— Kevin Sullivan, Managing Director, Leap Sustainability Design Consulting Pvt. Ltd
Leap Sustainability
Design Consulting Pvt. Ltd
is a subsidiary of Space
Matrix and a green
building design firm based
in India and Singapore.
Kevin Sullivan speaks to
Renu Rajaram on a range
of issues related to
sustainable construction,
or green building as it is
also known, and creation
of green cities in
developing countries like
India and China.
Define 'sustainable construction'?
What are the aspects that
decide the 'sustainability' of an
urban project?
Sustainable construction, also
generally known as 'green building',
is design and construction
practices that significantly reduce
or eliminate the negative impact
of buildings on the environment
and occupants in five broad areas:
site, water, energy and atmosphere,
materials and resources,
and environmental air quality.
For urban areas, there would be
greater emphasis given to a building's
connectivity in terms of existing
infrastructure, amenities and
mass transit. Also, for urban areas,
with scarcity of land, buildings
should consider higher density to
maintain light, air and green open
space, and avoid contributing to
light pollution and urban heat
island effect.
What are the most common drivers
leading to green projects?
Cost of energy: Green building
can typically save up to 30 per
cent of energy consumption over
conventional buildings, and payback
period on most green investments
are three to five years.
Regulatory benefits/incentives:
Many national, state and local
governments around the world
offer incentives for developers to
build green. In some cases it may
be energy or water saving mandates
set in the building code
which drive the green features of
the project. Many governments
also offer incentives in terms of
additional FAR, lower taxes and
access to grants and technologies
to incentivise developers.
Brand value: Many 'Fortune 500'
companies and developers have a
sustainability focus in their missions
and CSR policies and
choose to build green. By building
green they are "walking the walk"
and communicating their core
values to their customers.
What are the responsibilities of
an architect while ensuring sustainable
construction?
The best green buildings begin on
the architect's drawing table.
Architects need to first consider
the best climate-responsive
design strategies for the site. Costneutral
strategies like natural day
lighting and ventilation, and passive
cooling need to be optimised
first, and then active mechanical
and lighting systems should be
appropriately and efficiently
designed.
Throughout the construction
process the architect should
ensure that green specifications
for equipment and materials are
implemented on site, that measurement
and verification of building
performance aligns with the
design intent.
What are the sustainable practices
used in the design and construction
phases?
Design phase
- Optimised landscape design
using xeriscaping and indigenous
and adapted plant species
- Storm water management to
aim for zero discharge from the
site
- Green and high-SRI hardscaping
design and high albedo roof
design to reduce heat island
effect
- Light pollution reduction selection
of interior, exterior and
landscape lighting
- Innovative wastewater use
(wastewater treatment and
reuse)
- Water-reducing, low-flow
plumbing fixtures, with dual
grey-water plumbing system
- Storm water harvesting with
storage and detention for reuse
or recharge
- Double skin masonry walls with
air gap insulation with masonry
blocks and bricks with low-U
value and low embodied energy
- Double insulated glass windows,
with low-e and thermal
breaks
- Passive design strategies such
as trombe walls, evaporative
cooling, natural air convection,
to reduce mechanical energy
demand
- Low consumption lighting
design — e.g. T-5 CFLs and
LEDs
- Lighting controls - e.g. occupancy
sensors and demand
control task lighting
- Efficient ACMV systems (most
important aspect of service
design to obtain high energy
use reduction)
- Solar hot water heating
- Assessment for solar PV for
common areas and
parking/landscape lighting
Construction phase
- Use of regional materials
- Use of recycled materials
- Construction waste management
to target 90 per cent diversion
from landfill for innovation
point
- Certified wood
- Indoor air performance to
ASHRAE 90.1 2007 and
ASHRAE 55/LEED v. 3 2009
standards
- Outdoor air delivery monitoring
and demand control, CO2
sensors in densely occupied
spaces
- Use of low emitting/low VOC
paints, sealants, flooring and
agrifibre boards
- Thermal controls and design to
ASHRAE 55 thermal comfort
requirements
- Maximise design to achieve
minimum daylight factor of 2
per cent and views in 90 per
cent of spaces.
- Recycle cooking oil/biofuel oil
closed loop innovation
- Green housekeeping for
healthy IAQ
- Green education and training
How can you guarantee the energy
performance of a project during
its construction and lifetime?
There is widely-used international
protocol for commissioning and
measurement and verification of
buildings (ASHRAE and IPMVP)
to ensure it is constructed as per
the design intent. Green building
projects must follow these protocols
in the design and construction
process, and should monitor
performance throughout occupancy
by using an integrated
BMS system.
What is your relationship with
other parties, such as, contractors,
engineers and interior
designers, while guiding them in
the planning, construction and
maintenance of a project?
The architect often teams up with
a green building consultant and
guides the whole process of sustainable
design from concept
through commissioning. He/she
is responsible for creating a green,
high-performance building and
ensuring that all green design
standards are being met throughout
the construction process.
What are some of the common
unsustainable construction practices?
Inappropriate and non-climate
responsive design strategies, not
taking advantage of natural daylighting,
ventilation and passive
cooling, over design in terms of
sizing of HVAC (heating, ventilation,
and air conditioning) systems
and structural elements,
wastage of materials on site etc.,
are a few common unsustainable
construction practices.
How can you make existing
buildings more efficient?
Retrofitting of existing buildings,
especially in urban areas, is the
greenest building strategy
because it does not require provision
of new land or infrastructure.
It also reduces the amount of
materials and energy in the construction
process.
How do rating systems like
LEED and Griha help promote
sustainable construction?
Green building rating systems
like LEED and Griha are transforming
the market for green
buildings by creating a set of rigorous
and consistent standards
according to which all buildings
are measured. In some cases, they
have become de facto parts of the
building code, as in the requirement
that all Indian government
buildings over 100k sq. ft should
be GRIHA certified. In the US too,
many cities and departments of
the US government use LEED as
a minimum building performance
requirement for commercial
buildings.
What is the current scenario of
sustainable building construction
in the developing world?
Since most of the building taking
place today is happening in developing
countries, particularly in
China, India, the Middle East and
Latin America, and the global cost
of energy is at historic highs,
builders must consider construction
methods and technologies
that save energy and materials.
Many of the most innovative
models for green cities are being
created in developing countries
e.g. Songtan Green City in South
Korea, Dongtan City in China,
and Masdar City in Abu Dhabi.