This subject has been blogged and tweeted all over the place but few seem to have seen any photographs of the proposed house or, if they have, they’re keeping it well under wraps. The architect’s website doesn’t seem to list it and I finally managed a glimpse of the proposed “futuristic petrol station” in an [...]
This is an interesting and a whole new angle on the LEED debate. Essentially what is being said is that tightly sealing a building (to make the air-conditioning system more energy efficient) also locks in hazardous chemicals with complete disregard for indoor air quality. Ideally, in our climate, we’d have less “sealed” buildings and more [...]
When this is so clearly meant for the U.S. of A alone, why the heck do they insist on calling it the “International” Green Construction Code? Sheesh! See this press release by ASHRAE for more.
Last evening at the American Library here, there was a web interaction between Peter J. Arsenault and Roshni Udyavar – head of the Environmental Architecture course at Rachana Sansad. I fully expected it to be all about LEED but was pleasantly surprised that there was only a passing mention to a system that I don’t [...]
It took a question by a friend on BREEAM that made me do a search on the subject. Was surprised to find there was another system that I hadn’t heard of called Estidama Pearls which has grown out of Abu Dhabi. What is unique about the Pearls rating system is that unlike BREEAM and LEED, [...]
There is no doubt that the LEED ratings have brought the need for energy efficient buildings to the forefront. However, the system is easily exploited to get what the author of this article calls, “a shiny green stamp” for an unsustainable building. You get good points for installing bike racks (that may or may not [...]
The first line of this article echoes my opinion of the LEED ratings: “Building green is not about building structures that use lots of materials and energy, and then fixing them so that they become a little more efficient.” The rest of the piece dives into the foolishness of glass façades, reasons to go local [...]
On Saturday, I went with clients to help them choose a site they had identified at the gated “Rustic Highlands” development in Khandala. The place itself was nice enough – although I dare say I’ve seen a lot better. What amazed us was that while people had built some massive homes there – many very [...]
I’ve never done a factory design before so this is going to be a lovely challenge. The clients contacted me because they want a plant which is as ecologically sound as is possible. The site is a 2-acre plot in Cuttack, Orissa on the banks of the Mahanadi. I spent most of my two days [...]
This article from ConstructionWeek is sure to fuel a debate that could go on forever with proponents of both systems backing their favourite. Any rating system can be manipulated and, in this regard, GRIHA scores higher because there is lot less scope to fudge it. More importantly, LEED gives points for, say, high-tech systems to [...]