By K Yatish Rajawat
With soaring temperatures across the country, India is witnessing an early heatwave and a scorching summer ahead. Our glass-covered concrete buildings will become heat traps, and rising energy consumption will add another layer of pollution in urban centres. This is not a one-off summer. The average summer temperature is increasing steadily every year, while rain has become a sporadic instance of cloud bursts. Despite the rapidly rising extreme climate reality, architects, builders, and even city planners continue to make and encourage heat traps in the form of glass façade-covered offices across the country.
CXOs complain about low summer attendance, and it’s not the vacation effect. Glass-covered offices are fundamentally unsuited for Indian climates. They allow heat to be trapped inside, designed to block natural light and air. The heat inside the building is thrown outside using large energy-guzzling air conditioning plants or diesel generators during power outages. Air conditioning recirculates the same air again and again, and the lack of fresh air inside offices makes the occupants anxious and irritable all through the day. This is not a new revelation.
In the early 1940s, American novelist Henry Miller warned of an “air-conditioned nightmare” upon his return to the US. Today, Indian cities — Delhi, Gurugram, Mumbai, Bengaluru — have embraced this nightmare, now trapped in an endless loop of cooling our glass buildings that heat our streets. We have designed our way into an air-conditioned hell for our cities.
It’s increasingly clear that modern architecture in Indian cities is less about human comfort and more about shiny, extravagant glass façades and towering aesthetics. Glass façades, though visually appealing, have become our Achilles’ heel, driving our energy consumption sky-high. Research by the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, demonstrates that glass-clad buildings can consume nearly 10 times more energy than conventional buildings, primarily due to their dependence on air conditioning.
Our cities’ skylines, studded with glass towers, are turning into heat islands, trapping heat during the day, throwing hot air out through air conditioning, and radiating it at night, perpetuating an endless cycle. Buildings in Gurugram and Delhi are particularly emblematic of this phenomenon. These structures were never designed with the tropical Indian climate in mind, and were copied blindly from Western templates.
Tara Hipwood of Northumbria University points to the emergence of “deep-plan” buildings — vast, chunky structures that discard courtyards and natural air circulation in favour of large, mechanically ventilated spaces. Architects now design with air conditioning assumed as a given rather than a luxury. Hence, buildings become these deep caves without any natural air circulation.
Yet, all is not lost. The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Jodhpur, campus, designed by Sanjay Prakash of Studio for Habitat Futures (SHiFT), provides a compelling alternative. SHiFT has created buildings that remain cool without air-conditioning in a region known for scorching summer temperatures. By employing thermal labyrinths beneath buildings to pre-cool incoming air, utilising earthen berms to protect structures from harsh winds, and designing north-south oriented buildings to reduce heat gain, SHiFT demonstrates that passive cooling strategies are feasible and highly effective. Locally-sourced Jodhpur stone, extensive shading, and ecological landscaping further enhance cooling, illustrating a path from mechanical dependency.
The government’s “Guidelines on Use of Glass in Buildings: Human Safety” mentions the necessity of energy-efficient designs and carefully selecting glass materials. Yet these guidelines are mere suggestions rather than enforced regulations. The glass façade industry lobby continues to offer multiple glazing options in the name of climate control.
Sustainable solutions have long existed. Renowned Malaysian architect Ken Yeang and Singapore’s WOHA Architects have consistently demonstrated that comfort can coexist with sustainability. Yeang integrates ecological considerations directly into his buildings, using shading and green layers to reduce heat gain, while WOHA emphasises vertical greenery and passive cooling techniques. Tan Loke Mun, with the S11 House in Malaysia, has proven that buildings in humid tropical climates can thrive without extreme reliance on air conditioning.
The heart of the issue lies in reuniting architectural design with environmental engineering. We should ignore research sponsored by glass lobbies that advocate choosing the right glass and not sustainable design and the right materials.
Our addiction to glass façade and air conditioning has allowed architects and developers to bypass climate-responsive design. We have inadvertently created spaces hostile to human occupancy without mechanical cooling. Yet, examples like IIT Jodhpur show a viable path forward. Cities must embrace stricter building codes mandating climate-responsive designs, integrate passive cooling techniques, and fundamentally rethink the relationship between architecture, climate, and energy. It is time for building codes to be defined as per the regional climate requirements, and not be one code from Ladakh to Lucknow.
Unless our cities break free from their addiction to glass façades and unrestrained air conditioning, our urban dream risks descending into a permanent nightmare — an air-conditioned hell we pay dearly for, both environmentally and economically.
The writer is founder, Centre for Innovation in Public Policy.
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