Odisha is soon to join an elite league as owner of first ever net-zero energy building of eastern India in form of the new office of GRIDCO, functioning under the State Energy Department here.
Proposed to be built up in an area of about 1.7 lakh square feet spreading over 3 acres of land, this net-zero building invites direct natural sunlight and screens the radiation and would have photovoltaic glass panels and Geothermal Cooling Systems at strategic places along with its indigenous solar generating systems. The basic focus of a net-zero energy building is to minimise its energy consumption as well as energy demand. The average running cost of energy for a standard building of this capacity amounts to Rs 10 per square feet.
Principal architect of Abin Design Studio Abin Chaudhuri has designed this unique project that is to be used for officials of GRIDCO. “We have tried to employ active and passive methods in order to maximise sustainability of the project. Simple strategies like rainwater harvesting and proper orientation of the building, protection of interiors from harsh sunlight, etc have been combined with state of the art technology like Building Integrated Photo-Voltaic Cells and Geothermal Cooling Systems,” he said.
The project is a 2,00,000 square feet office space divided into three buildings of 40,000 square feet, 60,000 square feet and 1, 00,000 square feet. These three buildings vary in height, the tallest being G+10 storey high. The entry level is a raised plaza. The drop in site contour level gives us parking space at the natural ground level, below the plaza. The buildings are being designed with all essential amenities and will be fully accessible by physically handicapped users as well.
On the longevity of the technologies and need for up gradation in terms of technology architect, Chaudhuri said, "The simplest methods of making a building greener are based purely on science. Building orientation with respect to the sun and wind directions, use of a combination of opaque, perforated and transparent screens or walls in order to regulate light and heat coming into the building, natural cross ventilation, etc are methods that will always prevail.
The use of newer technologies helps to further reduce the building's carbon footprint. These have proven to be extremely effective." This unique and energy efficient projects are expected to commence early in 2014 and would take 14 months to complete.