Sustainable Architecture

Our works seek to minimize the negative environmental impact of buildings by working on efficiency and moderation on the use of materials, energy and development space. Energy efficiency over the entire life cycle of a building is the most important goal of sustainable architecture and this is achieved by different techniques to reduce the energy needs of the building and capture or generate their own energy.

Typical green strategies include-
-Working on the orientation and site placement of the building to ensure the most efficient placement.
-Envelope design and wall shading as per the climate analysis for the location.
-Working with wall insulation and thermal mass

System efficiency
Large savings are possible when working on the Heating, Ventilation and Cooling System efficiency of all buildings. We are working with alternate design systems that include-

-Earth air tunnels. These involve running long pipes under the ground where temperatures are always lower by up to 6 degrees as compared to above ground conditions. This air is then circulated gently into the building spaces which increase comfort levels and cools the thermal mass for the entire building.

-Radiant cooling and heating systems. These involve circulating Hot or Cold water through long coils which are either buried in the slab or running on the false ceiling. The system helps achieve a great degree of comfort at a lower cost.

-Other efficient cooling systems include air and water cooled VRV systems. We are also exploring Geo Thermal Heat Sinks as an efficient way to reject the heat from these systems deep into the ground using special pipes buried vertically under.

Renewable energy sources
Site conditions are evaluated to finalise the suitable renewable energy devices. These include-
-Solar Photo voltaic panels
-Solar Water Heating
-Wind energy
-Heat pumps

Water Conservation
Water is a scarce resource. Our strategies look to recycle where possible. Rain water Harvesting proves to be a major source of supply. Couple with dry landscape using local plant species, large water savings are made possible.

By reducing the overall requirement and generating the same through renewable sources, we are now in a position to work on NET ZERO buildings which consume no energy from the grid when studied over an annual period. The entire process and the resulting savings from it are predicted in advance through advanced computer modelling.

For larger works PSP works with the California based firm Loisos + Ubbelohde which specialises in Net Zero and High performance buildings and Conserve Consultants, India

Refer links below to some studies on application of sustainable concepts to ongoing projects-
Sridhars Residence
B-Suites
NCSCM