Low Carbon Economy-sustainable

building solutions
Chitra K Vishwanath
S.Vishwanath and Avinash Krishnamurthy
 Construction

• is responsible for 47% of carbon emissions

• consumes enormous resources
• produces waste streams
Yet it also
• employs a large workforce
• enables workers to move up the skill and income
ladder
 Sustainability
The 6 sutras
• Social – Equity and access for all
• Technical – Appropriate
• Institutional – Empowered, responsible and accountable
• Legal – simple laws with social backing
• Economical- at the least lifecycle cost
• Ecological – within the carrying capacity of a biome and with its
ecological availability
 Construction thus should largely
address
• Resource security
• Energy security
• Water security
• Food security
• Bio-diversity security
 Walls
Bricks EE 3(MJ/Kg)
Concrete block
EE 0.87(MJ/Kg)

Plaster EE1.8(MJ/Kg)

Paint EE67.5(MJ/Kg) CSEB EE 0.275(MJ/Kg)

Brick wall Mud wall

Cob Walls
Ceilings/roofs with earth
Ceiling with waste
Earth Flooring
Oxide Flooring
Natural ventilation
Natural lighting
• Incorporating waste
Built in furniture
Arch Foundation
 Rain Water Harvesting

• Individual houses Layouts

Treated waste water pond
Ecological Sanitation
 Eco-Sanitation
• Dry toilet

• Biological waste water treatment.

• Grey water treatment system

Roofs and Terraces.............
Most of the time are
• Sterile,
• Uninteresting
and
• Heat sinks
 Can they be smarter ????
– Since they receive----------
– maximum sunlight and heat
– all the rain
– lots of wind and
– a whole bunch of birds, butterflies and bees

– Can they solve Bangalore’s water, wastewater, energy,

sewage, food and bio-diversity problem ?
 How about?
A roof that grows rice
Uses treated grey water to grow it
Harvests rain
Uses the Sun
 Roof
• 100 sq. mt. 100,000 litres of water for 1000mm
rainfall
• 100 sq. mt 200 kgs of rice and vegetables
• 100 sq. mt. All the grey water –100 ltrs/day
• 100 sq.mt All the urine 1500 litres / year
• 100 sq. mt All the solid waste generated
• 100 sq mt 32 different species of birds
• 100 SQ mt heat 100 litres daily
• Light 12 bulbs
• Cook for 4 people lunch and dinner
 So what can a smart roof do?

• Provide
– Food security… and grow rice, banana, vegetables
– Water security .. and treat waste water
– Energy security… and keep the house cool
– Ecological security… and help save the sparrow
 The future then…
50% of built areas in our cities are roofs.

What do we do about them?

Heat sinks or Ecological spaces

The choice is ours.