Project Overview
Location : Galtre,wada Thane, Maharashtra
Land : 70 acres
Total built up area : 2400.65 sqmt.
Energy consumption reduction :57% reduction in energy
consumption compared to griha benchmark
Energy performance index (EPI) :37.5 KWH/m2/year
Renewable energy : rated capacity of solar PV installed on site
is 39 kw
GRIHA provisional rating : 5 star
Year of completion :2012
Architect team :Biome environmental solution ,Bangalore
It is based on the
Vedic principle of living
In the ancient past, in Vedic times, life was focused on
service to the world and its inhabitants – both human and animal – not their
exploitation. This was the essence to leading a healthy and sustainable
lifestyle. With this positive
attitude of nurture and service, GEV showcases this profound principle of
‘simple living, high thinking’, and its relevance in today’s world.
Srila Prabhupada, the Founder-Acharya of the International
Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), frequently encouraged his disciples
to adhere to this principle by developing farm communities for healthful and
ecological living
At GEV you will experience a life that is socially, physically,
mentally, emotionally, and spiritually joyful, based on a sustainable
sensitivity to the environment.
PURPOSE
Need
Civil facilities were
required to house the community and several
facilities.
We had
to minimize –
{ resource consumption
{ waste generation
{ overall adverse
ecological impact
By implementing the Five R philosophy
v Refuse
v Reduce
v Reuse
v Recycle
v Reinvent
Objectives
v Preserve existing
Vegetation/or plant new trees as per GRIHA Norms
v Proper timing of
Construction w.r.t. rains. Start after Monsoon and finish before next Monsoon.
v Confine Construction Activity
to only few select parts of the Campus
v Erosion and
sedimentation control
v Preserve topsoil and
use it for Raised Bed Agriculture
v Waste segregation,
recycle and reuse
CORE CONCEPT
Govardhan Eco Village (GEV) is a humble attempt to highlight
the importance of living in harmony with nature and using the gifts that Nature
and God have bestowed upon us to serve the society by setting up a model farm
community. Our aim is to create aesthetical and comfortable structures for the
residents and guests, while not breaking the harmony with nature and our
immediate surroundings. You will observe in the process how GEV has taken
initiative to uphold the balance of
sustainability concept and community needs.
Smart Sourcing : To reduce the overall
carbon foot print, 90% of the materials were sourced from within 100 Kms radius of our
facility.
Zoned Construction: Construction activity was not
allowed to spread all throughout the campus. It was restricted
to only some areas with all the brick production units strategically placed near
those areas to
minimize transportation.
Mud is the essence
:
Simple, Natural Mud was the key constituent of the
construction materialFOUNDATION
ØPcc with stabilized
mud.
ØStone masonry with
stabilized mud mortar.
ØConcrete short pole
(as bond stone).
WALL : stabilized mud block
ØMUD
ØQuarry dust
ØLime
ØCement
DOOR AND WINDOW
ØRecycled wood
POINTING
ØStabilized mud mortar
PLASTER
ØIn -toilets cement
plaster
ØRest-mud plaster
ROOF
ØArch panel with mud
tiles
ØSteel
ØMangalore tiles
(burnt clay tiles)
Foundation
Stone masonry with
stabilized mud
mortar & concrete
short poles (as bond
stone)
ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
Purpose
The activities of the community in GEV require energy
resources. Located in the rural
stronghold of the
Thane district, energy is hard to come by. Let us consider two factors here –
ØDepending on them
will cause a strain to our nation’s depleting resources.
ØThe cost of
procurement of resources was running high and causing constraint into our budget.
Solution
To implement a sustainable and cost-effective method, to reduce
the dependency on conventional
sources of energy.
The Alternative
Bio
Gas Energy –Biomass is a
renewable energy resource derived from the carbonaceous waste
of various human and natural activities. Biomass does not add carbon
dioxide
to the atmosphere as
it absorbs the same amount of carbon in growing
as it releases when consumed as a fuel.
Solar
Energy –GEV
has exposure to sunlight for most part of the year and management identified certain
unusable open areas to install panels to harness solar energy.
Animal
Driven Prime Mover –Bulls not only
contribute in ploughing the farmland, but also help substitute
power requirement for couple of processes, which we shall study further
Benefits
Ample
availability of Food Waste: Apart from our own kitchen waste, we have two free mid-day meal
projects within a radius of about 30 km. Together
they cater to lunch requirements
of about 80,000 children a day. They have a potential of providing about 1.5
tons/day of vegetable waste and left over food. The biodegradable waste,
when allowed to decompose naturally, would lead to release of methane, which is a
much more damaging greenhouse gas as compared to carbon di-oxide.
Hence a dual benefit of generating energy and curtailing green-house effect is achieved.
Organic
Manure: The
left over slurry, after the removal of biogas, acts as excellent organic
manure in a very easily dispensable form. Since in
GEV we have a “zero chemical”
agricultural policy, this slurry is fulfilling the role of other expensive
organic manures.
Waste management
Soil Biotechnology
(SBT)
Water is
an excellent medium for transfer, owing to its ability to flow and carry solid matter with it. That
solves the issues about waste collection, but it creates a problem with waste treatment. Water is not the best medium to decompose
matter. However, research by one of
our researchers, Dr. Biplab Patanaik at IITB showed that Soil is an excellent natural
medium for decomposing solid wastes. His breakthrough research at IITB showed that the
best sewage treatment system would be an integration of these
systems
A
system that uses water as a medium for waste collection and soil
as a
medium for waste treatment. Such
a system would consume little energy and would
integrate in a seamless manner with the natural cycles of environment.
The Process
Soil
Bio Technology
The SBT system consists of an impervious containment and incorporates soil, formulated granular
filter media, select culture of macro organisms such as earthworms and plants
. Combined grey and
black water from GEV cottages are
collected and
transported via underground sewage network to a central
collection point.
Primary treatment unit: The physical
separation is accomplished in primary
treatment unit
consisting of Equalization tank, perforated screen and gravity
settling tank.
The Secondary treatment: is combination of
physio-chemical and biological
processes in an
engineered ecosystem. In this unit waste water is processed
in an ecosystem consisting of soil, bacterial culture and geophagus earthworm,
mineral additives and select plants. Formulated natural
mineral additives and biological cultures are also included in the process in order to
renovate the wastewater to the desired quality.
The process by design integrates with the natural
bio-geochemical cycles of nature. Purification
takes place by adsorption, filtration and biological reaction.
The process operates in aerobic mode;
thus eliminating possibility of foul
odour.
The processed water can be reused in gardening, agriculture and
support marine life. The capacity of the
SBT system is 30 KLD and
operates in an 8hr/day cycle.
Comments
Post a Comment