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Net-Zero & Climate-Responsive Homes

byAshok B LallConsult online, across India, or visit office at Civil Lines, New DelhiStarts from₹120 per sq. ft. of built-up areaView full gallery

Homes shouldn't fight nature. My designs use passive cooling, traditional courtyard ventilation, and solar energy to create comfortable spaces that keep electricity bills near zero. Let's build a home that breathes.

Namaskar, I am Ashok Lall, your architect. Here, I walk you through a future-proof residential project in Mohali designed to provide comfort and well-being for years to come. We've used passive design principles like insulated roofs and walls, along with rooftop solar panels, to create net-zero energy homes where your electricity bill is almost zero.

This residence in Defence Colony, Delhi, features manually sliding perforated metal 'jaalis'. These screens provide protection from the harsh sun while allowing diffused light to enter, acting as a modern interpretation of a traditional shading device.

My work on the Defence Colony residence was featured in the Dainik Jagran newspaper. The article discusses how the design uses 'naya vastu' principles to create a building that responds to the modern need for climate-responsive architecture.

A sectional drawing of the Chinmaya Mission Gurudham project. This illustration shows how we integrate passive architectural principles from the very start, using shading, natural light, insulation, and features like a 'kund' (water body) and 'Aakash Chowk' (courtyard) to create harmony with nature.

About Net-Zero & Climate-Responsive Homes

A truly efficient home relies on intelligent design, not just gadgets. In our Mohali project, we used insulated roof structures and specific window placement to manage heat gain naturally. This reduces your air conditioning load significantly, ensuring that even during peak summers, the interior stays cool without constant power consumption.

EDGE Certified with 88% energy savings. — Approved by the tribe
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Ashok B Lall

Consult online, across India, or visit office at Civil Lines, New DelhiStarts from ₹120 per sq. ft. of built-up area

I have been working as an architect since 1980, but I still see every site as a new classroom. My team and I focus on how to keep a building cool in a Delhi summer or warm in a mountain winter, using common sense and local materials. I want to build you a home that feels alive.

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Buildings account for nearly 40% of global energy use. We focus on three key areas to improve energy performance: prioritizing passive cooling, choosing low-impact materials, and using surface-level interventions like green pavers.27
Passive cooling is our first line of defense against heat. Strategies like the deep slab projections and adaptive facades seen here reduce heat gain and enhance performance without relying on energy-intensive mechanical systems.
We choose low-impact, high-performance materials. Acetylated wood offers durability, moisture resistance, and a lower carbon footprint, making it a long-lasting and sustainable alternative to conventional materials.
Green pavers, made from recycled materials, are a simple but effective tool for urban cooling. They allow water permeability to reduce runoff and support vegetation, helping to mitigate the urban heat island effect.

Climate-Responsive & Sustainable Architecture

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Team3Takes projects across India; Visit studio in Lado Sarai, New Delhi
A water body at the VIT School of Architecture, which acts as a passive cooling element. The positioning of water features and wind tunnels helps to naturally regulate the building's temperature.8
The installation of a radiant cooling system at the VIT School of Architecture. This energy-efficient alternative to air conditioning uses chilled water pipes in the floor slabs to lower the ambient temperature in the studios.
Green mounds, or earth berms, at the DRL Leadership Academy in Andhra Pradesh. These landscape features tuck in classrooms on the ground floor, providing natural insulation and creating informal seating areas.
A duplicate image of the radiant cooling pipe installation at VIT, a key feature of the building's sustainable design.

Sustainable and Climate-Responsive Architectural Design

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MindspaceTakes projects across India; Visit Design Studio in Sanjayanagara
The "Office in a Verandah" in Goa is defined by its large, sheltering roof and laterite base, designed to withstand and celebrate the region's heavy rainfall. The building sits comfortably in its lush, hilly landscape.10
For the Indian Oil Tanking Ltd. office in Sohar, Oman, I used a simple palette of stucco and wooden screens to respond to the desert climate. The design balances the need for shade with the desire for natural light and views.
This facade features operable wooden louvers and concrete forms, allowing users to modulate sunlight and airflow. This is a low-tech, high-impact strategy I use to create comfortable and energy-efficient buildings.
The shadow of a palm tree plays across the facade of the Sohar office. The wooden screen, or 'mashrabiya', is a modern interpretation of a traditional Islamic architectural element, providing privacy and shade while allowing ventilation.

Climate-Responsive Architecture and Passive Design

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RMA ArchitectsTakes projects across India; Visit office in Kala Ghoda, Mumbai
An introduction to our Design Sustainability Matrix, a tool we developed to assess and measure a project's sustainability quotient. We believe in empowering designers and developers to transform their approach to sustainable design.18
A bar graph showing the Sustainability Score from our matrix, evaluating factors like materials, water, energy, and occupant comfort. This tool provides a clear, systems-driven way to understand and improve a design's environmental performance.
An infographic explaining why the Design Sustainability Matrix matters. It allows designers to measure environmental impact, make informed decisions, and create resilient, efficient, and future-ready architectural designs.
A simple three-step guide on how our open-access sustainability tool works. It is designed to keep the architectural intent at the center of decision-making while optimizing for environmental goals.

Pioneering Sustainable Design in Architecture

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Edifice ConsultantsTakes projects across India; Offices in Mumbai, Bengaluru & Delhi
The facade of the Ananda residence in Hyderabad, where we renovated an existing structure to minimize waste. The new walls are built with compressed stabilised earth blocks (CSEB) in alternating courses, a technique that creates a self-shading, thermally efficient surface.36
The entrance to the Ananda residence, showing the harmony between the renovated structure, lush greenery, and the new earth block extensions. We prioritize adaptive reuse, breathing new life into existing buildings with sustainable principles.
A before-and-after comparison of the residence in Hyderabad. We transformed the original house by reconfiguring spaces, expanding the living area into the garden, and wrapping the structure in a new, ecological skin of earth blocks and louvers.
The multi-level interior of the Sans Souci Residence, showing how we play with levels to create connected yet private spaces. The staircase and arches, built with compressed earth blocks, define the home's character while ensuring natural light and ventilation.

Private Residences: Ecological Homes Rooted in the Earth

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Biome Environmental SolutionsBased in Vidyaranyapura; serves Bengaluru & India
This home is a living example of bioclimatic architecture, designed to work in harmony with nature. The structure is built from Compressed Stabilised Earth Blocks (CSEB) made from the very soil of the site, minimizing our carbon footprint. This low-angle view from the basement level shows how every part of the home, including the stairways and bridges, is designed for natural light and ventilation.5
The interior of this home celebrates its "hand-made" origins, where every detail is intentional. I used exposed local quartzite stone for the walls to provide natural texture and thermal mass, contrasting it with modern glass and simple furnishings. This space demonstrates my belief that sustainable design can be both rustic and refined.
Here I am on the exterior bridge of the green home, a project that truly embodies my philosophy. My process involves being deeply connected to the site, guiding the use of hand-made materials and ensuring the design serves both the people within and the environment around it. This is how I help sow the seeds of a greener future.
This is the basement lounge area, an earth-sheltered space that remains cool in the summer and warm in the winter without artificial systems. To bring in light, I incorporated a glass-panelled well, turning a structural necessity into a source of beauty. This approach to energy conservation and natural light is central to my work.

Sustainable Green Home Design and Bioclimatic Architecture

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Vinit KhannaTakes projects across Delhi NCR; Visit studio in DLF Phase 3, Gurugram

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