Façade industry grows at 20%
The Indian façade industry worth Rs.15,000 crore and is growing at 20% annually while the global façade market to reach US$340 billion by 2024, says ANAROCK’s Fenestration Industry Report.
The country’s fenestration and curtain wall industry combined is pegged at Rs.10,000 crore – 65% share by fenestration, 35% by curtain walls.
Sustainable and eco-friendly façade developments focused on energy conservation and reduced dependency on fossil fuels are the new imperative of the rapidly-growing façade and fenestration industry, says the report.
The report, in association with World of Fenestration, was released at the World of Fenestration 2019 event in New Delhi on 22 Feb 2019.
“Rapid real estate and infrastructure development in India directly impact the demand for façade and fenestration products, particularly in office spaces,” commented Santhosh Kumar, Vice Chairman – ANAROCK Property Consultants.
“Our cities are going increasingly vertical, and vertical development created heat islands which environmentally unfriendly products exacerbate. Moreover, eco-friendly façade and fenestration products promote officegoers’ wellbeing and productivity,” he said.
“The quest for creating iconic office structures plays heavily on façades and fenestration to evoke a modern aesthetic ethos. However, this quest brings with it a real danger of ignoring the environmental prerogatives of sustainable development.
“This report analyses the best practices followed in countries like UK and UAE and makes a case of India’s adoption of these practices,” Kumar pointed out.
“The next leap for high-rise structures and glass façade buildings is definitely sustainable and eco-friendly façades which focus on energy conservation and reduced dependency on fossil fuels,” added Mihir Thakkar, Head – Fenestration, World of Fenestration.
“Future-readiness in the face of mounting environmental concerns is the need of the hour. We need newer products and designs. We must invent superior materials – these must be the Indian façade and fenestration industry’s priorities in the coming years,” stressed Thakkar.
Regular PVC was a common plastic used in construction due to its strength and light weight. However, it uses environmentally deleterious plasticisers to enhance its flexibility. uPVC (un-plasticized PVC) is the new environmental standard in fenestration. This environmentally friendly variant currently accounts for only 10% market share, but it is a Rs.1,500 crore business.
Developers across leading global cities have accepted the new environmental façade and fenestration prerogatives.
In India, wood and steel are rapidly being replaced by uPVC – though not fast enough, according to the report.
The report draws some interesting comparisons. For instance, the UAE has the tallest structures in the world, while the UK has relatively low-rise buildings. However, both countries put great emphasis on corrosion-resistant building facades.
Considering the building heights and weather conditions in UAE, specifications are more scoped towards thermal insulation and wind cycles. In UK, uPVC product material is more popular.
In India, industry stakeholders now increasingly demand better specifications from the facade and fenestration industry, as well as IS code development and implementation for superior design and execution practices, the report pointed out. fiinews.com
