INI Design Studio succeeded to create an efficient campus for converting municipal solid waste into clean energy and many green products

Jamnagar, Gujarat, India

INI Design Studio re-imagines urban infrastructure design processes and designs the Waste to Energy (WTE) Campus at Jamnagar, a renewable power plant that converts municipal solid waste into electricity.

The plant is designed to generate 7.5 MW of electricity, enough to power over 15,000 homes, while emitting no toxins into the atmosphere.The design transforms the barren land of 16 acres into a greenbelt with over 10,000 newly planted trees, as well as a jogging track, playground, and community gathering space.

Waste to Energy Campus has recently been awarded a 2023 Green Good Design Award by The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies.

The WTE plant is designed with an optimized shape to minimize its surface-to-volume ratio, which lands to efficient resource usage and reduces energy consumption. The structure of the building is made of a simple open-span lightweight prefab structure, and the building is designed with a mixed-use community space to promote awareness of renewable energy and climate change.

The plant also integrates renewable energy systems such as an on-site solar plant and a biogas plant.

Water conservation is also a key focus, and the plant uses treated municipal wastewater and advanced mist turbine condenser cooling to save auxiliary power and retain evaporated water vapor. The building's facade is designed with 100% recyclable translucent polycarbonate panels, and natural resources such as rainwater are captured and reused on the site.

The campus also features a range of landscaping strategies to filter harsh sunlight and guide cool breeze patterns, as well as to reduce the urban heat island effect.Ensuring an adequate supply of energy for a city's industrial, transportation, and residential needs is extremely resource intensive and generates an enormous carbon footprint. The architects had the opportunity to resolve both these problem areas significantly through a single infrastructure development solution for the city of Jamnagar.

Additionally, this campus also provided beautifully crafted, environmentally supportive public open spaces including sports facilities for citizens to use and enjoy. Aligned with the Swachh Bharat (Clean India) Mission initiated by the Indian Prime Minister, this Waste-to-Energy project helps the city to fulfill some of its sustainable development goals (SDGs).

The technology developed for the conversion of municipal solid wastes to usable forms of clean energy and other green by-products has a remarkable set of advantages.Firstly, it was designed for the Indian urban context in terms of type and quantum of waste generated and secondly, it involved absolutely no human interface during the entire process from start to finish. It ensured the disposal of thousands of metric tons of the city's solid waste in a manner that simultaneously did away with colossal diesel consumption and CO2 emissions that are routinely involved including transferring waste.The fully automated plant design with well-integrated architectural response takes care of receiving collected waste and processing the components by an environmentally secure procedure and delivering clean energy and green products as the final outcome.

Mist System enhances the microclimate of the campus while recycling water and saving energy.Unlike the routine garbage collection landfills of most developing nations’ cities which are shunned, avoidable places for citizens on account of their stench and toxicity, this campus for waste processing is designed as an inviting campus where citizens can benefit from a green social landscape and breathe fresh air.Master Plan provides for open spaces having landscaped approach ways and native gardens – tree groves, a multifunctional sports field, and other institutional and public amenities are laid out along the frontal part.

The entry points, which are segregated for trucks, staff, and visitors, are all gained from the eastern approach road.

After the solid waste is received from the collection truck at the unloading facility, it passes through the process lines units that are housed in a transparent/translucent skin of a recyclable thermoplastic polycarbonate sheet which delivers extreme strength, good light transmission & diffusion, effective thermal insulation, and an aesthetically pleasing exterior.Driven by the aim of creating the aura of a campus, this Waste-to-Energy project encased in a transparent building amidst healthy green premises is designed to enable learning processes for future generations. The design integrates many sustainability measures resulting in noteworthy recognition as "India's first platinum-rated net zero Green Waste To Energy Campus" by Indian Green Building Council.

Project: Waste to Energy CampusArchitects: INI Design Studio (INI)Lead Architect: Jayesh HariyaniClient: Abellon Clean EnergyPhotographs Courtesy of the Architects