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Due to the rapid growth of population and urbanization, the need to build high-rise buildings is felt more than ever. Increased migration to urban centers is critically affecting the planet. There is an ever-increasing need for growth as well as increased density in urban centers. With land becoming scarce and expensive, particularly in big cities, developers and builders have no alternative but to build up vertically, and consequently, high-rise buildings are beginning to appear in large numbers.

Climate change, caused by the release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, has been the greatest threat of the 21st century. Being the largest primary energy consumer, buildings make the world's largest contribution to this growing menace. World studies have acknowledged, buildings were attributable to 33% of all energy-related CO2 emissions worldwide and these emissions are expected to grow even more by 2030.

It is projected that by 2030, 5 billion people will live in urban areas throughout the world (United Nations, 2001). Whereas 30 percent of the world population lived in urban areas in 1950, the proportion of urban dwellers climbed to 47 percent in 2000 and is projected to rise to 60 percent by 2030. Energy shortage, global warming, urban sprawl, air pollution, overflowing landfills, water shortage, disease, and global conflict will be the legacy of the twenty-first century unless the world moves quickly towards the notion and implementation of sustainability. 

The considerations that one used to keep in mind for designing a high-rise building i.e. structural, aesthetic, and functionality are no longer enough to make a building that performs well. High rise buildings are rising day by day and they are the only way to keep up with the ever-expanding population. Sadly, these buildings are great energy guzzlers, produce a lot of wastes, and use up a large quantity of energy and resources which calls for the need for designing high-rise buildings that are energy efficient and sustainable.

A sustainable building is one, which incorporates several sustainable features and facilities. The appearance of a sustainable building is similar to any other building. However, the difference is in the intention which revolves around the concern for extending the life span of natural resources, provide human comfort, safety and productivity. This approach results in a reduction of operating costs like energy and other resources, besides several other intangible benefits. The cost of energy and natural resources used by high rise buildings at the stages of construction, use, and demolition, is higher when compared to low-rise buildings. The sustainable design of high rise buildings can be regarded as a solution to this problem.

The aim of sustainable design for high rise buildings is to create designs that reduce the use of energy, natural resources, use local resources economically, do not disrupt ecological balance, minimize the harmful effects of buildings on the environment, and provide necessary conditions for human comfort and health. In this context, sustainable design for high-rise buildings can be examined under three headings: ecological, economical, and sociocultural.

Ecological, economical, and socio-cultural components such as increasing the use of renewable energy sources, minimizing inputs during the manufacturing process, minimizing the use of raw materials and energy consumption, and increasing user comfort, should also be given due consideration in the design of high rise buildings along with structural and aesthetic factors.

Effective use of fields, water, energy, and materials should be taken into consideration during the design process in the scope of ecologically sustainable design. Economic constraints should be determined by using the sources effectively and performing cost analyses within the context of sustainable economical design. On the other hand, indoor life quality should be enhanced and innovative applications should be included in the context of sociocultural sustainable design.

Sustainable high rise buildings emphasize the use of eco-friendly building materials like fly-ash & silica fume cement and blocks, steel and tiles, recycled metals, bamboo-based products, green roofing products, and so on. On the technology front too, there are a lot of options available to build sustainable buildings, energy-saving air conditioners (HVACs), high-performance glass windows, water-saving solutions, composting toilets, and efficient building management systems are just some of them. Tapping solar and wind energy is another method used by builders for sustainability. The use of a photovoltaic array on the rooftop is a good source of alternate energy as are solar thermal arrays.

With India facing rapid urbanization, globalization, and expanding economy, it is experiencing a rapid spurt in building construction across a range of city activities and socio-economic spectrum, increasing consumption of building materials such as glass, cement, metals, and ceramics. Uncurbed consumption of these high embodied energy materials is a reason for environmental degradation. In today's era where the energy crisis is a major problem, sustainable buildings give a brilliant and promising solution. Buildings are designed to use minimum energy and natural resources. All the systems for cooling, heating, and ventilating are designed such that they require very little energy.

Sustainable high rise building is a boon to the society where energy and water consumption can be reduced while still maintaining an increase in productivity for occupants, their health, safety and well-being. In today's era, sustainable buildings are essential as the environmental balance is important for the survival and further development of human beings