The headquarters of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy – Atal Akshaya Urja Bhawan in Delhi, is designed to be a Net-Zero energy building. A combination of climate responsive architecture with energy efficient technology helps this building achieve the Net-Zero energy goal. Currently under construction, the building design displays evidence of judicious use of renewable energy.

The webinar hosted architect – Mr. Bedanta Saikia (Vertical Head, Edifice Consultants Pvt Ltd) and the MEP/sustainability consultant-Mr. Samdarsh Nayyar (Director, SNCPL), who shared their experiences and processes that went into this project in this webinar. The design team’s journey began with winning the competition for designing the MNRE’s new headquarters. Net-Zero energy was a key part of the design brief right from the beginning. For the team, the first step towards this was lowering the building energy demand using passive design strategies like proper orientation, massing strategies, shading and opting for energy efficient building systems. The next step was integrating solar photovoltaics into the building to meet this demand.

The team’s integrated approach is evident in the design details. For example, a ‘solar wall’ helps shade the building facades while providing on-site power. Vegetated screens connect occupants to nature while providing diffused daylight indoors and improving air quality.