The IMF’s April 2025 Regional Economic Outlook for Sub-Saharan Africa presents a clear warning: regional growth is slowing, debt pressures are mounting, and donor assistance is declining. Yet the report outlines critical opportunities particularly in domestic revenue mobilization, structural reform, and private sector activation that can shape a more resilient …
Flat strips of lush, submerged grass rise in terraces from the courtyard of Sidwell Friends' new middle school in Washington like rice paddies in a mountainous Chinese village. Part of a man-made wetland connected to the school's water system, the plants filter liquid waste, just as real wetlands do with …
Hyderabad hitec (Hyderabad Information Technology Engineering Consultancy) city exudes all the glitz of post-liberalised India. Plush office complexes, exuberant it parks, swanky exhibition centres showcase a township riding the crest of the country economic boom. Amidst this opulence, a structure stands out: cii- Sohrabji Godrej Green Business Centre (gbc). The …
Growth of Indian building sector and growth of glitz Experts today believe that buildings account for a sixth of the world's fresh water withdrawals, a quarter of its wood harvest, and two-fifths of its material and energy flows. The recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's (ipcc) report, Climate Change 2007: …
Building materials have ecological footprints The construction material in buildings have evolved from mud to sun-dried bricks to burnt bricks, then to lime, glass, iron products, lime-pozzolana cement, aluminium, portland cement and plastics. Production of building materials has moved from highly decentralised and labour-intensive processes to centralised, machine-dependent industry mode. …
Hazarattaiah works with the Bangalore-based Indian Plywood Industries Research and Training Institute (IPIRTI), an autonomous body under the Union ministry of environment and forests. His organisation is involved in conducting research and development and promotion of use of bamboo in housing construction. Hazarattaiah himself lives in a bamboo house along …
Jeeth K Iype, an architect with Bangalore-based Good Earth, an organisation of architects and engineers experimenting with alternatives in architecture, lives with his wife and two kids at Kengeri town, about 15 kms away from Bangalore city hub on Bangalore-Mysore highway. This is where Good Earth Enclave is located and …
Architects across the world are promoting use of building materials derived from industrial waste. Flyash [Thermal power plants] > Portland pozzolana cement, bricks, lime pozzolana mixture Phosphogypsum [Fertiliser Plants] > Gypsum plaster, fibrous gypsum boards and blocks, cement clinker Red mud [Aluminum extraction plant] > Bricks and tiles, light-weight structural …
Air conditioning and energy efficiency The International Energy Agency has estimated that the global building sector, which consumes roughly half the electricity generated in the world, can be 70 per cent more energy efficient. It estimates that energy spent on lighting, roughly a fifth of the building sector's energy needs, …
"15 per cent of heat in a building can come through roof, which is why it is important to insulate roof of a building,' say many architects. The best way to insulate roof is to create a rooftop garden. In the industrialised countries, roof-top gardens are becoming a norm, Green …
Green buildings are adroit in water and waste management Water consumption by building industry is not limited to use in toilets and kitchens alone. When a building is getting constructed, it consumes huge amounts of water. There is little data on the water footprint of buildings but available figures paint …
Low-flush toilets: Use a maximum of 6 litre of water per flush compared with about 13 litres of water used by a standard toilet. These could save up to 22,000 gallons (83,279 litres) of water per year for a family of four. Low-water urinals: Use a retrofit cartridge lined with …
Chitra Vishwanath and her husband, S Vishwanath, are architects based in Bangalore who use their home on a 30x50 sq ft as their laboratory. The toilet in Vishwanaths' home is dry, it does not use water. Both the solid and liquid waste from the toilets are collected separately and used …
Green architecture needs norms and regulations Almost all the industrialised countries have put in place a system of rating buildings, environmentally. While leed is one of the most popular rating systems and has been adopted by over 20 countries, many governments have formulated their own standards according to local conditions. …
Green buildings in the US have two sets of standards to choose from: Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) set by the US Green Building Council, or Green Globes developed by the Green Building Initiative. The former is widely followed not just in the US, but also in other …
ACC has extended financial support to the construction of what is expected to turn out to be the most exemplary sustainable building on the Indian subcontinent. The building based in New Delhi, will house the headquarters of Development Alternatives, a reputed non government organization.
A SURVIVOR'S GUIDE ON WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP BRING DOWN CARBON DIOXIDE EMISSIONS AND COMBAT GLOBAL WRMING 1. CHANGE YOUR BULBS Replace incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescent lamps (cfl)
