Shining India’s uber-cool totems – soaring skyscrapers with glitzy glass facades will have to face stricter norms. A code drafted by the bureau of energy efficiency has advised architects against the indiscriminate use of glass in buildings. The reason put forwarded by the bureau is that glass buildings are major power guzzlers and not very suitable for tropical climates.

The draft energy conservation building code ( ECBC) spells out the percentage of glass to be used in a building and use of insulation to reduce electricity consumption. In future, when architects approach development authorities for building clearance, they will have to procure an ECBC clearance in addition to the mandatory for clearance. Developers and architects will be encouraged to comply with the code initially; later the code will be made mandatory.