As in a growing number of developing countries, the Indian industry is welcoming the presence of green building practices throughout its various sectors.
While green implementation was first seen in the architectural design and construction stages, green interior design is now trending as a highly fashionable choice.
Sapna Aggarwal, creative director of interior design consultancy Ansa Interiors, explains that going green is seen as a ‘trendy’ option for Indian clients, who appreciate the aesthetic and environmental impacts of eco-friendly products and materials.
“Today it’s hip to go organic,” says Aggarwal. “With global warming becoming a harsh reality and natural resources depleting, the world is bending towards eco-friendly and renewable resources.”
While double-glazing and other ESD features rate highly in terms of energy savings, it is eco-friendly materials and products that are reaching new levels of popularity in the country.
The residential market is handling environmentally responsible design through simple retrofitting, with many clients opting to install organic and sustainable timber, bamboo, grasses, wicker and jute. Such material both aid in removing toxicity from interiors and keep product sourcing local.
Natural fabrics such as leather, cashmere and angora are also on the rise as in terms of use in furniture and fittings.
While these kinds of retrofit elements tend to come with a high cost in Australia and in the majority of the western world, according to Aggarwal, this is not the case in India.
“Most of the organic products are hand-made,” explains the interior designer. “And India being a thickly populated country, it is also labour intensive. The number of small scale industries is numerous, thereby decreasing the cost of production.”
Aggarwal goes on to explains that by making the small step to choose organic interior features, money can be saved and the green industry, as well as the local community, is supported.
India is seeing strong growth in replacement products, such as low VOC materials and paints in place of high toxicity products and eco-friendly particleboard made of compressed industrial waste.
Small and at-home changes are having the greatest impact on the growth of a green building sector in the country, with industry professionals who understand this notion benefiting greatly from increased clientele.
