1.
How can newer technologies create a carbon-neutral or near net-zero space through the choices made in the design, construction, and operations of the centre?
There are many ways in which buildings have achieved a green rating. There are many new materials that can help attain this, but what are the indigenous local technologies that support green building? Can they be contemporized to become the preferred building material of tomorrow for India, while aiding construction, and supporting the economic ecosystem and skill development? Can we look at new building sciences and inspirations like Parametricism, Biommicry etc. to achieve this ?
2.
What are the new materials required for building skin technologies/construction techniques/ finishes, etc? Can one consider optimizing natural resources and reducing load on lighting and HVAC systems?
In the traditional form of architecture from the warmer regions of India, one has seen jaali or lattice work come forward as the skin for maintaining a micro climate of homes, which was also contemporized by Joseph Allen Stein in a lot of his buildings, while water-based cooling systems in forts have been researched for many years. With the advent of new materials and technologies, what is the kind of engineered building skin which can be conceived to keep internal and external weather in check as per comfort levels, along with reducing operational load?
Cover Image Credit: Arts x Environment : Installation view of “Imagined Homeland” by Sharbendu De as part of Imagined Documents, curated by Ravi Agarwal at Serendipity Arts Festival 2019.