Mirage or Oasis?

For miles at a stretch, all your eyes can see is buildings. It feels as if you
have stepped into one of the biggest concrete deserts of the world? But all of a
sudden a cool breeze comes as a welcome surprise from the hard-hitting sand
particles. Is it true or is it a piece of your own imagination. Dont bother
your little think tank for long as you have entered the green zone called
247Park at Vikhroli in Mumbai. Come one, come all to Indias largest green
project built by HCC Real Estate to experience the feeling of a lifetime

The Brainchild

Necessity may be the mother of all inventions, but where there is demand,
there is supply too. The internal demand by HCC to build structures that are
environment-friendly coupled with the need to serve the IT fraternity together
led to the birth of this green project. "HCC Real Estate (HREL) being a 100%
subsidiary of Hindustan Construction Company (HCC), there was always an
invisible rule to build structures that cause minimal damage to the environment.
This is because real estate development has become one of the prime contributors
to global warming. Apart from that buildings in India utilize about 20% of the
countrys total electricity, thus having a significant impact on the environment
and resources," says Amol Shimpi, vice president, business development, HCC Real
Estate. So is it only the IT companies who have pressed the green button? No, he
further says, "The reason for targeting IT companies are manifold. Firstly, the
place where the park stands tall there are innumerable IT companies at a stones
throw distance. Secondly, a majority of the IT companies do have corporate
guidelines that require them to be located in environment-friendly structures
for which these companies are ready to even bear the holes in their pockets."

The Offering

Finding a place in Mumbaithat one can call homeis a Herculean task, so
finding a place to build a dream project is half the job alone. "In the early
1980s, we had a fabrication factory at this place, which was lying unused. And
considering the fact that there are many IT companies in the vicinity we decided
to build our green project here," says Shimpi.

"247Park was planned to be built in two phases, and with the completion of
the first phase with a total built up area of 1.8 mn sq ft which is ready for
possession, it became the largest standalone green office building in Mumbai in
the core and shell category. The multi-tenanted landmark has four levels of
closed car parking space. Out of this 50% parking is underground and around 80%
of the roof is covered with glazed white cement tiles resulting in reduction in
solar absorption and reduction of the heat island effect. Alternative fueling
stations are provided in 3% of the total parking capacity. This encourages the
tenants to use alternative fuel vehicles, which lead to less consumption of
fossil fuels and reduces pollution," Shimpi further elaborates.

Talk of memories that remain close to heart, and he beams with pride and
says, "We were suddenly informed midway during the project that we have to build
a helipad on the terrace. Though it increased costs by about 2-3%, we were able
to manage it in time." Recently, the project received a Leadership in Energy
and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold Certification. The certification is
established by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) and verified by
the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC).

Intelligent Building

Adoption of rainwater harvesting methods and 100% treatment of wastewater
have ensured that the burden on the municipality is reduced. Implementing storm
water management plan has reduced the sites imperviousness by around 98%. Most
of the waste is treated and used as compost. Potable water consumption for site
irrigation has been reduced by 100% through use of recycled site water or
captured rainwater. Even water fixtures used are of either Jaguar or Parryware
that enables air to be mixed with water, in turn reducing the usage of water by
40%. Total water use reduction is 85%. "So in one way, we are totally
independent of the municipality, and hence we are requesting them to reduce
property taxes levied," he adds.

An integrated approach has increased energy efficiency by 5-10%, and is
expected to reduce operational costs. The building is designed in such a manner
that 90% of the occupied spaces will receive direct sunlight. So, the average
lighting power density is reduced by 20%. Even the glass used in the
construction of the building is a double glaze glass that is of a sandwich type
with an inert gas in the middle that only allows the entry of light and not
heat. The use of this glass is estimated to generate around 21% energy savings
annually. Lights are intelligent, they switch on when one enters a room. Use
of occupancy sensors and daylight sensors have also reduced energy consumption.

The insulated building envelope reduces the burden on the air conditioning
systems, leading to energy savings. CO2 monitoring system and IAQ management
plans ensure flow of fresh air. Filtering of air with fine filters (MERV 13)
ensures that indoor air is free of pollutants. The building has a high
efficiency chiller with COP 6.325 and a water cooled centrifugal chilling
machine with CFC-free refrigerant (R134 A). The fire suppression systems used
are water and CO2 based. Other fire extinguishers are also free of halons and
HCFC. These measures help in reducing ozone depletion. The use of volatile
organic compounds that release gases such as adhesives, sealants, paints, etc,
have been reduced, which is also one of the requirements of IT companies. Also,
heat coming out from exhausts is reused. All this is expected to bring in annual
energy savings of 23.9%. "Apart from the recyclable value of each material used
in construction, when one enters this space, there is a feeling of reduced
building fatigue syndrome too," says Shimpi.

But if this was all in terms of investments, where is the RoI. "Constructing
a green project is approximately 5-10% more costly compared to regular projects.
But we expect to recover this cost in three and a half years," says Shimpi. The
building is expected to offer both tangible and intangible benefits to HREL and
its tenants.

Be it infrastructural constrains of power, water, or even natural calamities
like earthquake or heavy rains, 247Park promises to stand tall and unaffected.
This 69 meters tall structure is already a green landmark in an arid city patch.

Shilpa Shanbhag

shilpas@cybermedia.co.in