Architect Ashok B Lall’s construction of Institute Of Rural Research And Development (IRRAD) office in Gurgaon has proved that sustainable architecture can not only save the environment but also your money. Built on a cost of Rs 20,000-22,000 per square area, the building is expected to save at least 25-30 per cent less electricity and other costs in 5 years.

“About 90 per cent of any sustainable project requires no extra cost, may be even less. This notion about high cost is complete myth,” claims Lall, who has been in the business of architecture for a quarter of a century.

He feels 80 per cent of sustainable designing is about common sense and rest includes sophisticated technology. “Technology is required only to price down the energy consumed by air conditioners. With intelligent design like the IRRAD building, you can bring down the electricity cost by almost 50 per cent.”

SM Sehgal Foundation, the owners of the building, wanted to create a workspace that had a frugal appearance and spoke about its aim as a rural development NGO. They also wanted to addresses the looming dangers of global warming. “We wanted to use as much natural materials as possible and try to reduce the dependency on energy,” says a spokesperson, SM Sehgal Foundation.

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