New Delhi, Delhi, India, “Well planned buildings must, to minimize
loss from natural or man-made disasters” Frederic Schwartz.

The Indian construction industry and all its facilitators like
architects, engineers etc., should observe a strict disaster proof and
eco-friendly building plan, which not only minimizes loss on account
of natural or man-made disasters but also helps in energy
conservation.

Professor Frederic Schwartz, a leading design critic and a Professor
of Architecture at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, Harvard
University, said this while addressing a seminar on “Rebuilding Cities
after Natural or Man-Made Disasters”, here in Delhi on Wednesday. The
seminar was attended by various architects, designers, engineers and
students of architecture. Professor Schwartz, who is also a practicing
architect and a city planner in New York City was in New Delhi as part
of the Rai Foundation - Rai Global Spark initiative.

He specifically advised against the rising exterior use of glass in
commercial buildings coming up in various parts of the country like
Delhi, Gurgaon etc.

“Glass should be best avoided as they are not suited to Indian weather
conditions. In western countries including US, glass windows are used
in buildings to trap heat from the sun as these are mostly cold
weather countries. India is a hot weather country and needs to trap
cold instead of heat,” he said.

“Most of the buildings should have proper walls with ventilation
system instead of too many glass windows. This is the reason that none
of the old architecture in India had glass-based construction. They
rather had thick brick and mortar walls, which not only made them more
safer but also led to energy conservation,” he asserted.

“An ideal building plan should also focus on effective land use, water
harvesting, using passive fire prevention systems with proper
mandatory landscaping and solid waste management system. This apart,
architectural design parameters should lay stress on insulation,
daylight utilization,natural ventilation, shielding, acoustics, window
area and its disposition,” he said.

On the problem of country’s infrastructure and traffic problems,
Professor Schwartz said, the solution to this lies in growing
vertically instead of spreading out.

During his address Prof. Schwartz spoke about the 9/11 tragedy and how
New York was slowly preparing to rebuild on ground zero. He said, that
for a fast growing city like New Delhi, planning and development is
the key and investment on infrastructure a must.

Prof. Schwartz who led the team of architects designing mega projects
like the Westway State Park and Highway and the one of its kind Staten
Island Ferry Terminal in New York, feels that, “The more you spread
out, the more you have to worry about transporting and moving people.”

He further pointed out that “imagine how efficient the city would be
if people don’t spend this much time traveling. City planners should
work towards providing a public transport system that takes vehicles
off the road. Every major city in the world has grown with its
transportation.”

Prof. Schwartz insisted that, “any growing city needs planning and the
planning initiative should be such that while building, it continues
to preserve green spaces, historically important spaces, etc. City
planners should think into the future when planning the infrastructure
for the city, it should, not only meet the needs of today but also the
growth possibilities of tomorrow.”