[May Theme Report] Eco - Friendly Urban Technologyby Shreya Kaushik | 10-07-2023 19:20 |
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 Have you ever wondered about the houses you live in? How are they constructed or if their construction and formation also have environmental implications? If not, then, let¡¯s together discover more in this context through this article. As one of the growing sectors of the nation, the construction sector contributes to about 10 percent of India¡¯s total GDP and as it continues to contribute to the economic development of the nation, it also brings several environmental implications with it. According to research, the construction industry contributes to about 23% of air pollution, 50% of climate change, 40% of water pollution, 50% of landfill waste, and 40% of the world¡¯s usage of raw stones, gravel, and sand. Whereas, the noisy sound while construction also harms biodiversity adversely such as birds through noise and light pollution. The creation of construction materials such as cement contributes to PM10 in the air which results in health implications for living organisms. And, while we talk about all these adverse impacts of construction, how can we forget the major one? It contributes to about 40 percent of total carbon emissions globally alone. To cure these implications, during the liberalization in 1990, a few years after India¡¯s independence a new journey of green architecture was started in its very initial and small forms of contribution. Green architecture also known as Green Building emphasizes on building sustainable infrastructures which have fewer implications on the environment and living organisms from all dimensions - transportation, construction, renovation, and maintenance. The green building focuses on four major areas for the construction: site development to minimize the adverse effects on the natural habitat of living organisms, material selection, and minimization to minimize the environmental impacts by choosing sustainable materials for construction, energy efficiency to use the available resources better such as more windy or sunny place and lastly, indoor air quality for a fresh and suitable indoor environment. Several technologies have been developed since the time green architecture has come into the picture and Mud and 3D printing technology are two such technologies used in India. Let¡¯s dive deeper into them through examples. Mud Technology: Mud technology is not a new technology introduced to Indian culture, its origin dates back to a decade ago when the houses in the nation used to be built from mud, straw, and other sustainable materials available. Mud technology uses mud along with several sustainable materials present in the site locations to build the house. One such example is a house named Life in a Mud House owned by a couple who decided to give up their hustle and luxurious city life to live in a culturally-rooted space with minimal impacts of their living on mother earth. The house was built by stabilized rent earth technology where the raw soil for the same land site was used and mixed with materials such as gravel, sand, clay, and 5% to 10% cement to form a mixture for a stronger foundation. The mixture is then put into the pillars layer by layer and is dried from the sun. The process is repeated again and again until the desired design and height. Besides the main construction, other sustainable materials such as Mangalore mud tiles and terracotta tiles were used for the top and bottom cover whereas the discarded wood was used to make furniture in the house. Moreover, the best of the house is that it¡¯s not only sustainable in terms of the construction or designs but also in terms of other life-sustaining daily chores such as the house has a natural ventilation system which keeps it cool in summer and warm in winter, does not run on electricity instead naturally made lights are used, atmospheric water converter is used for drinking water, Kal (traditionally Indian water pump for groundwater pumping) was installed for daily use water, no fossil fuels are used for cooking purposes as well as driving and the grey water system was installed for absorbing the wastewater. 3D Printing Technology: 3D Printing technology uses sustainable recycled materials as their raw product and makes houses using large 3D printers. India¡¯s first 3D printing house was made by Tvasta Constructions started by an alumni of IIT Madras in just 21 days!! The house used eco-friendly materials such as recycled construction materials for making the house using the 3D printer. Firstly, a software version of the house was made for picturing the house and then one by one the parts were made and attached together to form a larger structure. The houses made in 3D are 80 percent cost-effective and promote green architecture. Green building is still a developing sector, hence, there are several limitations to deal with such as high initial investment, finding suitable material, lack of government and public initiatives, lack of demand, and time consumption in construction. But, as we have continued to progress through the ages, we have continued to find solutions to one of the pressing problems that humanity is facing. So, let¡¯s continue our legacy and research and innovate more in this field in order to reach the target of sustainable living. References: [1] Raksha V Bongirwar and Shweta J Raut, ¡°Examining the Technological Approach to Environmentally Sustainable Architecture in India¡±, Proceedings of International Conference on Advances in Architecture and Civil Engineering (AARCV 2012), 21st – 23rd June 2012, Vol 2. [2] Amany Ragheba, Hisham El-Shimyb, Ghada Ragheb, ¡°Green Architecture: a Concept of Sustainability¡± Urban Planning and Architecture Design for Sustainable Development, UPADSD 14- 16 October 2015. [3] Kushagra Varma, Mayank Chaurasia, Prasenjit Shukla, Tariq Ahmed, ¡°Green Building Architecture: A Literature Review on Designing Techniques¡± International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications, Volume 4, Issue 2, February 2014, (Pg 584) [4] Raj Jadhav, ¡°Green Architecture In India: Combining Modern Technology With Traditional Methods¡±, From Vol. XLIV, No. 2, "Green Our World!", 2007 [5] Gopi Karelia, ¡°Building Low-Cost Green Houses Since 1996: Architect Brings Back Mud Homes In India!¡±, The Better India (2019) [6] ¡°The Future of 3D Printed Houses in India¡±, Makenica, (2023), Retrieved from [https://makenica.com/the-future-of-3d-printed-houses-in-india/] [7] ¡°First 3D printed house in India: Fact guide¡±, Housing.com, (2023), Retrieved from [https://housing.com/news/first-3d-printed-house-india/] [8] ¡°Life in a Mud House¡±, Retrieved from [https://youtu.be/SzNzeR5lTL8] |
