Design Tour to drive sustainable development in India [Nov 2011]

Design Tour to drive sustainable development in India
United Technologies Corporation India hosted exclusive thought leadership forums for architects in Mumbai, Pune, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad and Chennai on the future of sustainability and its role in new buildings and developing cities to add a positive thrust and impetus to the nation’s real estate market. The five city Design Tour featured top Indian architects including Karan Grover, Hafeez Contractor, Ravi Sarangan, Shirish Beri, Sharukh Mistry, Chitra Vishwanath, Karuna Gopal, Varun Kohli, Deepa Sathiaram and Christopher Benninger. The events featured a panel discussion and debate on topics such as sustainable architecture and designing to succeed. The forums in each city also saw these highly acclaimed architects share best practices for the evolution of the green building movement in India.
“To design a green and sustainable building is no longer the purview of a single architect – it is a collaborative effort of all the stakeholders – architects, consultants, manufacturers, and an informed client that can bring about this absolutely pivotal and vital paradigm shift. It was in this spirit of collaboration that United Technologies Corporation India Pvt. Ltd., a strategic partner, interfaced with the stakeholders throughout the country, presenting seven of the top ten nominated architects in a recent countrywide poll to present, discuss and share ideas for the green future of India” said renowned architect Karan Grover.
According to a 2010 McKinsey report, India will add 250 million people to its cities by 2030. To accommodate this urbanisation, India will need to spend $1.2 trillion, a large fraction going into urban housing/buildings. As India’s cities grow to they will also use more energy and generate more green house gas emissions. Today, 75 to 80 per cent of the world’s energy use and green house gas emissions are attributed to cities. Sustainable design and energy efficient building technology present an opportunity to reduce energy use and emissions.
Sustainable building development is on the rise in India. According to The Indian Green Building Council the market for LEED rated green buildings in India is projected to increase to $5 billion by 2012. India’s Green Building footprint has grown from 20,000 square feet in 2001 to projects covering 888 million square feet till date.

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