Page 23 - GRIHA Manual Volume II - Introduction to National Rating System
P. 23
Sustainable site planning 15
CRIteRIon 2
pReSeRve And pRoteCt
lAndSCApe duRInG
ConStRuCtIon
Introduction
Natural environment protection and preservation is largely given a lower priority in current
construction paradigm.
Many a times, sites are cleared off all existing soil, vegetation, flora and fauna, and buildings
constructed. Often, nutrient-rich topsoil is removed and discarded before construction, and topsoil
is removed from elsewhere and brought onto the site for landscape purposes at a later date.
There is little regard for existing slopes, water bodies, and so on. Extensive cutting and filling is
carried out to create terraces/basements for large parking areas, and to accommodate the building.
To add to this, spill prevention is not taken into account (here ‘spill’ refers to the spilling over of
pollutants from the site onto the surrounding areas, specially hazardous materials such as fertilizers,
paints, solvents, petroleum products, pesticides, and cleaners).
In terms of planning, improper timing of construction leads to loss of materials. During monsoons,
materials and pollutants are washed away from the site to other places. This also leads to disruption
of construction activity and may compromise the strength of the structure (especially concrete) due
to excess moisture.
At a micro level, soil erosion from the site is common because no checks are put in place to
stabilize the top soil. Disruption of the entire site is commonplace, even if the building does not sit
Figure 1 Image showing identiication of trees to be protected, transplanted, removed or cut (in red)—these trees
should be listed in the prescribed format for trees survey and then appropriate action should be taken.
Note It takes 50 to 100 years for the topsoil to reach a high level of fertility.
CRIteRIon 2
pReSeRve And pRoteCt
lAndSCApe duRInG
ConStRuCtIon
Introduction
Natural environment protection and preservation is largely given a lower priority in current
construction paradigm.
Many a times, sites are cleared off all existing soil, vegetation, flora and fauna, and buildings
constructed. Often, nutrient-rich topsoil is removed and discarded before construction, and topsoil
is removed from elsewhere and brought onto the site for landscape purposes at a later date.
There is little regard for existing slopes, water bodies, and so on. Extensive cutting and filling is
carried out to create terraces/basements for large parking areas, and to accommodate the building.
To add to this, spill prevention is not taken into account (here ‘spill’ refers to the spilling over of
pollutants from the site onto the surrounding areas, specially hazardous materials such as fertilizers,
paints, solvents, petroleum products, pesticides, and cleaners).
In terms of planning, improper timing of construction leads to loss of materials. During monsoons,
materials and pollutants are washed away from the site to other places. This also leads to disruption
of construction activity and may compromise the strength of the structure (especially concrete) due
to excess moisture.
At a micro level, soil erosion from the site is common because no checks are put in place to
stabilize the top soil. Disruption of the entire site is commonplace, even if the building does not sit
Figure 1 Image showing identiication of trees to be protected, transplanted, removed or cut (in red)—these trees
should be listed in the prescribed format for trees survey and then appropriate action should be taken.
Note It takes 50 to 100 years for the topsoil to reach a high level of fertility.
