Mysuru: The green building movement is likely to get a boost, and also get a catalyst in young minds, with the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) on Sunday launching 12 new student chapters in various colleges, including engineering colleges in Mysuru.
Speaking after launching the student chapters at MahalakshmiKalyanaMantap here on Sunday, Prem C Jain, national chairman, IGBC, stressed the need to create green buildings and sustainable environments that improve human health, and also address issues such as climate change.
"Going green is not an option but an integral part of education for architects. Green buildings save about 50% energy and up to 30% water, apart from other intangible benefits. To create awareness, impart knowledge on green buildings and create a platform for students to interact with relevant stakeholders, the council has come up with student chapter in many colleges across the country," added Jain.
"W e need to go back to our roots and appreciate our rich architectural heritage and ethos. IGBC is promoting construction of green buildings with a view to reduce the carbon footprint by optimizing energy utilization, environmental friendly designs, using locally available material and recycling and has set for itself a target of creating 10 billion sqft of certified green space by 2022. To make green homes, one needs more sunlight, fresh air, better insulation, less exposure to the outdoors and more exposure to shaded areas. Waste generated should be sorted for recycling, like steel or plastic for road work, or converted into energy. Water conservation and recycling is also an important aspect of IGBC," pointed out Jain.
S Prakash, president of Credai, Mysuru, said, "We should c onstruct houses and buildings in such a way that at least 75% of the materials used should be recycled or reused and when a building is designed, more scope should be given to natural light."
H E Chandrashekar, chairman, IIA, also said that water and oxygen cannot be imported, and should protect and preserve natural resources by adapting to green building.
Need of the hour
BP Shivakumar, assistant professor, environmental engineering department of Sri Jayachamarajendra College of Engineering, said, "It's a really good concept. Natural resources are being overused. To preserve these resources for future generations, these student chapters will help enlightening students' minds and in turn, promote green building. The concept 'Recycle, Reuse and Recovery' is really good."
MG Somashekar, chairman, IGBC, Mysurucentre, N Muthukumar, chairman, CII, Mysuru, N Subramanya, chairman, BAI Mysuru, also spoke about the importance of green buildings.
