Sunday, February 8, 2015

Combining Traditional Methods of Sustainable Architecture With Modern Technology

Modern green building practice constantly think of inventing new technologies in architecture to combat the ill effects of energy-depleting technology. However, if we look back at ancient practices in Indian architecture and combine these with contemporary technological innovations, then we may attain significantly in our goals sustainable architecture. Fusing traditional methods with modern technology will, actually, help to achieve higher efficiency. For example, the ancient cooling techniques of stepwells could be adapted in modern architecture as natural way of cooling the buildings. Even if air-conditioners are used in the building planned with the ancient cooling techniques, they will consume significantly less energy as the temperatures will be low in these building because of the natural air chilling. 

Ancient Indian civilization has always respected its environment and this explains why our traditional architectural designs were so sophisticated and even climate responsive. A close observation of our ancient architecture will reveal that in India the practice of using climate-responsive design, use of local and sustainable materials, water harvesting, etc. dates back to thousands of years. Architectural elements like courtyards, clusters, wind towers, roof terraces and jaalis (stone lattices), among others, were used for effective climate control keeping social and cultural needs in mind.



No comments:

Post a Comment