Top Floors of Low-Rise Modern Residences in Kolkata:Preliminary Exploration towards a Sustainable Solution

Kolkata is a leading metro city in India with a tropical hot and humid climate. Old buildings in the city had climate-responsive architectural design and elements. However, the modern low-rise residential buildings are not provided with proper thermal insulation on roofs and walls, spatial planning and ventilating elements for which inhabitants at the top floors suffer from unbearable indoor environment during summer. Moreover, often rainwater percolates through the roofs after some years. For relief, many inhabitants install air-conditioners in their rooms and repair the roofs recurrently. This raises the demand for energy and contributes to urban heat island effect and unsustainable environment in the city. A research funded by the University Grants Commission, Government of India, was taken up to do fieldwork, survey and documentation of the actual situation along with the literature study for formulating an architectural solution to attain comfortable, energy-efficient and environmentally sustainable indoor condition at the top floors of low-rise residences.