5 Sustainable Buildings of 2020

Buildings are the biggest source of CO2 emissions. With limited available non-renewable resources, architects have become increasingly aware and are focused on achieving green buildings and structures that are environmentally responsible. But some projects go further than others. Here are some structures completed in 2020 that score high on sustainability. 

Krushi Bhawan building, Odisha

Winner of the prestigious AZ Awards 2020 (AZURE’s international architecture and design competition) in the Social Good category, the new age government building is designed around courtyards filled with ponds and trees. The ground floor has a free-flowing public space that opens out into a plaza. It has an amphitheater and a garden with a pond to naturally cool the space. The entrance is lined with trees, which doubles as a shady place for employees to have their lunch. The building's rooftop has urban farms that can be used to demonstrate the best agricultural practices. The night-purging system pulls cool air in through the northern facade after dark which lowers the building's temperature before the hotter daytime hours.

The Book Room - Library, Pune

The multi-utility learning space for adults and kids uses a vaulted ceiling & an arched external facade to maximize the use of natural light. The design allows natural daylight to fill the interior space till late evening, reducing the use of artificial lights for a major part of the day. Natural plants have been used to integrate bookshelves, reading tables, seating, and landscape pockets to cast a soothing effect into the spaces & break away from the monotony of long furniture pieces. The library also has a stepped amphitheater kind of informal seating on one side that can be used in many different ways.

Sharana, Pondicherry

The architecture of this community center revolves around the central strip of an inner garden court with large multipurpose activity spaces at the rear of the site, and administration services at the front on the street. The building is constructed using reinforced cement concrete slabs. The walls are made of porous terracotta screen modules that eliminate the need for windows and frames while allowing ventilation throughout the wall surface. These screen wall elements allow transparency from the floor upwards, allowing small children to remain in visual contact with the garden outdoors.

Austin Central Library, USA

Rebuilt recently, the new library offers a rooftop garden, reading porches, an indoor reading room, large indoor and outdoor event spaces, a gift shop, an art gallery, and a cafe. The complex has a 373,000-gallon rainwater harvesting system that takes care of the water needs of the library including the garden. A soaring six-story atrium fills the building with natural light, and reading porches and outdoor dining help connect visitors with nature.

Temple of Steps, Andhra Pradesh

A modern take on the traditional Hindu temple forms, this center of worship is made using locally available black limestone slabs. The structure also includes an ecological strategy to recharge the groundwater of the region by creating a low-lying recharge pit or ‘kund’ that uses the water overflow from the limestone quarries. The construction also incorporates soil and planting in the lower half of the temple body to buffer against the heat.

The #BArch from #MIDAS helps develop students' ability to integrate engineering and architecture in ways that blend innovative architectural design with cutting-edge technologies. Visit www.midas.ac.in to know more.

Ten tips for college students to increase concentration

Are you having trouble concentrating on your studies? Well don't worry – it happens to the best of students. Here are the top ten tips from experts to help you concentrate at college.

1. Start assignments with some curiosity about the material and a positive attitude toward learning.

2. Designate a place where you go only to study. Use proper lighting.

3. Identify your distractions. Find ways to decrease them or to postpone them until study breaks (e.g., taking the phone off the hook).

4. Decrease noises around you while studying. If you need some background music it should be soft. Keep the TV off.

5. Use "active study" techniques: sit straight in a chair at a desk, start out with questions about the material, outline chapters, underline key phrases after reading a section, write notes in margins, ask yourself what you have learned.

6. Divide your work into smaller manageable tasks that can be completed in a short period of time. Push yourself to complete one small task, then move on to the next task. Focus on one small task at a time.

7. Use times of peak alertness for studying difficult or less interesting topics. When you are tired or hungry concentration will be lowered.

8. When your mind starts to wander come up with some cue words to say to yourself (e.g., "Focus." "Get back on task.") to focus your concentration again.

9. Take breaks when you have completed tasks or when you feel concentration has decreased. Breaks should be approximately 10-15 minutes.

10. If you have other assignments or issues on your mind write them down on a "to do" list or take a small step to deal with them. Then get back to focusing on the task at hand.

The fine range of facilities that include the well-stocked & spacious library, clean and airy hostel rooms, large open green spaces, and more at MIDAS offer B.Arch and M.Arch students the perfect atmosphere to concentrate and study. Explore more at bit.ly/MIDAS_Admissions.

Coming soon! World’s highest rail bridge over River Chenab in Kashmir

An engineering marvel will connect one of the most remote parts of the country in Jammu and Kashmir with the mainland. It is being built on the Katra-Banihal railway line at village Kauri in the Reasi district.

Here are some interesting architectural details about the bridge.

1. The 1.315-km long bridge is being built above the Chenab River at a height of 359 meters, 35 meters taller than the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France.

2. 63 mm-thick special blast-proof steel sourced from the Bhilai steel plant is used to withstand any major blast.  

3. The concrete pillars include a 1.2-meter-wide central verge and a 14-meter-wide dual carriageway. It would withstand explosions, earthquakes, and wind speeds of up to 260 kmph. It is painted with a special corrosion-resistant paint, which lasts for 15 years.

4. The arch is two-ribbed and fabricated from large steel trusses.

5. The girder plates are eight-meter-long each. A total of 161 specially fabricated girders will be used.

6. Around 24,000-plus tons of steel will be utilized for the construction.

7. An online monitoring and warning system will also be installed.

8. The bridge will also have cycle trails and footpaths

9. Sensors on the bridge will check the wind velocity: as soon as the wind speed exceeds 90 kmph, the signal on the track will turn red, preventing train movement.

10. Self-compacting concrete is being utilized for filling steel boxes as well as for ends of plate girders.

Fascinating architectural stories from 5 Indian temples

 Popular for celestial carvings, epigraphs, and vernacular design elements, we look at five temples that are truly one-of-a-kind destinations.

Brihadeshwara Temple, Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu

The magnificent Temple is deeply embedded in the Dravidian architectural legacy as a tribute to Lord Nataraja. Built by Raja Raja Chola I, the temple was constructed using over 1,30,000 tons of granite.

Architectural gems: The temple casts no shadow on the ground when the sun is at its pinnacle. A glorious Nandi monolith weighing 20 tons, intricate Bharatnatyam carvings on the temple exterior, and a spectacular spread of musical pillars.

Virupaksha Temple, Pattadakal, Karnataka

A confluence of North Indian Nagra and Dravidian Vimana Shaili architectural styles, this temple displays extravagant sculptures and epigraphs that narrate stories of divine glory.

Architectural gems: The structure is seeded in mathematical concepts. The patterns are modeled on natural wonders, a triangular dome, and square-shaped layouts echo the geometry of nature.

Terracotta Temple, Bishnupur, West Bengal

Built by the Malla dynasty, this temple mirrors the thatched architecture of rural Bengal. The architecture of Bishnupur is inspired by the coalescence of styles and cultures from surrounding regions.

Architectural gems: Built using rustic terracotta tiles, laterite, and bricks, the carved panels in the temple narrate mythological epics.

Dilwara Temples, Mount Abu, Rajasthan

Built by the Solankis, the Dilwara Temples’ complex enshrines five prominent Jain idols, each housed within a separate courtyard. The complex is bordered by shrines honoring holy tirthankaras (saints).

Architectural gems: The temple is renowned for its marble ornamentation and carvings. Among the many mysteries harbored within the temple walls, perhaps the greatest is how long-ago laborers managed to transport huge blocks of marble from Arasoori Hill to Mount Abu, along an incline of 23 kilometers, on elephant back.

Kailasa Temple, Ellora, Maharashtra

Carved from solid rock, this titanic temple construction was helmed by King Krishna I as a symbolic expression of Lord Shiva’s Himalayan abode.

Architectural gems: The sanctum sanctorum features remarkable engravings of scenes from the Ramayana and Mahabharata.

10 things about Krushi Bhawan building; the People's Choice Winner at the AZ Awards 2020

 Odisha's architectural marvel Krushi Bhavan designed by Studio Lotus has won the People's Choice Winner in the Social Good category at the prestigious AZ Awards 2020  (AZURE’s international architecture and design competition). This was the only project from India at the globally recognized prestigious award.

Here are some architectural details about the structure. 

1. The complex houses the administrative offices for the Department of Agriculture & Farmers' Empowerment, Odisha government designed around courtyards filled with ponds and trees.

2. Regional materials and techniques feature all over the building. The north wing of the building is made using laterite and khondalite stones sourced from nearby mines.

3. The brickwork that wraps the upper floor is designed using a traditional dyeing technique called Odisha Ikat. The bricks were made from three different colors of clay sourced from the surrounding areas.

4. The perforations in the facade help to naturally cool the building.

5. Apart from being a workplace for 600 staff, Krushi Bhavan also houses spaces for community engagement.

6. The ground floor has a free-flowing public space that opens out into a plaza. It has an amphitheater and a garden with a pond to naturally cool the space. The entrance is lined with trees and stone colonnades, which doubles as a shady place for employees to have their lunch.

7. A learning center, gallery, auditorium, library, and training rooms are also located on the ground floor.

8. The building's rooftop has urban farms that can be used to demonstrate the best agricultural practices.

9. Krushi Bhavan's night-purging system pulls cool air in through the northern facade after dark which lowers the building's temperature before the hotter daytime hours.

10. The courtyard design, along with recessed windows, also features brick louvers that create shade and airflow.

10 things you must know about the Atal Tunnel

 The construction of the Atal Tunnel connecting Manali with Leh, which is the world's longest highway tunnel above 10,000 feet, has been completed in a span of 10 years. The 9-km horseshoe-shaped single-tube, double-lane tunnel has many firsts and will shorten the distance by 46 km.

Here are the interesting things

1. This is the first tunnel in India to deploy the Rowa flyer technology, which allows engineers to work at inverted levels.

2. The tunnel consumed 14,508 metric tons of steel and 2,37,596 metric tons of cement

3. Using the drill and blast technique, 14 lakh cubic meters of soil and rocks were excavated.

4. It is the country's first tunnel to have an escape tunnel within the main tunnel because of the topography. 

5. The tunnel provides a telephone facility at every 150 meters, a fire hydrant every 60 meters, emergency exit every 500 meters.

6. It also has an air quality monitoring system after every km.

7. Broadcasting system and automatic incident detection system with CCTV cameras at every 250 meters.

8. The tunnel will have a semi-transverse ventilation system, where large fans would separately circulate air throughout the tunnel length.

9. Thickness of the concrete lining is 50 cm.

10. At 10.5 meters wide and a height of 5.52 meters, a car can zip through at 80 kmph.

Study and organization tips for college students, one semester at a time

Planning is key to having a great year at the college. Here are some tips to have a good year.

Identify due dates and plan ahead.

it's important for students to use their time wisely. After the first day of classes, go through each class syllabus to identify due dates for big papers, projects, and exams. After flagging important dates, notice when big items are due within a short time of one another. Are there two long papers due the same day? A midterm exam the day after a big presentation? Plan ahead by setting up an early "due date" for one of those items and write a to-do list with the necessary steps in order to get it done.

Make it visual. 

Despite living in a digital world, a study found that over half of college students prefer to use a paper calendar and planner to manage themselves and their time. Visual reminders help keep students on track and ensure that important deadlines aren't forgotten.

Take effective notes.

Looming test dates during the semester can be overwhelming, but taking great notes can lessen the stress. An easy tip to taking effective notes is to keep flags and page markers in different colors handy. Use the different colors to mark important sections of notes and topics to go back and review so when it comes time to study, all the important information is already flagged.

Brainstorm and organize paper topics.

Whether it's a major paper or collaborating with classmates on a group presentation, writing down information and keeping it front and center can help students think clearly.

Set goals.

Once students know their workload for the whole semester, they can start writing out weekly tasks and goals and estimate how much time is needed for each.