Zed Collective - BCIL

 Bengaluru-based BCIL is an architecture firm involved in designing ecologically sustainable living solutions. With a strong belief in preservation of natural resources, BCIL has successfully adapted natural processes and modern technology to create self-sufficient residential complexes.

Located in Yelhanka, Bengaluru, Zed Collective is a set of 72 homes designed in an area of 1.5 acres.  With the aim of providing comfort to the residents but not at the cost of the environment, the project has successfully incorporated natural climate control system.

Though the 5 floor high façade looks like that of many other apartments cropping up all over the city, the treatment with waste stone debris which is maintenance free, ensures saving on the cost of painting and a reduction in carbon emission.

The highlight of the project is the exploitation of natural resources for air conditioning. Based on the fact that the temperature under the ground decreases as one goes down, the architects designed a system of pipes around 5.1km in length and buried them about 4m below the ground.This system of earth tunnel ventilation harnesses the sub-earth temperature and combined with evaporative cooling results in high indoor air quality.

Special attention has been paid for water conservation. This includes a network of filters and pipes for rainwater harvesting. There is a water treatment plant which is unique in that it treats sullage and swage separately. The grey water from wash basins, showers, and kitchen water is treated and reused in the flush tanks while the black water from the sanitation lines is treated to be used in the gardens and lawns. These methods help the campus meet almost half of its total water requirement on site itself.

The buildings are arranged around a landscaped open area which ensures that each house opens onto a bed of plants and flowers. Some of the plants in the landscape have been chosen for their medicinal and religious significance while others are indigenous species which do not much water. Also these plants have a greater capacity of absorbing carbon and exuding oxygen.Not every pound of profit has to come at the cost of the environment. It is possible to do well by doing good, as BCIL has shown over 15 years of ploughing path-breaking roads to green and energy-efficient construction and building of urban communities.

Though from outside, it is just like any other residential complex, Zed Collective in its essence combines 'zero energy development' with savings in use of natural resources. The project is exemplary in that it shows how green and energy-efficient construction can become a way of life without loss of profit!