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Five members of our elite Advisory Board, all of whom profess a dedicated approach to green construction and design, discuss what it means to be green in India today and describe their vision to build an eco-friendly future

‘Green’ is becoming more and more fashionable. Is it simply a media-induced fad or is it here to stay?

Ashok Butala: The green movement is much deeper and broader than just promoting environmentally friendly products. The key to a sustainable environment is to be sensitive and responsive to the balance between the human system and the ecological system. I think the media is a strong vehicle to boost and concretise this idea beyond the professionals to the common man. The ‘green concept’ is definitely the way forward and must be enhanced by all.

Conrad Gonsalves: We have landed ourselves in a situation resulting from indiscriminate use of materials with little regard to the impact of their life cycle on the environment. A material is truly sustainable only if it meets required criteria all through its various stages of procurement, manufacturing, distribution, use and post use disposal.

Namita Singh: Designing green buildings has always been a major concern for all sensitive and responsible architects. It should and will stay. However the current fad might be a hype created by the media.

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Niranjan Hiranandani: Green is nothing but the approach towards self sustainment. This is no doubt going to stay. As one would agree environment and energy go hand in hand. Hence, non-conventional energy, energy conservation and the eco-friendly movement will be the main drivers in near future. Media of course is giving it due importance, but it is very much required, otherwise if we exhaust all our natural resources and fill earth with greenhouse gases future generations will surely curse us. Hence, it makes sense to go green.

Nitin Killawala: Why is this question of ‘green’ becoming more and more fashionable? The answer lies in the question itself. It is not just fashionable but misunderstood and taken casually. The aesthetics of architecture are secondary considerations when it comes to finally stopping the war with nature.

Green can also be financially beneficial. How does this influence your design decisions?
Ashok Butala: There are definitely long term financial benefits to be had by using the green concept effectively. However there is a slight premium one has to be prepared to invest up front in order to reap the benefits in the future. A good practise must always appoint an Environment Sustainable Design consultant right at the start of the concept phase. This helps to understand the areas where the green concept can be achieved and also facilitates an accurate budget.

Conrad Gonsalves: True green products use renewable resources or draw on less energy during their useful life. This would directly translate into lower running and maintenance costs. Other aspects that indirectly can be translated into financial benefits would be minimized health risks both for the installer and the occupants both present and future.

Namita Singh: Any building which is designed with concern and respect for the environment would automatically conserve natural resources and therefore be financially beneficial. I have always believed in designing naturally green buildings and though I may never have calculated future financial savings deliberately, economy is an obvious by product.