After a 3-year stint as a green building consultant in the US, Dhruv Futnani knew his heart lay in Chennai. So back he flew, and is ecstatic in his home town now. “I spent a couple of years managing the Delhi head-office of Spectral,” he says. “But I’m really glad I’m back home now.”

As a green building consultant, Dhruv is constantly having to research building materials and review them as green norms the world over slowly tighten. Glass is one such material that he says, if used right, can yield to the architect’s wildest dreams while making the construction eco-friendly. “For example, high performance glass can be used in the east and west-facing sides of a building because these bear the brunt of the sunlight and heat during the day. The high performance glass will cut down on the heat and allow only light in, so that the interiors can remain cool. On the north and south-facing sides, the architect can use normal glass as there won’t be so much heat on these sides. This is one way we can use glass in an intelligent manner and save some money for the client,” he says.

For hot climes like Chennai, it is best to balance the U-value and shading co-efficient of glass to attain the desired effect. The higher these values, the less light is allowed inside the building. “Architects can make use of advanced technology in the form of computer simulation of the lighting. A computer program tells you exactly how much light and heat will enter the building and with the help of this you can decide what kind of glass you need to use,” he says. Glass manufacturing has improved by leaps and bounds, says Dhruv. Glass with low reflectivity is now available and this can be used in the exteriors of a building so that it doesn’t create a mirror effect.

On the Leed rating system, Dhruv clarifies a point of contention. “Recycle content refers to the amount of recycled material used to make the glass,” he argues. “Most people interpret it as glass being recyclable. Yes, glass is 100% recyclable, but the recycle content in the glass is 15-18%. No type of glass is 100% recycled,” he smiles. He is a big proponent of the ECBC norms and believes that these will only help us construct better, greener and cleaner buildings.