Cover Story | ARCHITECT'S VIEW

Sensible Use of Glass is Required

Though glass is increasingly being considered as a green building material all over the world, its suitability in the Indian context is being debated. Architect Balbir Verma of Balbir Verma& Associates laments the rampant use of glass in the country, and explains howsensible use can actually make buildings green

Q. What is the role of an architect in crystallising the client’s requirement and choosing glass for a building?
A. An architect’s main responsibility is to understand the actual need of the building. Therefore, as architects, we must always keep in mind the region where the building is located, and also the use for which the construction is taking place, and then suggest to the client the types of glass needed. Even now a large percentage of people involved in the decisions, including some architects as well, think that extensive use of glass would make a building look aesthetically appealing. Some architects are focusing on ‘glassitecture’ rather than on the norms of architecture. Architects in our country should come out of this regressive thinking, and stress more on the sensible and required use of glass. Buildings should be habitable, and the use of energy-efficient products should be suggested. We need to move beyond decorating buildings with glass, and should think about the functionality of glass in its true sense.

Q. Glass is being promoted as an energy-efficient building product. How appropriate is it in Indian climatic conditions?
A. Glass is an excellent building material for cold climates as it can prevent cold waves more efficiently than heat from entering inside. Therefore, extensive usage of glass in European countries makes perfect sense. However, when it comes to hot climatic regions like India, it may not be a good idea to use it extensively. In hot places, sensible use of glass is required. In order to provide visual appeal and appropriate functionality to a building, architects should only use glass where it is actually needed. Building contractors and architects need to understand that in hot climate cities glass should generally be used on the north and north-eastern sides, and not for enveloping the entire building. Any more use of glass in the envelope would only increase the construction and running costs of the building, apart from increasing temperatures of the surrounding areas.

Q. What are the main challenges in glass installation in the country?
A. The biggest issue in glass installation is the lack of skilled workers. There are hardly any institutes in the country imparting training on right practices of glass installation. Consequently, we see a lot of damage due to mishandling of the raw material at building sites.

To resolve this issue, glass manufacturers along with sealant and hardware suppliers should form a consortium, which would work for providing installation training to workers. It would be a big leap towards proper glass installation practices.

Q. What measures are being taken to ensure occupant safety in buildings that use glass extensively?
A. Unfortunately, there are no fixed norms in our country about glass installation. Although bigger projects now use toughened glass for all purposes, it is ironic that double taped glass is being used in a number of small buildings even today. Apart from the raw material, there are a lot of issues with the methods of installation as well. There needs to be a code of conduct, which says that the glass suppliers would only supply the glass suited for the requirement, and that the installers would install it in the proper way only.