Prem Jain


Prem Jain was an Indian green visionary, also known as the Father of Green Buildings in India. Jain served as the chairman of Indian Green Building Council.

Early life and education

Prem Jain did his BSC ME from IT BHU in 1952 and obtained a PhD from University of Minnesota in 1967. He studied further to receive a master's degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1970 and then a PhD in 1972 from the same institute. After returning to India, he was a visiting professor at IIT Kanpur. During his tenure, he set up a separate laboratory for Environmental Engineering. Jain was also on the faculty at School of Planning and Architecture Delhi.

Career

He worked with Carrier Corp R&D USA and then with Stein Doshi Bhalla, an architectural firm. During his tenure with this firm, Jain worked for the design of IIC expansion, Ford Foundation & UNICEF buildings on Lodhi Road, Zakir Hussain Memorial in Okhla, Escorts Factory Building in Faridabad and Expansion of Triveni Kala Sangam in New Delhi. In 1980 Jain founded Spectral Services Consultants Private Limited with a vision to provide energy efficient Mechanical, Electrical & Plumbing designs. During his work at Spectral, he did several notable projects including:
Prem Jain died aged 82 on 20 September 2018 in Delhi. With the vision to establish a foundation in memory of Prem Jain, a trust called Prem Jain Memorial Trust was founded. The trust has the mission to use education, recognition and nurturing as a tool to maintain the paradigm of sustainability. Fulfilling the objective of promoting interface amongst sustainability champions and communities, the trust organised a weeklong festival called Harit-Prem Bharat Mahotsav in January 2019. The festival boosted the concept of sustainability and green buildings.