Built-up area: 91000sq ft

Cost of project: Rs 15 crore approx

Year of completion: 2011 (Phase-I)

ELEVATION

SECTION

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Architecture, as a practical art, worksin a finite world with limitedresources. As building designers,we cannot design infinitely large buildings,

on infinite land, with infinite height and

FAR. And even if we could, we would need

infinite clean energy, sustainable materials

and labour to execute such designs, which

we do not have.

In my practice, I find that the best work

comes out of resource constraints

constraints of space, weight, energy, water,

and of money and skills. Architecture

without constraints is not architecture at all.

Constraints give us the opportunities that

allow us to do More with Less. They allow

us to simplify and solve problems, and to

be inclusive in our solution. In short, it

brings out the best jugaad innovation in us.And with the concept of constraints

comes the idea of sufficiency. Sufficiency is

the concept of asking ourselves how much

is just right, how much is enough, and not

overload our buildings with extra features

that will overload the users mind1.

Is a 100sq m house better than a 10sq

m house for my family? If yes, is a 1,000

s

The RMX Joss garment facility in Noida

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Sanjay Prakash

Sufficiency Concept in Architecture

1


sq m house even better? What about

10,000sq m? Some prospective

homeowners might answer this question

with the metric of money as large as I

can afford. But this is not an authentic

statement. If I could give you a technology

for reducing your building cost to half,

would you then want double the size of

house, like the person who buys a fuel-

efficient car only to consume more by

moving far away from their place of work?2

Unasked Questions in Architectural

Practice

We cannot manage with only efficiency

as an objective; that only gives us the

moral right to consume ever more. We

need to design instead with sufficiency as

a core value alongside. We need to

define how much is good enough for us

and recognise that good design is not

something that depletes resources, even

efficiently. Client, consultant, designer,

contractor they all need to be able to

design and engineer their products with

sufficiency as a decisive value. The

ultimate consumption goal for an

economy of sufficiency would be to

consume no material at all.

For architects, sufficiency means

authentically asking and addressing the

following questions through the practice

How much space is enough?

How much material and labour will be

required to build? Where will they come

from? Will it deplete these resources or

conserve them?

How much air-con, light, energy, water

and transport are enough? And from

what sources?

Will it be healthy as well as

being comfortable?

Will it be a socially, economically,

ecologically productive building or only

a consuming one?

How much money is enough?

If you agree that as a professional, it is

the architects duty to convert the clients

brief and aspirations into the quickest

cheapest design that meets their needs,

then you can ignore the practice of

sufficiency. The consequence would be

that you would allow the construction

industry to lead to an era of scarcity.

If you believe that the clients brief

must be met in the light of the list of

questions above and their

supplementaries, not in letter alone but in

spirit, then you would like to practice

innovation, the architecture of sufficiency,

and believe in our societys development

creating for all of us a land of plenty.

How does one actually bring sufficiency

questions to bear upon day-to-day

practice? I provide three examples from my

practice that show how the questions

above can be addressed in a practice

centred on sufficiency as a value.

Storage is not always a building

(or how much space is enough?)

Almost 30 years ago, a large national

chemical corporation wanted us to

redesign their chemical stores, and listed

for us many hundreds of chemicals, and

the amounts to be stored. But for our

team it was difficult to believe that nearly

30,000sq m would be required for just

storage. We asked to be told about these

chemicals and they handed us a fat black

The RMX Joss garment facility in Noida

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1. Clutter also goes against the Zen attitude to design in vogue nowadays. 2. This is just a restatement of Jevons Paradox (from economics): Technological progress that increases the efficiency with which aresource is used tends to increase (rather than decrease) the rate of consumption of that resource.

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book to learn about these chemicals

ourselves in a week.

As we finished converting the

hundreds of chemicals in the list to a

computer worksheet, their existing stores

caught fire and so the need was even

more urgent. We noticed that when we

made a pie chart of the stored materials

by volume, more than three-quarters of

the demanded storage was for a single

liquid organic chemical that came in

drums. The black book explained how this

is best stored in stainless steel silos.

So we rushed and gave a disruptive

design solu

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