A house for all seasons

From the Indraprastha of Pandavas to the Lutyen's Delhi, this legendary city has undergone many a birth pangs. But none so painful as the one in its modern avatar. Delhi in the 21st century is becoming an eyesore. According to Delhi-based architect, Mr Sanjay Prakash, "Delhi never had a cultural ethos regarding architecture. On top of that, the bulk of Delhi structures are unauthorised. Lack of regulation further compounds the problem." The Capital faces the double trouble of facing an unwieldy composite climate and regular power cuts. Under these circumstances we need to make our buildings as energy-efficient as possilble. The choice of architecture in composite climate should be such that maximum sunlight is provided in winters and minimum in summers. Moreover, the dwellings should also be able to efficiently keep the heat away in summers. In short, passive solar architecture is what an aware architect would recommend for a city like Delhi. Passive solar architecture is a climatic response of a building envelope and in-built systems for achieving thermal and visual comfort. It involves proper orientation and shape of building, roof and wall insulation, thicker walls, airlocks and balconies, along with devices like shading and fenestration designed to cut off the summer sun and let in the winter sun, and adequate glare-free daylighting through skylights etc. However, according to Mr Prakash, the term passive solar architecture no longer defines the architectural needs of the day. Hence terms like climate-conscious architecture, bio-climatic architecture, energy-efficient architecture, and now, sustainable architecture, have rapidly found space in the vocabulary of architects and designers. Sustainable architecture aims at creating environmentally friendly and energy efficient buildings. This entails active harnessing solar energy and using materials, which do the least possible damage to the so called 'free resources'?water, ground and air. An increase in the housing activity has already put an immense pressure on our dwindling energy sources and other vital resources like water, which has lead to increasing environmental degradation. However, it is only as late as the Ninth Plan that some thought has been given to development and improvement of urban areas as economically efficient, socially equitable and environmentally sustainable entities. Some concern is now shown to stop the growing deterioration in the urban environment, which is reflected in key urban indicators like housing conditions, pollution levels and traffic congestion. Thus, development of sustainable habitats becomes a key solution to resolve Delhi's growing concerns. " The glass skyscrapers in Delhi and Gurgaon, which, beyond being stylish, are guzzlers of precious energy,'' says Mr Prakash. Besides addressing various issues related to building and habitat design, one has also to seek environment friendly answers. The idea is to first reduce light and energy demands through architecture and space designing, and then meet those demands by using energy efficient devices, which are environmentally friendly. For example, efficient lamps and luminaires like compact fluorescent lamps, high efficiency tube lights with electronic chokes, mirror optic luminaires and such devices integrated with daylight can reduce power consumption significantly, at the same time providing adequate lighting. The by lanes of Connaught Place have been much in news recently. Excessive use of diesel generators has increased the air and noise pollution to dangerous levels, besides spoiling the aesthetics of the area. Connaught Place is in news probably because it is more sacred than other shopping and trading centres in the city. But what about Chandni Chowk, Nehru Place, or South Extension? Diesel Generators are as much of a nuisance here than at Connaught Place, and they are as much of an architectural sore on the area's landscape. No one has considered reducing the energy demands and pooling in resources or giving joint proposals to install alternative energy sources like photovoltaic systems to meet the power cuts. As Mr Prakash emphasises, though the architects and the designers are slowly becoming aware of the changing needs of the times, and are consciously designing buildings, the people and the authorities still need to be sensitized to the issue.