Saving Brick by Brick

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Saving, brick by brick Page 1 of 24 Saving, brick by brick – Collection from Hindu Articles. A. Sellappan's interlocking blocks promise to save a lot of money Making it better: The interlocking blocks manufactured by A. Sellappan of Sakthi Interlock Blocks at Samalapuram near Coimbatore. A garment entrepreneur-turned contractor A. Sellappan (57), from near Coimbatore, has come up with a new building material —interlocking building blocks — that he says can cut construction costs significantly. Functioning from Samalapuram, Sellappan has even obtained a patent for his invention . His unit, Sakthi Interlock Blocks, is now producing blocks that are economical compared to the traditional bricks. “Almost Rs. 35 can be saved for every sq. ft. of construction if the interlocking block is used vis-à-vis bricks,” claims Mr Sellappan. Minimum cement Due to the embedded interlock facility in the blocks, only minimal cement is needed to bind them. Thus, watering of the structure made of interlocking blocks is not needed unlike in the case of bricks where it is mandatory to water the building for a few days after the completion of construction so that the cement binds. Narrating the production techniques, Sellappan said that the blocks were primarily made of fly ash, quarry dust and blue metal and little quantity of water-resistant materials are added to give strength. “I am using only the wastes generated out of various processes thus avoiding degradation of sand/mud and other natural resources provided by our Mother Earth”. According to Sellappan, the breakthrough for his interlock blocks came after the Executive Director of U. R. C. Construction Limited (P) Limited, C. Deverajan, realised the quality of his blocks. “He gave me the first major order — to supply the blocks for the construction of walls of the now famous Netaji Apparel Park situated in New Tirupur area,” Sellappan said. Following it, he took up contract orders to construct low-cost buildings not only in Tamil Nadu but also in the neighbouring States, such as Kerala. However, Sellappan is finding it difficult to get sufficient volumes of fly ash, the main raw material. “I am now getting the fly ash generated from the Mettur Thermal Power Station of Tamil Nadu Electricity Board at the rate of 350 tonnes a month,” he said. This, according to him, is insufficient to enlarge the business R. VIMAL KUMAR

description

The interlocking blocks, Rain water harvesting , Managing water in a layout, green wall, Post-monsoon damage control exercise, groundwater, red oxide floor, vernacular architecture, building safety , White roofs, reusing water, eco home, Better construction techniques at lesser cost.

Transcript of Saving Brick by Brick

Page 1: Saving Brick by Brick

Saving, brick by brick Page 1 of 24

Saving, brick by brick – Collection from Hindu Articles.

A. Sellappan's interlocking blocks promise to save a lot of money

Making it better: The interlocking blocks

manufactured by A. Sellappan of Sakthi Interlock Blocks at Samalapuram near Coimbatore.

A garment entrepreneur-turned contractor A. Sellappan (57), from near Coimbatore, has come up with a new building material —interlocking building blocks — that he says can cut construction costs significantly.

Functioning from Samalapuram, Sellappan has even obtained a patent for his invention

. His unit, Sakthi Interlock Blocks, is now producing blocks that are economical compared to the traditional bricks. “Almost Rs. 35 can be saved for every sq. ft. of construction if the interlocking block is used vis-à-vis bricks,” claims Mr Sellappan.

Minimum cement

Due to the embedded interlock facility in the blocks, only minimal cement is needed to bind them.

Thus, watering of the structure made of interlocking blocks is not needed unlike in the case of bricks where it is mandatory to water the building for a few days after the completion of construction so that the cement binds.

Narrating the production techniques, Sellappan said that the blocks were primarily made of fly ash, quarry dust and blue metal and little quantity of water-resistant materials are added to give strength.

“I am using only the wastes generated out of various processes thus avoiding degradation of sand/mud and other natural resources provided by our Mother Earth”.

According to Sellappan, the breakthrough for his interlock blocks came after the Executive Director of U. R. C. Construction Limited (P) Limited, C. Deverajan, realised the quality of his blocks.

“He gave me the first major order — to supply the blocks for the construction of walls of the now famous Netaji Apparel Park situated in New Tirupur area,” Sellappan said.

Following it, he took up contract orders to construct low-cost buildings not only in Tamil Nadu but also in the neighbouring States, such as Kerala.

However, Sellappan is finding it difficult to get sufficient volumes of fly ash, the main raw material.

“I am now getting the fly ash generated from the Mettur Thermal Power Station of Tamil Nadu Electricity Board at the rate of 350 tonnes a month,” he said.

This, according to him, is insufficient to enlarge the business

R. VIMAL KUMAR

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Rain water harvesting yields rich dividends

A study of Chennai Metrowater shows that there has been a 50 per cent rise in water level in the last five years and the water quality has significantly improved , writes K. Lakshmi

When Jamuna Raman bought a house in Villivakkam six years ago, she had to spend a significant amount on

digging a borewell for nearly 150 feet deep only to taste saline water.

Now, she and her counterparts in the area enjoy better water quality, thanks to rainwater harvesting system

(RWH) adopted in many households.

“Earlier, I had to depend entirely on the piped water supply and private water tankers for all water needs,

including bathing purposes. Now, I am able to use ground water for non-potable purposes as I had harvested

rainwater,” said Ms.Raman.

Many others too have benefited from the regular maintenance of their RWH structures.

The Chennai Metrowater’s study of 759 RWH observatory wells show that ever since the installation of RWH

structures in about 5 lakh consumer households was made mandatory five years ago, there has been a 50 per

cent rise in the water level .

Improved water level

According to the Metrowater officials, over the last five years, the water level across the city has gone up by three

to six metres.

Similarly, the water quality in several areas has also showed improvement.

The sustained normal rainfall since 2004 and the proper maintenance of RWH structures in most households have

been the principal reasons.

Following the drought period in 2003 when Chennai received only about 690 mm of rainfall as against its normal of

1,200 mm, the water table had receded and, on an average, was at 7-8 metres below ground.

In places like Villivakkam it was at 13 m depth and in Vadapalani, Velachery and Guindy it was at 10 m.

Following a good rain (2,064 mm) in 2005 and rainwater harvesting, the ground water table saw an appreciable

rise in several areas and the water table reached 1 m depth below ground.

The water level in areas such as Vadapalani and Villivakkam increased and reached 1.30 m below ground and the

levels in coastal areas such as Besant Nagar and Santhome rose to 1-2 m. Similarly, the quality of water, which

had its total dissolved solids (TDS) as high as 4,900 parts per million (ppm) in areas such as Chintadripet, dropped

to permissible levels of 500 ppm.

Before the onset of every monsoon, the Metrowater officials conduct a random check of the RWH structures for

their maintenance and create awareness about the need for maintenance. These have paid rich dividends.

Government buildings

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However, RWH experts note that the many households are now not keen to maintain the RWH structures as they

are supplied with sufficient drinking water.

The condition of RWH structures in many government

buildings are in bad shape and in dire need of

maintenance.

Harnessing water in public spaces and roads that

otherwise drained into sea was also neglected in the

city, many complain.

But, officials of Public Works Department (Buildings)

say that engineers deployed in each of the buildings

regularly inspect the RWH structures and maintain

them.

PWD spends considerable amount on construction of

RWH system and a portion of the government grant is

spent on RWH maintenance.

For instance, if Rs.1 crore is sanctioned towards a

building, about Rs.50,000-Rs.1 lakh is spent on RWH

structures.

“We try to maintain the structures within the grant

provided to us. The changes in water level and quality

are also being monitored in such constructions,” said an

official.

Sekhar Raghavan, Director of Rain Centre, Mandavelipakkam, said recharge wells are easier for maintenance than

recharge pits which have a smaller diameter.

Harnessing of rainwater that get collected in storm water drain network would help in reducing the inundation on

roads and large volume of water draining into sea every year.

A dwarf wall could be constructed to intercept the flow of water and be diverted to adjacent open spaces such as

educational institutions, playgrounds and parks.

The method was experimented in Defence Colony, Nandambakkam, eight years ago and has proved to be

successful.

The dwarf walls were built in regular intervals in the storm water drain network and linked to recharge wells.

Unless rainwater runoff in both public and private space in the city is harnessed, Chennai may lose out on the

precious resource and may end up with water problem during summer months, note rain water experts.

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Managing water in a layout

Associations have to manage common amenity services such as parks and gardens, electricity, stormwater drains, garbage, borewells and wastewater treatment plants, to name a few

WATER PRUDENCE: A rain barrel installed at a home.

Organising water supply, treating wastewater flows and managing

stormwater are challenges increasingly being faced by layout

associations responsible for services. Associations have to manage

common amenity services such as parks and gardens, electricity,

stormwater drains, garbage disposal, borewells and wastewater

treatment plants, to name a few.

A layout on Sarjapur Road called Rainbow Drive, with about 350

plots on 34 acres of land, does exactly that, thanks to a pro-active

residents association. Given that the main water network of the city

does not reach the outskirts, Rainbow Drive depends on its borewells and water bought from private water

tankers. Flooding near the gates, the lowest point on the site, was also common place during heavy rains.

An example

How are they trying to achieve water sustainability? By adopting a five-pronged approach. Managing groundwater

: Realising that groundwater was their sole source, an inventory of functioning and non-functioning borewells was

taken. The situation was alarming since four of the six borewells dried up and dependence on private water

tankers started to grow. An informal decision not to sink individual private borewells has also been approved by

the association. The existing groundwater will be carefully husbanded and used conservatively.

Managing stormwater

That stormwater was the cause of flooding during rains was obvious but an innovative solution — to place

recharge wells in the stormwater drains — converted it into a resource. Stormwater now recharges the aquifer and

the source of water — borewells. Flooding has been minimised and is being actively tackled by placing more

recharge wells.

Encourage household water behaviour: Metering has been adopted by the layout and each household connection

has one. An increasing block tariff rewards those who consume less water and disincetivises higher consumption.

Individual homes have now started placing rain barrels to collect rainwater for their non-potable use, thus

reducing dependence on groundwater. Water-aware citizens also make their own recharge wells within their plots

to ensure zero run-off from their site.

Manage the layout landscape well: The demand for water for landscape is very high. Efforts are on to reduce

landscape water demand and to go for more tree-based and native species-based landscape.

Manage wastewater well: Two wastewater treatment plants are at work treating all the used water generated from

the households. This treated wastewater is used to irrigate the landscaped area. Efforts are on to fully understand

the potential of treating this wastewater and using it for alternate non-potable use and even to use it for artificial

recharge if possible.

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Adopting an integrated and holistic approach, working with all members and building a consensus, metering and

measuring usage, rewarding good behaviour, looking at demand management and taking a fair stock of available

supply, leads to self-sufficiency and sustainability.

e-mail: [email protected] 080-23641690

Flouride, arsenic and nitrate in water

Those who depend on groundwater have to check it for physical, chemical and biological components

Groundwater in a natural condition accumulates over time, seeping down through the soil and naturally cleansing

and filtering itself. In the absence of sunlight, bacteria too lessens and in general groundwater in the deeper

aquifers can be of the highest quality.

However, in its process of downward migration and due to human activities, pollution of groundwater is on the

rise.

Natural chemical pollutants include fluoride and arsenic and man-made pollutants include nitrates .

One of the naturally occurring components of groundwater in some places is fluoride. In India, 17 States report

fluoride in groundwater in parts of their area and 66 million people are reported at risk.

A naturally occurring mineral, various strata of rocks contain fluoride and this leaches into groundwater in its

passage through such strata.

While a certain amount of fluoride is believed to strengthen bones and teeth, in excess of 1.5 parts per million it

can lead to dental fluorosis and in even higher doses can cause skeletal fluorosis.

Nitrate in groundwater has fertilizers as a major source in rural areas but waste from septic tanks, leaking sewage

pipes and pit latrines are the major cause of nitrate contamination in urban areas.

Nitrates impact infants and the elderly and impair respiratory systems. When nitrate-containing water is imbibed,

the stomach can convert it to nitrites which are then absorbed in the bloodstream.

These nitrites inhibit the transport of oxygen, causing shortness of breath and heart attacks.

Sending groundwater which is consumed to a recognised laboratory for testing would give a good indication

whether it is fit for consumption or not. The presence of fluoride, arsenic and nitrates within limits or exceeding it

would quickly establish the treatment process that is required.

Treatment

Specific treatments are available for each of these minerals if found in excess.

In general, however, a reverse osmosis plant will eliminate all three. Ion exchange systems can remove fluoride

from groundwater.

Ordinary candle filters and UV treatment systems will not remove fluoride, arsenic or nitrates.

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Since rural areas depend largely on groundwater as their source of drinking water, occurrence of fluoride can

cause severe health problems.

A good, balanced diet is also a fluoride inhibitor but poverty and malnutrition results in a more severe impact in

rural areas. Treatment systems such as reverse osmosis cannot be afforded by most of the rural population.

In such a case, systems such as rooftop rainwater harvesting can be a boon. Harvested rainwater is free from

fluoride, nitrates and arsenic. From a clean catchment such as a roof, the water can be collected and conveyed

through good filters to remove physical contaminants.

It can be stored in underground tanks of 5,000 to 8,000 litres.

This water, if kept free from contamination, can last years. Since the impact of chemicals comes from ingestion

through drinking and cooking, harvested rainwater can be used for drink0ing and cooking.

At the rate of 20 litres per family per day, the annual demand is around 7,300 litres, easily harvestable by even

the smallest household.

A project of the Government of Karnataka called ‘Sachetana’ does exactly that in 64 villages. Being implemented

by the NGO BIRD-K, families build their own rainwater collection systems and manage it.

Rainwater harvesting can also provide safe drinking water in urban areas not supplied by piped water systems and

where groundwater is polluted.

It is time to use the rain effectively. That is water wisdom.

www.rainwaterclub.org

[email protected] 080-23641690

Saving and reusing water in the kitchen

Waterwise: Recycle Kitchen water with care

The kitchen sink is one good smart place to be water-wise . In Rajasthan where water has been scarce, a tradition had evolved which washed dishes carefully in a bowl and then the water was fed to plants. The need to emulate good practices like the Rajasthan household model in modern kitchens of urban India is possible. However it is important to recognize that Indian cooking habits with the ‘masalas’ and the oil, tends to make kitchen wash water nutrient and oi l rich. Hence disposal

and reuse must be handed with care.

Rule 1: Get 2 sinks instead of one. The first sink can be used for heavy washing of dishes, which may have detergents and food residues. The second sink could be used for final rinse or to simply wash vegetables. The second sink water can directly be used for swabbing the floor or for garden use.

Rule 2: Get a foot-tap. While doing dishes both hands are in the sink. This makes the control of the tap difficult. A foot tap provides controlled flow and can save water by up-to 50 per cent in the kitchen.

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Rule 3: Put a foam tap or a shower head in the kitchen sink. We need spread of water to clean large utensils rather than volume. A simple shower head attachment can provide the spread helping do the dishes faster and thus save water. A swivel tap will cover both sinks if you have two.

Rule 4: Get a solar water heater connection to the kitchen sink. Hot water helps clean dishes faster especially those with grease or fat. The faster the dishes are cleaned, the less water is used.

Rule 5: Use a phosphate free detergent and do the dishes smartly. An initial scrubbing and cleaning of all the dishes, followed by soaping, helps save water and detergents. The less detergents that is used, the less pollution is caused .

Rule 6: If you have the space set up a simple sand filter after the oil and grease trap. Collect the water that flows of this filter and use it for gardening purpose. The sand filter usually is a small 10 litre bucket filled with 9 inches of 1 mm sand. Water is let in from the top and collected at the bottom of the bucket where a suitable hole is made and a pipe inserted to draw the water out. A mesh is placed at the bottom to hold the sand in place .

Rule 7: Finally kitchen water is organically loaded and can smell. It is only through segregation and proper treatment that it can be reused. It should never be allowed to go into the groundwater untreated. When applying the used kitchen water make sure that you pour it into a sandy bed with a good mulch on top. This will ensure that the water goes to the root zone of plants and does not attract flies and mosquitoes.

www.rainwaterclub.org

[email protected]

You can build an eco home

Ecological homes play an important role in water conservation

Water conservation is not only about closing the tap while shaving or using a low flush toilet, it is also about how we build homes.

Ecological homes play an important role in water conservation. One such house was built to conserve and enhance biodiversity and make use of all natural resources available: earth (for construction and for food); water (rain); sun (energy and day-lighting ); wind (ventilation and comfort); and space (designing in three-dimension).

Ecological architecture was the design thread that tied together the elements and created a habitat or a biome: functional, aesthetic and productive.

In the design a basement was put in. This provided all the earth required to make the compressed, stabilised earth blocks for the home. The basement is a thermally balanced space with temperatures never going above 23 degrees Celsius and is used as a study and playroom. The roof is designed to capture rainwater, use solar energy for cooking and water heating and for the photo-voltaic panels for lighting.

An eco-san toilet provides nutrients to grow rice which in turn uses treated grey-water through a reed drum system. The rice and millets grown on the rooftop provide food, and vegetables are grown in pots. The mulch layer on pond-lining sheets prevents dampness and keeps the house cool too.

Mezzanines

The house inside has no plaster or paint and works with mezzanines to use the volume available to the maximum. One mezzanine area is the sleeping loft and the other is the study room for the son. No artificial cooling systems such as fans or ACs have been used. The green walls, through carefully planted creepers, bring 32 types of birds, butterflies and bees plus the occasional snake on to the rooftop. The shy India Pitta has nested here and a cobra or a krait or a viper has shed its skin on the rooftop.

Sans Souci is an open house to study the various ecological ideas used and has been frequented by kids, college students, architecture students and others of the curious variety. For a long time the basement served as the office of the biome till the biome grew too big to fit into a basement.

S.Vishwanath, Bangalore.

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Tips on sustainable use of ground water

Residents of Chennai need to look for self-reliant measures on water use, write Sekhar Raghavan& Indukanth Ragade

The water position in Chennai has been satisfactory for several years now because of a couple of good monsoons, good supply from Andhra Pradesh and from the Veeranam Lake.

The rainwater harvesting systems installed by many citizens have also helped in improving ground water levels.

However, citizens should not presume that their water problems are solved for the following reasons;

Chennai’s water needs are mainly met by impounding the rainwater from the Araniar-Kortalayar rivers north of the city and the capacity of the reservoirs is woefully inadequate.

It has been estimated that an entire year’s supply flows wastefully into the sea consequently. The quantum of supply from AP and the Veeranam Lake is uncertain.

Therefore citizens seriously need to consider measures to become more self-reliant in their water needs. For this, they need to know how to tap their ground water sources effectively and in a sustainable manner. Tips on this are given below based on actual experience:

Ground water is available in two unconnected layers:

1. Layers at shallow depths, tapped by dug wells and tube wells

2. Layers of water entrapped in rocks at deeper layers through bore wells.

The depth at which rock occurs in any city varies from locality to locality. In Chennai, it occurs at about 5 ft in Little Mount, at 60 ft in Besant Nagar and at 150 ft in some places.

In the last three decades, the traditional dug wells and tube wells tapping the shallow layer dried up and went out of fashion due to over-exploitation.

Deep bore wells are now the fashion. Thus the shallow water layer has been totally ignored in the last two decades.

Dug wells are actually our insurance for the future, as they are sustainable, unlike the bore wells!

The (100 years’) average annual rainfall in Chennai is 125 cm and dug wells will be rejuvenated and made sustainable remarkably by charging them efficiently with this huge quantity. Costs are moderate and water quality will also be generally excellent.

The rocky layers tapped by bore wells are not sustainable as it is difficult to charge them with rainwater. Quality is also often unsatisfactory and pumping costs are high.

So, if an open well exists within the premises (even if it is dry), it should be retained and repaired, if necessary.

Deepening it with smaller diameter rings will help. As many as possible of the terrace down-take pipes should be connected to it directly.

The open well will be revived sooner or later.

If no dug well exists, seriously consider having one dug and connect all terrace pipes to it.

If a report of the soil investigation (up to about 30 ft depth) done usually for designing the foundation of a building is available, it will give an idea of the depth to which it should be dug.

If not, one can get it done for a few thousand rupees.

Initially, yield from the well may last only for some months after the monsoon. In this period, use well water.

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When it goes dry, switch over to the bore well. This is termed ‘Conjunctive Use of Aquifers’

Tubewell

If there is a neglected tube well, it may have now revived because of the recent rise in the shallow water table due to the spread of rainwater harvesting. It will be worth activating it once again.

If there is no space for a dug well, then one can go in for a new tube well. Use the tube well water in the post-monsoon months.

Switch over to the bore well if it dries up. While digging a new deep bore well, the bore well digger is likely to put a plain casing PVC pipe up to the rocky stratum.

In this shallow, non-rocky stratum, if reasonably sandy or gravelly layers are encountered, insist on a slotted PVC pipe for the favourable stretches instead of a plain pipe, so that the water in these layers can enter into the bore well through the slots to the bottom of the bore well and help sustain it.

It is hoped that readers will utilise these tips and obtain greater self-sufficiency in water. Much of what has been stated above is applicable to most cities of India.

(email:[email protected])

(email: [email protected])

Watch out for bacteria in your bore well

Here are a few tips to check bacterial contamination of water

Live hazard: Bacteria is a grave threat in a borewell.

Groundwater is getting increasingly polluted from domestic sewage, pit latrines, leaking septic tanks and contaminated surface water reaching aquifers.

Once regarded as one of the safest sources of water, deep borewells are now increasingly susceptible to bacterial contamination and this phenomenon has been reported in borewells as deep as 600 feet.

Since borewells are also a source of drinking and domestic water, here are a few tips to check water and treat it for bacterial contamination.

*It is important not to allow surface contaminants direct access into or near the casing. The casing and the surrounding should be sealed and surface water not allowed to stagnate. Sometimes casings get old and rusted. They should be replaced preferably by a PVC casing. New borewells should invariably have a good quality PVC casing.

* No septic tank leach pit or toilet pits should be located close to the casing. Leaking sewage lines should be attended to and the authorities pressured to act.

The casing itself should be higher than the ground level. This is to ensure that in case of a flood, water does not enter from the top. Use a basic H2S strip test bottle to find out the presence or absence of bacteria. This bottle has to be filled to a line marked and then observed for 36 hours.

If the water turns black inside the bottle, the presence of e.coli bacteria is indicated and the water sample can be sent to a laboratory for detailed analysis.

Handle carefully

Water samples for bacterial checks should be sterilised and handled carefully without causing contamination.

The borewell should be pumped for about five minutes and then a sample taken carefully and given to a laboratory for testing. Some laboratories offer this service and collect the sample themselves. Chlorination is the best way to treat

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groundwater contamination with bacteria. Liquid chlorine or bleaching powder mixed thoroughly with water should be introduced. If the borewell is deep, expect a lot of water to be needed.

For every 10 feet depth of a four- inch diameter borewell, expect to use 25 litres of water. The borewell should be filled up with this chlorine and water mix. Pump the water from the borewell to the sump for a few minutes so that the rising pipe is also sterilised. The chlorinated water should be used only after the smell of chlorine disappears and therefore a few hours time must be given before use.

Check the borewell water for contamination one day after chlorination to confirm that the bacterial contamination is eliminated. Remember, chlorine is a dangerous chemical and should therefore be used very carefully by trained people. Online chlorinators are also available which will treat the water from the borewell as it is being pumped up and thus will address bacterial contamination.

S.Vishwanath,

Bangalore.

How about a green wall?

Erecting fences with plants is a novel idea. A look at the trend that could soon be a rage with the upper class

RARE sight: It’s time to find out whether green fences could work in a busy locality. They offer

complete privacy too. After all, isn’t going green worth the effort?

Talk of fences and all you remember are the famous

thoughts of Robert Frost whose notable feelings on

how “Good fences make good neighbours,” made some

wonderful read. Fences, as we all know, are primarily

to demarcate an area to explain the divide and it could be of any material — concrete, stone, only brick or just

permeable green.

The Americans did pioneer a singularly different kind of a fence that is known to eat into the environment-

friendliness, and picket fences used in countryside pastoral landscapes, often painted with toxic chemicals, usually

blocked animal migration routes. Long wooden fences obviously needed the coming down of too many trees and

were forcibly lugging too deep into the soil due to strong winds that demanded constant maintenance.

Several who could afford some patient waits and spend some quality time now are re-considering the use of

century-old techniques of green alternatives. Just as the Normans used hedgerows and the native Americans used

Osage-Orange, botanists are looking for new ways to use living plants to regulate property lines.

Green borders

In India, both farmland owners in far-flung areas of the city and bungalow builders are discovering the use of hard

plant-like creepers that could be grown around special wire, wood and re-usable plastic strips for interwoven

greenery. Says Sashikant Tandon, who owns a residential landscape with total green fencing in Devanahalli,

“I read about Phung Tuu Boi of the Centre for Assistance in Nature Conservation and Community Development in

Hanoi. It inspired me to follow some of his styles of green fencing.

He has developed several with rare species of green that keep animals from foraging. Mr. Boi’s low-tech solution

consists of a fence made of trees covered with cactus-sharp needles to deter human beings and animals alike. The

economic incentive in it had Gleditschia australis, a fruit that residents could sell to make soaps and medicinals.”

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Sashikant also advises people not to use hardwood plants that would invite people to cut and use it for firewood,

but only soft thorny plant-like trees that would help some upright purpose, he says, reflecting his passion for

sustainable fences.

No compound wall

“Privacy and security are both achieved, and the satisfaction of steering away from the humdrum compound wall

is what makes the whole affair interesting,” says landscape architect Shiv Murari who has several bungalows in

Bangalore and Hyderabad to his credit.

Ranjani Govind, Bangalore.

Post-monsoon damage control exercise

With monsoon comes problems such as leakage, seepage in roofs, walls and flooding of floors. How to set it right? spells out, A.R.SANTHAKUMAR

Photo: K. Murali Kumar.

Precautionary measures: Timely steps like periodical inspection, regular maintenance and checking up faults should be taken.

After every bout of rain and during rain the buildings tend to reveal its limitations and defects. The monsoon rain

actually tests the building with showers and reveals the defects that are not normally observed during sunny days.

Leakage, seepage in roofs and walls and flooding of floors are some of the typical problems. One resolves to take

care of the problems right before the next rains, but the question many would ask is how to go about doing it?

Roof slab and balconies

Terraces, top balcony slabs, canopies and mouth of rainwater pipes are

places where water can stagnate and cause problems. In many

households, the terrace is the most abused space and residents dump all

kinds of waste materials here.

You must keep the terrace clean of debris to ensure smooth flow of water.

Otherwise, water will stagnate and seep into the building and

cause deterioration.

The level of drain pipe mouth should not be above the

terrace level. The stagnated water seeps into these gaps

between the slab-pipe and affects the adjoining beams and

columns. Clean up the area before monsoon and provide

gratings so that muck does not get into the drain.

Water tightness of areas in contact with rain splash is the

prime criteria for design and construction of exposed roof,

water tank or sump and foundation in contact with water.

There are at present quite a few effective membrane systems for water proofing.

The desirable properties required for such membrane applications are: good bridging property, good adhesion, and

ability to reseal itself, ability to withstand water pressure, durability and ease in application.

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The following are a few of the systems currently used for such applications.

1. Built-up-membrane 2.Polyethelene mastic 3.Bituthene membrane 4. Liquid polymers.5. Sheet rubber membrane 6.Bentonite coating

But water leakage and seepage on the walls, ceilings, bathrooms or basements which may require minor or

serious repairs can be addressed during the rainy season by injection grouting system, crystalline system, water-

based epoxy coatings, silicone-based repellent coating and acrylic coatings. Injection grouting and crystalline

systems are used for permanent waterproofing.

Walls and pipe supports

During maintenance quite often fissures in brick masonry or cracks in concrete are not properly plugged. Similar

problems arise in clamping areas of pipes. Such fissures or cracks get filled by dust. As a result of bird droppings

seeds get lodged in such fissures giving rise to growth of saplings on the building. If these are not removed and

attended to after the monsoon it will result in severe cracking of the surrounding area due to bursting pressure

exerted by the growing roots.

Better care during construction and extra vigil during the maintenance are the only solutions for avoiding this

problem.

Change the pipes. No point repairing them once they start leaking. Change the drinking water pipes if the building

is more than 15 years old. Change drainage pipe to PVC with proper installation. Having a leaky sewerage pipe is

both a building and health hazard.

The mouth of rain water pipes need to be cleaned of vegetation and earth to ensure that it is not choked. You

must also seal cracks and separation gaps of the building to prevent dampness.

Water leakage and seepage on the walls, ceilings, bathrooms or basements that may be requiring minor or serious repairs can be addressed using various systems such as injection grouting system, crystalline system, water based epoxy coatings, silicone-based repellent coating and acrylic coatings.

The type of treatment required the problem on hand can be decided by experts in the field but cannot sleep over

such defects endangering the safety of the whole structure.

Flooding of ground floor

One of the recurrent problems is the flooding of the house. One often wonders if the floor height could be raised

and prevent water from entering. To solve this problem, one should look at various levels that are bench marked

during construction of the building with respect to the plinth level. Plinth level is the top of the foundation walls.

Usually built of concrete block, or poured concrete at some height specified by local building codes, above flood

line and definitely above road level. It is important to establish the height of the plinth of a house. Plinth is the

ground floor level of the building. In the newly formed layouts, the roads are formed many months after the sites

are allotted. The houses, however, are built within two years. The owner of the plot will be unable to guess the

exact level of the road which is formed at a future date, to fix the plinth level. Roads are constructed much after

the building is completed.

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Many a time the roads are formed above the plinth level and water from the road enters the house when it rains.

In case where the road is not yet laid, one has to logically analyse the level of the proposed road and establish the

plinth height of the house sufficiently above the proposed road.

It is advisable that the height of the plinth on sites with asphalted roads be a minimum of 2 feet to 2.5 feet above

the road level. For sites without asphalted roads assume one-foot extra thickness of the road to be laid and

provide at least 3 feet height of plinth above it. One should realise, every time the road is repaired, the height of

the road increases.

In an already constructed house and if the plinth is lower than the road level, one cannot lift the plinth level

practically. In such cases it is inevitable to go in for a collection pit and then pump the water into domestic well or

the city rain water sewerage system if that still works.

Leakage, seepage and dampness cause deterioration of buildings. Timely action is necessary.

The author is emeritus Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT, Madras and former Dean, Anna University.

Building a response to climate change

Developers are looking at a range of emission reduction options, from double-glazed windows and doors to external solar shading, writes M.Dinesh Varma

Photo: AP

Growing awareness: The need for sustainable buildings is growing in every metropolis and city.

As inter governmental responses to tackle global warming gather

urgency, changed perspectives on climate change are bringing in

several innovative tools and technologies.

And with the correlation between “unintelligent” buildings and

rising carbon emissions becoming irrefutable, engineers,

architects and developers are looking at a range of emission

reduction options, from double-glazed windows and doors to external solar shading.

An India-UK seminar on sustainable building and design hosted by the British Deputy High Commission and

featuring a high profile trade mission from the UK sought to propagate the state-of-art in eco-friendly engineering

and design to Indian counterparts.

Setting the tone for the seminar, British Deputy High Commissioner for south India said that carbon emissions

were no longer a problem of transportation or power generation alone. “There is a need to “look at our own homes

and offices.”

As Mr. Connor pointed out, generally accepted statistics indicate that an estimated 14 per cent of global emissions

are from inefficient buildings.

Joint ventures

The realisation about the importance of sustainable buildings was increasing among real estate developers in

India, says Ramesh Nair of Jones Lang LaSalle. From their single asset and stand-alone approach, developers were

now getting more open to joint ventures, multi-city projects and a portfolio-based outlook, he said.

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In scale, the Indian office space segment---estimated to aggregate 100 million sq ft by 2012---was an irresistible

market for the UK, especially given its ongoing campaign for green buildings, Mr. Ramesh Nair pointed out.

As far as environment-friendly construction materials go, the double-glazed glass windows and doors offered a

viable tool for energy conservation, said C. J. Kohli of Bassra Machine Tool, which has developed some of the most

stringent testing and factory production standards for toughened glass. The double-glazed UPVC windows and

doors had potential to lower energy bills by between 20 and 40 per cent, he said.

The bottom line of any green building project would be the collaboration among the client, the architect and the

engineer, said Sergio Sadaba from Mott MacDonald. He cited the Manchester Civil Justice Court, with its 47 courts

and 75 consulting rooms, as an illustrative case-study of stakeholders brainstorming from scratch.

If you can look to the Sun as a partner, the possibilities of filtering the daylight and cushioning radiated heat

indoors are immense, says David Earp of Colt International Ltd. “External solar shading is all about striking a

balance between natural day lighting and solar heat gain in the interiors.”

Some exciting work is also happening on the carbon analytics front in the UK. Explaining the technique of “carbon

profiling”, Romi Dahele representing Sturgis Associates said it was now possible to factor in the total embodied

carbon in each layer cross-section of a building and break them down to values.

These values are mapped against a time scale to arrive at the embodied carbon efficiency of a building. In other

words, the total embodied carbon of a building can be a predictor for the life span of the structure, he said.

Giving a road map for sustainable growth in India as it marches into an ecological age, Nigel Austin from Arup

Engineering Design advocated a radical change in the approach to city living. The “directional change” should

involve, among other key things, a reduction in the number of cars on the roads, a viable public transport system,

better utilisation of land and sufficient green lungs, he said.

The UK’s commitment to take a leading role in tackling the causes and consequences of global warming, as stated

by Mr. Connor, would include lending technical support to the Indian effort for intelligent buildings.

The UK had only last month pioneered in making the Climate Change Act a law---the first such legislation in the

world that sets a legally binding framework to tackle the hazards of climate change.

Through the Climate Change and Energy teams attached to the High Commission network across India, the British

Government aims to address the issue of energy inefficiency of old buildings.

Prevention is better than cure

Check electrical gadgets frequently in your office to avert fire accident, is the latest mantra from the Andhra

Pradesh Fire and Emergency Services Department following a spate of accidents reported in commercial buildings.

Sparks from power storage batteries, computer servers, air-conditioners, switch boards and loose wire connections

are the main reasons for fire accidents in these complexes. In some incidents, flames erupted due to smokers’

carelessness.

Almost all the buildings in which fire broke out lacked mandatory fire safety measures. “Lack of proper mechanism

for monitoring electrical appliances always leads to fire accidents”, says Hyderabad Clues Team Scientific Expert,

T. Suresh.

Smokers’ recklessness in extinguishing the butt of their cigarette can also contribute to accidents.

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M.SRINIVAS, HYDERABAD

The three “P’s to housing

The new integrated townships intend to make housing an affordable proposition

Vision ahead: Satellite townships will decongest cities and give a fillip to development of smaller towns.

The public-private partnership mode has breached another

government bastion – housing.

With the private sector making a definitive in the higher income

segments and the governmental agencies failing to do so for the

middle and low income groups, a new initiative is being proposed

to pave way for more “affordable” housing.

The Municipal Administration and Urban Development Department which has unveiled the draft proposals recently

for the new scheme to promote integrated townships with private initiative intending to tackle to several issues

simultaneously, like encouraging satellite townships to decongest cities and also give a 0thrust towards

development of smaller towns.

These special zones akin to the much-debated special economic zones (SEZs) has housing component along with

work places.

With two-thirds space for housing and one-third for work centres, the townships would be allowed across all urban

areas and semi-urban areas with sizes ranging from 75 acres (municipalities) to 200 acres (cities).

Forty per cent of the plotted areas have been earmarked for economically weaker sections, low income and middle

income groups with at least 10 per cent to be allotted for each of the respective categories. Townships are to have

underground cabling, piped gas, water recycling and water harvesting facility, garbage disposal besides basic

amenities like water, sewerage, power, fire and police stations, etc.

All these have to be provided for by the developer and maintained for perpetuity by creating a corpus fund to

collect charges. And not all developers would be allowed to go ahead with the projects even if they submit

preliminary plans because final approvals would be after a performance rating and only those getting above eight

points would be allowed construction.

There are conditionalities like, developers applying for integrated townships in big cities have to simultaneously

take up similar project in the smaller town either on their own or in association with the State urban development

authority/special unit when constituted for smaller municipalities.

Ten per cent land should be given to the sanctioning authority for its disposal and an extra 10 per cent of

developed land as mortgage as the common building rules would be applicable for all townships.

External civic infrastructure would be facilitated by the Government for which costs would have to be bared by the

developer.

So much for the conditions, there are also some sops indicated in the policy and ways and means to compensate

land owners (see box).

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The government is also offering to lease its land falling under the integrated township at the prevailing market

rate and give special concessions for hospitals, star hotels, multiplexes and others in property tax payments.

It would promote ‘work centres’ coming up inside them through its departments and give some financial

incentives.

While marketing would be the developer’s job, government departments too would play a role along with real

estate advisory companies to be empanelled separately.

V.GEETANATH, HYDERABAD

Merits of red oxide floor

It is economical and best suited for earthy interiors merits, writes RANJANI GOVIND Photo: Mahesh Harilal

Extra polish: Red oxide for floors and window sill.

The enviable longevity is the speciality of the earthy red-oxide flooring . M. R. Satheesh, (Home Tech Associates) a contracting consultant for construction materials says the market for red-oxides are limited to those who have an for earthy interiors . He vouches that "you have no maintenance headaches, it only requires a daily mop. Every walk on a red-oxide floor is a smooth friction akin to a round of extra polish.

Perhaps open and wet areas may not take it as atmospheric changes can bring in light fissures," he says. If colours speak of an era, red-oxides on your floor are the resplendent reds consciously transporting you back to nearly seven decades of some rich tradition. Several parts of South India, especially Kerala, coastal Karnataka and interior Tamil Nadu saw a gleaming spread of the oxide in shades as cherry, crimson, ruby or scarlet.

"Its appeal is in its uniform finish, joint-free seamless stretches and the glow that the colour exudes with every passing year, throwing up a seamless wonder," says Suri Sastry who deals with flooring solutions.

Forgotten market

Red oxide flooring cannot withstand the vagaries of nature in open areas or the high traffic load of commercial applications, say experts, as calcium and magnesium are sensitive to direct radiations. It is roughly a quarter-to-half-an-inch thick spread of a specialised measure of oxide-cement-water with deft hands dealing with the slurry mixture on plastered concrete. It is later trowelled evenly by highly skilled masons.

The polish used to be coconut oil smeared and rubbed with a husk, some even used egg shells, later mansion polish appeared, but now French oxides are mixed to get a permanent sheen.

Kerala, especially Thrissur, has this skilled labour proliferating, as the floor still is being done up with the expert mix of colour oxides. There are few companies as Home Tech Associates and the HUDCO sponsored Masonry Training Programme teaching the nuances to masons in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Says Padmini S. Sundar, Architect and Interior Designer, "Although there are telling aesthetic disadvantages with colour choices in these oxides, independent houses are trying it yet again to get an earthy appeal. "It is this makeup that brings in red-oxide for thinnais, sunken drawing and stairs.

In an age where you pay a premium to get the vintage look, red-oxides help you save money. It costs between Rs. 55 to 75 per sq ft, ."

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A case for the vernacular

New research shows why the traditional architecture of Kerala provides indoor comfort, by keeping cool in summer and warm in winter

The vernacular architecture of Kerala mystifies architects. Its benefits, such as the thermal comfort indoors, are believed to come from abundant use of wood. But this is not so, say three researchers who carried out studies in the nearly 300-year-old Puthiya Kovilakam in Nilambur in Malappuram district. They say that Kerala vernacular residential architecture, which provides comfortable indoor temperatures, can be easily applied in modern architecture.

A.S. Dili, Assistant Professor of Architecture, T.K.M. College of Engineering, Kollam, a research scholar at the National Institute of Technology-Calicut (NIT-C); M.A. Naseer, Associate Professor and Head of the Department of Architecture at the Institute, and T. Zacharia Varghese, Professor of Civil Engineering there, who did the research, feel that modern buildings need to adopt the same techniques to manage conduction, convection and radiation of heat.

They say that the principles of vernacular architecture are founded on empirical observation and experimental knowledge. It is found to be successful in providing thermally comfortable indoors — cool during summer and warm in winter. The internal space taken for the investigation of the Kovilakam was the 2mX6m courtyard surrounded by double-storey structures. Dili said the house in Nilambur was chosen in view of the climatic fluctuations in that area.

The temperature rises to 40 degrees Celsius in summer and dips to16 degrees Celsius in winter. He says that field data was collected using a custom-made instrumentation set-up (called the architectural evaluation system), which is a combination of electronic sensors, a data logger, a memory module and a computer interface. The indoor air temperature showed a very low diurnal variation owing to high thermal insulation of the building envelope.

The thermal insulation in buildings is achieved by the effective use of materials and the techniques used in the construction of the walls and the roof.

The external walls of vernacular buildings are usually thick — up to 75 cm — with a double layer of laterite masonry and a gap in between filled with fine sand. This insulates the external wall. To insulate the roof, a wooden ceiling is provided beneath the roof with a large air space in the attic that acts as an insulation layer against the conduction of external heat through the roof. This air space is further ventilated with openings on either side.

Walls of modern concrete buildings have a thickness of only 20-23 cm. This can be increased by at least up to 35 cm by using cavity walls. A double-layer roof can be constructed in the place of an attic space with ventilation, Dili says.

Use of windows

Windows should be provided only to let in diffuse sunlight. Providing windows on the northern side of the house based on the concept of northern light roofing is gaining currency nowadays. It must be ensured that no sunlight directly strikes the floor. Construction of a veranda is preferred for protection of external walls from solar radiation, he says.

In traditional architecture, a controlled air flow is maintained throughout in the building. This results in a slow convective heat exchange from outdoors to indoors. That is, when the outdoors are very hot, those heat scalars are only transmitted indoors by the wind, which reduces the intensity of the heat, Dili says.

However, designers these days give too much importance to maximising cross-ventilation. This will do more harm than good. How can cross-ventilation help reduce a room temperature of 37 degrees Celsius when the temperature outside is 38 degrees Celsius, he asks.

The researchers say that the modern practice in architecture lacks a conscious effort to use passive methods to control the indoor environment. Excessive use of modern materials irrespective of their efficiency in regulating the indoor environment has often resulted in high energy consumption, leading to many environmental problems.

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Energy intensive solutions required in buildings to attain comfort through mechanical cooling, ventilation and artificial lighting result in environmental damage.

BIJU GOVIND KOCHI

What makes for building safety

Construction experts have a challenge in providing the right material mix to ward off possible collapse

Buildings resting on wetlands are under intense scrutiny now in the light of the Bellary building collapse. The structure built on wetland (black cotton soil) gave way crushing several labourers to death. Not that there haven’t been collapses on normal dry land. Be it on wet or dry lands, surrounding lake and tank-beds or construction of individual buildings and skyscrapers, determining the soil pattern is primary. It throws up challenges for structural engineers, architects and geo-technical personnel on the material make-up for a project, before other factors for technical safety are put in place, say experts.

Structural engineers say an imbalance in design forms the underlying factor for buildings losing balance, rather than blaming existing soil patterns. When it comes to the foundation, it all rests on what the soil samples say, as much as the architect’s design for structural engineers to look for their perfect placements.

The Hindu PropertyPlus spoke to D. Ranganath, Consulting Structural Engineer and Member, Association of Consulting Civil Engineers (ACCE-India), on construction-safety parameters and basic structural details that make for the safety of buildings. Mr. Ranganath holds an M. Tech degree from IIT-Madras and an M.S. in Structural Engineering from Kansas State University, U.S. His designs encompass a wide range of civil engineering structures including underpasses using trenchless technology, multi-storeyed buildings and industrial structures.

Excerpts from the interview...

Basically, can we blame the collapse of buildings on things like material-mix, percentage of steel input or a bad foundation...or is it something more?

Apart from providing shelter, safety and comfort, a building is designed in such a way that the energy loads that come on to it — in the form of people, materials, furniture and wind pressure — are safely transmitted to structural members and passed on through a series of similar structural elements to the soil below to dissipate the energy safely. If this energy is not smoothly transmitted, it will affect the structure’s stability and its safety.

In a typical building, the loads are placed on the slab, supported by beams, which are supported on columns that transmit these loads to their footings. These footings dissipate the loads to the soil over a larger area, designed by engineers to maintain equilibrium of the soil structure.

Buildings collapse if any of these structural members — slabs, beams, columns, footings, soil structure — fail to carry the loads . All structural members are designed after suitably assessing the anticipated load for planned usage. They will fail if they are loaded beyond their designed capacity. A collapse could be due to: insufficient section and steel provided for intended usage; bad detailing of reinforcement provided in concrete; overloading on the structural detailing beyond its capacity; use of inferior materials; poor or lack of knowledge of good engineering practices by the construction team; lack of curing and nurturing of fresh concrete slabs, columns and beams; lack of technical supervision; and lack of training.

What is a perfect concrete mix, and how does this contribute to building-strength?

Concrete is a heterogeneous wonder material that can be manufactured specifically in various strengths and shapes to perform certain tasks. Advanced technologies have led to different concretes of high strength. It is a mixture of coarse aggregates (stones of specified sizes), fine aggregates (sand), cement, water and admixtures. This mix, with varied proportions, results in concretes of different strengths. Each of the ingredients should be used with precision for desired results.

Recent years have seen a number of admixtures being developed which, when mixed with concrete at specified quantity, produces advanced structural members in terms of strength, quality and durability. The minimum mix to be used in structural members is M20 — M standing for Mix and 20N/sqmm denoting the compressive strength of concrete after 28 days from casting day.

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A perfect concrete mix is one that gives concrete the strength designed and specified by the design engineer. Although the advice is a general one for the quality of ingredients that go into a concrete mix, the ratio of these ingredients used for concrete in one structural member could vary from another depending on various technical factors specific to the building.

Is soil testing paramount before taking up a construction, and why?

Yes. Soil testing is paramount before taking up construction/structural designing work. All loads from a building are eventually transferred to the ground below. The soil structure is not the same in all locations or depths. As the transfer of loads from a building to the soil below safely is of absolute importance, it is essential for the designer to understand the properties of the soil structure at the depth at which the foundation will be rested. There are well-defined tests that can determine the soil strength and assist the designer in detailing the type, size and depth of footings for the particular building under consideration. Lake beds, agricultural areas and waterbeds have been converted into residential areas. Loose soil is supposed to de-strengthen structures, the recent Bellary case being a casualty of loose soil syndrome...

But it’s wrong to conclude that loose soil de-strengthens the structure. In fact, it is possible to design foundations and construct buildings on any land form/ soil. But each foundation will differ dramatically based on the type of soil structure, type and size of building, loads being transmitted etc.

The recently executed Bandra-Worli Sea Link, the over 800m tall Burj Khalifa highrise in Dubai, are structures designed on loose soil. The depth at which the foundation is rested will be carefully determined based on various parameters of the proposed building as well as soil test results.

Depending on the building requirement, a foundation provided in loose soil may be spread over a larger area/ combined with more than one footing/ made to rest on pile footings that run deep into the earth/ strengthening of the soil structure itself such that energy is dissipated smoothly ensuring safety and stability of the structure. It is the appropriate placement and type of footings at a well founded depth that governs the strength of a foundation, rather than the loose soil around it.

What does a high-rise mean? A 7-storey building or something more?

Any building that extends vertically by two or more floors is termed a multi-storey building. Local governing bodies classify a building as a high rise if it goes beyond a particular height. In the Bangalore CDP 2005-2015, multi-storeyed buildings of over 24 meters height is defined as a high-rise building. So it is the height, and not the number of floors, that defines it.

Ranjani Govind

Bangalore

Towards greener buildings

The RBI offices in Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram and the Divisional Railway Manager's office in the State capital have been awarded for energy efficiency

Green reserve: The RBI office in Thiruvananthapuram.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) offices in Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram and the office of the Divisional Railway Manager of Southern Railway in the state capital - along with the Wipro office in Kochi - are on a list of buildings across the country with star ratings for energy efficiency.

The ratings awarded by the national-level Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) were announced on February 3.

The RBI buildings in Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram have already been awarded the star ratings. The RBI office in Kochi has got five stars, while the one in Thiruvananthapuram has got four.

The Wipro complex in Kochi, earlier adjudged a green building by the Indian Green Building Council, has also been given a five-star rating.

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The star-rating is among the steps being taken by BEE to encourage building complexes across the country to go in for energy audits. Forty-nine buildings across the country have been audited so far.

Occupancy sensors

A. K. Maurya, Senior Divisional Electrical Engineer of Southern Railway, Thiruvananthapuram, told The Hindu that several measures were taken in the Divisional Railway Manager's office to meet the standards set by BEE. The first step was to replace the 40-watt tubelights with 15-watt ones.

Occupancy sensors were put in place to ensure that fans and lights were switched off when nobody was in.

The old air-conditioning plant was replaced with a new one with a five-star rating. Incandescent lamps were replaced with compact fluorescent lamps, adding to the energy savings, Mr. Maurya said.

He said the office was now saving around Rs.50,000 in electricity bill a month after the Railway invested around Rs.4 lakh to get the star-rating.

The RBI building in Kochi did not have to undertake any major measures to meet the energy-efficiency standards set by BEE, sources here said as the building was relatively new.

Benchmarking

The BEE star-rating for office buildings was undertaken from the realization that energy audits had revealed great potential for energy savings both in government- owned and private buildings in the country.

The first step was to launch the National Commercial Energy Benchmarking initiative to establish a framework to standardise energy data collection, baseline setting for typical commercial buildings, energy performance target setting and monitoring and so on.

The initiative in star rating of office buildings commenced in February last year.

BEE has identified five types of buildings for the purpose of energy audits - office buildings, hotels, hospitals, retails malls and information technology parks - in the five climatic zones in the country.

The efficiency of a building in energy utilization is judged by the Energy Performance Index measured in terms of kWh per square meter a year.

K.A. MARTIN Thiruvananthapuram

Wood engravings made easy

House owners normally want to let their doors have an aesthetic appeal

Doing up the door: Wood carving machines have hit the market.

The first component that catches attention about a house is its doors and these days house owners take no chances in making their house doors, particularly the main one, have an aesthetic appeal. With the advent of technology, wood carving machines have hit the market.

City-based Crystal Digital Solutions showcased one such machine at the three-day ‘Photo Today 2010’ expo, HITEX convention Centre in Kochi. Branded as Suda CNC Routers, the machine can be used for carving wood, sign plate, acrylic cutting, metal and non-metals etc.

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Its working mechanism is simple. One has to select a design, pattern or even a photo image of a person to be engraved on a wooden door or metal sheet etc. After selecting the design, the image is stored in a USB drive and connected to the DSP unit of the machine and the rest is taken care of by the machine, says Venkat Golakoti of Crystal Solutions.

“The machine engraves so efficiently that one cannot make out whether it’s hand-engraved or machine engraved. Every minute aspect in the design is taken care of and not to mention its speed. While, experienced

carpenters take at least 15 days to engrave a design on a single door, this machine does it in 16 hours,” he explains.

This apart, it reduces the cost on the consumer as well. While, carpenters charge about Rs.8,000 to engrave a design on a door, it would be nearly Rs.6,000 on this machine. Based on the rotating speed of spindle and the drill tool used, these machines cost between Rs.2 lakh and Rs.9.5 lakh, he says.

S. SANDEEP KUMAR,

Hyderabad

White roofs best coolant

According to a research report, if every roof is painted white the urban heat island effect could be reduced by 33 per cent Photo: N. Balaji

Efficient: White roof effective in reducing urban heat.

While world leaders are struggling to tackle global warming, American researchers have claimed to have found a simple way to cool cities – by painting the roofs of buildings white.

"Our research demonstrates that white roofs can be an effective method for reducing urban heat. It has the potential to significantly cool cities and mitigate some impact of global warming," said lead author Keith Oleson Atmospheric Research.

The team found that if every roof across the world were entirely painted white, the urban heat island effect could be reduced by 33 per cent.

This would cool the world’s cities by an average of about 0.7 deg Fahrenheit, with the cooling influence particularly pronounced during the day, especially in summer,

Mr. Oleson said. Asphalt roads, tar roofs and other artificial surfaces absorb heat from the sun, creating an urban heat island effect that can raise temperatures on average by 2 to 5 deg F (about 1 to 3 deg Celsius) or more compared to rural areas.

In the study, the team used a newly developed computer model which provided scientists with an idealized view of different types of cities around the world, Science Daily reported.

However, the team cautioned that there were still many hurdles between the concept and actual use of white roofs to counteract rising temperatures. The authors emphasise that their research should have hypothetical look at typical city landscapes rather than the actual rooftops of any one city.

In the real world, the cooling impact might be somewhat less because dust and weathering would cause the white paint to darken over time and parts of roofs would remain unpainted because of openings such as heating and cooling vents. In addition, white roofs would have the effect of cooling temperatures within buildings.

The research indicated that some cities would benefit more than others from white roofs, depending on such factors as: roof density.

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Cities where roofs make up more of the urban surface area would cool more.

- PTI

A cardboard wonder

Take a look at some striking cardboard interior design by Restore Solutions, says RANJANI GOVIND

Creativity: Imagination can turn even simple materials into wonderful interior elements

Heard of card board as a practical material in interior retail designing? Would you have ever imagined card board in the place of plywood or hardwood planks in retail store designing? Take a look at Restore Solutions’ (end-to-end solutions provider in the area of retail design) pioneering design-work with cardboard at the retail garment store ‘Rattrap,’ (of BLR Knits, garment export company, Forum Value Mall, Whitefield, Bangalore) showcases its whacky in teriors and rare contemporary styling that is grabbing attention for its aesthetics, usability and brand experience.

Says Anirudha P. Mukhedkar of Restore Solutions, “BLR wanted the design at the store to reflect the spirit of their offering. Thus using cardboard/ corrugated boxes as essential design building blocks was a tongue-in-cheek reference to the brand’s export surplus roots!”

Property Plus brings an exclusive interview with Anirudha, mechanical engineer with a passion for interiors, for knowing more on the modus operandi that went into the unique and tricky cardboard work at the store. After all, design, he believes, enhances usability and the materials used, to a large extent, signify the brand’s persona.

Why card board? What are its advantages?

The clients’ core business was exports and shipping them in cardboard cartons which was really the inspiration for the design building block. Cardboard material is essentially a composite of paper and corrugated board layered together.

The number of layers used determines its strength. We used 7 layers or 7 ply cardboard, which was optimum in terms of strength and flexibility.

People generally use plywood or MDF with laminate, as few are ready to look at experimentation of any sort. Whereas at Restore we believe, ‘if you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got.’ So, cardboard as a material was not only relevant in terms of speaking the brands’ language, it was instrumental in reflecting our intent to create differentiated retail environments.

Is it water, fire and termite-proof? Can you also speak in terms of the material’s longevity?

All the cardboard units have been placed on pallets that help protect the material from water.

And just like wood, cardboard isn’t fire proof or termite proof.

However, it can be treated with environment friendly products to give it water and termite resistance. As far as strength and longevity are concerned, cardboard is extremely strong, but it depends on usage.

Cardboard is a generic term for a heavy-duty paper based product. It is formed with sheets of unbleached craft paper that are pleated and bonded with wood pulp and adhesives to form a strong structure.

Cardboard has inside and outside layers of flat sheets that can resist puncture up to a certain point.

The central layer is made from fluted, short fibre paper that not only provides cushioning, but can also resist a certain amount of crushing force. So the more you layer it, the more strength you give it.

Moreover, cardboard is fully environmentally-friendly as it is made from natural substances, is recyclable and biodegradable.

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The material should easily last for more than 4 to 5 years unless one wants a change for fresh looks.

Contact ‘Restore Solutions’ at 98440 28733 or email [email protected] / www.restoresolutions.in

weather-beaten charm?

Rustic Appeal : Un-plastered charm

How about some rustic appeal that radiates an honest, weather-beaten charm? Right, the Laurie Baker style of houses fit the bill wonderfully well.

Such as this house at the quaint Cholamandalam Artist’s village, designed by artist M.V. Devan. Leaving out the plastering and painting has saved a good bit of money even while adding character to the house.

On the flip side, you need to have plenty of strategic windows to ensure sufficient lighting as un-plastered surfaces tend to create darker spaces.

This house is on a tiny plot, and gradually rises a little along the vertical trajectory in the form of a circular tower that has its flooring at the mezzanine level inside the house.

A circular wall going around a central circular passage that in turn encircles a central mutram kind of space enhances the rustic appeal.

The walls have been carved out to provide space for artistic knick-knacks and utilities, leaving out the necessity for making cabinet type storage spaces.

The rooms of the house open out from the outer side of the circular passage. An unpolished, rough textured granite wall that projects from the façade of the house completes the rustic appeal.

Hema Vijay

Better construction techniques at lesser cost

New practices that are qualitatively better and save on time have surfaced, writes Nrithya Ranganathan

Viable and efficient: A view of the aluminium form work during construction.

Innovations and new methods in construction abound and they help reduce cost, time and improve quality.

Adopting new technologies is important as they bring in a systematic way of working, maximise output in a short time and make projects cost effective, says the A.M.Arun, Project Manager, Atkins Ltd. Chennai.

On an average 20 per cent of the cost and 25 per cent of time can be reduced when new methods are adopted. In the last two years larger developments are increasingly looking for innovations to improve quality, profits and brand value.

L&T Arun Excello Reality at Estancia Chennai decided to build reinforced concrete walls that are about six inches thick than use conventional nine inches thick brick wall.

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This ensures that the walls and floors become monolithic and prevent cracks.

Steel mesh reinforcement used in the exterior and interior walls give it the rigidity and thermal comfort.

It also increases the carpet area as the wall thickness is reduced. However, this technique demands a complete pre-planning and does not allow for design changes later.

Big advantage

The big advantage, P.Suresh, Managing Director Arun Excello, explains, is that the curing process takes only six days instead of the conventional 21 day cycle.

To further improve construction quality at Estancia, Aluminium system form work instead of the conventional timber system has been used. This light weight form work with its regular spacing provides clear access, makes work easier and faster.

It reduces time. Similar technique is also adopted at the TVH Ouranya Bay on the OMR. Here the frames for windows and door as well as ducts for services are placed as the walls of the building are concreted. Staircase, facade panels and other pre-fabricated items are also integrated into the structure.

This provides many advantages compared with other construction techniques.

At Lumbini square by True Value Homes, solid block cement walls that are light in weight and cost effective are used. Since the internal walls are built with light weight blocks, it is easy to alter and the entire framed structure is designed only to carry the light weight blocks which help reduce construction time .

About 10 to 15% of cost can be reduced through this. Larger developments cannot be done efficiently with the conventional method of construction.

Innovations

On the other hand new technologies that concentrate on reducing weight and steel quantity makes structural design better, said a structural consultant working on large scale development projects. Seeing the need for more construction innovations, firms specialising in construction technology now offer services to developers who cannot invest on their own.

UK based firm Pegasus Constructions that has started operating projects in Chennai, Mumbai are concentrating on remodeling existing houses and using innovative materials.

For example, tarpaulins are used in an unique manner with various chemical combinations to create a house of good quality and that costs 75% of a conventional building.

Monsoon shed erectors, waterproofing, sun protectors, sound proofing etc are done economically with these innovations in materials for all typology buildings bringing a new scenario of diverse thinking, says Mr.Goshar GM Marketing.

Many new materials are in the horizon. RIKO in Saxony is developing fibre composite light weight materials for buildings in hot zone like India and Dubai. These materials can be used where the advantages of wood can be combined with that of polymer products.

This includes the furniture, factories and leisure industries and they are planning to launch in India by 2011.

Construction techniques need to keep pace with the rapid expansion of infrastructure and construction.

Demands must be met with speed without compromising quality. Many more firms will sooner than later shift to new practices to gain and share the benefits with the users.