Fire, what do you think about it? If I ask you to close your eyes right now for few seconds and think about FIRE……………. What comes to your mind? I am sure most of the time it is smoke, heat, people running, panic, fire brigade, etc. But why all these bad thoughts comes to our mind. Have we ever thought that fire is a blessing that has happened to mankind since it is discovered and we can’t live without it? It’s been 800,000 years, we’re the only beings on the planet who light fires, who cook our food over fire, who use fire to light our way. Why we all think negative about this powerful, mysterious force? The reason: Fire is a very good slave but a very bad master, when it is out of control it becomes a monster and that’s how we remember it. Fire protection is a...

It was February 12, 2005, when an electrical fault on the 21st floor of the Windsor building in Madrid started a small fire. The building was unoccupied and the fire was undetected for quite some time before the city’s fire officials were notified. By the time they arrived, the magnificent 32-story structure was essentially lost. All that firefighters could do was to try for the next 18 hours to keep the fire from spreading to adjacent structures. There was no impact from a jumbo jetliner, and this fire lacked the thousands of gallons of jet fuel that so readily accelerated the World Trade Center fires. It was just a little electrical problem. So how could this fire spread so uncontrollably that it consumed eleven higher floors and turned the fourth largest structure in Spain’s capital to rubble? Unfortunately, we may not be able to avoid such disasters where the perimeter...

All buildings are susceptible to fire and this aspect needs to be considered during design since it impacts the safety of human life. There has been an enormous increase in buildings of all classifications consequent to socio-economic progress made in the country over the last two decades. In the 1990s came the DotCom revolution and stalwarts of Silicon Valley started creating new townships and workspaces in India. This demand encouraged the construction of high-rise buildings without clear anticipation of the associated infrastructure requirement of cities. The challenges and risks that high-rises face due to fire hazards have also increased manifold. These hazards have caused heavy losses to life and limb, throwing up challenges to planners, architects, and fire protection services for evolving better and improved methods of design and fire protection in order to mitigate such losses. Over the years, fire safety in buildings has seen major improvements. The issue...

Green” seems to be the buzzword these days. All building components need to conform to green design principles, and the façade is no exception. The building envelope falls under heavy scrutiny, as it is generally seen, often justifiably, as a very significant element in the design of a green building. In fact, this is recognised by the majority of green building rating systems (LEED®, Greenmark, BREEAM, etc.). But prior to delving into the subject of whether it is possible to design and build a green façade, the first question to tackle is what is meant by “green façade”. The term can be taken literally as referring to a façade that includes an element of greenery, such as plants that creep up the façade or large planters running along the building envelope. While these strategies help provide a pleasant natural appearance to the buildings, allowing them to blend within their environment...

Historically, architects the world over have employed various shading devices and strategies to control the environment within buildings, particularly when designing for hot-arid or hot-humid climates. From the jaalis, jharokhas and chajjas of traditional Indian architecture to the brise soleil of modernists like Le Corbusier, shading devices on buildings are everywhere in our cities and towns. [caption id="" align="alignleft" width="350"] Shading system: Vertical Rigid Louver System (VRLS) staggered[/caption] In recent times, however, with the growing pressure on land in urban areas and rising real estate prices, deep overhangs on the perimeter of buildings have gradually been edged out by wafer thin façade systems that allow the builder to maximize usable floor space. This is true particularly for speculative buildings. This often means that indoor spaces are left “unprotected” and more vulnerable to extremes of heat and cold, and in our context, need to be cooled artificially all year round. This...

Facade Cladding, while essentially being the skin of the building, should not merely accentuate the aesthetics but also serve as a shield from extremes of weather and the external environment. This protective layer, while being functional, should also permit the building to breathe while defining its significance and character. The Facade Cladding industry, today, is undergoing many changes in terms of functionality and performance parameters. To create an optimal artificial environment inside the building, the cladding material has to ensure a reduction in energy consumption through the wall of the building. This also means that the cladding material and system have to perform in all types of climatic conditions giving rise to more robust, energy-efficient, innovative and adaptable façade systems some of which are explained below: Rain Screen Façade Cladding (Back Ventilated Façade System):   [caption id="" align="alignleft" width="300"] Functional wind protection and privacy along with design sophistication[/caption] Rear-ventilated facades...

The panel discussion on the New Mumbai Fire Brigade Regulations on Glass Façades focused on the following aspects: Architectural considerations while designing fire-safe façades; Perimeter protection - preventing the spread of smoke from floor to floor; and Cladding - the problematic zone. The panel comprised of Atul Bhandari, Director - Design & Projects, RSP India; Praveen Chaubey, Project Manager, Priedemann; Mukesh Jaitley, Director - Projects, The Wadhwa Group; Shrikrishna Ginde, VP - Operations, Belgium Aluminium & Glass; Sunil H Nesarikar, Chief Fire Officer, Mumbai Fire Brigade; SS Warick, Chief Fire Officer & Fire Advisor, MIDC; and Shashikant Jadhav, Chairman, PEATA Committee - Fire Safety Practices with KR Suresh, Regional Director, Axis Façades as the moderator. The panel discussed the new Mumbai Fire Brigade regulation on glass façades. Here is the excerpt from the discussion: During fire, at times building façade becomes a major barrier to evacuate people. Façade consultants, in...

Event Location : 6th GRIHA Summit held at New Delhi on 12th and 13th of March, 2015 The Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has proposed a manifold increase in the allocation for the transition phase from megawatt to gigawatt through the Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment (GRIHA). Speaking at the 6th GRIHA Summit held at New Delhi on 12th and 13th of March, 2015, Upendra Tripathy, Secretary, MNRE, said that speed, scale and skill sets need to be enhanced to increase the renewable energy mix in our energy production. “The Summit is providing various ideas and is bringing together specialized professionals from different sectors to give a new thrust to renewable energy. We need to expand the number of institutions who are working to take this movement forward.” He added that India would soon overtake other countries in renewable energy, as the country has the resources...

Buildings account for about 30% of India’s energy consumption, and considering estimates that 2/3rd of the buildings of 2030 in India are yet to be built, the role of buildings in energy consumption is only expected to increase. Therefore it is very important for us to make our buildings efficient and reduce the need for energy consumption. When we buy a car, we study a lot of parameters such as colour, aesthetics, space, and also engine capacity, power, mileage (fuel efficiency), speed, etc, Of course in today’s world, you wouldn’t expect anybody to use the same car beyond 10 years (5 years seems more reasonable). Now compare this with buildings. Buildings typically cost several times a car (several hundred times in the case of large commercial buildings), and have a life of at least 25 years. We do look at parameters such as colour, aesthetics and space. But how many...

The enormous economic and population growth worldwide over the last four decades has together driven the impacts that threaten the health and well-being of our communities and nations. To name a few -  ozone depletion, climate change, fouling of natural resources and extensive loss of biodiversity and habitat. Amidst this, one word that drives all activities across the globe in today’s time and age is Sustainability. Ranging from ecosystems to buildings, from commercial buildings to urban habitats, you name it and it strives to be sustainable. Leaders in business, government, academia, public interest organizations, and communities are responding with innovative new solutions to sustainability. Large corporations, as well as small businesses, are progressing beyond simple regulatory compliance in favour of more proactive roles in finding solutions to sustainability issues. The Indian building and construction industry is not far behind in this race run for the cause. “For most urban projects,...