Mixed-use development, Hyderabad: exploring water conscious building design

Abstract

The project “Mixed-use Development, Hyderabad: Exploring Water-Conscious Building Design” is an attempt to design a mixed use building with residential and commercial (office and retail) uses in a densely built urban environment which is in immediate surrounding of a large and iconic urban water body. This project aims to design a well-functioning building that integrates diverse types of users and their requirement, while being water efficient and contributing to the health of the environment in context. The background study explored the multiple ways in which the design of a building and its service-related infrastructure can be driven to be water conscious. It included studies, reports and case studies exploring the various ways to make the building more efficient. The case studies analysed the built structure and circulation of various mixed-use buildings that have the same structural framework and vertical integration of services. The inferences drawn from both these studies are used to develop a design for the thesis proposal, which is elaborated upon in the report and the sheets. Finally, there are calculations that demonstrate the water efficiency in the project proposal and how it leads to a better quality of life, increasing the users’ interaction with and consciousness about water.