THE ARCHITECTURE OF SUSTAINABILITY

Architect Rahul Kadri decodes the notion of sustainability in architecture and asserts on how our built environment should be resilient and self sufficient as we build for the future.

- Rahul Kadri

WHAT IS SUSTAINABILITY?

In the realm of architecture and design, sustainability has been reduced to a buzz word in the last few years and is often confused today with terms like green, energy-efficient, net-zero and more. Also, with the emergence of several rating mechanisms and agencies such as the IGBC, GRIHA and LEED, and rising environmental consciousness in the urban middle class, sustainability is increasingly being employed as a marketing gimmick. So, is a building with solar panels on the roof really sustainable? How about a LEED 5-star-rated building? On the other end of the spectrum, do all sustainable buildings have to be constructed in mud and brick? Are glass and concrete buildings inherently unsustainable?

Rahul Kadri

Rahul Kadri is a Partner & Principal Architect at IMK Architects, an architecture and urban design practice founded in 1957 with offices in Mumbai and Bengaluru. He spent his formative years amidst lush landscapes exploring the forests of the Kumaon Himalayas while studying at Sherwood College, Nainital. This early relationship with nature infused within him a deep passion to create buildings & spaces, which are in harmony with its natural context. Kadri took over the reins of the practice from his father 1. M. Kadri in the 1990s after completing a graduate diploma in architecture from the Academy of Architecture, Mumbai, and a Masters in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Michigan, USA.

DESIGNING SUSTAINABILITY

Sustainable design is as much about the process as it is about the product and its principles must follow through the entire lifecycle of the building from its initial design and construction, and use and maintenance, to its demolition and the reuse of its building materials.