Civil Engineering Projects Weekly | 9th April 2013

Underestimate Green lighting? It can save millions of dollars…

The writer explains how green lighting can have a huge impact on the savings. It may seem surprising as to how such a small change in choice could help you save a lot of money. LEDs have been the top choice of the designers because of the variety of pleasing colour options that are available. The article details out the two success stories of the companies that have chosen to go for LEDs replacing their existing incandescent light bulbs. It has been really surprising since the amount that they have saved millions of dollars by going for a greener option of lighting.

LEDs – the future of lighting industry

We are all acquainted with LEDs. LED stands for light emitting diode. Initially, the LEDs weren’t as efficient as they are today. The article details out the pros and cons of using LED lighting. Today, LED is considered under the category of green electronic components. They have played a great role in revolutionizing the lighting industry.

Architect Javed Kachchhi interviewed regarding Construction site inspection

The author interviews the Indian Architect Javed Kachchhi regarding the construction site inspection. Various important questions have been answered that would be incredibly useful to the Architecture and engineering students as well as the young graduates. The questions regarding issues such as monitoring of the site, role of project management team, architects role on site inspection, mistakes committed by workers on site, scenario of construction sites in towns, scenario of construction sites in cities, role of contractors etc.

Damage and repair guide for Sinking Foundations

Sinking foundations could be disastrous for the life of a structure if not paid attention to. The damage and repair guide outlines the complex procedure into three simple steps. Every step in the guide has been explained in detail.

Here are the following three steps:

1)     Examination of the structure

2)     After the problem identification, an expert relating to the field is to be hired.

3)     Outline of methodologies or techniques for the repair of sinking foundation

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Column Layout for a Residence | Civil Engineering

Column Layout for a residence using the Thumb rules | Building Construction

In my earlier article, we discussed three important thumb rules that are to be followed while making a column layout for any building. They are as follows:

  1. Size of the Columns
  2. Distance between the columns
  3. Alignment of Columns

In this article, we will see an example of a residence of which column layout is done keeping the above three thumb rules in mind.

Column Layout for a residence

The residential villa comprises of 1 and half floors. Initially, the column size 9″x12″ had been used with the use of M15 grade of concrete. The builder wanted to save on his budget by making the columns smaller in size. That is why, the columns in the Floor plans below are 9″x9″ in size but the Engineer made sure that M20 grade of concrete would be used for Columns.

Column Layout for a Ground Floor
Column Layout for a Ground Floor

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Application of Green Building Technology in India | Thiagaraj Convention Center

When people talk about Green buildings, it is assumed they are eco-radical tree-huggers. But its true. Green building technology can really help achieve sustainable development by reducing energy consumption to a large extent and improving the return on investment by reducing maintenance.

When considering the economic benefits of smart technologies one must include many factors, such as health cost, future economic stability, quality of life and costs of operation.

In India, Thiagaraj Convention Center in Chennai is one such place where green building technology has been extensively used. Many of the building techniques can easily be adapted to existing buildings. For example, the transition from incandescent light bulbs to compact fluorescent light bulbs can lead to energy savings of upto 75% of costs. The small increase in initial costs to purchase the bulbs would easily be recouped many times over by the savings and extended life of the new bulbs.

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Leading the Green Building Movement | TKM College of Engineering (Chennai)

“A green building is one which uses less water, optimizes energy efficiency, conserves natural resources, generates less waste and provides healthier spaces for occupants, as compared to a conventional building.”

As the world reels under the stress of economic recession and Peak oil, efforts are being made to minimize the use of energy, to maximize return on invested resources by recycling and optimum use of natural resources. Such efforts have culminated into the new Green building movement across the planet.

Brief Introduction of the Project

A contemporary convention centre having state of art facilities, using modern building techniques and energy efficiency as the prime design parameters.

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