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editorspeaks As an Architect you design for the present, with an awareness of the past, for the future which is essentially unknown. Norman Foster
Editor Shashikant Hegde Deputy Editor Renu Rajaram Advisor (Editorial) Dr M S Kapadia Advisors (Technical) Prof Akhtar Chauhan Principal, Rizvi College of Architecture, Mumbai Ar A R Ramanathan Practising Architect, New Delhi Ar Milind Kollegal Practising Architect, Hyderabad Design & Production Art Director Satish Kamath Graphic Designers Madhukar Ingavale Nitin Parkar Rajendra Vichare
Product Head Pooja Nalawade Sales Executive Saurabh Singh Subscription Rosebin Mukadam Head - Circulation Raju Chendavankar Senior Vice President Sanjeev Singh
Printed, published and edited by Shashikant Hegde on behalf of Economic Research India Pvt. Ltd., published at Sterling House, 5/7 Sorabji Santuk Lane, Off Dr. Cawasji Hormasji Lane, Dhobi Talao, Mumbai - 400 002 and printed at Jayant Printery, 352/54, J. S. S. Road, Murlidhar Temple Compound, Near Thakurdwar P. O, Mumbai - 400 002. Editor: Shashikant Hegde
04 Architecture Update January 2015
Resilience is the next step on the path toward sustainability. Building resiliency is the capacity of a building to continue to function and operate under circumstances such as (but not limited to) extreme weather or climatic conditions. As the built environment faces the impending effects of global climate change, building owners, designers and builders can design facilities to optimize building resiliency. Sustainability of a building depends on its adaptability too as sustainable building designs allow adapting to different functions and conditions. Building adaptability is the capacity of a building to be used for multiple uses and in multiple ways over the life of the building. For example, designing a building with movable walls/partitions allows for different users to change the space. It is very evident that sustainability and green movements are still the connoisseur of a selected few in the metropolitans. Building resiliency and building adaptability are still a more conflicting and less discussed subject among architects and other AEC professionals. There is a constant urge to know more about what and how to go green and resilient in buildings, in technologies, in products, in designs, and the design professionals always are in search of new codes and modes for greener developments. It is a challenge to define the most advanced measure of sustainability in the built environment possible to diminish the gap between current limits and ideal solutions. A number of green rating systems have been developed that are used nationally and internationally and every conscious architect tries to go beyond these standards in search of excellence. In this issue, we are presenting a number of projects which demonstrate true meaning of resilient and adaptable designs, helping to create a better neighbourhood to live in; all of them going beyond the mottos of Green rating. The project - Vedanta Centre at Chennai, designed by Centre for Indigenous Architecture (CFIA), has been laid out according to the indigenous vastupurush tenets and its elements give the entire campus the feel of being in a place that is simultaneously ancient and contemporary. Tatva, an IGBC Platinum and SvaGRIHA 5-Star Certified residence by Azad Jain & Associates is an architectural solution that is apt for today and tomorrow. The industrial project, Fratelli wines by Sunil Patil & Associates at Solapur, has been designed using climate as the basic check and it is beyond all the technical parameters of the green buildings defined till now. We have also included a sneak peek of the Games Village project at Kerala, an efficient and adaptable design for the forthcoming 35th National Games, based on the cost effective and novel concept of prefabricated housing. We want our readers to analyse these projects, comment on what appeals, and send feedbacks on the same. Hope you will find this issue informative and thoughtful and will enjoy reading them as much as I did. With the resolution of bringing in more resilient and adaptable architecture for a better tomorrow, here is wishing all our readers a very Happy and Prosperous New Year 2015!
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INDEX
INDEX OF ADS Page nos. AB Ceramic Services ....................................................................................07 Ansa Interiors ...............................................................................................19 Asian Business and Conferences Ltd. ........................................................15 Bathroom & Kitchen Expo 2015 ..................................................................49 Encraft India Pvt. Ltd....................................................................................03 Griha Summit 2015 ......................................................................................53 Gujarat Guardian Limited ........................................................................... BC Jindal Aluminium Limited ............................................................................31 K Lite Industries .......................................................................................... IBC
Architecture Update, India's leading publication on Architecture-Interiors-Landscape, is interested in knowing what its readers feel about their favourite magazine. AU also welcomes opinion on any other topic or issues of concern from its esteemed readers. Just write to Feedback, Architecture Update Economic Research India Pvt Ltd, 5/7 Sterling House, Sorabji Santuk Lane, Off Cawasji Hormasji Street, Dhobi Talao, Mumbai - 400 002 or mail at editor@eril.co.in. You can also call on 022-67121806 or fax on 022-67121827
Nicomac Doors Pvt. Ltd. ..............................................................................11 Premier Bars Pvt Ltd .................................................................................... IFC Sleek Boards (I) LLP......................................................................................47 The Supreme Industries Limited.................................................................05
RESPONSE
for feedback as against other topics or areas of concern, mail to feedbackau@eril.co.in
for those who want their thesis featured, mail to thesisau@eril.co.in
for queries that needs expertise from a panel of specialists, mail interfaceau@eril.co.in and get answered by legal and academic experts, and CAD specialists
for Connect with just about anybody in the field of Architecture, Engineering & Construction & Building, Development Construction industry, write to platformau@eril.co.in or editor@eril.co.in
06 Architecture Update January 2015
DISCLAIMER This book is for information purposes only. All rights reserved. All copyright in this book and related works is solely and exclusively owned by Economic Research India Pvt. Ltd. While due care has been taken during the compilation to ensure that the information is accurate to the best of Economic Research India Pvt. Ltd.' knowledge and belief, the content is not to be construed in any manner whatsoever as a substitute for professional advice. Economic Research India Pvt. Ltd. neither recommends nor endorse any specific products or services that may have been mentioned in this book and nor do they assume any liability or responsibility for the outcome of decisions taken as a result of any reliance placed on this document. Economic Research India Pvt. Ltd. shall not be liable for any direct or indirect damages that may arise due to any act or omission on the part of the user due to any reliance placed or guidance taken from any portion of this book.
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JANUARY 2015
ISSUE 12 VOLUME 08
Contents DESIGNED FOR HIGHPERFORMANCE Fratelli wines, Akluj, Solapur, Maharastra, India Sunil Patil & Associates
FLUIDIC DESIGN Raheja Trinity, Sector 84, Gurgaon, Haryana, India In-house Architects, Raheja Developers
14 16 20 24 28 32 36 POST EVENT IIA NATCON 2014
A MONASTERY FOR MODERN TIMES Vedanta Centre, Chennai, Tamil Nadu India Centre for Indigenous Architecture (CFIA)
A SURPRISING VOLUME New Headquarters of the Bank of Pisa & Fornacette, Fornacette, Italy Massimo Mariani
NEW LAUNCH Products
A PRE-FAB VILLAGE The Games Village, Menamkulam, Kerala, India ACME Cleantech Solutions Ltd
08 Architecture Update January 2015
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PARAMETRIC DESIGN TOOLS FOR HEALTHCARE DESIGN RESTORING FLOORINGS
Sumandeep Singh, Architect, HKS, New Delhi
Firdaus Variava, Vice Chairman, Bharat Floorings & Tiles
CREATING AN IDENTITY Tatva, Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India Azad Jain & Associates
GREEN INSTALLATIONS
39 44 48 50 54 56 58
Robert Hoellrigl, President, Research & Development, Encraft
THE ANCIENT LANDSCAPES OF THE MALAPRABHA VALLEY Dr.Srikumar M. Menon, Architect, Manipal
IS HERITAGE AN ASSET OR A LIABILITY? AN INGENIOUS CAR PARK Gnome Garage, Almere, The Netherlands Mei Architects and Planners
Understanding the debate and din in Mumbai Vikas Dilawari, Conservation Architect, Mumbai
Architecture Update January 2015
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Pulse architects
MEDA Selects 'The Firm' for its Office design
Steven Holl Architects Wins Competition for New Wing of Mumbai City Museum Steven Holl was selected unanimously from eight finalists including Zaha Hadid, OMA and Amanda Levete, to design a new wing for the Dr Bhau Daji Lad Museum. The jury included Martin Roth, director of the V&A Museum in London; Tasneem Mehta, Managing Trustee & Honorary Director of the Dr Bhau Daji Lad Museum; Homi Bhabha, Director of the Mahindra Humanities Center at Harvard; Sen Kapadia, architect at Sen Kapadia Associates and founding director of the Kamala Reheja Vdyanidhi Institute for Conceptual Architecture in Mumbai, among other leading professionals of the museum world and academia. The museum garden in Byculla will have a 125,000 sq ft new wing. The concept for Mumbai City Museum's North Wing addition is
envisioned as a Sculpted Subtraction from a simple geometry formed by the site boundaries. The concept of "Addition as Subtraction" will be developed in white concrete with sculpted diffused light in the 65,000 sq ft new gallery spaces. Deeper subtractive cuts bring in exactly twenty-five lumens of natural light to each gallery. Steven Holl Architects will develop the design with local architects Opolis Architects, Guy Nordenson & Associates as structural engineers and Transsolar as sustainability consultants. This is the first time that an international architectural competition has been held for a public building in Mumbai. The initiative will also create the first major public-private partnership building in the city. Construction is expected to begin in 2015.
Lifetime Achievement Award for Architect Brinda Somaya The Indian Institute of Architects (IIA) has nominated renowned architect Brinda Somaya for its lifetime achievement award. The prestigious IIA Baburao Mhatre Gold Medal for excellence in the field of architecture is the highest honour conferred by the IIA in this field. Somaya has been responsible for restoring several heritage buildings across India. Brinda Somaya is Principal Architect and Managing Director of Somaya & Kalappa Consultants, based in Mumbai, India. The architect and urban conservationist has merged architecture, conservation and social equity in projects ranging from institutional campuses and rehabilitation of a village impacted by an earthquake, to the restoration of an 18th century cathedral. She founded Somaya & Kalappa Consultants in 1978. Brinda Somaya studied architecture at Mumbai University and was awarded a Master of Arts and Honorary Doctorate from Smith College in Northampton, MA, USA. She is involved in progressive conservation, such as the restoration and renovation of the Cathedral and John Connon Schools and the St Thomas Cathedral, for which she received a UNESCO Asia Pacific Heritage Award (2004). According to the IIA, the award is given to a distinguished architect or man of science or letters who has produced works which promote or facilitate the knowledge of architecture or the various branches of science connected with it. It is the recognition of a lifetime contribution by the Indian Institute of Architects of its member architect to the course of architecture in India.
010 Architecture Update January 2015
MEDA (Maharashtra Energy Development Agency) declares THE FIRM as best entry in the Architectural Competition for design of state-of-the -art MEDA Office Building & Campus at Pune, based on green building principals. Design provides MEDA with a strong identity exemplifying its values of sustainability and allows the company to operate in a comfortable environment that promotes the idea of a unified family of employees. Some of the salient features include innovative air-conditioning (direct indirect evaporative cooling + radiant with pre-cool for natural cooling) with energy savings of 75 percent in comparison with conventional HVAC; steady 26 degrees celsius temperature throughout year; 90 per cent natural lighting; 100 per cent of internal electrical lighting load met via solar power; 25 solar heaters providing 100 percent of hot water;
100 per cent harvested and re-use of rain water; 100 per cent nonpotable water demand met from recycled sources; 66 per cent water savings from efficient fixtures; native tree and plant species encouraging a vibrant and lively ecosystem, etc. All proposed plants and trees are native to Pune and as a result will use 66 per cent less water than exotic species. Design decisions are informed by highest ratings for GRIHA & ECBC Compliance. A grand atrium used for circulation will also doubles up as a dramatic space to hold an environmental exhibition.
Center of Excellence for Energy Efficient Buildings by TERI and UTC The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) and United Technologies Corporation (UTC) launched the Center of Excellence for Energy Efficient Buildings in India. The Center might be a major boost to the Government of India's Smart City Programme, which would address the challenge of rapid urbanization and the efficient use of energy resources. The Center of Excellence will work towards the development of an energy-use reporting framework for existing buildings, evaluation of the existing building energy rating systems, derivation of tool and techniques for energy management, real time reporting of consumption, and identification and cost benefit analysis of conservation measures. The Center of Excellence shall have a core research agenda on enabling energy efficiency in existing buildings in India. “The collaboration between TERI and UTC in this endeavour shall help unlock the potential of energy saving in this sector," said Mili Majumdar, Director, Sustainable Habitat, TERI. Zubin Irani, President, Building and Industrial Systems India, UTC, said that given the energy challenges
faced by the nation, energy efficiency in the buildings sector is an important priority. He added that world over, there has been a rapid pace of innovation when it comes to technologies and systems that go into making a building more energyefficient and environmentally friendly. "It is important to note that not only do many of these technologies reduce the energy footprint of a building or infrastructure project but they also pay back for themselves in a matter of few years," said Irani. Globally, buildings account for 40 per cent of the total energy consumption. By using energy efficient technologies, energy consumption could be reduced by up to 60 per cent. In India, the building sector accounts for approximately 35 per cent of the total energy consumption and is growing at a rate of eight percent annually. Dr. R.K. Pachauri, Director General, TERI graced the occasion.
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Pulse brand
Steelcase Launched its WorkLife Centre in Mumbai
Steelcase, a global leader in office furniture industry and innovative workspace solutions, opened its first Steelcase WorkLife Centre (WLC) in Mumbai. This innovatively designed center will be the fourth WLC in India, having opened other centers in Delhi, Bangalore and Hyderabad. The company designed the WorkLife Centre using its interconnected workplace research principles and offers a palette of place (a diverse range of settings organized into interrelated zones), a palette of postures (a variety of options for people to sit, stand, lounge and move throughout their day) and a palette of presence (capability to connect Mumbai to others in the region with the use of telepresence technology). "Steelcase is helping organizations in India realise the potential to amplify the performance of their teams and individuals through their physical environments," explained
Jason Heredia, VP Marketing APAC Steelcase. "The type of work done in India is rapidly evolving and organisations are now turning to the workplace as a means of attracting and retaining talent in an increasingly competitive market," he added. To recognize and meet the needs of the constant changing work culture and to optimize how people work, the Steelcase WorkLife Centre in Mumbai is designed aroundthe application of Steelcase's insights, products and services. With the culmination of 100+ years of innovation and leadership in the office furniture market, it introduces the latest global knowledge, workplace design solutions, and products to the Indian market. Stemming from the company's most recent research on the privacy crisis at workplaces with Susan Cain, an internationally renowned U.S. based author and researcher, the Mumbai WLCalso offers private spaces such as the Hosu room where people can get away for focused work. Steelcase works with the world's leading organisations to help them create great experiences wherever work happens, by studying the way people work - in social, spatial and informational contexts - and translating those insights into products, applications and services.
Tekla Seminar at Kolkata Tekla India, Building Information Modeling (BIM) software provider for the engineering and construction industry, culminated its road show series on complete constructable solutions. The objective of these seminars was to create awareness amongst the top corporates about latest technologies in modern construction practices in the country. The first two seminars were conducted at Hyderabad and Delhi in September 2014, followed by Kolkata and Ahmedabad in the month of December 2014. Highlighting the benefits of the Tekla Structures BIM software that provides a single solution to the structural steel & concrete project needs, the Hyderabad and Delhi seminars were addressed by keynote speaker Andy Dickey, Business Manager, Tekla Corporation and Nirmalya Chatterjee, COO & Business Director, Tekla India. Michael Hodgson, Technical
012 Architecture Update January 2015
Manager, Tekla Corporation was the keynote speaker in the Kolkata and Ahmedabad seminars. At the seminar, dignitaries from esteem corporate houses showcased case studies, sharing experience on the usage of information-rich 3D BIM Technology in their construction projects.These seminars provided an opportunity for the participants to learn how to manage concrete construction through a unique Model, Plan and Pour concept. It also provided an in-depth knowledge on how to utilize Tekla technology for steel detailing and precast projects. These sessions saw a huge gathering of over 300 participations from various structural engineering consultants, structural, precast and rebar fabricators, project owners, real estate developers, general and concrete contractors, erectors, EPC companies, quantity surveyors and estimators and infrastructure players across the industries.
Stainless Steel Modular Toilets from Jindal Providing an impetus to Government's Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan, Jindal Architecture, a subsidiary of Jindal Stainless, has announced the introduction of economical, eco-friendly, durable and convenient stainless steel modular toilets, as part of its expanding product range. The 100 per cent recyclable toilets are available in a range of single units and as community toilets of six and eight units, respectively. These toilets have the option of being upgraded to automated bio-toilets. Emphasizing on the need of modular stainless steel toilets in India, Anuj Jain, CEO, Jindal Architecture Limited said, "Human waste disposal is an ever-growing, perennial problem arousing aesthetic inhibitions, together with the threat of infectious diseases due to the contamination of groundwater. Less than 30 per cent of Indians presently have access to toilets. In rural regions, only 10 per cent of houses have toilets, with the rest resorting to open defecation�. This increases mortality rates because untreated waste causes many dangerous diseases that threaten the lives of lakhs of children and their families, he added. Stainless steel modular toilets provide an appropriate solution for this longstanding problem. In terms of structural strength, product life, maintenance, hygiene, ecofriendliness and scrap value, stainless steel toilets have proved to be better than fibre, mild steel or brick-and-mortar toilets. Due to the
modular design, the toilets can be assembled on site, saving time and transportation costs. Weather resistant and with PVD-coated interiors, they can be installed easily at government schools, hospitals, tourist places, pilgrim centres, marketplaces, public auditoriums and fairs, railway stations and bus stands. These are competitively priced against fibre or brick-and-mortar toilets - a single-unit toilet costs Rs99,999 onwards, while the community toilets which are six units start from Rs 3.99 lakhs and eight unit starting from Rs4.99. The disposal tanks cost approximately Rs59,000 per unit. Moreover, a biodigester tank solution is been jointly developed with the DRDE, Railways and RDSO, which will solve hygiene issues on railway tracks and areas around them by converting human waste into gases and water with the help of specially-developed anaerobic bacteria that survive on such waste.
Somany Ceramics' 5th Showroom in Delhi
Somany Ceramics, one of the leaders in the Indian ceramic industry, inaugurated its fifth exclusive showroom, R.K. Tiles & Sanitary, in Delhi. The showroom, located at Nangloi, was inaugurated by Abhishek Somany,
Joint Managing Director, Somany Ceramics. The newly launched showroom will give people the access to high-end, international quality tiles, sanitary ware & bath fittings products at their door step.
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Pulse brand
Interface Receives Top Environmental Accolade
Hettich Unveils World-Class Innovation Centre Hettich India unveiled a state-ofthe-art Innovation Centre at Cubbon Road Bengaluru. Launched by Dr Andreas Hettich, Chairman & Global CEO of Hettich and Anil Goel, Managing Director, Hettich India, this innovation centre is the first of its kind in the world and will showcase the most premium fittings, products and their applications in modern furniture design to customers and designers with prior appointment for personalized attention. It will also house a team of experts available for consultation on design services to customers and is aimed at giving a touch-and-feel experience to the consumer and to demonstrate the exciting possibilities that Hettich
fittings offer. Speaking at the launch, Anil Goel, Managing Director, Hettich India, said that with the Hettich Innovation Centre, they hope to bring to the foreground the vast range of all that they offer and show what their fittings can actually achieve for their customers in the ultimate luxury. Hettich is hoping to start similar such initiatives in the other countries as well in the near future. Along with the new centre, Hettich India has also beefed up their design services arm. The company now offers free design and hardware consultation for its customers at their doorstep, where their hardware engineers do on-site visits and offer customized solutions.
IKEA's New Initiative in India IKEA, the global home furnishings leader, announced a new initiative - 'Make More in India'. It is a major initiative to speed up the process of finding the right suppliers who will partner IKEA to grow business in India. IKEA sourcing plans resonate with the Indian Prime Minister's ‘Make in India’ agenda. IKEA today sources for EUR 315 million and plans to double the sourcing by 2020. As part of the 'Make More in India' initiative, IKEA India will conduct two seminars - in Mumbai (on January 16th) and in Bangalore (on January 23rd), where more than 100 new potential suppliers are likely to participate. Speaking about the new initiative, Sandeep Sanan, Head of Sourcing, IKEA South Asia said that the brand is looking for new suppliers who share their vision and values, are willing to grow with them and become world class suppliers. "We believe that many suppliers will come from other segments who are looking to diversify their business", he added. IKEA today has 48 suppliers in India with 45,000 direct employees and about 400,000 people in its extended supply chain. To identify potential Indian Industry Groups who could be interested to join IKEA in the 'Make More in India' initiative, IKEA is in contact with various government export associations and industry organizations.
Interface, a worldwide leader in the design and manufacture of carpet tiles, has received a top green accolade at the Sustainable Business Awards Singapore 2014 in the category of Climate Change Policy. The award was presented recently by Global Initiatives at the Responsible Business Forum on Sustainable Development in Singapore. The winners in other categories included Unilever Asia, DHL, City Development Limited and Sing Tel. The Sustainable Business Awards (SBA) is produced by Global Initiatives and co-developed with sustainability adviser Price Waterhouse Coopers. The awards aim to recognise sustainable business practices that benefit the environment and all stakeholders, with an emphasis on integrating these goals into a long term strategy of business. The awards are also designed to build a global knowledge network of best practices, which will allow businesses to benchmark themselves against peer groups and improve their performance. Interface was recognised for its climate change initiatives, which include reducing the company's manufacturing greenhouse gas emission by 71 percent for every unit of its product (kilograms of CO2e per square meter) from 1996 to 2014.
EDGE Certification for Green Buildings from IFC & CREDAI International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, and the Confederation of Real Estate Developers' Associations of India (CREDAI), apex body of private real estate developers, have partnered to promote green buildings in the country through IFC's EDGE certification. The MoU was signed in the presence of Shri Prakash Javadekar Hon'ble Minister for Environment and Forests. EDGE stands for 'Excellence in Design for Greater Efficiencies', and is a standard that focuses on energy and water efficiency in buildings. Fast, easy to use, and affordable, EDGE empowers builders and home-owners to choose environment-friendly technical solutions while capturing costs and projected savings. More information is available at www.ifc.org/edge. CREDAI will encourage its members, including local chapters, to incorporate resource efficiency in their design using EDGE. To qualify for the certification, these efficiencies must result in savings of at least 20 percent in energy, water, and materials over the local standard practices. IFC will train members and share global best practices and knowledge with CREDAI on green building technologies. "This partnership has the potential to transform the housing market and
put India in a leading position to apply a green rating system for homes on a large scale," said Geetamber Anand, President (Elect), CREDAI, at its "Clean India - Skilled India - Strong India" Conclave. "Only two percent of the buildings are currently resource-efficient, pointing to the huge opportunity." By 2050, India will be home to 1.6 billion people and most of this growth will come from cities, where the residential needs will double. This rapid expansion in construction would require buildings that are less resource-intensive yet meets the aspirations of today's growing middle class. IFC has invested $600 million in green buildings globallyin the last five years. In addition, IFC has ongoing advisory programs in more than 10 countries. In India, IFC's clients-- VBHC, an affordable housing developer, and SAMHI, a budget business hotel developer -have benefited from the use of EDGE.
Architecture Update January 2015
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Post Event
IIA NATCON 2014
he National Convention 2014, organized by The Indian Institute of Architects at IIT Powai in Mumbai, saw participation of architects from across the country discussing various aspects and issues of architecture. IIA NATCON 2014 was hosted by IIA Maharashtra Chapter on behalf of the national body to bring together the professionals to discuss and deliberate the various facets of architectural development, practice and education and the future vision. The Convention, an annual congregation of architects, was organized at the state-of-the-art Convocation Hall of IIT - Powai, Mumbai on the 11th, 12th & 13th of December 2014 with a participation of around 1200 Architects. The event saw many presentations of research papers those mapped, analyzed and evaluated the urban realities in this cusp of
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change. It provided a platform for interaction and deliberation on issues and options related to urban transformation as it is experience today not just in Mumbai but in the entire country. An architecture exhibition, ARCH EXPO - 2014 was held as part of NATCON 2014 which displayed many brands as well as a wide range of products. The visitors and delegates included architects, design professionals, developers and planners. Alongside the exposition, the works of master architects from India, recent awardwinning projects, and award-winning students' works were on display too. Ar Liane Lefaivre from Austria and Ar Alexander Tzonis from Greece were the keynote speakers among many others. Renowned Indian Architects including
Ar. Bimal Patel, Ar. Uday Gadkari, Ar. PVK Rameswaram, Ar.Ratan Batliboi, Ar. Pradeep Sachdeva, Ar. Geetam Tiwari, etc participated in the conference. The Indian Institute of Architects (IIA) is the national body of architects in the country. Having started in the year 1917, the Institute today has more than 15000 members. IIA is represented on various national and international committees connected with architecture, art and the building industry and is also actively associated with International Union of Architects (UIA) Commonwealth Association of Architects (CAA) and South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation of Architects (SAARCH), which provide international recognition and exposure to Indian architects.
Winners List - IIA Awards 2014 Name of the architect
Place
Category
Name of the project
Ar. Swapnil Valvatkar Ar. Adwitha Suwarna
Bangalore
Residential
Marvel Domicilia, Bangalore.
Ar. Anand krishnamurthy
Bangalore
Commercial
Office for Torishima Pumps (I) Pvt. Ltd.,Hoskote, Karnataka.
Ar. Jaydeep bhagat
Ahmedabad
Public
Liberating Spaces: Between Earth & Sky Devevlopment of Bindu Sarovar Complex, Siddhpur, Gujarat.
Ar. Dhananjay shinde
Nashik
Interior
Design Studio, Nashik
Ar. Christopher C. Benninger
Pune
Industrial
Forbes Marshall Green Field Project, Chakan, Pune.
Ar. Nilanjan bhowal
New Delhi
Conservation
1. National Library, Kolkata. 2. Sri Govindji Temple, Imphal, Manipur.
Ar. Yatin pandya
Ahmedabad
Research
Elements of Space Making.
014 Architecture Update January 2015
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new launch The Aston Martin Carpet Collection he Aston Martin carpet collection by Obsessions is prepared using knottedpile technique. These carpets are made from Handloom Polyester and are available in three designs and sizes. The geometric design with multiple colour variations is sure to give an edge of excitement to homes during the festive time. They are made of high imported quality materials and manufactured using foreign machines from Belgium, Turkey, Egypt and China. For the past 15years, Obsessions provides for world class hand as well as machine made carpets, home accessories and bath accessories. The Company has networking with major retail and online stores. Price Range as per the sizes: 80x150 - Rs5,200; 120x170 - Rs8,900; 150x210 - Rs15,300
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Availability: 17A/39, Vardan Complex, 2nd Floor, W.E.A., Karol Bagh, New Delhi Website: www.obsessions.co.in
016 Architecture Update January 2015
K-Lite Unveils Solar Street Light -Lite industries, a leading manufacturer of lighting fixtures in India, has launched Solar Street Lighting System with LED (light-emitting diode) luminaries. The Solar Street Lighting System consists of a solar panel with Photo Voltaic (PV) cells that converts the solar energy into electrical energy. The resulting electrical energy is stored in a battery through a solar charge controller. LED Lighting fixture operates directly from the DC battery. Decorative pole, of any height and in a wide range according to aesthetic requirement, can house the solar panel, luminaries and the control gear box with battery. The life of the solar panel is twenty years. The wattage rating of the panel and the battery capacity (Ampere hours) depends on street light wattage required, number of hours it is to burn and the autonomy (otherwise known as the reserve days) for which energy has to be stored as a backup. The lifespan of the LED source is nearly 50,000 burning hours as against around 5000 to 10,000 hours of conventional sources. To obtain the same light output, the power consumption of LED luminaire is just one-tenth of what is required for a conventional GLS lamp. Price: Rs 20,000 (with 3watt LED) to Rs 2 lakh (with 80-watt LED)
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The Great Eastern Home's Pewter Collection he Great Eastern Home presentsits Pewter Collection for the festive season. The striking designs that combine pewter with either glass or ceramic or wood are painstakingly designed and intricately hand crafted. Each piece in this collection is sophisticated, inimitable. The pewter products are 100 percent
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lead-free, non-toxic and easy to care for. A pewter products including wine glasses, shot glasses, salad bowls, Decanter, etc.
Available at: The New Great Eastern Spg. & Wvg. Co.Ltd. 25 - 29, Dr. Ambedkar Road,Between Voltas House and Rani Baug, Byculla, Mumbai - 400 027
Candle Holders from the Vedic Collection riune orange - Candle Holder: Candle holders handcrafted by artisans from Channapatna. . With its glossy finish & neat packaging, this set makes a wonderful gift for friends and dear ones for any occasion. Price - Rs 799.
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Musical Ganesha: Ganesha creates spiritual prospinquity and brings about peace and harmony. Compact yet practical this sophisticated wooden musical ganesha is an ideal gift. Price - Rs 7,700 Faraway Candle Lotus Big Crystal Price - Rs 1800
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new launch Grandeur Presents 'Letti 2014' Beds by Pianca premium furniture and modular kitchens retailer Grandeur, has introduced Italian beds called 'Letti 2014' by Pianca. Maintaining their signature minimalistic design approach, this latest collection redefines contemporary elegance. The beds in this collection are a subtle blend of aesthetics and comfort, and are manufactured using quality raw materials, at Pianca's state-of-the-art facility in Italy. Letti 2014 beds use solid wood panels and
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variable density polyurethane for the base frame, which is then covered with a doublelayered fabric lining. The final finish is given using the chosen fabric or leather from hundreds of options. These beds come with hydraulic assisted storage thus maximising space utilisation. Reclining and foldable headboards are also available as an option. Available at: Grandeur showrooms across India Website www.grandeurinteriors.com
Home Ettu's Chord Motif Leathrite Bed
Serta Launches iSeries Mattresses
Roca's Prisma Furniture Collection
hord Motif Leathrite bed collection from Home Ettu has a leatherette headboard with a unique ET TU chord embroidery work. Manufactured in their state-ofthe art in-house manufacturing unit, Home Ettu's Bedroom collection ranges from beds to desk's, bedside tables, rugs, free standing mirrors, and wardrobes. It also offers intelligent space management features to seamlessly fit into the size of bedroom. It has numerous storage units, side tables, wardrobes and bed storage drawers to pack the extra pillows and duvets that transform the bedroom into a contemporary styled comfort zone. The bed is made up of seasoned teak wood and the collection ranges from Rs. 2,25,000 onwards. This concept also has matching sides tables and a sleek wall hung LCD unit. E-mail: pune@homeettu.com, Website : www.homeettu.com
erta, America's premium mattress brand, has launched their popular iSeries mattresses in India. These mattresses are ideal for back support and with the combination of Serta patented Posture Spiral Spring Technology (PSST), cool action gel infused Visco foam technology and Mega foam Technology from Germany. The mattress is available with a platform bed base in order to deliver the optimum support, comfort and maintain the feel factor for a totally customizable bedroom experience. It comes in 3 grades namely Chronicle, Bon Vivant and Optimus priced at Rs. 98,297, Rs. 1,13,862 and Rs. 93,130 respectively. Available at Serta company showroom in Bangalore,and at franchisee outlets; 'DĂŠcor World' in Hyderabad & 'Just Home' in Gurgoan. website: www.sertaindia.com
oca, a frontrunner in the global bathroom space , announced the launch of its minimalist and versatile range: The Prisma Furniture Collection. The collection offers state-of-the-art mirrors that are integrated with LED lighting and innovative basin and furniture solutions for bathroom. The collection is equipped with LED lights in their upper panels. The wall-hung accessories come in both horizontal and vertical orientations making them adaptable to any kind of bathroom space. Its pieces of furniture include a hidden drawer for small objects storage. The range also includes basins that come in an assortment of options, from double bowls, to wallhung vitreous china vanities. The base units comprise one, two and four drawers and offer an optional lateral towel rail. They act as perfect storage solutions that simultaneously enhance the sophisticated elegance of bathroom.
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Godrej Interio - ORION
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RION cabin furniture solution from Godrej Interio is a perfect fit for a senior executive’s space in a corporate office with lesser space. It is made for a big-small office cabin which requires work within, discuss and collaborate, and meet in the same space. A range of complete cabin furniture with an executive desk and side unit for basic working, OHU and tack-board fitted on unutilized wall with-in reach, credenza to take care of passive storage, and a discussion table for interactions. Inspired by the ORION constellation, from where it borrows its unique trapezoidal lines ORION is for those who wish to design their cabin space in a smaller footprint with versatility and style.
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new launch Anti-Scratch Sink Range from Nirali
GROHE Brings Eurodisc Joystick
irali, ome of the premium stainless steel kitchen sink brands, has launched ORUS kitchen sink. Using advanced state-of-the-art manufacturing expertise, its anti-scratch feature is specially suited for rough and tough cleaning of Indian cookware. The ORUS kitchen sink has two deep bowls, one in 16" x16" for large vessels, and another deep bowl in 11" x 11" ideally suited for fragile items like cups, saucers and glasses. ORUS also incorporates a special silent sound reducing coating that reduces vibrations from dishes and running water. The range is also available in futuristically designed glossy and satin finishes. Sales: sales@nirali.com Email: nirali@nirali.com website: www.niralisinks.com; phone: +91-2224315500/11/22 (India).
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ROHE, a leader in sanitary brands, introduced Eurodisc Joystick. The super-slim, wall-mounted washbasin mixer offers smooth and long-lasting fingertip control. The sleek finish and award-winning design of the product makes it the perfect amalgamation of form and function. The precise controls and infinite adjustability of the Eurodisc Joystick offer complete comfort of usage. The minimalist lever resonates with the GROHE brand DNA and offers superior ergonomics. The carefullyconsidered proportions ensure that the aesthetic is defined yet robust. The glossy moon white finishing combined with chrome elements is as splendid a choice as the chrome variant. This design has already won recognition at the renowned Red Dot Award: Product Design.
Bathtub from Bravat ravat is a German bathing and fitting brand, which combines German engineering and manufacturing technologies with international design to provide trendy products. Their bathtub range offers minimalist design originated from high quality life and rich cultural background. This range will give an exclusive visual pleasure. The bubble bath will relieve one from aching muscles, giving a soothing feeling. Available in geometric shapes, precise cutting lines, retro inspired designs, bringing back the classics and massage bathtubs. Bravat has varied variety of designs to suit your luxury taste. With a perfect harmony of functionality, Bravat's full product portfolio presents support to vital functions with sculptural appeal to give your house an outstanding tasteful touch. Website: http://www.bravatindia.com/, Email: info@bravatindia.com, Phone: 0124-4945050
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Alexandra - Wisma Atria's Exclusive Bath Collection isma atria international brad with its finest handpicked furniture from Italy and Spain, introduced the exotic Bath Collection 'Alexandra', consisting of a varied selection of bath furniture and consoles which perfectly matches with a varied range of mirrors and fine selected faucets and porcelain /marble washbasins. With clean smooth lines and soft curves, the contemporary style of the Alexandra Collection offers sleek design. This collection is a young and dynamic factory producing handmade and exclusive furniture. It also include decorative accessories, fabric, curtains, lighting and all with proper and different style. Tel: 011 41076115; Email: infor@wismaatria.in; Website: www.wismaatria.in
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018 Architecture Update January 2015
Bathline Sensations Launches Aquamass Bathtubs he new range of Aquamass Bathtub from Bathline Sensations is an easy and fast to accentuate the look of a bathroom. The Bathtubs are available in an array of styles. Each bathtub represents a different and unique design theme to match the requirement of a variety of design intent. Varun Gupta, Joint Managing Director, Bathline Sensations said that with unique features and design, these bathtubs create a calming daily escape from the busy world and guarantees bathing satisfaction. Bathline is a total bathroom solutions concept with luxurious vanities, washbasins, Whirlpool bathtubs, Jacuzzis, shower heads etc. that can be found in retro and contemporary designs. The products of Bathline Sensations are present in top hotel chains and high end Villas and Farm houses across the country. Price: 4 Lakhs onwards Ph.: 011-47690000, email: info@bathlineindia.com, website: http://bathlineindia.com/.
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Resilient Building healthcare
The Vedanta Centre, Chennai, Tamil Nadu India, designed by Centre for Indigenous Architecture (CFIA), represents a happy union of contemporary comforts and heritage architecture. It has been laid out according to the indigenous vastupurush tenets. The indigenous architectural elements give the entire campus the feel of being in a place that is simultaneously ancient and contemporary. Text & images: courtesy, the architect
A Monastery for
Modern Times Vedanta Centre, Chennai, Tamil Nadu India
Centre for Indigenous Architecture (CFIA), a firm working towards holistic architecture for health and happiness, was founded in 2011 to address the growing interest in the cost and health benefits of indigenous architectural building techniques. Anthony Raj leads this team of architects and artisans. They build eco-friendly, cost-effective, and healthy habitats. For now, they are focused on identifying and reviving ancient Dravidian Architectural Materials and Methods. They are also training young artisans to implement these ideas.
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he Vedanta Centre, Chennai, Tamil Nadu India, designed by Centre for Indigenous Architecture (CFIA), was commissioned in September 2013. CFIA was briefed to design and build a residential campus which would serve as a Veda Patashala for young people, who desire to study the Vedas, while pursuing their academic interests. The buildings were designed to suit the needs of the young community and the teachers. As the construction progressed, the management of the Centre decided that the campus, given its architectural grandeur, should rather serve as a Vedanta Centre, where Vedic Scholars and enlightened public met and discussed the Vedas and other spiritual matters. In effect, the current campus is an instance of Architecture influencing Management decision. This required a mid-course redesigning of the campus to serve the changed needs.
020 Architecture Update January 2015
Centre for Indigenous Architecture (CFIA)
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The Campus & Vastupurush: The Monastry is spread over 2.5 acreas of land. The built site occupies a little more than half an acre. Overall, the entire campus has been laid out according to the indigenous vastupurush tenets. Lotus Pond & Brahmastanam: At the heart of the campus is the circular Amphitheatre, which is centred on a lotus pond, which marks the Brahmastanam. By placing the amphitheatre at the most important
point of the site, the architect has achieved two things - a grand vista for visitors entering the site, and it also emphasize the social and interactive nature of the Campus. Vedic recitation and sangeertanam were, after all, performed in open spaces, in ancient India. Villa with 4 Studio Apartments: East of the amphitheatre, is the residential villa for the Gurus and mentors. The Villa, in fact, consists of four studio apartments, two on each floor. Each apartment consists of a hall cum living area, kitchen and a large bathroom. The rooms are surrounded by verandhas on all four sides. This reduces direct exposure to sunlight and also serves as an interactive space/ante-space. The doors and windows are made from reused teak wood. They have movable wooden blinds, to control the amount of sunlight and breeze coming into the room. Additionally, louvers above the doors enable hot air that rises up to escape, making the rooms cooler. The interior walls have all been left unplastered, adding to the overall monastic look. The outer walls have been plastered with a combination of red soil and Architecture Update January 2015
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cement, which give a vibrant look the building. Natural tandoor slabs have been used for the floors and on kitchen and bathroom walls, instead of ceramic tiles. The ceiling for the ground floor is a typical Madras Terrace made with brick jelly, jaggery and kadukkai. The bricks arranged diagonally and left exposed with an indigenous twist. The supporting joists are Palmyra wood, enhancing the meditative mood. The wooden rafters for the sloped roof on the first floor have been are also of the same wood. The eaves have been carefully carved out to match the style, adding to the mood and also creating a very pleasing look. The parapet walls have been artistically designed using saiography and the shadows cast on the corridors seem to dance with various angles of the sun. The tiled sloped roof has an overhang of 5 feet which provides additional protection from the harsh sunlight. Lecture Hall & Yoga Studio: There are two buildings west of the Amphitheatre, one behind the other. The first, a two-storey one, consists of a 1,250-sq ft hall on each floor. Lecture Hall is on the ground floor. The inner walls of this hall are of exposure bricks, with mud binding, giving an earthy feeling to the spiritual activity. The open Yoga Studio on the floor above is not confined by walls on the east and west sides. There is just a parapet and a sloped titled roof resting on Palmyra joists. The cross-breeze, the soft sound of the trees rustling and birds chirping makes this hall ideal for practicing yoga. Kitchen - Dining Hall - Overhead Tank: Behind the Lecture Hall, also on the south-north axis, is the Kitchen-cum-Dining Hall. This four-storey building boasts a large Kitchen and a Dining Hall on the ground floor. Two service rooms occupy the first and the second floor. At the top is the Overhead Tank. The roof here is a filler slab with claypots, saving up on concrete. Public Washrooms: This building, to the north of the Dining Hall, consists of ten restrooms. The washrooms do not have the window on the walls. Instead, each cubicle has an OTS opening, to let the sun in, to clean the air and to provide a fresh clean atmosphere. Potter plants the ceiling for the ground floor is a typical Madras Terrace
indigenous materials used for construction
022 Architecture Update January 2015
water purification tank
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Unique Architectural Features
doors and windows made of reused teak wood
and wall creepers decorate the cubicles, adding to the cleansing process. Near Zero Wastage of Water: A Water Purification & Storage tank on the South of the Kitchen. Water from the bore wells is passed through a tank containing pebbles, charcoal and sand, to naturally purify the portability of water. The Waste Water Recycling Tanks are alongside the washrooms. Water is passed through three tanks to obtain grey water suitable for gardening. The first tank allows the solids to settle down. The filtered water is then passed through the roots of long grass growing on suitable soil. The water then passes down layers of sand,
Exposed Brick Walls: All walls are left unplastered, to minimize use of cement, to enable the walls to breathe easy, and to save money. Mud Binding: The binding on the outer wall is done with a combination of red soil and cement, to further emphasise the earthy look Veranda on All Four Sides: Verandas on all four sides minimize the exposure of the rooms to direct sunlight and as a sit-out, a place to walk around. Canopy/Overhang: A 5 ft tiled canopy (overhang) is provided for protection from harsh direct sunlight. Three Layered Tile Work: Most important, all tile work consists of an inner flower tile, and outer tile, sandwiched with a 1" thick thermacole board to provide additional insulation. The same method is used in the overhang and the pinched four-sided ceiling on the first floor. Palmyra Joists: Palmyra wood is as joists all through the building. Madras Terrace: the ceiling above the ground floor is a combination of brickwork, the traditional Madras Terrace consisting of a mix of brick jelly, kadukai, and jaggary - and resting on palmyra joists. Doors & Windows: These are made of reused old teak recovered from other sites. Each of them boasts an adjustable wooden blind, and a louver on top, to moderate light and air. Staircase: Laid with bricks, besides its intricate beauty, it will stay cool even in midday heat, making it possible to climb them barefoot even in the middle of a harsh summer. Tandoor Stones for Floors and On Walls: Natural Tandoor slabs are used on the floors and as dadoo in kitchen and bathrooms. Saving costs and avoiding use of manufactures alternatives like ceramic tiles. Kitchenette: Each apartment is provided with a small kitchenette. Water purification & waste water recycling. Near zero wastage: Water from the well is passed through a chamber comprising Pebbles, Charcoal and Sand, to improve its portability. Similarly, the waste water is recycled using the same process. In addition, the waste water will pass through a tank in which korai and nanal grass are grown. Passing waste water through the roots of these plants is found to make the grey water more safe and usable in the gardens.
charcoal bluemetal and bluemetal jelly, to the catchment tank. The grey water is then pumped out to the flower and vegetable gardens. The Vedanta Centre represents a happy union of contemporary comforts and heritage architecture.It lives up to the motto of the Centre for Indigenous Architecute: Holistic Architecture for Health & Happiness. fact file: project location client architect commencement date expected completion area of built site covered area cost
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Vedanta Center Somangalam, West Tambaram, Chennai Donor Centre for Indigenous Architecture September 2013 December 2014 30,000 sq ft 12,000 sq ft (approx) Rs.1.5 Crores
brick staircase stay cool even in mid day heat
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Resilient Building industrial designs
Text & photographs: courtesy, the architect
Designed for High-Performance Fratelli wines, Akluj, Solapur, Maharastra, India Sunil Patil & Associates
Besides creating an appropriate environment for the work encouragement, it is a great challenge to achieve sustainability in industrial buildings. The Fratelli wines project by Sunil Patil & Associates at Akluj, Solapur, Maharastra, has been designed using climate as the basic parameter of the design and has been successfully completed in a stipulated budget and time. The Industrial project is mostly built with low-cost and natural materials.
024 Architecture Update January 2015
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Graduated from Shivaji University in Kolhapur, Ar. Sunil B. Patil started his practice - Sunil Patil and Associates (SPA) in 1994. SPA is now one of the leading Architectural consultancies with offices in Pune and Kolhapur and a team of 42 creative Architects and Interior Designers. Ar. Sunil Patil has designed more than 325 versatile projects across India which includes Residential & Commercial Complexes, Industrial Buildings, Institutional Blocks, Residential & Corporate Interiors, and Public Utility Places etc. Ar. Sunil Patil has won many National and Regional Awards. He recently won the national award - Artist in Concrete Awards, Industrial Category - for his project The Fratelli Winery at Akluj. In 2012 and 2013 he won the Indian Institute of Architects(IIA) Maharashtra Chapter award for Excellence in Architectural Profession and Education.
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he soul of The Fratelli wines project by Sunil Patil & Associates at Akluj, Solapur, Maharastra, consists of intricately designed spaces which interact with each other in such a manner that its visitors can experience the entire process of wine making from a single point. One can enjoy viewing the vineyards, which is a raw material, and the workshop from the wine tasting lounge. In an industrial building, the performance of the building in terms of its function is of paramount importance. Economy in construction plays an
important role as every penny invested is expected to gain calculated income. It automatically reduces the room for unnecessary cosmetic treatment to the building. The construction period also affects the cost of the building hence timely completion of the project is essential. The true architecture is beyond all these technical parameters of the building. Every building has the unique soul which expresses itself in its unique manner. Building envelope: In this project the building envelope needs to change its character for different zones performing different activities. The tank hall and wine storing cellar which is not inhabited needed a total barrier between interior and exterior, where as the administrative area and the bottling plant needed a filter with fenestrations to control light and ventilation. Materials: Building materials form a large component of energy consumption and has become important criteria for a sustainable building. This project has been built with large use of natural and lowcost materials. Retaining Wall: The retaining wall in the landscape is built with the stone which was quarried from site itself, while building the basement. Floor: Kota stone is used as flooring for the guest house and admin block. Trimix concrete floor is laid for the main tank hall and basement. Cost effectiveness: The Fratelli wines project is completed within a stringent and stipulated budget i.e. 850rs/sq ft. This was made possible Architecture Update January 2015
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the project is built out of stones which were excaved from the site itself
with fast construction techniques, low cost natural materials and most important reuse of materials from the site itself. PEB structure was designed as single monolithic form; so walls and roof were constructed simultaneously, hence saving time and money. The soil after excavation for the basement was reused for cratering mound in the landscape. The retaining walls were built out of stone which was ex caved from the site itself. Flooring material for the guest house and admin areas are Kota stones and concrete trimix is used for floor in the tank hall. The basement is designed with basic clay tiles for floor and walls are exposed concrete, so saving on plaster. Rooms in the guest house are designed with colour as a design theme. This helped in getting different feel for each room without any extra cost. Being naturally ventilated and lit, this project is cost effective not only in terms of construction cost but also in terms of running cost. The non air conditioned building with good lighting helps keeping the running cost much lower. the guest room in vibrant colours
rooms are designed with colour as design theme
026 Architecture Update January 2015
naturally ventilated & well-lit rooms
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the interior design merges well with the surroundings
Landscape: Landscape plays a key role in fact file: the campus not only as a visually pleasing project : element but also as a microclimate location : modifier. The landscape for Winery is so client : designed that it merges with surroundings architects : and has natural flair to it. The mound makes principal architect : the entrance journey magnificent at the Commencement Date : same time acts as a walk out for guest Completion Date : house and helps in ground cooling for the site area : admin block. All indigenous trees are built area : planted making sure they require less cost : amount of water. Planters on the guest house roof top act as a green cover, which creates a layer over the roof and protects it from direct solar radiation.
Fratelli Wines Industrial project Akluj, Solapur-Maharastra. Fratelli Wines Pvt Ltd Sunil Patil & Associates Ar.Sunil Patil 2010 Jan 2010 11,501 sq m 2200 sq m 2 crores 42 lakhs
Fast construction: The winery project was constructed and developed over three months. PEB structure could be erected within very short
span. Admin block and guest house are framed RCC structure. The interior for the project is minimal. For the guest house, mainly readymade furniture was brought in, saving on time of construction, this in return helped in saving the cost of the project.
the basement designed with basic clay tiles & exposed concrete
kota stones and concrete trimix is used for floor in the tank hall
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Resilient Designs sports architecture
Ashish Dubey, National Head - Integrated Infrastructure Solutions, ACME Cleantech Solutions, has more than 20 years' experience. He is a Mechanical Engineer by qualification. Having started his carrier as R&D Engineer with HJIL-GIMMCO (CK Birla Group), he has worked for companies like Shaw Wallace, Promed Exports and Adani Group before joining ACME. During his professional career, he has acquired a strong expertise in R&D to Energy Management & Audits, project management to production management, renewable energy solutions and sustainable development. He has worked as functional head for designing of pre-fabricated infrastructure and selection of process equipments, HVAC and Utilities including sewage treatment plants, electrical system etc.
Text & images: courtesy, ACME Cleantech Solutions Ltd
A Pre-fab
Village The Games Village, Menamkulam, Kerala, India ACME Cleantech Solutions Ltd
028 Architecture Update January 2015
The Games Village at Menamkulam, Kerala, India is constructed based on the novel concept of Prefabricated Housing Technology. The Prefabricated housing design by ACME Cleantech Solutions would go well with the concept of 'Green Games' as it is environmental friendly, light weight, energy efficient and faster to construct. Major advantage of this technology is that the individual housing units can be dismantled and relocated to other locations after the Games. It was possible to complete the entire construction in a short period of six months.
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a
total of 365 pre-fab houses are being built by ACME Cleantech Solutions Ltd, a Green technology solutions company, in the Games Village at Menamkulam, Kerala, India for the 35th National Games which will be held over a span of 15 days beginning from 31 January 2015 to 14 February 2015.It is being constructed on innovative pre-fabricated Technology using PolyUrethane Foam (PUF) Panels from Technical Expert Group (TEG) constituted by the National Games Secretariat (NGS). The National Games is a premier national multi-sporting event held in India. ACME won the order to construct pre-fabricated Village from amongst a large number of Pre-fab vendors who applied for the contract. ACME passed through a rigorous evaluation and selection procedure which involved many parameters for the assessment of the final PUF Panel Manufacturer for the Games.
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the rooms made of PUF panels
houses built to accomodate 5 athletes per room
The Games Village will be a 'miniature India' as this venue is supposed to be the most vocal and visual representation of India's national integration at the Games. Over 5,000 sport persons and officials from different states will be housed together in this venue.
would also ensure negligible running costs. Moreover, it could also be relocated to any other site with only 10 to 15 per cent cost for dismantling an existing structure and assembling it a second time.
A total of 365 pre-fab houses are being built for 5 athletes per room while Team Officials and Coaches will be allocated single or double rooms. Social infrastructures such as kitchen, food courts, reception desks, medical centre, recreational zone, health club, open air theatre, conference halls etc., are included in the Games Village. Apart from these, it will also have house-keeping, solid waste management, security, clean water distribution facilities and even landscaping. ACME's Sandwich PUF Panel uses best in Polyurethane, developed exclusively for the tropical climate and is Chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) and hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFC) Free. The key advantages of PUF (polyurethane) over conventional elastomers and plastics; it is stronger, tougher, more durable, and more versatile. It's valued above the parts made with other conventional material which often cracks, breaks, tears, swells, deteriorates, and abrades causing interruption and slowdown in. ACME's Pre-Fabricated Technology will not only help games authority towards making the National Games 2014 as the 'greenest' and the most energy efficient but also cost-effective and time-saving. Further to the low costs involved, the advantage of having a pre-fabricated Village
Advantages of ACME's PUF Panels:
High load bearing capacity. Thermal insulation. High Water and Vapor barrier. Easy erection, Low Maintenance Excellent panel joining and sealing. Design flexibility
the corridors and wash area
030 Architecture Update January 2015
ACME is the leading manufacturer of state-of-the-art PUF Panels for use in Pre-Fabricated Buildings (PEB), cold storage, food processing industry, telecom shelters, defense, living shelters, clean rooms, remote area offices, temperature control cabins, and refrigeration systems etc. Acme has one of Asia's largest on-line, continuous PUF manufacturing machine with a manufacturing capacity of approx. 3 million SQM PA. As per the requirement Sandwiched PUF panels of different thickness and length can be manufactured with consistence chemical and physical properties as per relevant national and international standards. fact file: Project Location Client Architect Structural Engineer Estimated completion Capacity Area Cost
: : : : : : : : :
The Games Village Menamkulam, Kerala, India National Games Secretariat ACME Cleantech Solutions Ltd ACME Cleantech Solutions Ltd December 2014 (Expected) 5,000 26635 Sq meter Rs. 60 Crore
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Resilient Buildings office design
A Surprising Volume Text & images: courtesy, the architect
The new Headquarters of the Bank of Pisa and Fornacette in Fornacette, Italy, designed by the architecture firm of Massimo Mariani, is a compact and monolithic volume built in energy class A/A+ (the equivalent of LEED platinum). It contains interior structures and spaces with surprising environmental quality.
032 Architecture Update January 2015
New Headquarters of the Bank of Pisa & Fornacette Fornacette, Italy Massimo Mariani
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Photo: Alessandro Ciampi
Born in Pistoia, Italy in 1951, Massimo Mariani, architect and designer, graduated in 1977 from the Faculty of Architecture of Florence, where he taught for 12 years. Mariani's firm has been based in Montecatini Terme, Italy since 1980 and focuses on architecture and interior design. Over the years Mariani has worked on many projects: from private houses to specialist buildings such as the Benozzo Gozzoli Museum in Castelfiorentino (2009), and the Primary School and Municipal Library in Ponte Buggianese (2010). He also designed several banks and company buildings in Tuscany (BCC of Fornacette, BCC of Cambiano and Cabel). He recently completed an expansion project for the Cemetery of Ponte Buggianese and the new headquarters of the Bank of Pisa and Fornacette, while the new Florentine representative offices of the BCC of Cambiano, the new headquarters of the same bank in Castelfiorentino and some other office buildings in Tuscany are currently under construction. He has won many important prizes and awards.
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Photo: Alessandro Ciampi
he new Headquarters of the Bank of Pisa and Fornacette at Fornacette, Italy, designed by architect Massimo Mariani, was recently opened for business. The building represents the final step in a broader urban redevelopment project the bank started in 1995 entrusting the design of its headquarters to the same architect; in 2008 it decided to build a new headquarters with a small square near the first building constructed. The new building, a parallelepiped (a threedimensional figure formed by six parallelograms) covering an area of around 4,500-sq m with 3 floors above ground and a basement, looks like a monolith with its metallic skin that changes depending on the atmospheric conditions. On the upper floors there are offices, and in the basement there is an auditorium with around 300 seats and a gallery for art exhibitions and events. From the outside the volume appears extremely simplified, dotted with measured openings on three sides and only open to the outside on the main face, in a playful dialect between the desire for simplicity of the forms seen on the outside and the sophisticated experimentation of environmental quality in the interior, accomplished in the design of each detail. Built in energy class A/A+ (the equivalent of a LEED platinum), the building shows Architecture Update January 2015
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rocking armchair “Mama”, designed by Denis Santachiara for Baleri Italia (Photo: Alessandro Ciampi)
its operational core through the coloured windows that free and break up its monolithic mass, opening it to the light and allowing one's gaze to pass through. Entirely clad with an iridescent metallic skin, the building changes colour with the light and, as a whole, greatly resembles a large ingot. The main façade opens to the outside with a large multicoloured glass window that transforms into a lantern at night, while the other façades are dotted with regularly spaced terraces and windows on the golden cladding.
Photo: Alessandro Ciampi
Inside the building, the interaction and distribution areas have seats and historical 'pieces' of Italian design, the result of a specific and almost curatorial selection that enriches the building with a new collection. In its interior the architecture reveals unexpected generosity in terms of air and light, as well as a lively spatial arrangement that highlights the administrative and managerial functions of the bank. Two central courtyards constitute the elements around which open, fluid and diversified working areas are arranged. The courtyards, defined by large surfaces with vertical gardens, provide the interior spaces with
034 Architecture Update January 2015
the ground floor (Photo: Alessandro Ciampi)
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a round the table, chairs “Trono�, designed by Sottsass Associati for Segis (Photo: Alessandro Ciampi)
light and ventilation. The entire interior space created by these conditions allows the gaze to pass through it both horizontally and vertically. The main materials are gilded metal for the cladding of the monolith, multicoloured glass for the main façade, which at night transforms into a lantern, and wood and glass for the interior rooms. In conceiving this new work Massimo Mariani brought into play the sensitivity and ideas he had developed since his education. In tackling this project Massimo Mariani reveals, with constant originality, some of the deep roots of the design culture developed in Tuscany and within the architectural faculty of Florence in the Seventies and Eighties. This work helps to describe one of the most brilliant and lesser-known paths of Italian architecture of recent decades.
Photo: Alessandro Ciampi
The new headquarters of the Bank of Pisa and Fornacette was inaugurated on 6 September 2014. The building constitutes the last step in a more general urban redevelopment plan, as well as being a functional-operational base for customers; a new building, a square, and new open green spaces for community use were built near the old headquarters.
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The new Headquarters of the Bank of Pisa and Fornacette Bank of Pisa and Fornacette Fornacette (Pisa), Italy Massimo Mariani, Elda Bellone, Jurji Filieri Lisa Benassi, Sauro Ledo Masolini, Alessandro Mariani, Bruno Nardini, Gerry Pioli Sauro Ledo Masolini lighting design: Giacomo Bonsignori (Zumtobel) 4,500-sq m design: 2008-2010; opening: September 6, 2014 Alessandro Ciampi
In front of the staircase descending to the auditorium (Photo: Alessandro Ciampi)
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Resilient Designs mixed-use development
Text & images: courtesy, the designers
Fluidic Design Raheja Trinity, Sector 84, Gurgaon, Haryana, India In-house Architects, Raheja Developers Raheja Trinity, designed by the in-house architects of Raheja Developers - Nayan Raheja, Gaurav Sharma, George Kutty - will be located in the heart of Gurgaon at Sector 84.The project is all set to introduce a new concept of modern architecture, a unique amalgamation of retail, office and service apartments to the market.
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Nayan Raheja is a second generation entrepreneur working as executive director in Raheja Developers since 2006. He is an architecture graduate from School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi. He has been at the forefront of leading the company into the new era contributing significantly to better systems, processes and better product delivery keeping the needs of the modern consumer in mind. He is a member of the Indian institute of architects and a member of the Assocham Youth Leaders community. Architecture graduate from M.N.I.T., Jaipur. Gaurav Sharma is an avid designer with a firm belief in contemporary architectural and construction practices. With Over 14 years of experience, he is proficiently equipped to handle jobs of various types and magnitude. He is a member of the Indian institute of architects and holds a degree in Construction Business Management from NICMAR, Pune. Currently Gaurav heads the Dept. of Architecture at Raheja Developers. George Kutty is an architecture graduate and a member of Indian Institutes of Architect, Mumbai. He has more than 12 years of experience at his hand.
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aheja Trinity, designed by the in-house architects of Raheja Developers - Nayan Raheja, Gaurav Sharma and George Kutty will be located in the heart of Gurgaon at Sector 84, Haryana. A number of high-end residential projects are being developed in the area with a good connectivity. With all the main landmarks like airport, hospitals, proposed metro, etc., being near by the neighborhood, the location opens a great avenue for retailers. Therefore the requirement arose to have a mixed use development with state-of-the-art facilities that could cater to the requirement of the growing demand in the neighborhood. As the first phase of Raheja Trinity is spread over 2.28 acres, it offers a large space for offices, retail outlets, service apartments and entertainment facilities. Following the contemporary fluidic design patterns, the challenge put forward by the triangular site was dealt with utmost efficiency while keeping the client requirements and the design philosophy in mind. Designed like the hull of a ship, this triangular design with acute angles is complex and response of the built form to the context has come out quite exceptional. The curved structural beam on the top connecting the terraces makes the building look like a single mass, instead of general floor divisions, which is also a unique large-scale design element. Following the open high street shopping experience the first two floors (ground and first) of Raheja Trinity will be dedicated to a number of retail outlets, designer and luxury stores, a variety of restaurants, cafes, Architecture Update January 2015
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banks and ATMs for the convenience of buyers. The second floor will flaunt a massive food court with a new concept of semi-covered sit-outs and theme-based garden sit-outs.
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The project would also offer newgeneration service apartments with all commencement date modern amenities. A standard apartment completion date at Trinity includes features like high ceiling, area double height units with ample natural cost lighting and ventilation, large volume of space in small floor plates, unique kitchenette, wardrobe space, toilets, living room and bedroom.
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Raheja Trinity Sector 84, Gurgaon, Haryana Raheja Developers Ltd. Nayan Raheja, Gaurav Sharma, George Kutty. May 2013 2016 (expected) 2.28 acres INR 100 crores
From third to seventh floor will be Commercial Office Spaces. This corporate block will be an ultra modern business center equipped with latest amenities and features of international standards and cuttingedge technology. The terrace level will incorporates a roof-top club house. A new-age, open-air Health Club will be built on the sprawling terrace. Exclusively for office employees, the Club will include a rooftop swimming pool, a fully-equipped gymnasium and a badminton court among various other similar facilities. Construction Technology: Use of precast hollow core slab is one of its kind construction methods. This method not only compliments speedy
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construction but also helps in creating greater structural stability along with bigger spans. The construction cycle is reduced to half of conventional methods. Moreover the building is designed /oriented in a way to allow maximum sunlight at all times. This saves on cost of artificial lighting. At the same time, the windows are double glazed and tinted to allow light but cut down on heat. The central open air atrium adds to this feature.
Raheja Trinity is a green building with elements like water recycling, water harvesting, sewage treatment plant, dual flushing as standard. The grey waste that runs in the toilets is treated at the STP and then used for irrigation purposes before being channeled to the recharge pits. The materials used for construction are mostly locally sourced so as to decrease carbon footprint. The top soil from digging is stockpiled for future use in landscaping. The use of precast lift shafts, stairs, dry wall systems for internal walls and precast toilet/ kitchen blocks, etc, have various benefits like faster construction, improved health and safety, accurate execution, reduced site work and scaffolding, and saves costs by saving on structural cost and time.
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Resilient Buildings green residence Tatva, a residence at Indore, Madhya Pradesh, by Er. Azad Jain & Ar. Ashaa Jain of Azad Jain & Associates, is an architectural solution that is apt for today and tomorrow. It is the vision of the designers and their effort for a sustainable and resilient green home, which is also energy efficient having minimal impact on environment, helped them achieve an IGBC Platinum Rating and SvaGRIHA 5Star Certified residence.
Text & photographs: courtesy, the architect
Creating an Identity Tatva, Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India
Er. Azad Jain & Ar. Ashaa Jain , Azad Jain & Associates Architecture Update January 2015
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Ar. Ashaa Jain, Principal Architect, Town Planner & Green Buildings Expert at Azad Jain & Associates has over 24 years of professional experience. She is inclined towards functional architecture and has an eye for detailing in projects. She is well versed with international practices in architecture & allied services. Er. Azad Jain, Principal, Civil & Structural Engineering, at Azad Jain & Associates is a Structural Engineer with over 26 years of experience. He has knowledge, skills and integrity to complete complex and demanding projects successfully. Azad Jain & Associates is a renowned conglomerate consultancy firm with an experience of over 25 years, offering a whole spectrum of engineering and architectural design, planning and implementation solutions with a rainbow of services. They work in a wide range of sectors in the global arena and a high degree of professional expertise to handle projects from concept to creation.
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atva - the residence at Indore, Madhya Pradesh designed by Er. Azad Jain & Ar. Ashaa Jain of Azad Jain & Associates was incepted with an idea of creating an identity through architectural expression. The design team's ethos to create a dwelling that is innovative, modern, effective and inspirational in today's world helped them achieve an IGBC Platinum Rating and SvaGRIHA 5-Star Certification for their residence. Located on a one acre plot, the 9000 sq ft residence is the first project in Central India to get these ratings. From its design, it is apparent that a building that is green and sustainable can be innovative, aptly suitable to the modern building context and can also result in longevity. The concept of Tatva evokes the image of a 'Green House' taking a step towards futuristic innovation and outstanding techniques making it distinctly the best. This green house is all about conserving natural modern bedroom
innovative gazebo design
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the courtyard concept brings landscape inside
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green is all about conserving resources
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the pre-fab carpark
resources with an eco-friendly concept of green building and sustainable architecture. The relatively high level of sustainability of this home is the result of meticulous design work- not just a fluke. Tatva is located amidst greenery near the main highway. Planning process of the house aimed towards designing the house with big landscape area apart from the building footprint including water pool and organic farming areas. Internal floor layout has centralized common spaces with an internal courtyard and all the private spaces being on the periphery. Tatva is designed to use less energy than standard practice, being a daylit House enhancing natural light and ventilation so beautifully that a cool breeze ventilates all the zones passing through the strategically located Water Pool. It incorporates Double Glazed Unit with tactical shading on East & West direction for Thermal Comfort. Courtyard concept of bringing the landscape inside, takes it to a whole new level.
courtyard provides natural lighting and connects with nature
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open living areas; certified plywood used for furniture
With effective window design, each room in the house draws in plenty of natural light. 100 per cent use of LED lights with day-light sensor integration helped achieving 0.5-1.0 Watt per sq ft consumption against the routine 6-8 Watt Consumption. Being a luxury house, the economy of the building was achieved by locally sourced material that have high recycle content and low embodied energy. Over 25 per cent of the total flooring and complete false ceiling done in gypsum boards has been sourced locally. UPVC windows and doors got modelled from scrap wood and FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) Certified plywood used for furniture. Scraped iron grills and tiles from old house used efficiently contributed in resource optimization and material conservation. Putting structural intelligence for minimizing use of RCC, lightweight AAC Blocks reduced the building's dead load by 12 per cent.
strutural intelligence minimizing the use of RCC
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effective window design
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spacious and aesthetically designed common areas
architectural aesthetics giving a luxurious feeling
Innovatively designed structural layout eliminated beam depth achieving beamless structure.
Solar PV System with a Solar Hot Water Plant 200 litre/day capacity is installed eliminating water heaters. Not only is it capable of renewing energy, it conserves too by adopting active water conservation like low flow fixtures and recycled water used for car wash and landscaping. With Zero Waste Generation by In-Situ composting and Sewage Treatment Plant even a vegetable garden 1000-sq ft has Organic Farming and Vermi-Composed Manuring.
Development of contextual landscape with only native trees of 30 different varieties, maximization of shrubs and turf area, etc adds an experience of staying close to nature. It's more of a sustaining landscape which is drought tolerant. Moreover to reduce irrigation demand of the landscape to minimum, high efficiency pop-up sprinklers and drip irrigation is used. All water through the grass open grid pavement gets absorbed in the ground helping ground water recharge. "Tatva" being a small step in designing buildings that are easier on our planet; it has elements which can renew energy. 2 KW roof-mounted
The architect without compromising architectural aesthetics and functionality achieved a green building that is economic and luxurious at the same time. What is new about green building is that costs can be the same-or less-than building a conventional house. When one considers energy savings, construction quality, and lower maintenance over time, a sustainable building really is paying back.
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Tatva - the Green Residence Indore, Madhya Pradesh Ar. Ashaa Jain & Er. Azad Jain Ar. Ashaa Jain & Er. Azad Jain, Azad Jain & Associates August, 2012 April, 2014 site area- 4000-sq m; built-up area- 800-sq m; building foot print- 540-sq m 2.2 crores
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Resilient Buildings car park An innovative design by Mei Architects and Planners (Mei architecten en stedenbouwers) for the Gnome Garage (car park) at Almere, The Netherlands, fits well within the circular economy. Its synergetic use of materials and the incorporation of recycled stainless steel spare energy and resources. The selfsupporting faรงade panels not only take care of natural ventilation, but also prevent people from falling through, transmit daylight and are lowmaintenance.
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he development of the Gnome Garage, a car park with a capacity of 413 spaces, designed by Mei architects and Planners, forms part of the extension to the centre of AlmereBuiten, Almere ,The Netherlands. Plenty of greenery and an easily understandable structure are features of AlmereBuiten. The client - the municipality of Almere - aimed to revitalize the bland image of AlmereBuiten by experimenting with innovative materials and inventive structures. One of the striking results of this vision is the Gnome Garage. The garage is clad with perforated steel panels that depict the green character of Almere. In the design brief it was given that the new building should represent the green character of Almere. Exploring this green character the designers encounter gardens with gnomes and windmills, reeds in the surrounding polders and bird houses in the town trees. To depict the daily green of the garden city these elements were incorporated in the faรงade of the Gnome Garage. The perforation of the sheeting supplies natural ventilation in the parking garage and creates an open atmosphere, especially at night.
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Robert Winkel founded Mei architects and planners in 2003 and is the office's energetic leader. He is ambitious and enterprising both inside and outside the office.Fascinated by history, Robert regularly guides visitors around the Lloydkwartier area to talk about the origins and development of the Schiecentrale building, and the role played by Mei in its transformation. Robert is active in the field of education too, where he gives lectures and classes and tutors students. He has a love of the craftsmanship involved in treating and finishing materials, as reflected in his solid understanding of (industrial) production processes. This is illustrated by details such as the screen of woven stainless steel applied to the Schiecentrale 4B building and the panels of the Kabouter garage.
Text & images, courtesy, the architect
An Ingenious Car Park Gnome Garage, Almere, The Netherlands Mei Architects and Planners Architecture Update January 2015
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the garage is cladded with perforated steel panels
at night the building becomes transparent and starts to emit light
Such a richly decorated garage is uncommon and shows itself as an ornamented tin tobacco box between the abundance of brickwork. The figurative and narrative skin is a welcome change to the somewhat desolate center of AlmereBuiten.
The added plants on the exterior faรงade reduce CO2-emission and filter atmospheric particulate matter. If in the future the garage has served its purpose it can be completely disassembled, which makes the re-use of materials easy.
For the production of the stainless steel panels, a unique collaboration was realized between Mei architects and Planners and automotive company Voest Alpine in Spakenburg. Machines that normally produced car parts, were now used to create an original, integrated faรงade panel specifically designed for the Gnome Garage. With help of 3D computer software CATIA, customized perforation dies and molds were machined from cast steel, with which the panels were perforated and deep drawn into a 3D shape. This 3D shape gives the panels sufficient internal strength to be self-supporting and to withstand wind and pressure loads. The resulting adorned panels are one of the main features of this extraordinary building. In between the sea of brickwork that distinguishes AlmereBuiten, the controversial character of the Gnome Garage has made it a well-known landmark within its community. During the day the perforated panels give the exterior a silver-like appearance, whilst the interior is flooded with daylight creating a comfortable space. During the night the building becomes transparent and starts to emit light. This feature activates its surroundings and improves social safety within the building. Through its daily metamorphosis the Gnome Garage takes care of its users' needs and acts as an excitatory element in the built environment. The innovative design for the Gnome Garage fits well within the circular economy. Its synergetic use of materials and the incorporation of recycled stainless steel spare energy and resources. The self-supporting faรงade panels not only take care of natural ventilation, but also prevent people from falling through, transmit daylight and are lowmaintenance. This made it possible to economize on roof installations, energy and building materials.
the self-supporting faรงade panels take care of natural ventilation
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Gnome Garage, a car park Straat van Florida, 1334 PA, Almere, The Netherlands Stadsbeheer Gemeente Almere, The Netherlands Mei Architects and Planners Robert Winkel, Menno van der Woude, Hennie Dankers, Robert Platje, Pepijn Berghout, Maurice de Ruijter, Nars Broekharst 14.500 sq m, 415 parking spaces 2010 euro 5.400.000
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Resilient Buildings flooring
Restoring Floorings Firdaus Variava, Vice Chairman, Bharat Floorings & Tiles loorings play a major role in any conservation project. While walls may be painted again and again over the years, normally a heritage building floor would have lasted through the years without seeing any major changes. When restoration of a project is being done, it is very important to protect the existing floor, which could get damaged. Once a floor is damaged, it becomes even more difficult to fix it because the materials used are either not available, or cannot be made again in an economical fashion.
F It makes a lot of sense to restore the old floors of buildings because the building will retain its character. Furthermore the need for waste is minimised, and the amount of material that will have to be carted away to a landfill is reduced.
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There are broadly speaking the following types of floors which can be found in heritage buildings in India: Stone floorings - these are typically the easiest to restore, as well as being the most hardy. Stone floors are usually restored based on the type of material. If it is a rough stone, then a water jet blast along with scrubbing can remove the dirt and renovate it easily. If the flooring is smooth, a series of abrasive pads of finer and finer grits are used to first grind and then polish the floor. Wooden floorings - if a wooden floor has lasted for many years, it would be because it is of a very good quality of wood. The best way to restore these floors is to replace any old or rotting planks and then sand down and re-polish the floor. With old wood available in the market, restoring an old wooden floor has become quite easy. Ceramic encaustic tiles - also known as Minton tiles, these types of floorings are one of the hardest to restore. Encaustic tiles are ceramic tiles in which the pattern or figure on the surface is not a product of the glaze but of different colours of clay.
They are usually of two colours but a tile may be composed of as many as six. The pattern appears inlaid into the body of the tile, so that the design remains as the tile is worn down. The most common method of restoring these tiles is to use cleaning solutions with fine abrasives to gently clean the surface after sticking back any loose tiles and grouting the surface. Replica tiles are also available, though at an enormous cost as they have to be either imported or made in India. Cement encaustic tiles - cement tiles are handmade, decorative, colourful tiles used primarily as floor coverings. Floors or walls covered with these tiles are noted for their multi-colour patterns, durability and sophisticated look. Cement tiles appeared in the late 19th century in the south of France. They were first imported into India during British rule, but subsequently Indian manufacturers also began making them, most notably Nusserwanji Tiles in Karachi, and Bharat Flooring Tile Company in Bombay. Restoring cement tiles is usually a matter of re-polishing the floor using different stones of finer and finer grit. The first coat of polishing is the cutting coat which removes the years of grime and dirt that have
accumulated, and the subsequent coats of polishing will give the floor back its shine. Cement floors can also be replaced easily by replicas as there are still manufacturers in India who make these tiles. Other types of floorings - these are typically also made of cement for instance the red oxide floors found in the south of India or they could also be cast in situ terrazzo. Restoring red oxide floors is not easy as these are seamless. The best option would be to overlay them or to remove and install a fresh floor. Lamentably, it has become extremely difficult to get good quality workmanship for red oxide floorings. In the case of cast in situ terrazzo, one can grout the surface and then polish, which usually brings back the shine.
It makes a lot of sense to restore the old floors of buildings because the building will retain its character. Furthermore the need for waste is minimised, and the amount of material that will have to be carted away to a landfill is reduced. Where old floors are in a good condition, there are specialised craftsmen who will remove them and store them for sale to other projects. This ensures that the floors are re-used instead of being wasted.
Firdaus Variava is the Vice Chairman of Bharat Floorings & Tiles. Since 1922, Bharat Floorings has been involved in creating beautiful custom designed cement based floorings for projects ranging from restoration of heritage buildings, to modern high end residences, cutting edge hospitality, and decorating government buildings. Firdaus is the third generation of his family to enter the business and looks after sales, marketing and new product development. Bharat Floorings has been involved in award winning projects such as the Bhau Daji Lad Museum, Royal Bombay Yatch Club, and the Library House.
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Resilient Architecture redevelopment - mumbai
Is Heritage an Asset or a Liability? Understanding the debate and din in Mumbai Vikas Dilawari, Conservation Architect, Mumbai
The present trends of development in the city of Mumbai are scary and yet seem to be only the start of the reckless redevelopment model endorsed by the government with higher FSI (Floor Space Index) as the sole driving force. Instead of addressing the root cause of why buildings are not maintained and become dilapidated, increased FSI is assumed to be the solution, even though the increase of FSI has not created any more affordable housing or commercial areas.
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here seems to be a sudden hue and cry from owners and occupiers of houses and areas that have been declared 'heritage' in the revised list of heritage buildings and precincts published in 2012 for Mumbai. Many political parties are also endorsing people's views in practically all the newspapers, complaining that they do not want the 'heritage tag' and that their property should be de-listed. Though there may be some truth in the apprehension that people have regarding
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heritage building listing, one need to know the facts before reaching conclusions. Our forefathers who planned the city of Mumbai thought about the future of the city while developing different areas. Until and unless we can design a better future for the city, we must protect and conserve what we have inherited; hence the conservation that we undertake today is a tool to secure this inheritance.
In the next five years in Mumbai, we shall be seeing more re-development with no proper planning and no parallel infrastructure up-gradation. This is going to seriously affect the quality of life, the social behaviour and the culture of the city. Shanghai and Singapore have already lost their historic areas and what's left of them are fossilised areas with museum-like treatment, rather than a living and breathing historic area. Recently, there were newspaper reports saying that China has issued a warning
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Slide Courtsey: Harshada Satam 3rd sem student KRVIA
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to stop all construction in mega cities like Shanghai as the air is heavily populated beyond acceptable standards and is creating health hazards. Back at home in India, in the beginning of every winter, the fog that encompasses Delhi is also a warning to us in Mumbai, reminding us of the 1400 cars that get added to our city every day. While we can't compare ourselves with developed cities like London or NY, we can at least stop ourselves from going the Shanghai way. We have to address our own issues in our context and capitalise on our strengths.
SOME COMMONLY HELD MYTHS ABOUT CONSERVATION a) Conservation means no-development: This is NOT true for most heritage buildings and areas, and is true ONLY for exceptional heritage stock such as monuments that have Grade I status. For all other buildings and areas termed as heritage, all that is required is sensitive development. CST is a functional and one of the most frequented and used World Heritage Site in the World that does not mean it no changes‌ Yes no one in proper senses would ask for its redevelopment as it is asset and icon of Mumbai. Similarly even for Grade I buildings, development is possible: we can have international and national design competitions to encourage the best contemporary or contextual design for a heritage building, as has been proposed for Dr Bhau Daji Lad
Museum in Byculla, and as seen in the extension to Grade I Chattrapati ShivajMaharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya which recently reconstructed its children centre. For buildings listed as Grade II, adaptive reuse as well as internal changes are allowed but external changes need to be controlled, as has been done in the Army and Navy Building at Kala Ghoda with 'Westside' replacing the 'Indian Airlines' or in the BMC head offices or in Tata Palace, originally a residential building now a functional bank. Lifts have been permitted in grade II A like Bradys Flat and BJPCI. In Rallis House grade II A, the shell of the building was retained and complete new interiors were done internally. Additional building was permitted in Grade II B Anjuman e Islam School, Addition of a floor was allowed in Grade IIB as in case of Cathedral John Connon School. Repairs, addition and alterations, adaptive reuse, changes in the interiors, etc. are all allowed in grade III buildings and heritage precincts, and even redevelopment is allowed when a building is damaged in a fire or is structurally unsafe. Like Jhulelal House (Banque Indo Suez bldg.) which has retained the old arches and has reconstructed a contemporary block in that envelope. Repairs and renovations have been allowed office buildings of Ballard Estate which grade III. The unfortunate part is that the re-
development now follows the normal bye-laws and not the special guidelines of the precinct where mass and scale, and setting of the precinct is significant and that is the area of the conflict which needs to be addressed. b) Our buildings are old, not maintained and can collapse anytime, hence heritage listing is not needed: More than the age of the building, one must examine whether the building can be repaired properly or not? Some of the recent collapses in the city (Altaf Manzil and Dockyard Road BMC conservancy staff residential building) were neither old nor heritage buildings but relatively recently built structures. The truth is that all buildings require good maintenance and one should encourage this and address this as the core issue and have a policy which encourages good maintenance. c) We can make no changes if our buildings are listed as 'heritage': All buildings are listed for some cultural value and these values need to be respected while one is doing interventions. Hence there would be some restrictions while dealing with a heritage structure but that does not mean that no changes are permitted. The heritage listing means that one needs to be sensitive while undertaking essential changes that may be required. Examples above reveal that changes are allowed to meet the need.
d) Redevelopment is the need of the hour: Yes, re-development is the need of the hour for buildings that are dilapidated and require reconstruction. It is the need of the hour if it creates affordable housing stock for our city. The sad reality is that as the current Government rules give more FSI and encourage reconstruction, we find even structural sound buildings get demolished under the pretext of being dilapidated. The new buildings that come-up with the 'rehabilitation' component are so expensive that ordinary citizens can't afford such accommodation. Hence the increase in density is seen in suburban areas like Vasai, Virar, Thane and beyond. Ideally reconstruction should be taken up by the Government itself (through MHADA) in public private partnership model to ensure that the cost of reconstruction is economical and that the saleable component is available to all strata of society in a transparent manner (e.g. through lottery).
REALITIES OF REDEVELOPMENT IN MUMBAI: a) Reduced quality of life for all: Ad-hoc Reconstruction is a severe load to the fragile century-old infrastructure (roads, sewage) and adversely affects the quality of life for the citizens of that area. It is seen that people residing in many streets abutting heritage buildings, and who never owned any vehicles Architecture Update January 2015
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but in new redeveloped sites following the generic law where parking is free results in multistoreyed car park in podiums but these are later sold at a premium. The podium disconnects the building with ground and street level which was the character of the area and allows individual buildings to sell flats easily as it raises average precinct height by 4 floors or so and allows for good views of the city in its high rise. This may be true for a while, but is ultimately an illusion as when the whole area undergoes similar redevelopment, then there will be dark alleys and narrow streets with multi-storeyed car parks and flats with no view, no natural light or ventilation as the adjacent building would have blocked it all. Examples of this kind of development are visible in the Bellisimo and Minerva residential towers near Mahalaxmi Station. b) Unaffordable maintenance costs leads to displacement: The maintenance of these redeveloped properties are so high that the tenant who was housed in the old building finds it difficult to stay in the new properties, being used to meagre rents enforced through the Rent Control Act . This results in gentrification of the area and the community or inhabitants that stayed in an area for years and who had associations with the place become uprooted. c) Increased load on same public amenities: In areas that undergo redevelopment, as the amenities and infrastructure of the area is not similarly increased to keep up with the increased number of people using this, this puts a strain on these shared amenities, such as gardens, railway and bus stations, etc. leading to even further reduction in the quality of life. The road widths are the same but the parking has increased many folds in its podium style car park. d) Heritage policies threatened by other contradictory policies of the government, and by lack of a repair policy: The built heritage of Mumbai was protected, not only because of the heritage laws (that are relatively recent), but also because most of these buildings had consumed more FSI than what was permitted by the Development Control Regulations (that were framed after these buildings were built) and hence it made economic sense to keep such buildings intact. This is however now changing due the government's new
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rights of the landlord and market rates. A cess should be levied on all redevelopment proposals and the funds of this should be used to preserve the surrounding areas.
policies to encourage redevelopment through TDR (Transfer of Development Rights), increased FSI (Floor Space Index) and MHADA (Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority) policies. However, despite the fact of a large number of buildings in Mumbai needing repair, strangely enough, so far there is no comprehensive policy for repairs even by MHADA. The Repair Board under MHADA can be entrusted with the task of repairing heritage buildings by introducing basic concepts of conservation to its engineers; concepts such as use of like-to-like material, minimum intervention wherever possible, and respecting the authenticity of a building. The present budget of MHADA for repairs of Rs 200/sq ft is inadequate for a good and proper repair following the conservation pattern and requires should be raised, based on prevailing rates and repair techniques in practice. e) Need to adopt repair, rather than reconstruction: If we chose to repair a building, this is usually always more economical, while also retaining the people in the building in their original location as they then do not shift (permanently or temporarily). If these buildings are well kept and restored (e.g. Lal Chimney Compound) then they would also create affordable building stock, which is the need of the hour. f) Conservation needs incentives, just as redevelopment has incentives: To encourage conservation, the government should focus on policies that encourage repairs. In presence of existing policies such as the Rent Control Act that disadvantage landlords from maintaining a building, to encourage repairs, incentives in the form of additional marginal FSI or TDR of say 0.17 should be allowed to the owner,
provided he and the tenants together come forward for professional repairs and with an undertaking of looking after the building for 2 decades till the new master plan for the city is being prepared. g) Other incentives: Some other incentives that the government can consider to encourage repairs over reconstruction is to limit the increase in lease rent to only 50 per cent for repaired properties, as compared to the 100 per cent increase for redeveloped properties. Property taxes should also be reduced to 50 per cent to encourage repairs and restoration. Rents of areas leased out in heritage properties to be increased for commercial premises and larger premises, to reflect market rates, so as to enable the landlord to have economic benefits from leasing out his / her property. For smaller areas that have been rented out in heritage properties, the rents to be calculated based on economic considerations that strike a balance between the
h) New redevelopment of the recent past that has destroyed Mumbai's urban fabric can still be erased: Recent redevelopment that has happened in Mumbai has all involved the demolition of existing structures and the reconstruction of new buildings. These new buildings are certainly not going to be the heritage of tomorrow, as they are poorly built and already in states of disrepair with no maintenance being undertaken. As Mumbai prepares for a new development Plan, there is an opportunity for us to reconstruct these buildings in a manner consonant with the surroundings, and hence restore the urban fabric of areas that were affected by these rashes of new developments. i) Traffic / Car parking: Blindly providing car parks based on numbers is not the solution to solving parking problems. Traffic management is the solution that has been successfully adopted worldwide, and this involves discouraging use of private vehicles and parking and incentivising those those who use public transport. Policies for repair and redevelopment of buildings should also reflect this understanding. Cities are ever growing and ever renewing but the question to be addressed is a good planning policy which caters to the need but arrests the greed. Quality of life is as important in heritage and redevelopment and one should address it.
Vikas Dilawari is a practicing conservation architect with more than two and half decades of experience exclusively in the conservation field, ranging from urban to architecture. He has done his double Masters in Conservation from School of Planning and Architecture (New Delhi) and from the University of York. He was the Head of Department of Conservation Department at Kamla Raheja Vidyanidhi Institute of Architecture (KRVIA) Mumbai from its inception in 2007 till Aug 2014. His practice has successfully executed several conservation projects ranging from prime landmarks to unloved buildings of Mumbai. He was instrumental with INTACH Mumbai chapter to list the CST station as World Heritage Site in 2004. Several of his projects have received national recognition. A total of ten of his projects have won UNESCO ASIA PACIFIC Awards for Cultural Preservation in SE Asia. Prof Dilawari has lectured and written extensively on the subject of conservation nationally and internationally. He was one of the reviewers on technical mission of ICOMOS to review the works at World Heritage Site of Ayutthaya in Thailand in May 2014. He is a Trustee of Indian Heritage Cities Network (IHCN) and Co- Convener of INTACH Mumbai Chapter and a member of Mumbai Heritage Conservation Committee (MHCC). He was member Board of Governors of MMR HCS (Heritage Conservation Society) from 2009-2011. He is named in the latest Architectural Digest AD 50 Awards as the most influential names in Indian Architecture and Design.
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Resilient Designs healthcare
patient room no is toggled
Parametric Design Tools for Healthcare Design Sumandeep Singh, Architect, HKS, New Delhi
Hospital building is judged not only on the way it looks and feels as a place for healing, it is also judged functionally how it performs. Various aspects go into it with respect to planning. How specific departments of a hospital need to be in close proximity to others and their interrelationship is key to healthcare planning. Kinds of traffic that flows in and out of a hospital needs to be identified and in certain cases segregated due to infection control issues.
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parameters on the right rhino form on the left ealthcare spaces or buildings are constructed using conventional ways where different material and service layers are merged periodically by different agencies aiming to come up with a space that is meant to provide care to an ailing patient. This patient in many cases is vulnerable to Hospital induced infection due to various factors that are part of conventional construction practice. Conventional construction is slow and hence expensive when we evaluate the time wasted in coming up with the facility. Hence the net result is that care is expensive. This is especially true for developing countries where quality patient care is provided primarily by
H
privately owned and operated profitbased institutions. Recent advancements in the practice of designing spaces, buildings in the form of computational tools is revolutionary, however is still in its infancy and limited in a large way to make the outer visual form of the building attractive or 'futuristic' rather than its performance in the long run. This study aims to examine the role of computational tools for design in improving the performance and delivery of healthcare spaces. This article explores the possibility of bringing in parametric design tools to the process of healthcare design.
Hospital building is judged not only on the way it looks and feels as a place for healing, it is also judged functionally how it performs. Various aspects go into it with respect to planning. How specific departments of a hospital need to be in close proximity to others and their interrelationship is key to healthcare planning. Kinds of traffic that flows in and out of a hospital needs to be identified and in certain cases segregated due to infection control issues. Walking distances for the hospital staff need to remain at a minimum so that access to care is never delayed beyond breaking point. We take a case study where we design a typical hospital inpatient tower using
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Rhino+grasshopper parametric design tools.
A BIT ABOUT THESE SOFTWARE PLATFORMS: Rhino is a 3D modelling platform which is very similar to AutoCAD but goes an extra mile with its 3D capabilities. Grasshopper is a plug in for rhino which utilises mathematical inputs to generate and modify forms modelled in rhino. A combination of these two provides a never seen before flexibility to design process. Design in the coming years will be done through computer codes which will establish relationship between different design elements and wil also result in more organic but highly functional forms.
THE CASE STUDY: We start with laying out an inpatient tower in rhino which basically consists a typical grasshopper interface with buttons the possibilities these tools have to offer for the field of architectural Design and specially where high performance is expected from the design, like a hospital, these tools are a boon for Architects.
SOME FOOD FOR FURTHER THOUGHT Testing the possibility of assembly line manufacturing of patient rooms by visualizing the space in a parametric three-dimensional design tool, providing improvement parameters in the form of code and 3D printing its various components. Examining the planning efficiency of a patient ward with the help of mathematical algorithms directly fed into the visual design tools, using computer code like Visual Basic. VB is already a part of the grasshopper package and is currently being used only by very few architects in their design process. The future generation needs to be ready to learn coding as a basic in their architectural education.
building height is altered of patient rooms arranged around a singly loaded corridor with support areas in the middle. Then we link the various elements in to grasshopper. We come up with a model that is flexible in terms of factors which will help to evaluate each patient room separately by giving it a unique number. Just by moving the slider button we are able to toggle between various rooms. The second parameter we play with is the walking path, a point node is used as the walking path for the nursing staff and we can evaluate the distances walked from the nurses stations to the individual room using this parameter
and finally we can optimise the location of the nurse station so that the distance walked is kept at a minimum. We are also able to alter the depth of each room by moving its corresponding slider button, this helps in coming up with different combinations of rooms depths with respect to walking distances. We are able to alter the floor to floor heights of the building, add floors to the building simply by coding it into our slider buttons. Similarly many more possibilities open up once we start adding parameters and 'check-points' into our code. Once we establish a unique code in grasshopper and its
unique form in rhino we can export the geometry into any other advanced, BIM based design tools such as Revit to produce construction documents with dimensions. Using this simple example as a case in point we can well imagine for ourselves
Sumandeep Singh is an architect/designer working in New Delhi office of HKS, a top design firm of the world, headquartered in Dallas,Texas USA and having 29 offices worldwide. He has been an important part of design teams for various prestigious hospital projects. He has also worked in the US headquarters of HKS as an exchange fellow and has international experience in Healthcare Design. He is currently actively exploring parametric design tools, not just for healthcare but other project types as well.
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Resilient Designs fenestration
Green Installations Robert Hoellrigl, President, Research & Development, Encraft indows and doors are becoming of major importance in so called energy efficient buildings, 'Green' buildings and 'Zero' carbon homes. The energy loss through windows and doors in apartments or flats can range from 30 to 45 per cent which can be reduced significantly by specifying frames with enhanced thermal performance.
W Installation is the last linkage in the sophisticated uPVC frame supply chain; this service is of vital importance and normally subjected to severe price scrutiny and time pressure. We need to ask ourselves, what is the point in installing thermally efficient 'Green' window frames into carefully designed and well specified 'Green' building apertures without allowing for the extra time and extra care required to achieve a 'Green' installation.
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For example: U-value reduction of 2.2 W/m2K for uPVC fenestration can be simply achieved by changing the glazing from 5 mm single glazing (float glass with 0.89 emissivity) to 26 mm air filled, double glazing (float glass with 0.89 emissivity).
Contrary to common beliefs, the frame material, albeit being the smaller part, plays an important role in the whole window and door U-value assessment and can compensate in conjunction with warm edge spacer technology for a less onerous glazing specification. For example: A powder coated, nonthermally broken, single Aluminium casement window with 45 mm profile depth utilising 5 mm single glazing has a typical U-value of 5.9 W/m2K whilst the same frame in uPVC achieves 4.8 W/m2K. The slightly larger uPVC frame with its inherent warm material properties makes all the difference.
Architects are fully aware of all those options and are being able to optimise building envelopes by means of calculation and simulation, striving towards the 'Green' goal but all modern technology will not be able to influence or predict the quality of the workmanship of the window and door installation. Installation is the last linkage in the sophisticated uPVC frame supply chain; this service is of vital importance and normally subjected to severe price scrutiny and time pressure. We need to ask ourselves, what is the point in installing thermally efficient 'Green' window frames into carefully designed
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and well specified 'Green' building apertures without allowing for the extra time and extra care required to achieve a 'Green' installation? UPVC installations do not differ from wood or metal frames. The installation principles are the same; any frame MUST be fitted 'plumb, level and square' regardless of the aperture shape. It is as simple as that! The prescribed fixing centres, evolved over six decades have withstood the test of time but the fasteners and the sealants have improved drastically over the same period. Nowadays frame installation methods are well covered in comprehensive guidelines and standards like the German GKF Montagehandbuch or the British Standard BS 8213-4. India's window industry can benefit from the wealth of experience gained in other countries and could utilise today's innovative materials which have been developed to ensure quality and consistency on site. For example: Probably the most commonly used frame fixing method in India is the rawlplug type. The rawlplug principle (detail 1) invented in 1911, served the fenestration industry well for decades but the Fischer FFSZ type anchor (detail 2) has taken the window industry by storm because of its simplicity, effectiveness and efficiency. Drilling 6 mm holes through steel reinforced uPVC outer frames is much easier than 8 or
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10 mm, in addition, the method does not rely on permanent frame packers or frame supports and their actual removal helps to fill the gap continuously between frame and aperture with gaskets, insulation foam and/or sealants. The small headed anchor can be positioned anywhere within frame rebates whilst the anchor method allows for outer frame adjustment (just in case), it has also eliminated one of the most contentious and probably most annoying complaints, the missing screw cover cap! 100 years later, the visible anchor head has now become a fenestration feature! As conciliation, India is not alone with irregular window and door apertures. Even countries with official national standards, covering window apertures in terms of size, parallelism, squareness etc. have still got issues with their regulated check reveals (detail 4). NOTE: Check reveal means that the outer skin of a wall construction overhangs part of the outer frame thereby sheltering the joint between frame and aperture from the elements like UV rays, rain and wind.
LH detail 1
RH detail 2
LH detail 3
RH detail 4
Unfortunately, India's most commonly applied straight through aperture construction detail (detail 3) makes it more difficult to hide irregularities and will require more attention when finishing-off. For smaller gaps i.e. up to 10 mm, it is good practice to use special
Detail 5
gaskets (detail 5) or foam strips acting as the back stop for the external Silicone or internal painters caulk (like McCoy Soudal's gap filler) whilst larger localised gaps (detail 3) i.e. from 10 to 20 mm mostly created by aperture irregularities will require insulation foam to fill unwanted voids and additional finishing trims to cover the exposed joints. The use of insulation foam (like McCoy's Soudafoam gun) will be an essential part for the installation of thermal efficient frames in order to eliminate any energy loss through joints, simultaneously improving the sound proofing of the installation. Applying finishing trims to frame installations will help to extend the lifetime of Silicone sealants. Experience has
shown that the external Silicone exposed to the elements may need replacing at least once during the service life of the frame. Note: Regardless of geographical location and exposure, any external sealant failure or break down will impose unnecessary risks to the building fabric. UPVC frame installations, albeit being seen, as a necessary evil, play a vital part in fenestration and their importance will be more appreciated with the demand for increased thermal performance. It is highly unlikely that energy costs will come down in the future hence the need to reduce avoidable energy losses through fenestration.
Robert Hoellrigl is an Austrian graduated mechanical Engineer who joined Cincinnati Milacron Vienna in 1974 as extrusion tool designer for uPVC window and door profiles; relocated in 1982 to the UK designingand building-up the well-known uPVC brands 'System 10, Rustique, Eclipse & Esthetique'. Working since 2006 with Encraft and moved to India in 2013 as Encraft's President of R&D and design.
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Research pre-historic landscapes
Figure 1: A precariously balanced boulder near Badami. Photographs: courtesy, the author
The Ancient Landscapes of the Malaprabha Valley Dr.Srikumar M. Menon, Architect, Manipal he river by itself is not very remarkable. Originating in the verdant, forest-clad hills of the Western Ghats near a small village called Kanakumbi in Karnataka, Malaprabha leaves behind this idyllic landscape of her birth and flows east, through lands starkly different, to meet and merge with the much bigger River Krishna, more than three hundred kilometres away. Towards the end of this journey, Malaprabha meanders placidly through a small valley bound on either side by chains of low, flat-topped sandstone hills some 25km long and not wider than 10km at its widest. The sandstone hills, sculpted by geological forces and wind and water, assume fantastic forms - narrow gorges and defiles, large tumbled blocks of stones and impossibly perched boulders, dramatic spires and overhangs, all contributing to create visual drama of high intensity (Figure 1).
T The megalithic monuments of peninsular India are believed to have been erected in the Iron Age (1500BC 200AD).Though a lot of work has gone into the study of these monuments since Babington first reported megaliths in India in 1823, not much is understood about the knowledge systems extant in the period. Here is a sneak peak at the archaeological understanding of megaliths in the south Canara region of Karnataka State in South India that were hitherto assumed to be haphazard clusters of menhirs.
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It is in this picturesque valley that some of the earliest masterpieces of stone architecture in south India were executed, around 1500 years ago. The names Badami, Pattadakal and Aihole need no introduction to anyone with even a casual interest in Indian architecture and the setting of sandstone sculpted by nature was to inspire some of the earliest sculptors and architects of the subcontinent to leave their creations for us to wonder at all these centuries later. Ancient humans were attracted to this starkly beautiful land - it offered them plenty of rock shelters to take refuge from the elements. Apart from the waters of the Malaprabha, there were springs and ground water outlets at
several places in the folds of the hills. There was plentiful game too, in the forests that grew at the base of the sandstone massifs. On a large concave
rock surface near Badami, high above the ground, a Stone-Age artist (or artists) has created a painting in red ochre (Figure 2). Large human figures
Figure 6: "The Chalukyans might have cut rock like Titans but they finished it like jewellers!"A view of Cave 1, Badami.
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Figure 2: Mesolithic (Middle Stone Age) rock art near Badami.
Figure 3: A megalithic dolmen on Meguti Hill, Aihole. In the background is the Meguti Jain Temple.
Figure 4: A double-chambered dolmen at Bachinnagudda, near Pattadakal.
Figure 5: A view of the South Fort, Badami, showing the cave temples excavated in the cliff face.
appear to be dancing; perhaps a ritual dance, and several wild boar grouped near their feet seem destined to end up as their prey. Looking at the bold treatment of the contorted human body, one wonders. Was this merely an artistic expression showing a hunting scene or was it a ritual spot where the hunters gathered for invoking good luck before starting out on their hunt? We may never know what meaning this painting held for their creators. There are other prehistoric monuments in the Malaprabha Valley too. Megaliths are the monuments that the Iron-Age dwellers of South India erected, mostly to commemorate the dead. Megaliths may assume many forms - from the simple erect slab called a menhir to elaborate constructions called dolmens. At Aihole, on a hillock south of the settlement is a hill famous for the Meguti Jain Temple built in 634CE. On the plateau behind the temple are scattered about 80 megalithic monuments - some of them crude, others more elaborate (Figure 3), believed to be erected during the south Indian Iron-Age (1500-500BCE). It is a mystery that the temple builders spared
these crude stone structures during construction because they would have been a source of cut stone ready for the taking. Perhaps they knew that these were memorials to ancestors long gone; whatever the reason, the dolmens have survived to this day!There are other places in the Valley too, where one finds vestiges from the prehistoric past. At Bachinnagudda, near Pattadakal there are two megaliths by the side of the Badami-Pattadakal road. One of them is a fine specimen - a large twinchambered dolmen made of granite, which unfortunately has been damaged partially by vandals (Figure 4). However, the history of the Valley took a significant turn in the middle of the 6th century CE, when a young warlord stood on the soaring cliffs of Vatapi, admiring the fantastic landscape around and dreamed of transforming this land into the nucleus of his empire.Polekesi I, the founder of the Early Chalukyan Empire, was quick to understand the ease with which the landscape could be modified to build a fortified township, and his vision resulted in the capital city of Vatapi, which we know as Badami today. From Vatapi, Polekesi
and his successors ruled a large part of south India for much of the 6th to 8th centuries CE. Under their patronage, artisans and sculptors worked away at the sandstone ranges, fashioning parts of the hills into marvels of art and architecture. The cave temples of the South Fort were scooped out of the cliffs (Figure 5) and embellished with sculptures and motifs with such attention to detail that Dr. M. Seshadri, one of the historians of Badami remarked that "The Chalukyans might have cut rock like Titans but they finished it like jewellers!" (Figure 6) The fractured sandstone cliffs of the North Fort were adorned with several structural monuments (Figure 7) that show the enormous importance the architects attached not only to the monuments but their siting.The open mantapas on a rock in the North Fort (Figure 8) exemplify how the Early Chalukyan architects responded to site. These pavilions, accessed by steps through a narrow cleft from one of the gorges below, are built using structural members made from sandstone blocks cut out of thevery rock they stand on!
The group of temples at Pattadakal, which has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is familiar to most people (Figure 9). Recently, a couple of ancient quarries have been discovered, from where stone for constructing these temples were extracted. It is really exciting to see the terraces of quarried stone where those ancient artisans worked, their chisel marks, sketches and line drawings for sculptures (Figure 10). Imagine my excitement when I spotted at the quarry a sketch study for the well-known sculpture of Durga Mahishasuramardini in the Papanatha Temple at Pattadakal (Figure 11)! It is impossible to do justice to all the monuments that dot the landscape of the Malaprabha Valley in the space of one article. Apart from the popular monuments at the three sites of Badami, Pattadakal and Aihole, there are several lesser known sites that too boast of equally exquisite monuments. The Early Chalukyan architects have managed to tuck away beautiful monuments like the temple at NaganathaKolla near Badami and a group of temples and carvings at a rock shelter at HuligyemmannaKolla near Architecture Update January 2015
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Figure 7: The monuments of the North Fort, Badami.
Figure 8: The open mantapas on North Fort. The rock cut away in the foreground was used to make the columns, beams and slabs of these pavilions.
Figure 10: Sculptures, line drawings and inscriptions at an Early Chalukyan quarry near Pattadakal. Pattadakal in clefts and folds in the sandstone ranges. The more one explores in this region, the more fascinating the landscape seems to be. From the early monuments of our prehistoric ancestors to the finely crafted monuments of the Early Chalukyans; from the unfamiliar lines of the ochre paintings of the Stone Age artist to the more familiar themes of the line drawings in the quarries and workshops of the temple builders and sculptors, numerous strands intertwine to create the rich tapestry that is the Malaprabha Valley.
Figure 9: Part of the Pattadakal group of temples.
As the rays of the setting Sun set fire to the temples of the Bhootnath group east of the Agastya Tirtha Lake at Badami (Figure 12), one cannot help feeling an overwhelming sense of respect for the architects of a bygone era whose eye for siting and use of material bordered on the sensational.
For what were these multitudes of astounding monuments but - bits of sandstone, rearranged‌. Dr. Srikumar M. Menon is an architect based in Manipal. His research interests are centred on the prehistoric monuments of the Indian subcontinent. He is the author of two books - Ancient Stone Riddles: Megaliths of the Indian Subcontinent and Comets: Nomads of the Solar System. His obsession with Badami began with a field trip to Meguti Hill in 2008 as part of studies for his doctoral thesis. The musings put forth in this article stem from several visits to the Badami region, as part of study on "Ancient Landscapes of South India" as a HomiBhabha Fellow. He is indebted to the HomiBhabha Fellowships council for their support.
Figure 12: The Bhootnath Temples and Agastya Tirtha at sunset.
Figure 11: A line sketch at the quarry (L) for a sculpture of Mahishasuramardini (R) at the Papanatha Temple at Pattadakal.
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Advertorial ndia is a unique country which utilizes timber batton infill in the flush and skin doors; a primitive process, discarded globally many decades back. We must say goodbye to our obsession for timber filled doors. You may be aware that the concept of recycling wood scrap as an infill in doors is no more a reality as the saw mill operations are getting smaller with reduction of timber availability and on the other hand there is an explosion of construction due the rise in housing needs all over India. More than 12 lac trees every year are required to feed the infill needs of over 100 lac doors each year. Realizing, the bare facts and non sustainable practices other countries have already switched to ecofriendly infill boards like the tubular boards which are 100% made from recycled wood wastes. We should also change... It is too late already. Very few people in India know that the Sauerland infill board is in use by the door industry for 63 years as a timber substitute for infill material havingwithstood the test of time over 6 decades and in use in over 65 countries which means it has global acceptance. It is reasonable to say that it is much older in use than the timber batton filling common in India in the flush door industry.
I Turn over a new leaf There is an urgent need for reforms in door manufacturing in India The tubular infill boards are ecofriendly and green product initiative replacing the 80% of timber used internally as door infill which dramatically improves the performance of the door in following manner: These filler cores are already in use in 65 countries worldwide for last 63 years.
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Published on 1st of every month W.P.P. Lic No. MR / TECH / WPP-26 / SOUTH / 2014-15 Regd. No. MH / MR / K'devi-58 / 2013-15 Posted at Mumbai Patrika Channel Sorting Office Mumbai - 400 001 on 3rd & 4th of Every Month