Passive Architecture in Shimla and Punjab

1. Punjab Energy Development Agency (PEDA), Chandigarh is a State Nodal
Agency responsible for development of new & renewable energy and non-
conventional energy in the state of Punjab.
PEDA – Solar Passive Complex, Chandigarh is a unique and successful
modal of Energy Efficient Solar Building, designed on Solar Passive
Architecture with the partial financial support of Ministry of Non-
Conventional Energy Sources, (MNES) Govt. of India and Department of
Science, Technology, Environment and Non-Conventional Energy, Govt. of
Punjab.
It is setup at Plot No. 1-2, Sector 33-D, Chandigarh on a plot size 1.49 acre
(268ft. X 243 ft) allotted by Chandigarh Administration, U.T., Chandigarh
with a total covered area 68,224 Sq. Ft. including 23,200 Sq. Ft. basement.
It is the centre of Excellence for Solar Buildings, minimizing conventional
lighting load in the office building, efficient movement of natural air, light
vaults, Wind tower coupled with solar chimney, BIPV, water bodies,
designed landscape horticulture and energy conservation activities.
PEDA – Solar Passive Complex
Punjab Energy Development Agency, Chandigarh
SALIENT DESIGN FEATURES OF
SOLAR PASSIVE COMPLEX
PLAN OF PEDA – Solar Passive Complex
Orientation:
Solar Passive Complex has been developed In response to solar geometry i.e.
minimizing solar heat gain in cold period. The building envelope attenuates the
outside ambient conditions and the large volume of air is naturally conditioned
by controlling solar access in response to the climatic swings
Unique Floating Slab System:
The system of floating and overlapping slab with
interpenetrating vertical cutouts allow free and quick
movement of natural air reducing any suffocating effect.
Cavity Walls:
The complex is a single envelope made up of its outer walls as
double skin walls having 2” cavity in between. The cavity walls
facing south and west are filled with further insulation material
for efficient thermal effect.
Light Vaults:
The vertical cutouts in the floating slabs are
integrated with light vaults and solar
activated naturally ventilating, domical
structures in the south to admit day light
without glare and heat.
Unique Shell Roofing on Central Atrium :
The Central atrium of the complex having main entrance,
reception, water bodies, cafeteria and sitting place for
visitors constructed with hyperbolic shell roof to admit
daylight without glare and heat coupled with defused
lighting through glass to glass solar panels. The roof is
supported with very light weight space frame structure.
PEDA – Solar Passive Complex heralds the beginning of the energy efficiency
movement in the non-domestic buildings such as offices, educational
institutions and factories. The building has the following salient design
features:
Solar Power Plant:
25Kwp building integrated solar photovoltaic power plant
has been set up to meet the basic requirement of electricity
in the complex.
Water Bodies:
The water bodies with waterfalls and fountains
have been placed in the central atrium of the
complex for cooling of whole the complex in
the hot and dry period.
Landscape Horticulture:
The space around the building inside and
outside of boundary wall and a big lawn in the
south has been designed with trees, shrubs
and grass. The big trees along the boundary
wall acts as a curtain to minimize air pollution,
sound pollution and filter/cool the entry of air.
Wind Tower coupled with Solar
Chimneys:
The wind tower centrally placed coupled with
solar chimneys on the domical structures for
scientific direct & indirect cooling and
scientific drafting of used air.
Auditorium:
A unique auditorium scientifically designed to
control heat penetration, light & sound
distribution is placed in the north under the
shade of main building.
Aims & Objectives:
•To demonstrate the Solar Passive
Architecture concepts.
•To educate Architects, Engineers &
Builders for replication of concepts.
• To make awareness among general
public, Teachers, Students of school and
colleges.
•A tourist place for educational tour of
professional institutions in the field of
Architecture / Engineering.
•To demonstrate the use of Solar
devices/equipments.
Benefits:
•90% reduction in lighting
consumption
•50% saving in overall energy
consumption
•Considerable reduction in
recurring expenditure
•Clean and pollution free
environment
•Considerable thermal comfort
•High Productivity
SECTIONAL PRESPECTIVE
ROOFING DETAILS
AUDITORIUM
WIND TOWER
LIGHT VAULTS
SHELL ROOFS
DAMINI SACHDEVA - 024
HARPREET KAUR - 034
HIMANSHI GUPTA - 124
PRANEET R.M. SINGH - 067
SHAIFALI GARG - 086
5th SEMESTER B

2. SECTION OF THE BUILDING WITH HEAT
COLLECTOR WALL HIGHLIGHTING FLOW OF
HEATED AIR THROUGH THE BUILDING
DAMINI SACHDEVA - 024
HARPREET KAUR - 034
HIMANSHI GUPTA - 124
PRANEET R.M. SINGH - 067
SHAIFALI GARG - 086
5th SEMESTER B
Himachal Pradesh State Co-operative Bank
Shimla, Himachal Pradesh. Ar. Ashok B Lall
Himachal Pradesh State Co-operative Bank located on Mall Road, Shimla is a multi storey RCC structure
located in Shimla. Oriented at 10 degree west of south the building has a long narrow profile in plan. The
narrow south face has access to light and air from the adjacent lane while the east face has no access to light
and air as it abuts another building.
Year of start/completion is 1995–1998. Built-up area being 1650 m² (about 35% is heated by solar air heating
system) and the Total area of solar air heating panels 38 m². Cost of entire system Rs 1.1 million (includes
AHU, electrical back-up, blower, ducting controls)
Since Shimla experiences good sunshine during winters and plenty of sun falls on the facade of the building ,
a considerable amount of solar heat could be collected from this facade. The bulk of energy consumption of
the building was on two fronts, one for lighting the deeper parts of the building and the other for heating the
building during winters.
Brief specifications The external walls are 23-cm thick masonry construction with 5-cm thick glass wool
insulation. The windows are double glazed and the total area is about 155 m². The roofing is made of
corrugated galvanized iron sheeting. Total building cost Rs 22 million (including solar passive and active
features).
ROOF TOP DETAILS FOR SOLAR
COLLECTOR(PLAN AND SECTION)
ENERGY SAVING STRATEGIES OF
CO-OPERATIVE BANK
Design Temperature:
The design temperature was taken to be 18 degree Celsius for winters, considering that
it is customary to be warmly dressed while working.
Limiting Conditioning to Workspaces:
It was decided that passages, stairs, toilets, lobbies and stores need not be conditioned.
Only occupied workspaces are to be conditioned.
Sunspaces:
The balconies adjacent to rooms on the southern face are converted into glazed
sunspaces. These act as winter gardens and heat collectors for the adjacent room thereby
reducing glare, enhancing views, increasing comfort, and also livening up the main
façade.
Heat Collector Wall:
The remaining south facing surface was designed as a heat collecting wall by placing a
continuous glass façade on the outer face of the building. The wall is to be clad with dark
colored slate and ceramic mural, which would be visible. The mural would get lit at night
as an advertisement of the blank. The heated air from the surface of the wall is drawn
out at the top of the staircase tower. The cool air from the main banking hall gets heated
through the convection by the wall.
Roof Collector:
A roof top solar collector has been installed. This has been angled at 45 degrees to
receive the winter sun. the collector warms up air, which is circulated into the space with
a blower. An insulated air handling room is located below the attic space.
Details for Roof Heating Panels:
An electric back-up heating system is linked with the solar passive heating
system. This electric bank is thermostatically controlled and switches on
progressively on demand-during mornings and prolonged cloudy weather.
The system is switched on at 9.00 a.m., electric back-up covers till about 11.00
a.m. when solar heating takes over. The system is designed for 10% fresh air
supply, return air goes back to solar air panels, and supplies hot air to 3 halls.
Fenestration:
Double glazing and tight fitting open able panels for windows have been
installed for circulation and infiltration control. On the top floor the north and
west walls and the ceilings are insulated.
Day Lighting and Artificial Illumination:
Two light wells against east side of the building were suggested at strategic
locations for the dual purpose of ensuring sufficient daylight into the banking
hall and main office floor, and return air ducting. However, these wells were
not provided due to high priority accorded to floor space utilization.
The artificial electric light system have been planned in a manner such that the
lights could be switched on as a supplement to the available daylight . This
arrangement would not incur any extra cost.
Design features:
•Sunspaces on the southern side.
•Solar wall on the southern side.
•Specially designed solar air heating system – solar
heat collector on Roof-top with duct system for supply
to various rooms.
•Double-glazed windows.
•Air-lock lobby at the main entrance.
SECTION
PLAN

3. CLIMATE RESPONSIVE ARCHITECTURE
Studying the Climatic Conditions of both the Regions
Punjab Energy Development Agency, Chandigarh
The office complex is located in Chandigarh on a practically square site that lies on flat land with no major
topographical variations. the city of Chandigarh lies in the plains at the foot of the 'Lower Himalayas', within a
Composite climate context'. Chandigarh experiences wide climatic swings over the year, i.e. very hot and dry period of
almost two and a half months(max. DBT 44OC) and quite cold period of a shorter duration(min. DBT 3OC). The hot dry
period is followed by a hot humid - monsoon period of about two months with intervening periods of milder climate.
The demand on building design, therefore, is to respond to the extremes eliminate heat gain in hot-dry period,
maximize ventilation in hot humid period from zones/areas designed as heat sinks and maximize heat gain in cold
period. Equally important, for Chandigarh is the context in space and time. Chandigarh, a bold experiment in city
planning and architecture, was based on the professed ethos of design: build with climate.
Within the context of the radical experiment that is Chandigarh, the PEDA building has been designed with an ethos:
design with nature. The physical context although unique in itself- that is urbanity of Chandigarh- offers yet another
challenge for design. The three dimensional form of the building has been developed in response to solar geometry,
i.e. minimizing solar heat gain in hot-dry period and maximizing solar heat gain in cold period, the scale and form of the
building responds to its urban context as well.
SOUTH ELEVATION
INTERIOR VIEW OF THE
INNOVATIVE LIGHT VAULTS
To achieve a climate responsive building , an innovative concept in architectural design has
been developed. In place of the central loaded corridor plan stacked on each other. The
PEDA building is a series of overlapping floors at different levels in space floating in the large
volume of air, with interpenetrating large vertical cut-outs. These cutouts are integrated
with light wells and solar activated naturally ventilating, domical structures. This creates the
area to be highly ventilated and eliminates heat gain in summers.
WIND TOWER
Himachal Pradesh State Co-operative Bank, Shimla
Site microclimatic analysis:
•The building is not overshadowed by its surrounding buildings. However its orientation and
well designed façade help to minimize the overheating during summer.
•Wind direction generally lies along the NE-SW Axis. The prevailing direction is NORTH-EAST
due to proximity to Himalayan range towards N-E. wind direction has been taken into
consideration while designing the wind tower and building openings for uniform air
movement.
•The solar radiation has been taken into consideration by strategic positioning and
orientation of each element of every façade of the building block for whole year.
This building is a ground and three-storeyed structure with its longer axis
facing the east-west direction. The smaller northern wall faces the prevailing
winter winds from the north-eastern direction. The building shares a common
east wall with an adjoining structure. Its west façade overlooks a small street
from which the building draws its main requirements of ventilation and day
lighting.
Energy conscious features:
•South-facing Trombe wall and sunspace heats up the interior
•South-facing solar collectors on the roof provide warm air, which is circulated
by means of ducts
•North face is protected by a cavity wall that insulates the building from
prevailing winter winds
•Western wall is provided with insulation as well as double glazing
•Day lighting is enhanced by providing light shelves. Skylight on the terrace also
provides day lighting
•Air lock lobbies are provided to reduce air exchange
Building’s plan and Direction:
The buildings in the cold and mountainous region have a
compact plan and texture. The building formation should be in
a way that reduces the contact surface with outer chill so that
less heat may transfer from inside to outside. So the shapes
such as cube or cubic rectangle are used to reduce the outer
surface of building in relation to its inner volume and keep it in
possible minimum.
Building’s Openings:
Small openings in low numbers are used to prevent the thermal
exchange between outside and inside of the building in these
regions. If the windows are large, it’s necessary to apply a shade. The
openings used in the south side are larger and longer to take
maximum advantage of sunshine. Also it should be prevented from
settling the openings in the direction of cold winds. Double walled
windows are also proper to minimize the thermal exchange.
Meanwhile, the rate of internal air exchange and natural ventilation
should be minimized as much as possible to prevent from breeze in
the building and inner heat exit to out. In comparison with warm and
dry regions, the dimensions of openings in this region are increased
to make use of heat energy of sunshine.
Building’s Wall:
High thickness of walls, in turn, also prevents heat exchange between
inner area of building and outer environment. The standards of
architecture in cold and mountainous regions are nearly similar to
those of warm and dry regions; and the only difference is in heat
producing sources. In warm and dry regions this source is from out of
building but in cold region is from inside. In these regions the wall
thickness should be increased by constructional materials so that this
wall may act as heat saving resource for internal area of the building.
The thick walls save the heat of daily sunshine during the night and
help in warming the inner space.
Building Materials:
The materials used in traditional buildings in cold and
mountainous regions, like in other regions, are from the
available materials there. These materials should have a good
thermal capacity and resistance to keep the building warmth in
its inner area. So the body of these buildings is from stone (or
wood, cob mortar, adobe and bricks) and the roofing is from
timber and cob. Stone and heavy resistant materials are used
for building foundation, and in some parts the heavy materials
are used for base course to prevent moisture.
DAMINI SACHDEVA - 024
HARPREET KAUR - 034
HIMANSHI GUPTA - 124
PRANEET R.M. SINGH - 067
SHAIFALI GARG - 086
5th SEMESTER B