Green Games: Thyagraja India’s first eco-friendly sports venue

Netball was played in England for the first time in 1895. At the time, there were no fixed regulations for the Games, even the nets used were ineffective — they were not open at both ends, so after each goal was scored, the umpire had to retrieve the ball from the top of the post.

Over 114 years later, India is going to get its first netball stadium being built by Delhi government's Public Works Department which has a host of interesting features.

The stadium has a capacity of 4,494. The grand structure of blue glass and shining steel comes up quite abruptly in an undisturbed neighbourhood of quarters of government officials.

It is going to be the first green stadium in India, which has taken a series of steps to ensure energy conservation.

The unique design of a glass and concrete structure with a continuous steel roof has been designed by Australian firm — Peddle Thorp. The firm has been working since 1963 and is currently operating from Brisbane, Cairns, Jakarta, Gold Coast and Shanghai. One of its latest designs include a six-star spa resort being built in the middle of the ocean — accessible only by water taxi — in Tianjin, China.

“The building has been designed keeping in mind that it can be used for any sport or recreational activities after the Commonwealth Games. We wanted to leave a legacy behind,” said project manager, Anil Pandit. There are constraints of space with merely 16 acres available to build a match court and two warm-up courts.

Roof:The 18,122 square meter roof does not have a single joint. It is a Kalzip roof built by a Japanese firm. Kalzip roofing in layman terms translates into seven layers, with each serving a different purpose. In this case, the first layer is aluminium profile which is water and vapour proof. The second layer is of rock wool — which is manmade mineral fibre and is used for insulation. The third layer is of texon sheet, which is once again waterproof. These three sheets are repeated again till there are 7 layers neatly piled on.

False ceiling:The calcium silicate tiles used for false ceiling have been made of recycled domestic waste.

Floor:The floors have been laid using recycled PVC which was imported from England.

Sports floor:Maplewood approved by Fédération Internationale de Basketball — FIBA, the International Federation of Basketball is being imported from USA for the sports floor. The floor will arrive Delhi on November 19 and the PWD engineers believe that it will put up within a week's time.

Walls:Fly ash bricks have been used to build the structure. To reduce conductivity of heat there is a cavity between the walls.

Interestingly, all ugly wires and electrical fitting are adjusted in this cavity. Similarly where glass forms the outer periphery there too there is a double layer of glass imported from France. The walls will have acousting cladding of aluminum and for the first time fireproof material has been used.

Bathroom:Interestingly, PWD has put odourless tiles in the bathroom to ensure there is no stench. The water taps are fitted with photo-sensors for minimum wastage. Water stored through rainwater harvesting will be used for flushing. The used water will be recycled at the effluent treatment plant and will be used for watering the lawns. Solid waste will also be converted into manure using a special vermi-compost plant which will be set up on the grounds.

Power:The Thyagraja stadium will have a power plant which will generate 4.5 MW. The roof of building is fitted with solar panels. These panels will produce 1 MW of power. Another 3.5 MW will be generated through CNG-based turbine. The most important aspect of this turbine is that its exhaust will power the 1300 tonne air-conditioning system of the stadium. A vapour absorption machine has been installed which will use the hot exhaust air and convert it to power for the air-conditioning plant. This will help in two ways — one is saving energy and by not leaving exhaust fumes in the atmosphere reducing air-pollution.