The building is an institute for the promotion of green buildings, structured on the

guidelines of L.E.E.D., U.S.A. and hence aims at promoting Green Architecture in the
Eastern Zone through year-round, short-term training programs and in the process be a
platinum rated green building.

In this project brief, we will first go through a checklist that is to be followed while preparing
the building for a L.E.E.D. certification, and also give a clear picture ass to where the
building stands on the Green Scale.
o L.E.E.D. PROJECT CHECKLIST for THE INSTITUTE : A LEED PLATINUM RATED
GREEN BUILDING
o SUSTAINABLE SITES
o WATER EFFICIENCY
o ENERGY, ATMOSPHERE AND INDOOR ENVIRONMENT QUALITY
o MATERIALS AND RESOURCES
o INNOVATIONS IN DESIGN
o REFERENCES
o Care has been taken to reduce the amount of top soil destruction in the site. A
substantial amount of the land had been left for plantation purposes. Locally occurring
Eucalyptus trees have been planted in the eastern face to break high speed winds
from the north-east, east and south-east in winters; also this helps in soil
conservation, and avoiding soil erosion. Hence, site disturbance is also reduced.
Many such green areas patch the site.
o Ample covered parking is provided on site, along with provisions for charging of
electric cars, and bicycle stands.
o An on-site water treatment plant is a boon to this construction; storm-water
sequestering processes and storm-water treatment processes are also provided.
The storm-water is then made fit for irrigation of an onsite medicinal plantation.
o A bank, a museum and a restaurant are special attractions as they are constructed with
environment friendly methods; the use of Trombe wall and Earth Berming, reduce
Heat island effect to a great extent; they also keep the interiors warm in winters

and cool in summers, with the help of courtyards dug into the bermed region.
o A water treatment plant ensures that water is recycled in the best way possible and
proper weed filtration methods have been provided as an area has been
dedicated to such a unit complete with a weed pond.
o Water use can be reduced with the use of water-less toilet and bath fittings (dry
urinal, etc.)
o With water being recycled on such a large scale ample quantity is recycled and
hence usage reduced. Gardening, car washing cleaning of floors, etc. can be done
with recycled water,, reducing consumption greatly. Rain water harvested and the
storm-water collected help in the same.
o Also, along the road adjacent to the site, there runs an open drain of human
waste, and such. At a later stage, it is suggested that a part of this water be
treated and used as per requirements.
BUILDING AUTOMATION SYSTEMS

Fundamental Control Applications; This is the starting point for the building owner who wants to
move beyond programmable thermostats or sensor-activated lighting controls. Techniques for
fundamental control include:

Zone Scheduling Permits defined sections of a building to have HVAC and lighting reduced or
shut down on a schedule. Zone scheduling means that a whole building does not need to run at a
100% comfort setting if on only a few occupants are in the facility.
Night/Unoccupied Setback.
Occupancy Sensors Detect motion or infrared signatures in the space, and trigger lights or HVAC
accordingly. The BAS also enables scheduled overrides or triggers based on card access to an area
of the building.
Holiday Scheduling A calendar defines HVAC and lighting control for an entire calendar year,
saving staff time implementing special schedules and ensuring holiday weekdays do not run in
occupied mode.

Advanced Control Applications: In most cases, the same BAS put in place for fundamental
controls is also capable of more advanced control applications, often with only software changes.
Techniques for advanced control include:

Follow Sunrise & Sunset Permits lighting schedules (such as parking lots, signs, and outdoor
access lighting) to vary throughout the year as the length of daylight changes. This prevents lights
from being on during the daytime. The BAS automatically computes sunrise and sunset based on the
latitude and longitude of the buildings location.
Daylight Harvesting In zones of the building near exterior walls and windows, lighting can be
dimmed or shut off based on specified minimum lighting levels detected by photocells. Controlled
use of motorized shades can also optimize the availability of natural light without compromising
energy efficiency.
Optimum Start Starts HVAC equipment only as early as required to bring the building setpoints to
comfort levels for occupancy. Control routines take into account outside air temperature and inside
space temperatures when initiating the morning warm-up or cool-down cycles. Optimum start takes
the guess-work out of scheduled start-up.
Optimum Stop Determines the earliest possible time to initiate setback temperatures before
unoccupied periods while still maintaining occupant comfort. Also known as coasting. Space
temperature drifts gradually beyond comfort levels in anticipation of the unoccupied period.

Ventilation On Demand CO2 levels in the occupied space are used as an indicator of the number
of occupants in a room. Calculations are then performed that relate the CO2 level to the fresh air
intake damper, indicating when more outdoor air is needed. CO2 levels also assist heating and
cooling anticipation in thermostatic control to optimize comfort and air circulation.
Variable Air Volume (VAV) Supply Air Temperature Reset The supply air temperature (SAT) of
variable volume air handlers can be reset upwards when full cooling is not required. The SAT
setpoint is increased on cooler days based upon the actual building load. Then when terminal boxes
reach 100% open, the SAT is decreased. This minimizes the need for mechanical cooling, optimizes
the use of economizers, and improves tenant comfort by reducing drafts due to the movement of
excessively cold air.
Demand Limiting or Load Shedding Monitors electric meters and current draw on high-demand
equipment, then relaxes setpoints to immediately reduce demand. This technique can, for example,
prevent a chiller from further loading, but can also globally change setpoints throughout the building
to shed electric load to avoid peak utility charges. Non-critical equipment and lighting loads can also
be shut off.
Chiller Optimization The chilled water loop temperature can be raised as the cooling
requirements for the building are reduced, increasing chiller efficiency. A technique known as load
reset raises the chilled water temperature setpoint until one of the chilled water valves is 100% open.
Cooling Tower Optimization The condenser water supply to the chiller can be decreased to a
minimum setpoint, as defined by the manufacturer. Then an optimal water supply setpoint can be
calculated using a combination of the outside air wet-bulb temperature and the cooling tower
approach temperature. The reduced water temperature improves the chillers partial load efficiency
and also optimizes the cooling towers operation.
o Throughout the site, photovoltaic cells of high capacity have been installed at crucial
positions to exploit the most from the solar heat and light. The parking is covered with
shades that have panels installed on them.

o A set of 36 such panels provide energy of 0.075kW every hour. The covered
parkings and the covered pathways provide an approximate area of over 4000
square meter, which generates around 340kW per hour, which lowers the need for
external energy sources.
The site is also favourable for Wind Energy Harvesting as the table below shows that the
lowest speed available at the height of 30 metres is well above the required 4.5km/hr,
the lowest being 7.2 km/hr. or 2 m/sec. A set up for micro wind turbines is arranged at
the top most floors, at a height of 130 meters.

The turbines, although an auxiliary method of energy production, along with the solar
panels fulfil more than the requisite 30% of the buildings needs.

o The building faade utilises the solar heat in a geothermal way, which in turn
reduces the HVAC load on the building.
o There is warm and stale air
carrying pipes along the south and
west wall faade that take a spiralling
path to increase the surface area of
heating. This air is expelled out with
the help of the turbines.
o Similarly light coloured pipes run
along the east and north faade,
carrying fresh air absorbed at the
turbines and passed through a PLANT
ROOM, oxygenising the air.

It can be thus said that the building

runs efficiently on green power.

o West faade of sunresponsive louvres made from recycled timber which are
powered by photovoltaic cells
o Artificial lighting is controlled by sensors and turned off when adequate natural
light is available
o Photovoltaic array 3.5kW (tracks the sun),
o Solar hot water collectors (Meets 60% of demand)
o Plants are used to filter the light
o Roof landscaping
o Gas fired cogeneration plant (40% of electricity requirement)
o Recycled waste heat supplies 40% of air heating/cooling requirements
o Five shower towers on the shaded side of the building use evaporative cooling
effect to cool air and water Passive cooling

o A hospital construction nearby can be used for waste material supply, such as
concrete, etc.
 o The building has a DIAGRID CORE TUBE STRUCTURE, which uses
comparatively less amount of steel which can be acquired from various scrap
sites that spot the city. This idea is inspired from the Hearst Tower itself.
o Recycled ceramics are available in Ranchi, which can also be used.

Excluding the Innovation in Design, the building manages to cross the 52 CREDIT
MARK for a LEED Platinum Rating. Since it is up to the organisation to decide the level
of innovations used to term it an innovation in design we leave this section
unaccounted.
o www.whereisdoc.com
o www.inhabitat.com
o www.googleimages.com
o Regenerative-restorative-architecture Soo J. Ryu