(Kajal Singh, Journalist): China is the largest country in the world in terms of population. In the field of economic progress too, he has got his iron honor in the world. Buildings in the same proportion are also needed for the large population to live and run economic activities smoothly. China is working extensively in this area.
Experts say that in the coming decade, half of the buildings around the world will be built, only in China. China already has two billion square meters of floor space ready every year. If these buildings are one story, then their total area will be equal to the area of the whole of London. This is a huge figure in terms of carbon emissions.
Along with increasing economic activity, China has also increased building construction. Along with this, the use of energy in these buildings also increased, which created a challenge for the environment. Between 2001 and 2016, China’s construction sector has consumed energy equivalent to one billion tons of coal. The energy used from raw material supply to building construction is about one-fifth of China’s total carbon emissions. On such a wide scale, carbon emissions are a bell for both humans and the environment. The people of China have also felt this danger, and have also paid its price. That is why work is being done on such new ways of building buildings so that carbon emissions can be reduced. For this, the most efficient way so far is to cover the buildings with plants.
The experiment was first in Italy
Such an experiment was first practiced by an Italian architect, Stefano Bori, in the city of Milan, Italy. And now Bori’s team is going to do the same experiment in China. Work is underway to build two such green towers in Nanjing city of China, which will be completely covered with greenery. These towers were to be completed by the end of 2020. However, due to the epidemic, work will not be completed on time. 2500 kinds of shrubs, more than one thousand trees, and other plants will be planted in the enlarged part of the building. Currently, 600 types of local trees are being prepared in the nursery for planting on the front walls of the building. By the time they are planted in the building, their length will be from 6 to 9 meters.
Before planting these trees, their capacity will be tested and they will be passed through a wind tunnel. Accordingly, trees will be planted on different floors of the building. Policies have been implemented in many provinces of China making greenery an essential part of tall buildings. For example, Sky Garden Balconies have been made in Zhejiang Province. But they are exempted from the total area of the plot. That is, when the area of the plot is measured, then this green balcony is not included in it. This is a kind of bonus.
A lot of planning is required to make a building green. And greenery is the only way to control the increasing carbon emissions. If the trend of keeping greenery outside buildings starts, carbon emissions from the building construction industry in China can be reduced to a great extent.
At the same time, some experts also say that the material used to build the building will also have to be improved. For example, cement alone is responsible for 8 percent of the world’s total carbon emissions in a year. If the construction material is recycled, the carbon emissions will be reduced to a great extent. In this direction, the Vinson Company of China has also started work. For this work, this company is resorting to 3D technology.
To build a new building, it is better to grind and use the waste material to use the things which already exist. Lu Heng, director of the Green Architecture Design and Research Institute, is doing something similar. He got the old part of an old factory ready for himself by giving it a new look with the help of old glass and cement pieces. They built curtain walls around the corridor that do not allow the hot air outside to enter and the temperature inside is controlled. Lew says that 3D printing can prove to be very effective in this work. This will also save both wages and materials.
Work is also being done on building such buildings in China, which can be kept cold or hot without any mechanical means. It was first used in 2005 in Beijing’s Peking University building. The corridors of this building are designed in such a way that they remain hot in winter and cool in summer as well as natural light is also abundant and electricity consumption is negligible. The electricity system in the classroom has also been developed in such a way that lights are lit only in the presence of someone.
The people of the architecture sector hope that the way new designs are being made for the buildings, they are very stable and the Chinese government will help them move forward. By 2018, more than 10,000 green projects have been approved in China. In 2017, China had decided that 50 percent of the buildings to be built by 2020 would be green buildings.
The rate of urban development in China is fast. So the pace of change here will also be fast. If half of the total buildings in the world are to be built in China in this decade, then these new methods will bring a big change. If China also makes 50 percent of its buildings full of greenery, then the total carbon emissions of the world will fall drastically.
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