Parameters

Basic parameters were two folds - necessary spaces and type of building materials.

Required Spaces:

Basic requirement of spaces was as follows:

• Four bedrooms with attached baths - Master bedroom, two children bedrooms and parents' cum guest bedroom
• Separate drawing and family rooms
• Kitchen that can be closed out from the rest of the house (no open kitchen like in US homes)
• Kitchen with an island
• TV room on the ground floor that can be closed
• Rain water harvesting tank

With this in mind and considering the odd shape of the plot, it was evident that we will not be able to fit all of it in two floors. Hence, we decided to go for Ground + Two floor design. We also decided to incorporate an elevator in the design so that parents can access all floors easily.

Building Materials:

We wanted to make use of high efficiency and sustainable materials as much as possible to reduce overall carbon footprint - not just in the building, but also in the usage.

Some initial research transpired and we decided to incorporate following in the design itself:

• Use of AAC Blocks

• AAC has been produced for more than 70 years, and it offers several significant advantages over other cement construction materials, one of the most important being its lower environmental impact.
• Improved thermal efficiency reduces the cooling load in building
• Workability allows accurate cutting, which minimizes the generation of solid waste during use
• Resource efficiency gives it lower environmental impact in all phases of its life cycle, from processing of raw materials to the disposal of waste
• Light weight saves cost & energy in transportation
• Light weight saves labor expenses
• Light weight increases chances of survival during seismic activity
• Larger size leads to faster masonry work

• Use of double glazed UPVC windows. UPVC windows cost roughly the same as regular wood & glass windows that are used throughout India. However, these windows have certain big advantages:
• Much more improved thermal and noise efficiency
• Industrial process as opposed to on-site process yielding much faster turn-around time
• Sufficiently long warranty and maintenance free operation
• No use of wood - reduces direct impact on deforestation

• Rain water harvesting. Discussions with family members who have done it and Aamir Khan's Satyamev Jayate inspired us to definitely include this in our design.
• Rainwater is tested by our cousin to be far superior in drinkable water quality standards laid down by WHO
• We will not be solving the water run-off problem for the entire community, but are definitely trying our bit to reduce usage of fast depleting natural resource - fresh water
• The process is not very difficult and must be done for ALL new constructions
• We are still in the process of finalizing whether to do it with Lime or Cement based tank construction

• NOT using false ceiling - We are both against using POP (Plaster of Paris) due to various reasons:
• We all see during Ganesh Chaturthi how it pollutes our water bodies
• Disposing off POP is a problem - it breaks down and releases large quantities of Sulfur Dioxide, which is a greenhouse gas
• Quality available in India causes long-term health problems for the laborers working with POP
• POP doesn't HAVE to be used for building. It is one more material that is used to hide design defects or lack of planning (electrical wiring, A/C ducting, etc). With proper planning upfront, all this can be incorporated in slabs construction itself

• Using LED Lighting - I was very much for this. LED lights are now into affordable category. They last for years and consume much less power for the same light output. Our visit to a cousin's place who has used this confirmed our belief in using these lights for our project

• Polished Concrete floors

Now this one we are not very sure of, but if it can be done the way lot of amazing pictures we have seen, it would be one of the most wonderful aspect of the whole design.

• Reduces usage of building materials (no need of tiles / stones) which in turn reduces the environmental footprint.
• Polishing the slab that has already been laid down and adding pigments for desired effect reduces overall expenses.

• Solar water heater - nothing much to write about it

So far, these are considerations we are working with. If there are further steps we can take to reduce the overall environmental impact, I will list them here...