PCEF Eco-housing Activities
The group has deliberated on the individual focus areas of the Eco-housing Assessment criteria in relation to the D C Rules
Even though the criteria is applicable only to residential construction, its applicability to other buildings have been studied
n Commercial Buildings (malls, multiplexes, offices, IT parks)
n Institutional Buildings (public buildings, hospitals, educational institutions)
Preliminary analysis includes
n Applicability of the criteria to the D C Rules
n Measures to ensure compliance in case of specific criteria
n Supporting documentation to be developed and studies that need to be carried out for implementation eg. Guidelines for bio diversity conservation, case studies for appropriate ground coverage
PCEF Eco-housing Activities
Recommendations cover the Eco-housing focus areas of
n Site Planning
n Water Conservation
n Solid Waste Management
n Use of Renewable Energy for water heating application
Activities Planned
n Prepare a detailed report of recommendations.
n Study applicability of criteria to existing housing societies
n Training programs for end users and architects/ developers to be held in Feb/ March
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2 comments:
If three or four multi-storied buildings share a common multilevel parking space it will free the base of each building from being parking lots. With open sides (pillars holding up the structure) these areas could instead be used to grow plants and herbs that could be used by residents. Don't know how feasible it is but its a thought. Unlike rooftop gardens you do not have to worry about the building having to support the added weight of mud and water.
Also no reason why solar water heating cannot be done like Israel does.
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Environment/Solar.html Even non-photovoltaic passive systems can be used.
jaya
Using some of the open space under the stilts for gardening is definitely a feasible idea provided residents do not opt for additional parking in favor of green space. This could be a part of other Eco-housing measures that encourage greater green cover so that developers try to incorporate as much of it as possible instead of choosing one over the other. The Eco-housing criteria looks at biodiversity conservation, increasing vegetative cover, sustainable landscaping practices as well as features like rooftop gardening and multi level green cover. Besides its aesthetic appeal, having a garden on the roof has several other benefits. Green roofs act a barrier to heat gain improving building energy efficiency, they reduce heat island effect, and minimize stormwater runoff. While for existing buildings we would need to consider structural stability of the building before designing a roof garden, nowadays it is possible to develop building integrated systems that are considerable lighter.
The Eco-housing criteria includes several of the practices being used in Israel. Most of the technologies are proven technologies but have not been widely adopted because of different reasons. This includes use of solar water heaters with non electric boosters to meet hot water requirement, solar passive cooling architectural techniques and also solar photovoltaics for site lighting.
Version 2 of the Eco-housing assessment criteria for the five climatic zones in the country will soon be available.
Veena, IIEC
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