BHAKRA NANGAL DAM

The Bhakra Nangal dam refers to the set of two dams, 15 kms apart-Bhakra and Nangal, built across the Sutlej River in Bilaspur district, Himachal Pradesh, India. The construction of the dam was started in 1946 under the then chief engineer Rai Bahadur Kunwar Sen Gupta, and was completed in 1963; incurring a total cost of 245.28 crore INR. 
The Bhakra Nangal dam is classified as a Straight Concrete Gravity Dam. A concrete gravity dam is a dam constructed from concrete masonry designed to hold back water by utilising the weight of the material alone to resist the horizontal pressure of water pushing against it. It is designed in such a way that each section of dam is stable and independent.
The dam, at 226 m (741 ft), is one of the highest gravity dams in the world (compared to USA's largest Hoover Dam at 743 ft). The length and width of the dam are 518.25 m and 9.1 m respectively. Its reservoir known as "Gobind Sagar" stores up to 9.34 billion cubic metres of water. In terms of quantity of water, it is the third largest reservoir in India, after Indira Sagar Dam and Nagarjunasagar Dam.
It is a multi-purpose dam serving irrigation in adjoining states, hydro-electric power generation, flood control and tourism. The dam provides irrigation to 10 million acres (40,000 km²) of fields in Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan. Each of the two dam consists of power plant with five turbines, with a total capacity of 1325 MW. The power generated is distributed among partner states of Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Chandigarh, Delhi. It has five flood gates to control floods. The administration and maintainance of the dams are managed by Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMS).
The Bhakra Nangal Project was described as "New Temple of Resurgent India" by then Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru at the time of its inauguration, and it still continues to be the “central nervous system” of North India providing water and power supply.

For further details, please refer to:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhakra_Dam
http://bbmb.gov.in/english/history_nangal_dam.asp
http://bhakranangaldam.com/interesting-facts-about-bhakra-dam

GUJARAT INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL TEC (GIFT) CITY

A dream project of PM Narendra Modi during his tenure as Gujarat Chief Minister is on its way to become India’s first Greenfield smart city. GIFT (Gujarat International Financial Tec City) is an under construction central business district in Gandhinagar spanning over 3.58 sq. km of land. The GIFT promises to be the hub for financial and IT based services housing several International banks, Stock exchanges by providing hi-tech facilities along with quality physical infrastructure to attract these firms to relocate their operations here from cities like Mumbai and Bangalore which don’t have comparable infrastructure and are expensive. It comprises of a Special Economic Zone (SEZ), integrated townships, education zone, and entertainment zone, etc. The icing on the cake is that it assures 99.999% power reliability meaning 5.3 minutes of power outage per annum. Further an automated waste collection system implies maximum resource utilization, minimal environmental impact and lesser health hazards with no waste visibility. It may seem to be just another one of other 99 planned smart cities but it’s poised to become a financial hub to match the likes of Dubai, Singapore and end India’s quest for a smart city with International standards. To put it in Ramakant Jha’s words who is MD and group CEO of the Rs 78,000 crore project, “A smart city is not just about technology. It is about smart planning, design, execution, development, operations and management.” Thus the major challenge lies ahead of the planners and authorities ensuring that the foot is set in the right place and the country makes a giant leap towards becoming an economic superpower.

For further details, please refer:

1.   http://giftgujarat.in/masterplan/vision.aspx

2.   www.financialexpress.com/article/economy/gujarat-international-finance-tec-city-a-smart-gift/53955/

 3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gujarat_International_Finance_Tec-City

LEAN CONSTRUCTION

The term “Lean Construction” in a simple way means the construction techniques employed to minimize waste of materials, time and effort in order to generate the maximum possible amount of value. A construction is basically a project based production process where the overall outcome depends on the synchronization between the various phases and stakeholders of production.
Many a time the construction project is adversely affected if there is inefficient and delayed completion of any stage which would automatically delay the upcoming stages and decrease the total output value. Suppose if the designer delays the preparation of the master plan of the structure, it would delay all of the later stages. Lean construction tackles this problem with the alignment and holistic pursuit of concurrent and continuous improvements in all dimensions of the built and natural environment: design, construction, activation, maintenance, salvaging, and recycling.
Lean construction follows the basic principles of a lean management system which includes defining value from the customer's perspective, understanding the importance of all steps in the process used to create the end product, reducing waste and seeking perfection by committing to continual improvement in all areas of the process among others.
The principles of Lean construction are intensively studied and employed in many parts of the world and it is gaining popularity rapidly.

For further details, please refer:
1.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lean_construction
2.http://www.leanconstruction.org/about-us/what-is-lean-construction/
3.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEtSxbAGuSw
4.http://www.turnerconstruction.com/experience/lean/lean-read-more

RAIN GARDEN

Every time a new building shoots up in the skyline of an urban area, it poses augmented threat to the natural ambience of the place. Hence it becomes mandatory for the building to incorporate some green technology to restore the balance of nature. Rain garden is one such technology.

The first rain gardens were developed in the residential areas in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States in the year 1990.A rain garden is a shallow depression that is planted with deep-rooted native plants and grasses. The garden should be positioned near a runoff source like a downspout, driveway or sump pump to capture rainwater runoff and stop the water from reaching the sewer system. Run-off is the part of the precipitation, snow melt, or irrigation water that appears in uncontrolled and unregulated surface streams, rivers, drains or sewers.

The structure of rain garden is designed to capture certain depths of rainwater, which then naturally filters through dirt and tree roots to remove hydrocarbon from run-off. Rain gardens vary significantly depending on the storm size, the area of the country, application, and are often located near a building’s roof drainpipe or endpoint of drainage with a capacity to percolate all incoming water through a series of soil  layers beneath the surface plantings. The primary challenge of rain garden design centres on calculating the types and acceptable loads of pollutants it can handle during storm-water events. When designed correctly, rain gardens can remove more than 95 percent of total suspended solids, as well as 75 percent or more of nitrogen and phosphorus. Native and adapted plants are recommended for rain gardens because they are more tolerant of one’s local climate, soil, and water conditions; have deep and variable root systems for enhanced water infiltration, and sustainability.

Root systems enhance infiltration, maintain and augment soil permeability, drought tolerance, provide moisture redistribution and sustain diverse microbial populations involved in bio filtration. Also, through the process of transpiration, rain garden plants return water vapour to the atmosphere and aid in improving rain pattern. Rain gardens are beneficial for many reasons: improve water quality by filtering runoff, provide localized flood control, and are aesthetically pleasing. They encourage wildlife and biodiversity, allows a household or building to deal with excessive rainwater runoff without burdening the public storm water systems, tying together buildings and their surrounding environments in attractive and environmentally advantageous way.

Rain gardens can cut down on the amount of pollution reaching creeks and streams by up to 30%; therefore rain garden is simple and effective green technology gaining popularity.

For further details, please refer:

1.http://cenews.com/article/9763/green-design-in-civil-engineering

2.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rain_garden

3.http://www.raingardennetwork.com/

BRIGHTWATER TREATMENT PLANT

In today’s world where water pollution is one of the biggest modern day problem, conserving it becomes a matter of prime importance. An unconventional yet effective way of conservation may be reusing water after proper treatment. A similar initiative is undertaken in Washington by the Brightwater Sewage treatment plant.

   Brightwater is a 114-acre (46 ha) state-of-the-art facility using industry-leading technology to create clean water with vastly reduced by-products, that went online on November 2,2012.The forerunner of the sewage plant was a 13-mile (21 km), 17.5-foot (5.3 m) diameter tunnel which supplies sewage to the plant.

Brightwater protects water quality and prevents water pollution by providing wastewater treatment to 17 cities and 17 local sewer utilities. It serves about 1.5 million people, including most urban areas of King County and parts of south Snohomish County and northeast Pierce County.

Sustainable elements of the community centre building Brightwater include:

• Re-use of existing on-site and salvaged materials when possible;
• Use of recycled materials;
• Natural ventilation and daylighting;
• Energy efficient lighting;
• Energy Star appliances;
• Radiant floor heating from the treatment plant’s thermal energy production;
• Washington-made solar panels ;
• Green building features will be used as teaching tools;
• Reclaimed water used for irrigation and toilet flushing.

Since the proposal of this project Brightwater has faced numerous lawsuits, including a lawsuit by King County against Snohomish County that was settled when King County agreed to pay $70 million for public safety, habitat protection, and parks in Snohomish County.

There were complaints regarding smells associated with sewage treatment and geologists due to at least one active fault line running through the site. Brightwater countered these concerns by stating the plant will feature advanced odour control, 40 acres (160,000 m²) of wildlife habitat will be restored, the plant has been designed to withstand a 7.3 magnitude earthquake, and that the project will be paid by new customers.^[

Brightwater Centre earned Platinum level certification through the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standard. 

Links referred: 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brightwater_sewage_treatment_plant

http://www.kingcounty.gov/environment/wtd.aspx

http://gbdmagazine.com/2014/30-king-county-department-of-natural-resources/

CRAZY BRIDGES

When we talk about bridges we have a typical image in our mind of a sloping pavement resting on piers that is connecting two sides of a highway over a crossing or a river. But can you imagine bridges which can curl, roll, challenge gravity or be as high as 700 meters above ground? 

The Eshima Ohashi Bridge in Japan which is designed to accommodate ship traffic under it is 44 meters high. It is sometimes referred as the ‘Roller Coaster for cars’. The Langkawi Sky Bridge in Malaysia is 125 meters long bridge which is above Mt. Cinchang. It is 700 meters above sea level and is cable stayed on a single support! The Rolling Bridge in London is a movable type of bridge which can curl to allow passage of boats. The Helix Bridge in Singapore is the world’s first curved double helix pedestrian bridge. It is inspired from the structure of DNA. It allows visitors a 360 degree skyline view.

For more information refer to the links:

1.       http://laughingsquid.com/eshima-ohashi-bridge-a-tall-bridge-in-western-japan-that-resembles-a-roller-coaster-for-cars/

2.       http://www.langkawi-info.com/attractions/skybridge.htm

3.       http://golondon.about.com/od/londonforfree/ss/Rolling-Bridge.htm

http://www.arup.com/Projects/Helix_bridge.aspx

THIRSTY CONCRETE

Just imagine that you are walking on a black asphalt road and you see a huge concrete mixing truck unloading a huge mass of water. But to your surprise, the water gets vanished. Sounds like magic? No, it isn’t. Not when road is paved with a new permeable paving material called Topmix Permeable.

Topmix Permeable concrete is developed by the British building material manufacturer Tarmac to prevent flooding caused by storms and even prevent car accidents on wet roads. Topmix employs instead of fine materials like sand, tiny pieces of crushed granite. The void content is increased from 15-40% depending upon site conditions. When rainwater falls on the road, it drains through the porous concrete and a base layer of gravel. Eventually, the rainwater percolates into the ground recharging underground water networks.

However presently it is available in UK alone. It is recommended only for walkways and parking but not for highways. It cannot tackle floods due to sea level rise and its utility in cold climate conditions is still a topic of research.

For more details, please refer:

1.      http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/09/30/3706935/permeable-concrete-climate-change-benefits/

2.  .    https://www.quora.com/How-does-topmix-permeable-concrete-work

3.      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWiq0NbJmaw