Geojit BNP Paribas’ Corporate office, Kochi

LEED Consultant: M. SELVARASU, Location : Kochi; Wall Area: 140,000 Sq Ft ; Wienerberger Product Used: Porotherm Smart Bricks

The landmark building is constructed keeping in mind the environmental health, sustainability and the comfort of the occupants. It focuses on efficient energy management and low water consumption and will generate less waste materials, thus creating a space for a healthy work environment. The building that boasts of 1,04,580sqft area is expected to consume 25% less energy than other conventional buildings. 

It has incorporated spectrally selected high performance windows, Porotherm clay bricks, efficient air conditioning equipment and low energy consuming lighting fixtures.

The windows, which are few in numbers, are carefully positioned so that they provide ample daytime light in the perimeter areas and at the same time reduce the total heat gain in the building. The external walls of the building are built with 20cm thick Porotherm clay bricks, which have a better u-value than conventional clay /solid / fly-ash / cement mortar bricks.

The glass windows are double glazed units (DGU) having 6mm air gap between the two layers of glass with SHGC 0.22, while the exposed roof, especially the top floor roof, is insulated with 20mm thick thermocol under-deck insulation. The use of efficient water cooled chillers in the building help reduces the energy load on air-conditioning. The ventilation system is designed to provide 30% more fresh air than ASHARE 62.1:2004 standards, thus improving the indoor environment quality and occupant well being. All air handling units are equipped with Variable Speed Drives (VSD) and MERV (Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value). To save on energy consumption, the building is fitted with occupancy sensors in non-regularly occupied areas and has an average LPD (Lighting Power Density) of 0.65 watts / sqft. In the building interior, all light fixtures are LED based.

The building does not use any lighting for façade and use only full cut off lamps for exterior illumination. In addition, all computers are energy efficient and TFT monitors are used. Also installed are treated fresh air units (TFA) with heat recovery wheel which will enable the building to maintain the desired fresh air quantity as well as reduce its energy consumption. The TFA system is based on demand control ventilation that regulates the amount of fresh air admitted to each occupied place, depending on CO2 level sensed through sensors placed in all occupied areas. This leads to greater energy conservation and efficient management of the TFA. To ensure the good environmental quality and safeguard the building occupants’ health, only low emitting materials are used, like low VOC paints, adhesives & sealants and all engineered wood free from urea formaldehyde resins. Water sustainability too is an area that was focused on. The new building has rainwater harvesting facility, low flow dual-flush toilets and other water efficient fixtures. Most of the construction debris was reused or recycled to leave minimal imprint on the environment.

Geojit BNP Paribas met all the seven points of prerequisites to apply for LEED rating under various categories like sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy, materials & resources and indoor environment quality. Geojit BNP Paribas team is looking forward to setting a new landmark in Kochi, continuing its tradition of caring for the welfare of its customers, employees and the environment