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GIIS, Bannerghatta
GIIS, Bannerghatta
Bengaluru, India
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GIIS, Bannerghatta
Bengaluru, India
GIIS Bannerghatta Campus, Bengaluru — a carbon-light blueprint for Indian schools
Completed in 2025, the 44,669 sq ft GIIS Bannerghatta campus demonstrates how mainstream Indian education projects can cut embodied carbon, conserve water, and improve user comfort—without compromising cost or delivery speed. Built by GSL Corp as turnkey contractor, the project combines Compressed Stabilized Earth Blocks (CSEB) for walls, poured-earth concrete (PEC) for internal roads, and a rainwater harvesting network that recharges local aquifers. The result is a resilient, resource-aware learning environment designed for approximately 1,000 students.
Materials as strategy
Where many school builds default to high-cement assemblies, GIIS Bannerghatta uses earth-based techniques as the first line of design. 70,000 CSEB units (9″ × 7.5″ × 4″) were produced to a 5:4:1 (earth:sand:cement) mix, reducing the cement inside the blocks themselves compared with typical 1:3:6 concrete blocks. On the project’s wall package, the switch to CSEB cuts cement within the block mass by ~33%, translating to ≈22.3 tonnes of cement saved and ≈20.7 tonnes of CO₂ avoided (project calculations).
Carbon-light mobility surfaces
Circulation inside the campus replaces a conventional reinforced slab with poured-earth concrete (PEC)—an in-situ soil-cement mix using local earth, M-sand and aggregate. For a representative 90 m × 5 m × 0.15 m stretch, the PEC mix (5:3:2:1 – jelly:earth:M-sand:cement) keeps cement to roughly 1/11th of the layer volume and eliminates rebar. Against a comparable M25 RCC slab (assumed 80 kg steel/m³ for light-load pavements), project calculations indicate ~15.46 t less cement (–64%), ~5.40 t steel avoided (–100%), and ~24.64 t CO₂ avoided (–75%) across A1–A3. The team also benchmarked PEC against 4″ pavers; PEC reduced cement content by ~8.94 t with a corresponding ~8.33 t CO₂ reduction.
Comfort, durability, and place-specific character
Material choices improve day-to-day experience. PEC’s earth tone and lower glare read softer in Bengaluru’s light, performing well for shared walk-drive zones and court edges. CSEB walls contribute thermal mass and acoustic damping, supporting comfort and lowering HVAC demand. Visually, the palette of earth, sand, and low-VOC finishes gives the school a tactile, grounded identity that reads “local” rather than generic.
Water resilience
A multi-tier rainwater harvesting system integrates roof downpipes, percolation pits, and direct borewell recharge. Based on an ~1,100 mm/day monsoon period over ~120 days, roof catchment yields ≈18,525 litres/day in season—about 2.22 million litres per year—recharging on site and eliminating dependence on external supply. Overflow is directed to a main well for additional storage and groundwater support.
Passive & Hybrid Cooling
Alongside earth-based construction, the campus uses venticoolers (evaporative coolers) to temper outside air for the Multi Purpose Hall. These systems deliver noticeable thermal comfort gains while using a fraction of the energy of conventional HVAC cooling. The resultant hot air is then removed, utilsing the mechanism of stack effect. Fresh-air movement works to create a more comfortable microclimate for students and staff.
Materials that age well: Kota stone, low-flow fittings, and robust roofs
Inside the buildings, Kota stone flooring replaces high-energy vitrified tiles. Locally sourced and fully recyclable, Kota offers a lower embodied footprint, long service life through re-polishing. Its honed, non-glare surface also improves visual comfort in classrooms and corridors.
Complementing this, low-flow water fittings cut potable water use by an estimated 30–60% (fixture-dependent), reducing load on on-site treatment and lowering operating costs—an important lever in water-stressed Indian cities. The selected fittings are easy to maintain, compatible with standard plumbing, and contribute to typical green-building credits for water efficiency.
On the roofscape, the project uses brick-bat coba waterproofing—a time-tested Indian assembly that forms positive drainage slope, insulates the slab, and bridges minor substrate movements when detailed correctly. It delivers a durable, serviceable roof suited to Bengaluru’s sun and rain cycles while keeping the slab cooler during peak heat.
A template for mainstream adoption
GIIS Bannerghatta suggests a practical pathway for India’s institutional projects: cut cement where it counts, design roads for actual loads, harvest water by default, and measure everything. For clients, the project demonstrates that sustainability can be accounted, audited, and felt—in the carbon math, in the budgets, and in everyday comfort for students and staff.
Project team: GSL Construction (turnkey). Client: GIIS. Location: Bannerghatta Road, Bengaluru, India. Completion: 2025. Area: 44,669 sq ft. Capacity: ~1,000 students. Techniques: CSEB walls, PEC internal roads, rainwater harvesting, low-VOC paints, high-SRI roofs. Data: project calculations and site assumptions.
Completed in 2025, the 44,669 sq ft GIIS Bannerghatta campus demonstrates how mainstream Indian education projects can cut embodied carbon, conserve water, and improve user comfort—without compromising cost or delivery speed. Built by GSL Corp as turnkey contractor, the project combines Compressed Stabilized Earth Blocks (CSEB) for walls, poured-earth concrete (PEC) for internal roads, and a rainwater harvesting network that recharges local aquifers. The result is a resilient, resource-aware learning environment designed for approximately 1,000 students.
Materials as strategy
Where many school builds default to high-cement assemblies, GIIS Bannerghatta uses earth-based techniques as the first line of design. 70,000 CSEB units (9″ × 7.5″ × 4″) were produced to a 5:4:1 (earth:sand:cement) mix, reducing the cement inside the blocks themselves compared with typical 1:3:6 concrete blocks. On the project’s wall package, the switch to CSEB cuts cement within the block mass by ~33%, translating to ≈22.3 tonnes of cement saved and ≈20.7 tonnes of CO₂ avoided (project calculations).
Carbon-light mobility surfaces
Circulation inside the campus replaces a conventional reinforced slab with poured-earth concrete (PEC)—an in-situ soil-cement mix using local earth, M-sand and aggregate. For a representative 90 m × 5 m × 0.15 m stretch, the PEC mix (5:3:2:1 – jelly:earth:M-sand:cement) keeps cement to roughly 1/11th of the layer volume and eliminates rebar. Against a comparable M25 RCC slab (assumed 80 kg steel/m³ for light-load pavements), project calculations indicate ~15.46 t less cement (–64%), ~5.40 t steel avoided (–100%), and ~24.64 t CO₂ avoided (–75%) across A1–A3. The team also benchmarked PEC against 4″ pavers; PEC reduced cement content by ~8.94 t with a corresponding ~8.33 t CO₂ reduction.
Comfort, durability, and place-specific character
Material choices improve day-to-day experience. PEC’s earth tone and lower glare read softer in Bengaluru’s light, performing well for shared walk-drive zones and court edges. CSEB walls contribute thermal mass and acoustic damping, supporting comfort and lowering HVAC demand. Visually, the palette of earth, sand, and low-VOC finishes gives the school a tactile, grounded identity that reads “local” rather than generic.
Water resilience
A multi-tier rainwater harvesting system integrates roof downpipes, percolation pits, and direct borewell recharge. Based on an ~1,100 mm/day monsoon period over ~120 days, roof catchment yields ≈18,525 litres/day in season—about 2.22 million litres per year—recharging on site and eliminating dependence on external supply. Overflow is directed to a main well for additional storage and groundwater support.
Passive & Hybrid Cooling
Alongside earth-based construction, the campus uses venticoolers (evaporative coolers) to temper outside air for the Multi Purpose Hall. These systems deliver noticeable thermal comfort gains while using a fraction of the energy of conventional HVAC cooling. The resultant hot air is then removed, utilsing the mechanism of stack effect. Fresh-air movement works to create a more comfortable microclimate for students and staff.
Materials that age well: Kota stone, low-flow fittings, and robust roofs
Inside the buildings, Kota stone flooring replaces high-energy vitrified tiles. Locally sourced and fully recyclable, Kota offers a lower embodied footprint, long service life through re-polishing. Its honed, non-glare surface also improves visual comfort in classrooms and corridors.
Complementing this, low-flow water fittings cut potable water use by an estimated 30–60% (fixture-dependent), reducing load on on-site treatment and lowering operating costs—an important lever in water-stressed Indian cities. The selected fittings are easy to maintain, compatible with standard plumbing, and contribute to typical green-building credits for water efficiency.
On the roofscape, the project uses brick-bat coba waterproofing—a time-tested Indian assembly that forms positive drainage slope, insulates the slab, and bridges minor substrate movements when detailed correctly. It delivers a durable, serviceable roof suited to Bengaluru’s sun and rain cycles while keeping the slab cooler during peak heat.
A template for mainstream adoption
GIIS Bannerghatta suggests a practical pathway for India’s institutional projects: cut cement where it counts, design roads for actual loads, harvest water by default, and measure everything. For clients, the project demonstrates that sustainability can be accounted, audited, and felt—in the carbon math, in the budgets, and in everyday comfort for students and staff.
Project team: GSL Construction (turnkey). Client: GIIS. Location: Bannerghatta Road, Bengaluru, India. Completion: 2025. Area: 44,669 sq ft. Capacity: ~1,000 students. Techniques: CSEB walls, PEC internal roads, rainwater harvesting, low-VOC paints, high-SRI roofs. Data: project calculations and site assumptions.
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