Building Sense: Certificate Course for Sustainable Building Policies and Practices

December 7-9, 2015

CSE organised a training programme on ‘Sustainable Building Policies and Practices’ exclusively for the CPWD officers from different technical backgrounds. The three day programme aimed to deepen the understanding of existing policies, their potential and constraints in promoting efficient use of resources and minimizing waste in public buildings.  The programme explored the scope of harmonizing the policy-driven and market-driven approaches to accelerate the adoption of resource-efficient practices in buildings. 

The programme brought together 12 senior officers including Civil, Electrical engineers and Architects to suggest ways for integrating green measures in building practices.

The training addressed and focused on following components:- 

• a) Understanding sustainability principles and codes

• b) Sustainable design and methods of construction 

• c) Green building materials 

The first day of the programme started with a lecture delivered by Ms. Anumita Roychowdhury, Executive Director- Research & Advocacy in CSE was wonderful on ‘Overview of sustainability and green buildings’, the way in which she gave ideas about sustainability and concepts of green buildings. The presentation provided an overview of issues concerning urbanization, building construction and energy use with a special focus on developmental challenges in building sectors. . She highlighted the fact that the India has still to build 70 per cent of its building stock which will be there in 2030. Pointing out that we have great opportunity to develop differently and be more sustainable. 

She was followed by a presentation on ‘ECBC – towards performance based approach’ and ‘energy efficient technologies with case studies’  delivered by Vivek Manhajan and Sammer Divekar from dbHMS consultants. 

The second day focused on the theme Sustainable building materials and construction methods. The day started with a lecture on “Sustainable building materials with case studies” by Architect Ms. Sheetal Rakheja, Delhi and she talked about the building materials and  more focused on case studies in India.

She was followed by Deependra Prashad, Principal Architect Deependra Prashad, Architects & Planners (DPAP), Delhi and he talked about the “Priortizing materials in sustainable design”. His presentation examined the types of "green" building materials available and how to select the best ones for your specific needs.  The materials used to construct buildings can make a tremendous difference in preserving natural resources and promoting human health.

The third day started by Mr. Inderjit Ahuja from CSE who highlighted the “High performance building envelope strategies and material technologies”. Later, the training culminated with a field visit to a manufacturing plant of building material at Noida. 

In the feedback session, the participants felt that the programme was of more informative, inspirational and beneficial that enabling them to design sustainable buildings.

 

FOR INFORMATION CONTACT

Inderjit Ahuja
Sustainable Buildings & Habitat Programme
Centre for Science and Environment
41, Tughlakabad Institutional Area, New Delhi - 62
Phone: +91 (011) 29955124/125 (Ext. 309)
Fax: +91 (011) 29955879
Email: inderjit@cseindia.org