We shape our buildings, and afterwards our buildings shape us.
-Winston Churchill

Today we are marching through an era of modern technologies and these are going through development day by day making our lives easier. Some i.e., TV, cellular phones, cars, etc. have brought revolutionary changes in our daily life whereas some like atom bombs, advanced war-weapons, etc. have brought destructions and miseries to some nations. Moreover, some are acting as slow poisons that are gradually pushing the living beings especially the animals towards fatal diseases even death. They directly strike on the environment making it vulnerable for us. For example, most often the chemical liquids and sometimes by-products ejected from different industrial factories get to nearby water bodies without purification process and their poisonous substances get mixed with water making it unsuitable for various types of animals living under water. Even various types of buildings can play a vital role damaging the environment by having an unplanned disposal system of wastages. To solve the above problems, Green Building is a solution into which we can turn our regular buildings.

First of all, let's get introduced with the term Green Building and what its functionalities are. A Green Building is one which uses less water, optimizes energy efficiency, conserves natural resources, generates less waste, and provides healthier space for occupants throughout the lifespan of the building as compared to conventional buildings. It is also known as green construction or sustainable building. It contributes to saving the environment by fighting against global warming and reducing pollution, wastages and preserving raw materials, energy and water and maximizing the whole life-cycle performance of the buildings.

The Housing and Building Research Institute (HBRI) took the first initiative for the First Government Green Building in Bangladesh in 2007. The name of the first project of this initiative was The Eco-Housing Project and this project was designed by Ar. Md. Nafizur Rahman. The HBRI drafted the protocol for green building in 2012 with the help of IFC-world bank and in this year, a new topic on Energy Efficiency and Sustainability was also added in BNBC. Ar. Md. Nafizur Rahman drafted the Building Energy and Environment Rating System for Bangladesh in 2018 for the Sustainable and Renewable Energy Development Authority (SREDA). In the private sector, EPIC group constructed the first green building in Bangladesh in May 2011. Bangladesh Green Building Council founder Sanwar Azam had worked to unify the stake-holders towards a greener country since 2008. He also offered a centralized board to offer Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certifications to the projects and firms that are interested for the same purpose. He proposed a voluntary rating tool which is much cheaper to attain and one that is suitable to the socio-economic conditions of the country and germane to its building environment and construction culture. By 2012, the Ministry of Public Works began to study the energy and water efficiency and emissions reductions with the World Bank through Green Building Codes.

There are some technological features that can be used to make a building green. They are,

1. Rainwater harvesting systems are usually placed on the roof and collect rainwater to flush toilets.
2. Solar panels are used to heat bath water.
3. Wind turbines can be used to generate electricity.
4. Rainwater channeled into water butts can be used to water plants or wash cars.
5. Composting techniques for food scraps and biodegradable materials can be used to reduce waste and make the garden soil fertile.
6. Dual-flush toilets help conserve water with controlled water outlet options, etc.
7. Electrochromic smart glasses can be used to harness energy or shield the home from heat.

The usage of above techniques can also make the building run as a self-powered building.

There are still some obstacles in the way of constructing green buildings. Firstly, it is expensive to install the above-mentioned technologies in the building. Secondly, there is lacking in public awareness and political support to uphold this revolutionary project. But these problems can be tackled if the government as well as the Citizens can see this from this point of view that green buildings can save 25-35% of total energy and 39% of water compared to conventional buildings. And this thinking is essential to an effective result to our environmental, economical and social sectors of our country.

References:

SolarImpulse Wikipedia