They're a 21st century super power with super computers and a super economy that's the envy of the world.

Now China can claim another title - the fastest builders on the planet after putting up a 30-storey 183,000-square-foot hotel in just 15 days, or 360 hours.

A construction crew in the south-central Chinese city of Changsha completed this remarkable achievement with no injuries to any worker.

The Ark Hotel was built on Dongting lake, in the Hunan Province, by Broad Group, a Chinese construction company which specialises in sustainable architecture.

It was built to withstand a magnitude 9 earthquake, as tested by the China Academy of Building Research, who claim this is five times more quake-resistant than conventional buildings.

All the materials were prefabricated and sections built to specification off-site, so there was very little wastage.

The builders took just 46 hours to finish the main structural components and another 90 hours to finish the building enclosure.

All of the structure is soundproofed and thermal-insulated. They even have air quality monitoring in every room given the pollution problem in China.

With the word GREEN - Environmental friendly living - hot topic today, many people wonder how they can play their part in this massive movement. One of the easiest ways to cut down energy drastically is by paying attention to Light Bill. Artificial lights on an average accounts for up to 20% of annual energy usage ! When we are able to cut down that amount, it can definitely make a difference to not only wallet but also to the environment. To get a realistic view of the cost of energy, consider that if every household replace old bulbs for energy efficient ones, the amount of greenhouse gases reduced would be equal to the gases emitted from approximately ten million vehicles !

Implementing this change can be as easy as switching from traditional light bulbs to Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) / Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFLs), and switching off the lights when they're not in use. Although CFLs / LEDs initially cost more than other bulbs, the savings they incur over time more than makes up for one-time expenditure. Maximizing natural daylight can also make it look larger and brighter, while saving on energy bills. While we don't often feel like these types of small changes really make an environmental difference, consider how much the difference would be increased if everyone tried to conserve energy in a similar manner.

The use of an energy-efficient lighting design not only provides significant lighting savings, but also can reduce the cooling requirements for a building. Engineers should use building energy modeling software to incorporate lighting system design and properly size the HVAC systems.

Building energy modeling software is widely used in the industry for a number of purposes including determining energy savings, HVAC design, or as a compliance path for U.S.Green Building Council LEED Certification. There are hundreds of different building energy modeling applications available, and each has its strengths and weaknesses. While there are many important factors in creating an accurate building energy model (building area, orientation, amount of glass, etc.), internal heat gains from people, lights, and equipment in the space contribute to the majority of the cooling load in many buildings. If engineers can develop more accurate energy models, HVAC systems can be optimally sized, resulting in energy-efficient systems with improved thermal comfort for building occupants and satisfied owners.

According to the study conducted, lighting is typically the largest source of waste heat, also known as heat gain, inside commercial buildings. Approximately 18% of the electricity generated is consumed by lighting loads, with another 5% being used to cool the waste heat generated by the lighting. Because lighting represents the largest portion of a commercial building's electricity consumption, it also presents a great opportunity for energy savings by using energy-efficient lighting systems and lighting controls. This applies to both existing and new buildings.

Interactive effects of lighting on heating and cooling

The type of lighting systems installed can have a large impact on the HVAC requirements. Reducing the energy used for lighting affects the heating and cooling that will be required. As more efficient lighting systems are installed in buildings, cooling loads will be reduced while heating loads can be expected to increase. On a new building designed with efficient lighting systems, the smaller cooling loads, in turn, allow for a building's cooling system to be sized smaller (and therefore less expensive to purchase and operate). On an existing building where lighting systems are upgraded to be more energy-efficient, the smaller cooling loads can allow for the existing cooling systems to serve future additional loads or to be replaced in the future with smaller units.

Most buildings are made up of several systems, including lighting, HVAC, and control systems. In order to design for optimal system performance, all building systems must be considered as a whole. When designing a new building or major renovation, interactions between the lighting and HVAC systems should be considered to ensure that equipment is sized properly for real-world conditions. Similarly, for lighting efficiency upgrades, engineers and owners alike should understand and be able to account for the potential heating and cooling load net impacts that various upgrades would create.

One of the inputs for an HVAC load calculation or building energy model is the lighting input power watts (W) or power density (W/sq ft). Table given below represents an example of how much this input power can be reduced by retrofitting existing inefficient T12 lighting systems in a building with various T8 efficient lighting system options. Using standard T8 systems results in a 26% energy savings compared to the baseline case, while high-performance T8 systems result in a 42% savings. Retrofitting T12 lighting fixtures with high-performance T8 lamps and ballasts, new lenses and mirrored specular reflectors can allow half of the lamps to be removed resulting in a 71% energy savings while still maintaining the same illuminance levels. Also, incorporating occupancy sensing and daylight dimming controls will provide additional energy savings. Note that this table does not account for the additional energy savings that may be realized by decreased cooling loads.

Dr. Prakash Barjatia

Director, MITSkills Center for

Lighting Technology, Pune, India.

Co-ordinator : LED Summit 2013

Governing Body Member, Indian Society of Lighting Engineers (ISLE)

Lead Assessor, NABL (ISO/IEC 17025)

+91-9850630326 / dr.prakash.b@hotmail.com

“Light Scene Interactive” which as it says is an concept where you create different Scenes i.e moods in a space, through light and its interaction with the space and  getting different emotional response from the occupants in the space for each of these moods created.

So the most important aspect of LSI i.e. Light Scene Interactive is the Scenes!

You must have been to drama theater,there if you notice the space i.e the stage is same but through lighting design and set accessories the director creates different locations , takes you to different period in time, different moods like Joy, Calmness, Sad , Mysterious etc which are as per the requirement of the story sequence, here the audience seeing these different moods reacts differently each time .

Similarly in architectural, interior space, Lighting Design helps to create different moods as per the physical and psychological requirement of the occupants at that time and each mood is classified as a Scene .

Now let us also see what Lighting Design is! As it's a crucial aspect in creating the scenes.

Lighting Design is where a plan for the construction of light effects with a PURPOSE to create the right mood and comfort in a given space.

Illumination

makes us see but the emotional impact to be created in the space calls for Lighting Design.

Why create Light Scenes ?

We live in a constantly changing daylight environment around us with the daylight shaping our daily life cycle. This ambience has varying light direction, colour, brightness. Thus this change in daylight is constant and it knowing, unknowingly affects us i.e how we feel about our surrounding and react to it.

Same way when we are under artificial light we are doing different activities and these require different light ambience to enjoy it properly.

Purpose of Light Scenes ?

When you do Lighting Design for a space like say a Living room then there are various activities like dinning, TV viewing, Movie viewing, listening to music, an family get-together, Partying with close ones or just plain relaxation, happening over the period. Thus you see how each of these activities require a different lighting ambience to be created so we as humans connect to the space emotionally through the right mood and make the space lively.

Thus when you have such thoughtfully designed lighting for each of these activities, this each activity based lighting becomes a single Light Scene .Thus now you have as many as scenes as of the no of activities being carried in the space. Thus the human mind is Relaxed, Entertained, Stimulated as per the emotional requirement of the activity; for e.g when there is an children's party the mood should be of vibrancy, joyous as kids just love to dance and play music, similarly when ones listening to classical music the desired mood should be of calmness to enjoy the different notes.

When the designer has created X nos of scenes through lighting and freeze it on paper, how does an individual recall all these through an switchboard and recreate the same precisely as per each activity! Just impossible.

Here comes the aid of technology which is LSI control system.

LSI control system is an logic Integrating system which will freeze luminary channels in combinations for 4,8,12,16 channels and store it in a sequence such as 4, 8 ,12 scenes for a single space and this then is activated by various devices starting from your regular switches, Handheld remote via RF protocol, Regular Keypad, wired LCD KEYPAD, LCD KEYPAD on wireless WIFI network, Android phone.

These unique remote which not only offers an amazing long range from 10 to 25 meters but also it can surpass through the solid obstructions like walls, furniture  and it also does not require pointing direction towards the receiver due to it being operated on Radio Frequency.

Thus the ease of operation and the joy of getting your lighting scenes becomes a moment to cherish!

by-Abhijit S Salunke

Light & Visual Artist

Beuno lighting design

PRE-Cast and PRE-Fabricated are terms which have been in use in the construction industry since the beginning of human civilization. The earliest examples of use of pre-cast components in construction were the Adobe dwellings in the river valley civilizations of Mesopotamia. Pre-Cast Sun-Dried Bricks were mass manufactured by the Sumerians from clay as the principal material, sand as the aggregate, straws for reinforcement, water for mixing, and the natural heat of the Sun for baking into building blocks. Other components like half-round drains, roofing and flooring tiles and decorative embellishments soon followed. Similar mass produced pre-manufactured building components were also found to be used in the ancient dwellings of the Indus Valley civilizations of Mohinjo Daro and Harappa. Subsequently, too the construction industry was regularly using pre-cast concrete hume pipes, septic tanks, pre-cast ferrocrete water tanks, building blocks, paving blocks etc.. So, PRE-CAST construction is not really NEW.

Why then, is there a fresh excitement in our field of building construction about Pre-Cast and Pre-Fab technology ? The answer lies in the evolution and new technology developments in Concrete as a material for Pre-Casting and Steel as the material for Pre-Fabrication. These, combined with the increasing demand of the three fundamental requirements of the construction industry -  Speed, Quality and Economy – has resulted in Pre-Cast Concrete and Pre-Fab Steel components becoming a big boon for Architects.

While pre-fabricated pre-engineered Steel structures have become hugely popular in Industrial building construction for the same three reasons, the development of a wide variety of heavy load-lifting tower cranes and special transport vehicles with heavy load bearing capacities has resulted in Pre-cast Concrete technology coming in vogue.

Parallel advances in Industrial engineering, manufacturing equipment, smart management and globalisation has brought pre-casting to our doorstep as a viable option to conventional construction. For innovative Architects, factory manufactured, pre-cast, pre-stressed and pre-designed concrete building components of a highly superior quality have opened up interesting avenues for outstanding architectural designs that comply with the primary demands of Speed, Quality and Economy, with Durability and Environmental friendliness as a bonus. How does Pre-casting achieve these objectives ?

SPEED  -  Projects can be completed in a much SHORTER PERIOD OF TIME  in comparison with conventional construction technology. Manufacturing of Footings, Foundations, Columns, Beams and Slabs can be started in the Factory well BEFORE the long official approval process, and nearly 30 % to 50 % construction can be READY in the factory stock yard by the time excavation and site development commences on site.

QUALITY -  As a Factory manufactured product made horizontally at a human work-top level under expert supervision - in the best of computer controlled environments - the QUALITY of Pre-Cast Concrete is HIGHLY SUPERIOR to any in-situ Concrete work. Grades of Concrete are M-30 to M-60  and, there is virtually NO Honeycombing or casting defects. Surface Finishes are good enough to eliminate the requirement of Plastering

ECONOMY  - Economy in construction Cost is primarily due to FIVE important factors –

1)              Faster construction reduces the time period for Returns on Investments. The building can be USED much earlier.

2)              Economy in Cost due to virtually ZERO WASTAGE in Steel and Cement – 100 % wastage is Re-Used & Recycled in the Factory.

3)              Economy in Cost due to MINIMAL MANPOWER on site, and lesser supervision need.

4)              Economy in Cost due to ZERO REJECTION – No re-work, No testing. No delays … Only QC-tested products are used.

5)              Economy in Cost due to SAVING IN PLASTER, No ACP.  No Cladding … Only Painting is adequate as external finish.

Imagine your building construction project where there is NO need to check the quality of Raw Material… NO Erection of Scaffoldings… NO Carpentry or Form work… NO Mixing, Pouring, Vibrating, or Curing of Concrete on site … NO Wastage … NO Honeycombing … NO Re-work … NO Debris… NO Congestion… NO Pollution… ?

Besides these obvious attractions, if your project can be completed with HIGHLY SUPERIOR QUALITY of workmanship and finishes, in HALF THE TIME that a conventional construction process would need, and that too at a LOWER LIFE CYCLE COST than that of conventional construction, what more could you ask for? The advantages of pre-cast concrete buildings are multi-fold.

For Architects, the mere possibility of providing large span RCC slabs – say 12 to 15 Meters in length – WITHOUT any Columns or Beams in the interior, or Large Wall Panels with high precision openings for doors and windows, Arches, 3-dimensional surface moulds, Circular and angular apertures and a wide array of ready-to-use façade elements is exciting enough. Add to these benefits, a zero-defect high grade (M-40 or M-60) concrete  with razor sharp edges and corners and NO requirement of plaster work, the choice becomes a certainty.

The advantages of receiving such factory manufactured components on an uncluttered construction site and assembling them in almost half the conventional time span of construction cannot be over emphasized. The ONLY adjustment or change in the present pattern of working that an Architect may have to do, in return for these benefits is 

(a) Design with a modular structural discipline that is conducive to mass manufacturing and 

(b) Provide the complete building design with all details and dimensions well in advance to enable manufacturing during the time a project site is being prepared or during the time the project is being approved by the local Authority.

To cater to the present trends in contemporary façade design, the present speed of construction demanded by a highly competitive market, and the growing demand of highly superior quality from the clients, Pre-cast concrete becomes a viable option for Architects.

Research and prospective further developments in concrete construction technology are even more mind-boggling.

Here is a sample of some amazing new developments in Concrete on the horizon :

a)              Intelligent Concrete- Radio Frequency Identification Devices – RFIDs buried in benign concrete can feed back performance data from completed structures, they can even warn of overloading and stress. Readable tags can contain vast banks of data and drawings and auto-alerting mechanisms for 100 % safety of users.

b)              Photo-engraving – by using retarding techniques, precast components can carry detailed photographic images and displays, and intricate textures can be engraved.

c)              Carbon Fabric Reinforcement – the use of textile fabrics opens up the prospect of a new generation of ultra thin sections – Imagine a 50 mm thick concrete slab !

d)              UHPFRC - Ultra high performance fibre reinforced concrete admixtures like Ductal and Ceracem – for use in light weight, super strong, thin and flexible concrete.

e)              Translucent concrete– No Architect can resist the appeal of a translucent precast concrete wall panel – or a fine custom designed grille finer than the best in marble.

f)               Self-cleaning pre-cast surfaces – the addition of titanium dioxide means that concrete surfaces can remain free of dirt and microbial growth. White concrete will stay white for centuries. Moreover, self cleaning concrete will help to reduce nitrous oxide fumes in urban environments, and will be a 'green' product to use.

g)              Thermal control in concrete wall panels by embedded heating elements or cooling fluid conduits as in refrigeration panels and heated glazing.

In conclusion, Pre-Cast concrete construction technology is the solution to many demands of the industry today. For Architects, especially for the innovative ones experimenting with futuristic digital and fractal architectural façade designs, it is a boon.

by-Rajiv Raje                  

Ar. Rajiv Raje is a Senior Architect, Planner based in Pune. He has worked on numerous Institutional and Industrial Projects. He is actively involved in City Development issues. He has a first hand experience regarding Precast structures being associated with Precast India Pvt.Ltd, a company manufacturing precast products, in the capacity of Consulting Architect.

The topic of the Seminar was “ How Did We Celebrate the Safety Week”.

Mr. R. D. Nagarkar, introduced PCERF to those present, which was followed by Mr. Satish Nair briefing

those present about the activities of the Forum.

Teams from B.G.Shirke, Millenium Engineers, Rohan Builders and IVRCL made presentations about their initiatives.

All the teams showcased their activities. The highlights were that Rohan Builders team had involved their top management in a big way. IVRCL had organized the activities area wise and everybody

had programs at the sites. Rohan Builders had also involved the children of workers, with a drawing competition.

IVRCL team highlighted their concept of “Returns on Prevention” and made a case of how the return on

the cost of the prevention was 2.1 times their investment. Others were intrigued by this concept and it was decided that Mr. Ankush Pathak of IVRCL would make a detailed presentation on the system of

“Returns on Prevention” and train the others in the near future.

Another aspect that was discussed was how Safety for the life cycle of a structure can be incorporated at the design stage itself.

Mr. Neelkanth Joshi made an announcement about the Safety Course that is being started by AASK. He explained the details about the course.

The Hon. Secretary of PCERF, Mr. Vishwas Lokare proposed the vote of thanks.

PCERF’S 2^nd CONSTRUCTION SAFETY AWARD FOR YEAR  2014

On the Eve of  CONSTRO 2014 – International Fair

Introduction:

PCERF has been in the forefront of leading the developments in the Construction Industry.  Constro has been its foremost activity in this regards. As an effort leading to Constro’14 in February 2014, a variety of activities are being conducted. These include a series of symposiums on various aspects of the construction, to highlight the trends of the future. Safety is one such effort and yearlong programmes are conducted by PCERF Construction Safety Forum for the awareness. To enhance Safety awareness and foster a much needed safety culture in the Indian Construction Sector PCERF-Constro’14 plans to have a further series of seminars and live demonstrations on Safety at the time of the exhibition and towards this objective is declaring a biannual ‘Construction Safety Award’.

We do appreciate few notable improvements in the past years but there is a need for all to team up and remain alert to the changing need and consider Safety in all aspects of projects. The Award provides a perfect avenue to engage different layers from this sector including contractors, site management and frontline workers in promoting safety and health. We are introducing the award with below mentioned categories and will add on more categories in the coming years.

A “Certificate of Appreciation” will be awarded to participants to encourage active participation.

Categories of Participation:

1.             Residential  or Commercial Construction Sites

2.             Industrial Construction Sites

3.             Infrastructural Sites

Eligibility criteria:

1.             The site is to be  located in Pune-District

2.             Any company or firm executing "building and other construction work" as defined under the  BOCW Act, 1996

3.             Any project / construction site registered as "establishment" under the BOCW (RECS) Act, 1996 or

4.             Any contractor licensed under the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act 1970, and employed 100 or more building workers and worked for at least 240 days during the Assessment Period.

5.             On occurrence of a serious or fatal accident after enrolment and before announcement of the result, the site will not be eligible for the competition and will be automatically disqualified.

Why   Pune Constro 2014 have special focus on Electrical pavilion?

WE light up your Homes

In order to build a dream home, electrical installations and civil constructions have to go hand in hand. 

If proper synergy is achieved between these two, the net effect would be really up to the international standards. 

Recently lot of new developments have occurred in the field of electrical lighting, switching, protection and automation.

This exhibition will give information, with product demos for all potential buyers and update them with energy efficient solutions for their house.

Come and witness the latest latest in Building automation and electrical installation at CONSTRO

• Smart buildings with advanced energy efficiency and security technology play an important role in sustainable infrastructure development. Service solutions for the general public and events are other key elements of urban infrastructure. The integrated building management system is a reference project for Total Building Solutions. The solutions include building automation, integrated fire protection, a voice evacuation system and video surveillance.
• 
  
• Energy efficiency is about more than just identifying potentials and implementing measures to reduce energy consumption. With systematic approaches adapted to the lifecycle of your building, you'll not only benefit long-term from lower energy costs but also from a higher building value and a positive public image.
• 
  
• Implementing optimally integrated technology is a first important step towards efficiency. Therefore you should already consider in the planning phase the appropriate building automation and control systems.
• 
  
• To continuously maintain the economic balance between building performance, comfort and sustainability you need to implement the right solutions and services to ensure transparency, create awareness and preserve efficiency.
• 
  
• Since energy efficiency is not only driven by the building infrastructure, the right sustainability and energy management results in better resource management and therefore significant cost savings.

    

Theoretically every Building or Structure is Pre- Engineered. What this means is the building is “designed” to make it structurally strong and withstand variety of external forces. However, in structural engineering, the word “ENGINEERED” carries a different meaning. It simply means a pre fabricated off site.

    A pre-engineered building (PEB) is designed by a structural engineer or PEB supplier or PEB manufacturer. It is fabricated using best suited inventory of raw materials available from all sources and manufacturing methods that can efficiently satisfy a wide range of structural and aesthetic design requirements.

    Pre- fabricated buildings are an innovative way of erecting cost- effective and durable structures within minimal time. Pre-engineered buildings are manufactured separately and are assembled together only at the site of construction. Therefore, a pre- fabricated metal building provides for an effective solution for carrying out the construction work even at the sites that pose spatial restraints.

    Pre engineered buildings depict the evolution in construction. This has been possible due to the ever increasing demand for new, innovative and faster ways of construction from the clients. Pre engineered metal buildings are the answer to modern day construction needs. Ever imagined how all the corporate buildings Fortune 500 companies and headquarters of other big corporate houses are constructed in no time and that too with innovative and stylish designs? This is all because most of them are Pre-engineered metal buildings. As the name suggests, these are pre designed, pre cut and pre finished, prior to the finalization of the construction site.

    Forget the traditional method of constructing building. Pre engineered buildings are known for their ease of construction and much more.

    High Lights:

1. Lighter in weight: An efficiently designed pre fabricated building is lighter than the usual building by 25-30%.

2. Less expensive: They are 50% less expensive than conventional buildings.

3. Environment friendly: Since steel is a recyclable there pre fabricated buildings are environment friendly.

4. Easy to maintain: Steel is very easy to maintain and is very durable when compared to traditional method of construction.

5. Save construction time: This method saves up to 30-35% of time because of fast delivery and quick site formation.

    PEB is not limited to structural designer or shop fabricators. Architects can play a vital role in it.  Benefit offered by pre engineered steel buildings is the fact that the shape and size of these buildings can be custom designed according to the needs of the clients. This is where the role of an architect becomes crucial in ensuring maximum efficiency in the building’s design and layout.

    We live in a world of neck cutting competition where time has the super most value and time simply means money. Consider pre engineered buildings for convenience and cost effectiveness.

    At the end of the day, PEB fulfills four important factors of Project Life Cycle

viz. Resources, Time, Cost and Quality.

 Note by:               

   Suresh S. Athavale

   Architect.             

Pune Construction Engineering Research Foundation (PCERF), an NGO working in the interest of infrastructure and construction Industry.

It was in the year 1983, few like-minded well-qualified professionals in the area of civil engineering, and architecture came together to create a platform for the benefit of construction industry and public at large. Vision of PCERF is to bring in an overall improvement in quality and standards of infrastructure and civil engineering Industry for the benefit of all stakeholders, primary constituent of which is of course the end- user. Primary objective of PCERF is to exchange & share information on technical advancements, industry trends and innovative concepts related to materials, machinery, methods and projects. This is done through numerous initiatives such as organizing seminars, refresher courses; worker’s training programs and also carrying out research & development.

A flagship event organized by PCERF in Pune is a biennial trade fair named ‘Constro Exhibition’ which started in 1985 and now credited amongst the largest event in the infrastructure & civil engineering industry in India.

Constro has truly turned international since our last event and Constro 2014 too is all set to attract larger participation from overseas. It is a popular platform for the national and international manufacturers to showcase construction machinery, materials, and projects and to interact with the consumers directly.

Constro Exhibitions are supported by almost all-prominent construction related Associations and Engineering Institutes in India. These organizations and Institutes actively participate in Constro.  This unity is the real strength of Constro and PCERF. PCERF is an apex body amongst all the organizations and associations related to construction industry in Pune. It is an umbrella of talented and devoted group of Architects, Engineers, Consultants, Promoters and Builders. P.C.E.R.F. is associated with more than 33 co-sponsors in the field of Education and Industry.

So far 12 Constros were successful held and we are now coming up with our 13^th edition - CONSTRO 2014 at the Agriculture College ground, Pune from 13^th Feb. to 16^th Feb. 2014.

Highlights of Constro 2014: 

Constro Theme: To promote and create awareness about upcoming technology in the construction industry i.e. ‘Pre Engineered construction technology’, PCERF has decided   theme for Constro 2014 is:

1) Pre Engineered Construction Techniques.

2) Intelligent Electrical Solutions.

At Constro 2014 we are planning to showcase the products, techniques and methods related to theme. As well as products related to Construction Machinery, Materials, Methods and Projects.