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While nothing so mundane as a suburb will do for these charmed citizens of corporate Bangalore, a ``ruburban'' choice has been the eco-sensitive 47-acre spread about 15 km away from the city, that is Trans Indus. A project by the not-for-profit Biodiversity Conservation (India) Ltd (BCIL), Trans Indus emphasises not only ``greening" but also on "establishing a sustainable system to improve the utilisation of resources for the urban creatures of Bangalore,'' says Mr Hariharan, Director. Barely three per cent of the campus is demarcated for plinth area — the rest constitutes common areas and afforested land.
Central to the idea of every community at BCIL, we create are the following: * We do not import power. We offer localized power generation solutions, and these solutions are based on renewable sources of feedstock.
* We do not import water. We have configured a combination of green and physical storage options that will ensure groundwater recharging. We reduce the use of freshwater with daily reuse of black & gray water. We install a variety of water-saving devices that combine urban comforts with substantial freshwater savings.
* We handle the disposal or treatment of all waste generated in every community. Degradable wastes are used for vermicomposting, and non-degradables like plastic, metals and clinical waste are either put in landfills or given to agencies that specialize in their recycling or disposal.
* The community gets involved. They do not view themselves as 'customers'; instead, they participate in as many aspects as they can.
What is natural about the Swimming Pools that BCIL builds? We use no ceramic tiles. Instead we go for options such as a hard-sand, simulated ceramic-coated granular surface which lasts long and is easy to scrub and clean of algae, moss, etc. [Trans Indus swimming pool is illustrative.] We also use natural stone surfaces for cladding the walls and floor of pools. [T Zed Swimming pool is an example.] Standard maintenance procedures with vacuum cleaners are as practicable as they are with ceramic tiles in conventional pools. Images
T-ZED homes are designed to provide an enduring facility with conservation as the core value. The housing complex is equipped to handle its water needs without depending on the city water supply network, generate power needed for it under strict "green" parameters, and is also geared to take full responsibility for treating or disposing of all waste generated. ZED stands for "Zero Energy Development." Though T-ZED homes have a BESCOM connection, the complex will be the first to provide energy with renewable resources. The power generated with a biomass gasifier in a dedicated area outside the campus will use wood chips, procured without harming the environment, thereby avoiding the use of high-polluting, fossil-based diesel. This power will be supplied to the complex under an arrangement with BESCOM from Sira in Tumkur district where Malavalli Power Project Pvt. Ltd. produces electricity using agricultural waste such as sugarcane, coconut husk and dried leaves. BCIL's experience in water management helps it harness water resources. The residents themselves conserve water. The complex uses methods such as storage, rainwater harvesting, recycling and avoiding wastage of water. Each house has a "conscience meter," the first of its kind in India, which has an LED display of the number of litres of water that you are letting go down the drain in the kitchen or the washroom!
Every aspect of T-ZED has been designed to conserve natural resources and make minimal impact on the environment. T-ZED has used natural, recycled or reclaimed material, wherever possible. Building material traditionally available in the region such as natural stone for flooring and terracotta tiles for roofing have been extensively used. All the material has been carefully chosen to ensure that there is no energy consumed in their manufacture. For example, burnt clay bricks consume up to 400 degrees Celsius of energy in their making while ceramic tiles consume up to 1200 degrees Celsius. They are a strict no-no here. The number of houses has been restricted based on the resources available to sustain them on the site. "We designed (the project) to sustain 95 families on five acres of land, whereas it is normal to accommodate over 300 families on the plot. The plinth area the buildings consume is about 80,000 sq. ft. of the 232,000 sq. ft.," says Hariharan Chandrashekar, Managing Director of BCIL.
The main concept is that of keeping your body, mind and soul close to nature and use of materials like wood, bamboo, brick, RCC and glass. BCIL has completed three projects. BCIL Trans Indus on Kanakapura Road, BCIL T Zed Homes in Whitefield and BCIL TownsEnd and BCIL Collective in Yelahanka. They have initiated some extremely core environment initiatives in Coorg (Little Acre, a rainforest patch protection initiative which is unique to the world) and Gaia, a holiday homes project in Goa that doesn’t use any laterite blocks at all in a region where no one builds without laterite.
Ecological homes reuse and recycle most waste and used materials that are available very close to the site/area. It encourages local handicraft or art and harvests rain water and reuses most water that the building consumes. It is a home that takes the least from earth’s natural resources to build. Says, Harsha Sridhar, Chief Anchor - Design Cell, BCIL, “For example, a mud wall-based, thatch-roofed structure of a farmer is the most sustainable, for it uses the least. He does not transport any material from any big distance by trucks that consume diesel, which is another precious fossil fuel that hurts the planet’s resources. In the urban context, using bricks is ‘not friendly’ since it uses precious topsoil that takes 1200 years to form one inch of it, naturally! Bricks use energy at 400 deg C. And the energy used mostly comes from cutting forest wood or by using coal, both natural resources that are finite and therefore exhaustive or extractive.”
"You have to go about seeking efficiency in a way that projects are marked not merely by good natural resource management, but also by innovation in either product process, or in the way that you offer tangible benefits to your customer," says C Hariharan, CEO of Biodiversity Conservation (India) Limited (BCIL). Hariharan, "This means costs cannot be addressed as a one-dimensional challenge, but in light of other factors too - aesthetics, function, ease of execution, environmental sustainability, and time," says Hariharan. His argument goes beyond showing how to weave money-saving into a range of other considerations. Instead, as he tells it, 'alternate' construction that shies away from conventional brick and mortar is actually cheaper and more appropriate in many cases. So, it ought to be possible to pitch economic value to potential consumers, and in addition inspire them with ecologically sensible choices and creative design.
Community: Trans Indus, built by BCIL has a library, games room, community center, gallery and restaurant. At the time of my visit, the community center was full of residents doing oil painting. There is an amphitheater, where theater, dance, music and other cultural events are held which attracts audiences from outside the community. There is a strong promotional and educational component, with various brochures describing and promoting Trans Indus. In common areas in the campus, there are signboards here and there with pictures of species of fauna and flora and simple explanations about them. All residents are members of the Trans Indus Residents Association, which meets once a month. The president, secretary and treasurer change every year, and are chosen by consensus. There are no strict rules for residents, but they are strongly encouraged to follow some basic guidelines on sustainability and conservation in the design of the homes and lifestyle choices.
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