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editorspeaks No design is possible until the materials with which you design are completely understood. - Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
Editor Shashikant Hegde Deputy Editor Renu Rajaram Editorial Advisor Dr M S Kapadia Editorial Coordinator Alma Odil Advisors (Technical) Prof. Akhtar Chauhan Principal, Rizvi College of Architecture, Mumbai Ar. Karan Grover Karan Grover & Associates, Vadodara Ar. Manit Rastogi Principal Architect, morphogenesis, New Delhi I Bangalore Prof. K. Jaisim JAISIM-FOUNTAINHEAD, Bangalore Ar. Dikshu C. Kukreja CP Kukreja Architects, New Delhi Design & Production Art Director Satish Kamath Graphic Designers Madhukar Ingavale Nitin Parkar Rajendra Vichare Product Head Pooja Nalawade Sr. 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 March 2015
Saving energy and providing efficient building solutions are important innovation drivers in the construction industry. Buildings are responsible for 42 per cent of energy consumption and 35 per cent of all greenhouse gas emissions. More than 50 per cent of all materials extracted from earth are transformed into construction materials and products, and construction and demolition activities account for about 33 per cent of waste generated annually. Hence the development of new materials that have increased performance and functionality has become a major driver of innovation in recent years.It is estimated that 70 per cent of all new product innovation is based on materials with new or improved properties. These emergent materials and their associated technologies are changing the way that architects and designers work. Traditional building materials are stone, wood, brick, and concrete. However, as technology develops, so do new materials. Steel and glass are commonly used. Fabrics are created by coating fibreglass with a durable plastic such as Teflon to make a membrane (skin) that can be attached to a steel framework. Few other pioneering new materials and methods such as self-healing bio-concrete, 3-D concrete printers and a new generation of solar polymers will help construction become more sustainable. Moreover, a lot of research is being done on materials that mimic nature, known as bio-mimics. The ability of the polymer and bio-based materials to replace various non-structural and structural materials in buildings to avoid deterioration while in service and to bio-degrade after their useful service life is currently being investigated. While computing the costs of a building throughout its life cycle, initial investment costs are considerably outweighed by operation and maintenance costs at ratio of 1:5. Government has taken several initiatives to facilitate development, wide spread application and production of innovative building materials through organizations like Building Materials and Technology Promotion Council (BMTPC). Bodies like GRIHA & IGBC, through their ratings and building norms, have brought in evaluation, validation of innovative technologies, and have been advising on cost-effective options for choice of materials. The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) is also preparing standards and codes of practice in concert with concerned R & D institutions, BMTPC, HUDCO, CPWD, etc. But the commercial challenges are to learn to treat sustainable development as a framework for innovation and to use and extend established management principles to make this framework operational and effective. The materials, innovative heating and cooling systems, natural lighting design, etc., - all were key elements of the Indian architecture & design for centuries. Numerous vernacular practices and styles have been developed for planning of settlements and construction of buildings suiting various climatic conditions, terrains and customs & traditions of locals during past centuries. But, caught in the rush of time and blind following of western fashions, we are forgetting our own indigenous skills and materials which are most suitable for our environment. With these thoughts, I shall bid you adieu, and wish you all the very best for your bright future.
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Statement about ownership and other particulars of Architecture Update, Mumbai, as required under Rule 8 of the Registration of Newspapers (Central) Rules, 1956
FORM IV (See Rule 8) 1. Place of Publication 2. Periodicity of its Publication 3. Printer's Name Whether Citizen of India? Address
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Mumbai Monthly Shashikant S. Hegde Yes Economic Research India Pvt. Limited, Sterling House, 5/7, Sorabji Santuk Lane, Off. Dr. Cawasji Hormasji Lane, Dhobi Talao, Mumbai - 400 002 Shashikant S. Hegde Yes Economic Research India Pvt. Limited, Sterling House, 5/7, Sorabji Santuk Lane, Off. Dr. Cawasji Hormasji Lane, Dhobi Talao, Mumbai - 400 002 Shashikant S. Hegde Yes Economic Research India Pvt. Limited, Sterling House, 5/7, Sorabji Santuk Lane, Off. Dr. Cawasji Hormasji Lane, Dhobi Talao, Mumbai - 400 002 Economic Research India Pvt. Limited, Sterling House, 5/7, Sorabji Santuk Lane, Off. Dr. Cawasji Hormasji Lane, Dhobi Talao, Mumbai - 400 002
Shareholders holding more than one per cent of the total capital: 1. Madan Bahal : 154/B, 15th Floor, Twin Towers, Off V. S. Marg, Prabhadevi, Mumbai-400 025 2. Shashikant S. Hegde : Adarsh Nagar, Building No.42, Room No.1276, Worli Colony, Mumbai-400 030 I, Shashikant S. Hegde, hereby declare that the particulars given above are true to the best of my knowledge and belief. Sd/. Shashikant S. Hegde Dated: 1st March, 2015 Signature of Publisher
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06 Architecture Update March 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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MARCH 2015
ISSUE 2 VOLUME 09
Contents BUILT GREEN
THE ACROPOLIS ON A HILL
'Green One', H-1456, Chittranjan Park, Delhi Design Consortium
Auditorium at YS Parmar University, Solan, Himachal Pradesh, India Sangeet Sharma
16 21 24 27 30 34 38 AWARDS Birla White YuvaRatna Awards Holcim Awards
TRULY INDIGENOUS Banaras - Garments Couture Store, Gurgaon, Haryana, India Forum Architecture
AN IDIOM OF IDENTITY The Digit, New Rohtak Road, New Delhi, India Anagram Architects
A SWIRL OF ENERGY RE-USE & RE-INVENT La Leona Salon, Community Shopping Centre, Sector 14, Gurgaon Henri Fanthome Office for Architecture
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Delhi Daredevils, Cricket IPL Headoffice, New Delhi, India Manifestation of Fluid Architecture [M:OFA]
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“GREEN BUILDING DESIGN SHOULD NOT BE OPTIONAL ANYMORE BUT MANDATORY” Ar. Manit Rastogi, Founder & Partner, Morphogenesis
“ANY SENSIBLE ARCHITECT WILL USE MATERIALS THAT ARE EFFICIENT” Prof. K. Jaisim, Jaisim Fountainhead
OF THE EARTH Wah Marathi Dine‘n’Wine, Pune, Maharashtra Studio K-7 Designs Pvt. Ltd
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GLASS: THE SMART MATERIAL FOR THE SMART NEW AGE Vikram Khanna, COO, Consumer Glass; CIO & CMO, Asahi India Glass Ltd.
ECO-FRIENDLY CONSTRUCTION MATERIAL Zeenat Niazi, Vice President, Development Alternatives Group
“IT IS TIME TO ENCOUNTER THE LOCAL SUSTAINABILITY PRINCIPLES” Dikshu C. Kukreja, CP Kukreja Architects
THE TRANSIENT STRUCTURES The Pavilion Monte-Carlo, Monaco, European Union Affine Design
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Pulse architects
97 Buildings of 200 m and Higher built in 2014 ccording to the The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) 2014, Tall Building Data Research Report, in 2014, 97 buildings of 200 meters’ height or greater were completed – which is a new record. In 2011, there were 81 buildings of this caliber was built. A total of 11 supertalls (buildings of 300 meters or higher) completed in 2014 – the highest annual total on record. Since 2010, 46 supertalls have been completed, representing 54 per cent of the supertalls that currently exist (85). The number of 200-meter-plus buildings in existence has hit 935, a 352 per cent increase from 2000, when only 266 existed. This was the “tallest year ever” by another measure. The sum of heights of all 200-meter-plus buildings completed across the globe in 2014 was 23,333 meters – setting another all-time record and breaking 2011’s previous record of 19,852 meters. Asia’s dominance of the tall building industry increased yet again in 2014. Seventy four of the 97 buildings completed in 2014, or 76 per cent, were in Asia. For the seventh year in a row, China
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completed the most 200-meter-plus buildings (58). This represents 60 per cent of the global 2014 total, and a 61 per cent increase over its previous record of 36 in 2013. The Philippines took second place with five completions, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar share position three with four completions and the United States, Japan, Indonesia and Canada tie for fourth, with three completions each. Japan marked its first entry into the supertall stakes with the completion of the 300-meter Abeno Harukas in Osaka, becoming the country’s tallest building. South America also welcomed its first supertall, the 300-meter Torre Costanera of Santiago, Chile, which was also the only building of 200 meters or greater to complete on the continent in 2014. Tianjin, China, was the city that completed the most 200-meter-plus buildings, with six. Chongqing, Wuhan, and Wuxi, China, along with Doha, Qatar, all tied for second place with four completions each. At 541 meters, One World Trade Center was the tallest building to complete in 2014 and is now the world’s third-tallest building.
New Research Centre for Sustainable Development at Mumbai
on Bosco Institute of Technology at its recently concluded International Conference on Technologies for Sustainable Development 2015 has brought together Researchers, Government, Corporates and NGOs to highlight and discover technologies that will lead to economical and sustainable development for the common man in India. The outcome of the Conference has resulted in plans to set up, with corporate partnership, a research Centre for Sustainable Development at its campus at Kurla, Mumbai. The focus of the new centre will initially be in five areas of
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significance: energy, transportation, water, waste management and agriculture. Over 80 research papers/studies in these focus areas were presented by researchers and academicians from India and abroad at the Conference. The International Conference gave an opportunity to researchers, students, corporates and NGOs to showcase their findings through projects/studies done by them in the field of technology for sustainable development. “We are inviting industry partnership for research projects at the Centre for Sustainable Development” informed Fr Adolph Furtado, Rector, Don Bosco Centre for Learning at the closing of the Conference on 6th February. Some of the Corporates like GROHE Germany, IBM, Volkswagen, Toyota, Ford, Tata Motors, Godrej, etc. have been supporting projects on the campus. Don Bosco Centre of Learning (DBCL), Kurla, Mumbai ensures vocational skills, technical and higher education for youth to empower them for a sustainable future.
Futuristic Design: ‘Cellular Morphology Façade’ by rat[LAB] at[LAB], a London-based venture of young Indian Architects, have designed ‘Cellular Morphology Façade system’ - a futuristic architectural innovation through ‘Computational Design’. This prototype design an Environmentally Adaptive Building Skin that can be retrofitted on any building. Façade is designed to optimize the changing solar insulations and daylight as per the requirements of a building. The component-based building skin is parametrically designed through an algorithm that can control the apertures of each component based on views, visibility and environmental criteria and prepares fabrication data accordingly. This mathematically driven prototype at display consists of 917 unique cells made of 5,392 non-identical surfaces and 5,227 customized joints fabricated through digital prototyping techniques.This novel Design Technology has the potential of transforming the design and character of buildings that would dot the skylines of the future. A large scale prototype was on display at the ongoing exhibition at Delhi’s Alliance Francaise till 25th of February. Sushant Verma, Co-Founder, rat[LAB] is among 20 designers from Delhi, who have been shortlisted for ‘DesignXDesign 2015 20under35’ annual exhibition currently underway, stressed on the need of computational technology in India and how he aims to bring more focus on developing a new breed of computational designers to the country. He said, “Majority of architecture and design studios in India are not equipped with inhouse computational cells and there is a missing gap between design and technology. We aim to bridge this gap for studios by facilitating them with our computational design research cell and bringing in emergent technologies in the design discipline”. Computation (with its varied subsets) is one of the most advanced and growing area of research that potentially takes control of all design tools and processes at multiple scales and is utilized by majority of leading architects & designers around the globe. rat[LAB] is optimistic about this new fascinating possibility in building skin design in addressing the growing environmental concerns and would contribute in reducing the global carbon footprint through harmonizing energy utilization through intelligent building skins. This new-age architectural discipline could lead the way in revolutionising the way our roofs & facades are designed in times to come. rat[LAB] - an Independent Research Organization and with a network of designers and researchers specializing in computational design and similar technology-related domains operates as a Cloud-Based Organization with its researchers & computational designers spread across UK, USA, Europe & Asia. Recently, they have opened their first studio in Delhi.
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Bhagwati Hospital headed for a Major Revamp he Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) has approved the plans, as prepared by Shashi Prabhu & Associates, for the reconstruction of Bhagwati Hospital in Borivali. This 363-bed hospital, which caters to a vast section of population right from Andheri to Dahanu, will soon become a 750bed super speciality hospital with modern equipment and amenities. The hospital was built in bits and pieces starting in 1963. Last year, MCGM took up the decision to shut down the hospital after finding section of it in dilapidated and unsafe condition. The present structure will be demolished and a new hospital and a nurse's training college will be built in its place. The hospital, once completed, will accommodate state-of-the-art trauma centre with latest diagnostic equipments such as MRI and CT SCAN. There will be almost 20 operation theatres each one capable of catering to needs of varied departments. The ICU, MICU, SICU, PICU and ICCU will all be equipped with modern technology. Care is taken to segregate patients, relatives, staff and doctors. Construction is expected to commence this year and expected to complete within 24 months.
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Saint-Gobain Celebrates its 350th Anniversary aint-Gobain’s 350th Anniversary is a historic event, an extraordinary milestone in the life of the Company and its people. The company entered India in 1996, and has achieved strong and profitable growth since then. Today, it is one of the leaders in business, and has 20 manufacturing sites and about 4900 employees in India. In 2014, SaintGobain registered sales of about Rs.4800 crores. For Saint-Gobain, India presents a huge opportunity for growth. Two large entities, Grindwell Norton Limited (GNO), a publicly traded company, and Saint-Gobain India (SGI) and a few smaller entities house Saint-Gobain’s businesses in India. India has been an important market and investment destination for the company. “Saint-Gobain believes that it can play an important role in shaping the future by designing, manufacturing and distributing building and high-performance materials, which provide innovative solutions to meet the challenges of growth, energy efficiency and
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External View of Crescent Bay
Hitachi Receives 58 Elevators Order for a Mumbai Project itachi Lift India, which is an elevator and escalator marketing and service company in India, announced that they have been awarded an order for 58 units of elevators from L & T Parel LLP for their premium residential project “Crescent Bay” in Mumbai, India. “Crescent Bay”, a 6 tower luxury residential project is strategically located at Parel. The order 58 elevators includes 46 units of 4 m/sec high speed elevators, making it one of the largest high speed elevator orders of this type for Hitachi and 12 units of medium speed shuttle lifts which will be to cater for residents load from the parking area provided in each tower. These elevators will be equipped with advanced technology, such as earthquake operation functionality, which enables lifts to evacuate rapidly to the nearest floor when its sensors detect that the building is
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swaying as the result of an earthquake and regeneration system, which saves power during different load conditions. The cars will be also driven with “Future ReferenceTrajectory Control” which is a function of group control system aiming to minimize the long waiting period by operating elevator cars at equal time intervals while forecasting future trajectory. This “Future Reference-Trajectory Control” also helps in energy saving by reducing the number of cars. An additional advanced technology named Instantaneous Reservation and Service Forecasting, which assigns the elevator immediately to the passengers on receiving calls and indicates by flashing lanterns of assigned elevator, has also been provided for the project. Moreover, the cars will be designed aesthetically with etched stainless steel mirror.
‘Airwil Organic Smart City’ at Greater Noida
irwil Group has unveiled a mixeduse development project ‘Airwil Organic Smart City’ in Noida. Known as ‘1st Organic City’ due to projected nature-friendly construction, the project is coming up at Tech Zone, Yamuna Expressway, Greater Noida. Airwil Organic Smart City will be constructed with artistic finesse over
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two-side open plot to be developed over 76-acres of total green land. The project will have separate commercial and residential development. For the residential, the Smart City is offering various sizes of apartments, while in the commercial portion, it will have provision for IT office spaces and retail shops. The project has been designed by world’s foremost architects in such a way that each corner of project will be distinctively attractive. The project offers apartments of 1BHK & 2BHK studio apartments, IT plots, facility plots & office spaces starting from 150sqft. The Group aims to complete the project by 2018.
environmental protection. On SaintGobain’s 350th anniversary, we aim to strengthen this commitment even further by becoming the reference for sustainable habitat in India and doubling our business in the country in the next few years,” says Anand Mahajan, General Delegate for India, Sri Lanka & Bangladesh, SaintGobain. Saint-Gobain’s two ambitions for its businesses in India include to shape the future of and to become the Reference for Sustainable Habitat in India and to double its business in the country by achieving sales of Rs.10,000 crores by 2019.
RAK Ceramics Launches Nationwide Road Show n a bid to achieve its target of doubling its revenue in next three years, RAK Ceramics, one of the largest tiles manufacturing companies, has embarked upon an ambitious road show called “RAK Aap Ke Shaher” covering 50 cities pan India. The road show aims to reach Tier-II and Tier –III cities which will provide a platform to meet prospective dealers, distributors, architects, engineers, and developers. This event will also provide a ground to get a true look and feel of some of the wonderful range of products of RAK Ceramics pan India. After last nine consecutive successful road shows, the company launched its 10th road show “RAK Aap Ke Shaher” from January 2015 for the promotion of its brand. The first road was held in Indore from
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11to14 September, and the second held in Bhopal from 19th to 21st September and third one in Jabalpur from 26th to 29th September. The last four road shows was tremendous success considering the visits by dealers, potential distributors, developers, architects & the general public. The other road shows displayed some of the most exclusive products & new launches of RAK India in Ceramic Tiles, Vitrified Tiles & Sanitary ware. The objective is to have an exposure of RAK Ceramics products to all stakeholders of the tiles related industry. “This type of exhibition will reachthe location of the potential customers and hence is called RAK Aap Ke Shaher”, said Santosh Nema, Chief Executive Officer, RAK Ceramics (India).
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French Designer EURADIF to Enter India rench decorative insert door panels designer and one of the market leaders, EURADIF showcased their latest innovations at Fensterbau Frontale India 2015 (Bangalore, 2628 February), an exhibition featuring windows, doors and façades professionals. EURADIF has developed an extensive line of decorative panels for PVC and Aluminium main doors. Considering the rising demand for customised and high-quality materials used for home interiors in India, EURADIF unveiled their decorative panels for PVC1 and aluminium entrance doors tailored for the Indian market.
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Innovative materials by Bayer MaterialScience at PlastIndia ver 1500 stakeholders visited the Bayer MaterialScience booth at PlastIndia 2015 in Gandhinagar, Gujarat from 5-10 February, 2015 to learn more about the innovative product and technology solutions offered by Bayer and the ‘Magic of Materials’. Unique samples on display included Insqin® technology for the textile industry, reflective Lumenova® LED lamps, EDC – CD lamp, EV charging station, Brazuca football, Shape-memory labels, Pultrusion and NF composite panels which not only attracted attention but also triggered developmental discussions. Further, Makrolon® 2407 with light diffusion colours from the company was used to demonstrate the production of polycarbonate LED bulb domes through Injection Blow Moulding (IBM) process. This was in coordination with ASB International, a wholly owned subsidiary of Japan-based Nissei ASB Machine. Bayer also promoted the ‘Make in India’ campaign at its booth by highlighting its infrastructural capabilities within the country which include the ‘Color Competence and Design Center’ (CCDC) at Greater Noida, the ‘Polyisocyanate Production Plant’ at Ankleshwar and the ‘Polyurethane Systems House’ at Greater Noida. The Company received silver award for two categories in Plasticon Awards (which are instituted by Plastindia Foundation to felicitate excellence and innovation in the field of Plastics) – namely ‘Excellence in Contribution to Agriculture’ (for Solar Dryer technology) and ‘Innovative use of Plastics in Infrastructure’ (Agro Waste Board housing solutions).
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Danfoss signs MoU with Engineering College
anfoss India, a leading provider of climate and energy & mobile hydraulics, signed a Memorandum of Understanding with College of Engineering Pune (CoEP) as a part of its University Engagement Initiative. As per the agreement, Danfoss India will establish a Centre of Excellence at the college which will enable students and teachers to get handson experience of Refrigeration and Cooling Technologies prevalent in the industry. Danfoss Centre of Excellence will help students gain
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knowledge and experience on new technologies in the climate and energy space. More particularly, they will focus on cold-chain, Refrigeration & Heating, Climate Controls, Variable Frequency Drives. Danfoss will also conduct technical sessions for students. Addressing students and faculty of CoEP, Ravichandran Purushothaman, President, Danfoss India said that the push for sectoral development from the government coupled with the need for adoption of smart technologies increases the need to train and equip the engineers of tomorrow with industry relevant knowledge, skills and competencies. The Centre of Excellence will have a positive impact on students and will help them inculcate a keen interest towards energy efficiency as a practice and encourage them to innovate and develop energy saving solutions for the future
Designed and manufactured in France, EURADIF panels put at the disposal of home architects and door manufacturers a wide range of original products easily adaptable to various needs of customers and provide high resistance thanks to the use of safety laminated glass and termite resistant foam. The company also showcased a PORTABLOC aluminium main door as well as a THERMOSTYL main door in PVC/Composite material during the exhibition. The brand will soon open a representative office in India, said Jean-Gabriel CRETON, EURADIF’s CEO.
Tisva Bags the Retail Excellence Award isva, the lighting brand from Usha International, received the prestigious Retail Excellence Award at the Asia Retail Congress 2015 in the category of Impactful Retail Design and Visual Merchandising for its flagship showroom at Elante Mall, Chandigarh. The showroom was also recently felicitated with the Designomics Silver Awards 2014. Tisva inspired by the concept of Tisva (light) and Tattva (essence) goes beyond the existing lighting concepts and brings forth a collection of aesthetic luminaires designed with love for the homes. The showroom has customized experience zones to make customers understand the benefit of being able to control and customise their surroundings with the use of light. Every aspect of the store has been designed with precision and specialised zones have been created within the store. There are separate zones for decorative lights, ambient lights, kids light and utility lights, for helping customers choose the best lighting narrative for their homes. Asia Retail Congress is one of the important global platforms to promote worldclass retail practices. The focus of the two day Asia Retail congress was to discuss and influence the issues for change.
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Thoughtful Cooling – a Workshop on Cooling Interiors he Rachana Sansad Institute of Environmental Architecture (RSIEA), Mumbai, in collaboration with Fairconditioning Programme, Pune, organized a 3-day training workshop – ‘Thoughtful Cooling’ – from 9 to 11 January 2015 at the RSIEA. The workshop aimed at teachers, architects and building services professionals. Nearly 12 colleges from Maharashtra, 13 architectural firms and students from 4 colleges participated. This certificate programme, under the scope of Fairconditioning ‘cooling efficiently’, was endorsed by the Ministry of Power and financed by the State of Geneva, Switzerland; co-organised with the Indian Institute of Architects (IIA), Greater Mumbai Center. The event focused to integrate energy efficiency proficiency in student curricula to prepare future graduates for the challenges in their profession.
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THE CHALLENGE Current energy consumption trends in India and other developing countries are unsustainable and unaffordable. It is channelling limited resources towards urban areas. Energy consumption in residential sector constitute to inequality yet, a potential for improvement and savings. Until now, energy efficiency hasn’t been a priority while designing and operating buildings. This workshop aims at modifying architecture curriculum, to enable future architects and engineers to design energy efficient buildings. "This is a great challenge and opportunity for our country and we are certain, through thoughtful education, to bring in change" said Prof. Roshni Udyavar, Head of RSIEA.
THOUGHT FOR COOLING The workshop apprehended on Thoughtful Cooling and dealt with pedagogy through various methods. It introduced participants to laws and policies on global warming and ozone depletion. On elaborating the environmental challenge of cooling interiors with minimal impact on global warming and ozone depletion, Rajesh Rangarajan of CBalance Hub, stated that the number of AC’s in the country are projected to increase 10 times by 2030. Prof. Roshni Udyavar elaborated on ECBC 2007- its scope, compliance and implementation in different states of India. Prof. Shirish Deshpande of RSIEA and Deepa Parekh of EDS Global, explained the concepts of thermal comfort and passive design strategies respectively. Ar Aalok Deshmukh of Schneider Electric shared his experience on the retrofit of the Empire State Building, Ar Sanjay Patil introduced the participants to energy efficient farm house and institutional buildings as case studies. Various HVAC system level design and efficiency considerations were discussed from design to its operation. Direct and indirect cooling systems by Darshil Dhaliwal, Radiant Cooling Techniques by Surendra Shah and Vapor Absorption Systems by Deepak Gadhia; enlightened the participants. The workshop included two sessions on Effective Pedagogy: learning and teaching by Dr R K Pandit, Head, MITS, Gwalior. He elaborated the need of the subject in architecture and discussed, Principles of Learning and Teaching (PoLT). The participants were taken to Svantantriya Veer Smarak Auditorium at Dadar which is designed with solar PV, efficient outdoor and indoor lighting, load balancing, multiple electric meters and a structural cooling system. Where the implementation of structural cooling system has saved 40 per cent energy load. Reports and speaker presentations are available at www.rachanasansad.edu.in
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iulio Cappellini, Art Director of Istituto Marangoni School of Design, participated in ‘ID Symposium’, a part of the third edition of India Design, New Delhi, held for a week on new products and interior design trends. India Design ID 2015, a platform to create an innovative design and business-based talent factories, to fuel the design economy of the country. ID recognizes and celebrates designers and their creativity from product to interior design, architecture to conservation, installation to lighting design. The week long event kicked off on 9 February 2015 with off-site activities across the design districts of the city, culminating with the main event at the NSIC Grounds, Okhla, New Delhi from 13-15 February 2015. The event presented by the title sponsor, Asian Paints, had three verticals: Exhibit ID, ID Symposium and ID Satellite. Exhibit ID showcased high-end brands and designers’ latest collections. Decoration Pavilion showcased some of the best brand names in décor, Trends Pavilion presented the Colour Next trend forecasts for 2015 and Design Pavilion showcased designers’ creativity. Decoration Pavilion exhibitors included apartment9, artt d’inox, beyondDESIGNS, Godrej Interio, Hafele , Iqrup + Ritz, klove, K2 India ,Natuzzi Italia, Swarovski, Turning Tables for Origine, among others. Design Pavilion, a major attraction, housed Abraham & Thakore, Adil.i.Ahmad, AnanTaya AKFD, Anita Dalmia Designs, Godrej Design Lab, Mike Knowles, Anupama Kundoo, CMYK Book Store, Pradeep Sachdeva, RP Design, Sahil and Sarthak for Woodtech, and Warisan insignia by Asian Paints. ID Symposium held speakers; Giulio Cappellini, Ambrish Arora, B V Doshi, Fumihiko Maki, Gurjit Singh Matharoo, Lidewij Edelkoort, Paola Navone, Patricia Uriquiola, Sebastian Wrong, Shimul Javeri Kadri, with a Pecha Kucha Wrap Session. The week started with ID Satellite, at 5 design districts- Defence Colony, Lado Sarai, Meharchand Market, MG Road and Shahpur Jat.
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Awards
Birla White YuvaRatna Awards irla White, the white cement brand of UltraTech Cement and the leading producers of cement, hosted their 11th edition of Birla White YuvaRatna Awards, at Hotel Renaissance, Powai, Mumbai to accolade the budding architects and Civil Engineers. It was inaugurated by Rajashree Birla, Director, UltraTech Cement in the presence of eminent architects and construction professionals from across India. The jury panel included Ar. Niraj Doshi, Ar. Avinash Dahanukar,Ar. Praveen Bavadekar and Ar. Sagar Pankhaniya.
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The winners at the Awards: Theme 1: For third year students and beyond To design learning, residential and recreational facilities space for the students of standard 1 to 10 and their faculty. This should also have accommodation for 50 orphan students in the campus. 1st - Naveen Kumar, Adhiyamaan College Of Engineering, Karnataka 2nd - Nadir Noory, School of Planning and Architecture, Vijayawada 3rd - Roshan R Prabhu, College Of Engineering, Trivandrum Theme 2: For first and second year students To design a basic learning space for students of kindergarten to standard 4. This will include minimum teaching facilities and other basic amenities. The fun and joy of primary education must reflect in the design 1st - Sarthak Chakraborty, Bengal Engineering & Science University, West Bengal 2nd - Pragya Singh, Madhav Institute of Technology & Science 3rd - Arunima Saha, National Institute Of Technology Rourkela
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The theme being ‘A skill-based learning environment with sustainability’, the participants were asked to design a basic learning space, residential and recreational facilities for students and faculties, besides accommodating 50 orphan students. The evaluation criteria for the competition was based on skill, sustainability and spatial planning. The category for the competition included two themes meant for third year students and beyond. First being a design model including learning, residential and recreational facility for students from 1 to 10 standard and their faculty with accommodation for 50 orphan students. The winner for this category include Naveen Kumar from Adhiyamaan College Of Engineering, Karnataka; Nadir Noory from School of Planning and Architecture, Vijayawada and Roshan R Prabhu, College Of Engineering, Trivandrum. The second theme was to design a minimum teaching facilities
and other basic amenities for students of kindergarten to standard 4 which includes fun and joy of primary education. The winner for this category include Sarthak Chakraborty, Bengal Engineering & Science University,Shibpur, West Bengal; Pragya Singh, Madhav Institute of Technology & Science, Gwalior and Arunima Saha, National Institute Of Technology, Rourkela. Rahul Mohnot, CEO, Birla White, stated that there is a need for creative learning environment culminating both theory and skill based education, focusing sustainability. The whole hearted participation, enthusiasm of the students and independent judging is the cornerstone of this competition. “Over the past 25 years, Birla White has evolved to become the trusted brand in white cement and allied products for architecture and construction industry. Sustainability and innovative products are the success factor of the brand and the core of YuvaRatna Awards and will continue to promote green building practices through these awards,” said O P Puranmalka, Managing Director, UltraTech Cement. From its inception in 2004 the awards have received an overwhelming response from the participants. This year witnessed 937 drawings from 87 Institutes across India. National winners were short-listed on the basis of conceptual planning, space utilization, material application and 3D imagery.
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Awards
Accolades for an Indian Designer at Holcim Awards adhusudhan Rao Chalasani of MADE, India received acknowledgement prize for designing a community medical centre and school in Tatiba Baraibura, Jharkhand at the 4th International Holcim Awards for Sustainable Construction, Asia Pacific Region. The project combines local materials and traditional craftsmanship with modern technology to create simple yet sophisticated building.
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The 4th International Holcim Awards for Sustainable Construction, Asia Pacific Region were announced at a lavish commemoration in Jakarta Indonesia on November 13, 2014. The ceremony witnessed five outstanding projects to receive special acknowledgement, and announcement for implementing 13 projects in nine countries of Asia Pacific region with a total of USD 330,000. Parameters for award selection was sustainability with architectural excellence and a high degree of transferability. Between Walls - Community Medical Centre and School by MADE The community centre in Tatiba Baraibura comprises of a residential school for 400 students, vocational training program and a medical centre for 14 villages in West
Singhbhum district financed by a mining company as part of its social responsibility program. The building is north-south oriented. Local rough laterite stone along with compressed earth bricks has been used in construction of walls and also serves as primary structure for defining the movement routes, open courts, and access to the complex. Light roof with substantial overhung made in steel float above the parallel walls to ensure shading and natural ventilation. The walls are aligned along the slope of the terrain which defines the structure and shape of the complex. Footprint is limited to 45 x 135 meters and the rest of the site is left in its natural condition. Controlled views of the landscape through staggered apertures are a feature of the plan. The interior of the complex is shaded, cool and airy, creating a shadowed oasis from the climate outside. The proposal deploys low-cost construction making the most of local materials and skills, using the potential of the local community while adapting technology from the industrialized world in a simple way. Rough and untreated surfaces impart the character of the landscape into the building form.The centre serve as a standard and sustainable model that can be copied within the community and raise awareness about the merits of local materials and skills. Holcim Awards Jury Holcim Awards jury panel included Architect Rahul Mehrotra, Professor of Urban Design and Planning and Chair of the Department of Urban Planning and Design at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design, architect and progressive conservationist Brinda Somaya, Marc AngÊlil (Switzerland), Donald Bates (Australia), Momoyo Kaijima (Japan), Forrest Meggers (Singapore), Geeta Mehta (USA), Stephen Siu-Yu Lau (Hong Kong/China), Davy Sukamta (Indonesia), Yue Zhang (China) and Ian Riley (Holcim China) as Holcim’s representative.
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new launch GROHE Blue® Chilled & Sparkling faucets ROHE Blue® Pure is a solution for the luxury of drinking water straight from the faucet. Using the GROHE Blue® filter technology it turns ordinary tap water into fresh water, removing all of the impure substances. Finished in GROHE StarLight® chrome, the tap has separate internal waterways – one for filtered water and the other for unfiltered water. The GROHE Blue® filter cartridge can purify up to 600 litres of water and can be replaced in just a few steps. It delivers a pure, refreshing taste experience with no aftertaste of heavy metals, limescale or chlorine. The product combines the modern look of a designer faucet with a highperformance filter, cooler and carbonator – and is as easy to use as an ordinary kitchen faucet. The right lever on the faucet is used to mix hot and cold tap water as usual. A single turn of the left handle gives fresh, cooled sparkling water.
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Bleu Concepts unveils SCALEATON ‘Walk in Interiors’ leu Concepts, one of the world’s pioneering companies in storage solutions, has launched their avant-garde SCALEATON ‘Walk in Interiors’. The product can be assembled into any type of architecture and spatial volume like wall units, walk in wardrobes, partitions, retail spaces, kitchens, offices etc. The Scaleaton system is designed to maximize space and can include a range of clever storage solutions to suit. Different sized modules can be united to form TV and wall units which can easily become part of any décor and space. The clean and elegant lines accentuate the beauty and grace of any home as well as give a kitchen a chic look according to one’s choice. The SCALEATON ‘Walk in Interiors’ is composed up of three main components; the metal structure, the top skin and the accessories. The prefabricated metal structure is available in different modular widths with varying heights. The top skin is made of 12 mm MDF sheets supported on frame by using a simple pin fitting. Easily transformable skins are available in a array of colors and finishes which could be a veneer, laminate, lacquer, paint, or even metal, whereas the vast range of accessories are available helps to meet all requirements.
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Price: Price on Request Tel.: +91-11-26501236, +91-8527721117. Website: www.bleuconcepts.com
CERA Launches Gayle ERA, one of the home solutions leaders, has launched a new contemporary faucet series-which is a fusion of modern straight lines and classical curves, giving it aesthetic style and functional utility. Gayle, conforming to green norms, is crafted by in-house designers of CERA, in its IAPMO recognized lab. The blend of sharp edges and curved contours, Gayle has both single lever and quarter turn ranges and comes with a coin-slot aerator for easy maintenance. It is made in CERA’s state-of-the-art manufacturing plant in Kadi in North Gujarat, which is upgrading its faucet production facilities and has been inducted with an array of latest CNC machines, automatic polishing machines, low pressure die casting machines and automatic plating unit.
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‘Element’ New Faucet Range from Hindware indware from HSIL Limited, introduced ‘Element’, an exquisite range of faucets in the market. A contemporary classic, ‘Element’ is manufactured at HSIL’s modern Greenfield state-of-the-art automated faucet plant commissioned recently at Kaharani. Made of virgin brass and use of technology at each stage of its manufacturing process is one of the hallmark of ‘Element’ faucets. Automation guarantees uniformity in design, specification and everlasting shine in every piece. Additionally, fitted with best quality cartridge and aerator of international repute, the ‘Element’ range of faucets can deliver smooth water flow even when the pressure of water is low. In design terms, the ‘Element’ range is a homogenous blend of bold lines and curves. The ‘Element’ range includes a collection of faucets, smart showers and world-class water closets too as a complete bathroom suit. It is available across the country through a robust dealer network.
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new launch ‘NOTION’ Introducing Wooden Deck Tiles ooden Deck Tiles are introduced by “NOTION”-pioneer in tile solution for home and commercial space. According to Akash Saini Director Sales -’NOTION’ the Wooden Deck tiles are one of the best technological woods for exterior use. It’s available in natural wood of IPE. This is one of the most durable and stable products available to revamp your exteriors at nominal cost. Its installation method is very simple and it takes no more than just several hours for setting. These tiles can be used in two different wayswith staggered or aligned joints. Due to their various colours, designs and shapes, these deck tiles can easily fit almost every surface of the house. These decking tiles are provided with nontoxic chemical coatings that ensure resistance against termite & moisture. They are safer to walk as they offer more toeholds to prevent slipping and everyone feels comfortable to walk on these flooring tiles.
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Price tag: On request Tel : +91-8010-450-450; Website: www.notion.net.in
Neki’s Top Mounted Flat Baluster System with Glass ide bracket railing system with glass from Neki has interior as well as exterior application properties – this product has a towering demand by a host of private villas, IT parks, offices spaces, prime building balconies etc. No welding or fabrication is required at site as it’s a knock down system. It is suitable for interior and exterior due to corrosion resistant high grade AISI 316 stainless steel. With almost no maintenance required, this stainless steel railing System has better durability and reliability with almost no maintenance. Wherever required, joints of our knock-down system are internally enhanced with bushing made of stainless steel or high grade brass. 1.5 mm thick metal is used to develop handrail and baluster systems and it ensures strength and longevity of the product. An advance polishing process for unique polish and finesse is employed. The handrail and baluster designs can be tailor made. These applications can be used on staircase railing, as well as simple railing for atrium, balcony, staircase landing. Pull Handles & Mortice Handles from Neki- Kich are crafted from a high grade AISI 316 stainless steel. The lever door handle comes with a plate and is ideal for wooden & glass doors with pin cylinder and lock body. The Pull & Mortice handles could be made in different sizes when it comes to its area of application. For further details - www.nekiindia.com
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RAK Launches New Polished Designs in Logs & Planks Collection. AK Ceramics has launched a first of its kind in the tile industry with Logs & Planks Collection. It is launched with wood inspired exquisite designs in rustic finish. The brand will come up with more such wood inspired designs in high gloss polished finish. RAK Ceramics enters wooden flooring space as there has been a recent trend of the use of “wood finish” in living rooms and in bedrooms and even other locations such as terraces & balconies and the most popular, however, has been in plank formats. And thus RAK chooses to offer a collection which not only offers wooden finish but also convenience of size and launched Logs and Planks in sizes of 197 X 1198 mm and 598 X 1198 mm. Logs & Planks collection have properties like almost zero water absorption & breaking strength of minimum 1800 N, coupled with long life makes it more beneficial to use wooden look vitrified tiles than actually wooden flooring. The range comes in 10 unique designs in two sizes of 598 X 1198 mm and 197 X 1198 mm. This collection comes in rustic & high gloss polished finish to give natural wood effect.
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Book Review
GREEN IS RED by Anil Laul Reviewed by Architect Dr. Shashank Ninawe n the plethora of literature about Green and Sustainable Architecture, here is one book published in 2013, which totally stands out from its cover to content, and its stand on Green to its approach to Red. The first page of the book opens with ‘ The only way to live life is by living it ‘ and ‘Green is not a Fashion statement, it is merely the logical and common sensical way to go and common sense, though rare it is said, should require no approval from specialized agencies’. A hard bound book in ply and with paper veneer veil and the catchy title with the letters punctured through with contrasting hues painted for the title words ’GREEN IS RED’. This 200+ page volume is very rich in content and covers varied topics from Urban Red herrings to the local agenda. It also gives a review of the author’s race from first gear to fifth gear and over drive. He also contradicts the stand taken by the Green gurus and the chaos created by a number of ratings in force, in the wake of the lost Indian traditional wisdom conveniently. There are many pictures of very interesting pallets of projects done by the author himself; displaying the judicial use of stone to china mosaic, and funicular to steel. The different hues of the materials used from yellow ochre to apple green, and postal red to terracotta reds; displaying the vibrant montage of creative spaces, generated to paint a collage of ‘invisible’ Green Architecture, in an unadulterated common sense. His human settlements are the integration of the creative inputs of architect, structural analysis of the civil engineer, the fine artist and the artisan implementing the local materials and the local building skills, the perfect blend of landscape, and the interiors and the exteriors fused into one. Holistic sustainability is best achieved in weaving together warps and
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wefts of varied energy conserving and recycling elements, and integrating them into a fabric with understanding, care and respect, to the final product of the green fabric…!! The world of creativity is vivid in the documentation of the author’s project ‘Building center’ at Anangpur, donned completely with the ornamental clicks of the structure featuring stones and pebbles, space frame and plexi glass, twisted columns in brick tiles to landscaped terraces, perhaps very akin to Antonio Gaudi’s structures in Spain. Architectural Gymnastics are not required for human settlement, but the author brings home the point that ‘response’ to the human being and his feelings are more important, respecting materials for their inherent latent values and not to transplant values on structures, to retain the socio cultural fabric which helped man co-exist with nature and environment; reexamine traditional practices, cull out wisdom and dovetail them into the scientific temper of the present generation of structures for the future generation. The author makes emphatic statements which sometimes may sound arrogant to some but they are strongly nullified with the radical argument to his views. He also makes stark remarks at the commercialization of the GREEN as commodity to be sold and strongly marketed by the interested agencies, including the carbon credits and the entire phrases attached to the green. This book with its aesthetically pleasing layout and crisp printing of matter and photographs, makes reading an experience of pleasure, which can give the insight not only to the architect fraternity but also to the common man, around whom the architectural green design should revolve from RED to GREEN…. Not to miss the page no in Devnagari script..!!!
Book Title: Green Is Red Author: Ar. Anil Laul Publisher: Academy for Sustainable Habitat Research & Action (ASHRA) Year of Publishing: 2013 Rating: 4 Stars
Dr. Shashank Ninawe has graduated in Architecture from JJCOA in First Class (Hons) and has achieved his Doctorate in Architectural Education through Computer Assisted Learning. He has been in the Architectural Education field for last 26 years, out of which 2 years he was Principal of L. S. Raheja of School of Architecture. He has prolific practice in India and abroad in Residential, Institutional, Hospitality, Commercial etc. with special focus on Environmental and Sustainable issues. He has presented many papers at National and International level, written articles in journals and has been writing book reviews in magazines.
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Materials Wood
The innovative design for La Leona Salon by Henri Fanthome Office for Architecture (HFOA) in the bustling Community Shopping Centre, Sector 14, Gurgaon brings a whole new experience to Salon design.The design relies on a series of rich timber frames which mark out the distinct areas while retaining a spatial continuity from one into the other. The edgy yet texturally rich frames form the basic construct of the design.
Re-use & Re-invent Text & images: courtesy, the architect
La Leona Salon, Community Shopping Centre, Sector 14, Gurgaon Henri Fanthome Office for Architecture
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he design idea for the La Leona Salon by New Delhi based architectural practice Henri Fanthome Office for Architecture (HFOA) at Community Shopping Centre, Sector 14, Gurgaon, centers around a transparency and a Zen like calm. The design caters for a pleasant and soothing atmosphere for the client without distraction. Each element is carefully placed and blended to create a seamless unified experience. The clients were very demanding and it was a challenge to design a lush salon in a very small floor space. The first floor space is about 900Sq.ft varying between 16 feet at its widest and 9 at its narrowest, and under 60 feet long was a hard space to work. A salon should be full of space for bags, product, brushes, blow-dryers, trolleys, large chairs, etc - all fighting for space and distracting the eye. Hence anything
Henri Fanthome, Principal at Henri Fanthome Office for Architecture (HFOA), had his early education in Bhutan, where he spent his formative years, moving back to India at the age of 17. Later he attended the School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi, where he earned an Undergraduate Degree in Architecture in 2004. Henri Fanthome Office for Architecture, was started in 2009, more to take part in the SPA New Campus Masterplan Competition. And since has stuck to its agenda for architectural design. Five years on the firm is working in Delhi, Uttarakhand, Haryana, UP and still doing a lot of competitions, from exhibition design to furniture and architecture and everything in-between. HFOA is a small firm, that believes in design research, discipline and pragmatic thinking. We vision architecture that reflects and celebrates the balance between humanity and the planet we inhabit, both in the built and un-built environment. At HFOA sustainability is exciting, it is the future, and the way they have always designed. Fanthome teaches at the Dept. of Architecture, School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi and School of Design, Ambedkar University, New Delhi.
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unnecessary was stripped and removed and the feeling of space was highlighted. The architects decided to use a minimalist approach with the careful addition of the salon’s signature red, the palate. The salon appears much larger than it actually is. The design relies on a series of rich timber frames that divide the space into five sections, these frames mark out the distinct areas while retaining a spatial continuity from one into the other - enlarging the experience space while maintaining a disciplined segregation of function. The edgy yet texturally rich frames form the basic construct of the design. Both on the walls and overhead, they define and enclose without actually creating enclosure. Within the frames, they have inserted various components as functions demand – mirrors on the walls at the stations, shelves for display, storage in the partitions, and
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branding for products and services. Each inserted with minimal detail and fuss with joints cleverly camouflaged into the structure of the frames, and completely invisible. The departure from regular salon design is stated clear and bold right at the entrance. A triangular wedge of space is given over to the narrow landing, announcing the entrance. The unfussy entrance orients and delivers an experience of the whole salon and it directs to the reception and waiting. A touch of bright red, contrast with the wood and white palate adds a dash of energy at the reception, while the rest of the salon is calm space. The wood furniture – both at the reception desk and the waiting bench, are almost Japanese in their minimalist lines but are surprisingly comfortable to use, proportioned and sized with a great attention to detail. The walls follow a pattern, white painted surface, with carefully placed series of vertical timber frames that blend into the overhead lattice. Between these are placed the mirrors, or the brand images and posters, or shelves as needed. There is a neat, disciplined right-angled geometry that integrates the many varying elements into a single larger design expression that effortlessly flows through, clearly visible and defined but not overpowering. Storage, displays and even the trolleys follow the same logic and neatly slot into the spaces created in-between frames to continue the palate of timber and the framed construction. The space of the salon is defined by its longer edges – walls that face each other and share a similar palette but contrast in treatment. The walls with clear white overlay timber frame and similar sized horizontal slat paneling adds perspective
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to the space. The diagonal play in the pattern adds a little interest that catches the eyes. In keeping with a minimal design, there is no false ceiling. A wooden lattice floating overhead knits the many frames on two opposite walls into a unifying pattern in the space. Through it one can see overhead conduits that carry the wires to the lights. The conduits are white in colour and are laid in cross-crosses pattern that complement the wooden lattice frame and marked with circular white inverted pedestals that identify the points form which each lamp is suspended through the wooden lattice frame. Flooring is simple in hues of deep chocolate, wood and black, that compliment the material palate. Large tiles are used, cut and laid in an imaginative pattern that compliments the diagonal embellishments on the paneling and reception. Tiles are easy to maintain and cost effective. The salon is designed to be versatile and flexible in use. The make-up and beauty section uses carefully camouflaged collapsible wall panels to great effect. The space can be either be four individually divided cubicles or combined into combinations by folding back the floor-to-ceiling panels between them. The lighting is simple yet execute great effect. Sustainability is an attitude and an aesthetic choice as well. Almost all the wood used is re-purposed. They were mainly sourced from automotive parts packaging material that was carefully selected and put to use. The solid 3.5-inch square posts and beams, the paneling on the walls, the lattice overhead, and even the carefully crafted massage tables for the rooms, benches for waiting and the trolleys were made from the same light grained wood. The choice was a green decision, but with a clear aesthetic vision. Thus the costs were greatly reduced, both for furniture and for overall interiors works though that wasn’t the overarching concern. Using unconventional materials required a reimagining of construction and fabrication techniques but they were worth the effort. fact file: project location client
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architect commencement date completion date area
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La Leona Salon Sector 14 Market, Gurgaon Aruna Dhaka + Virender Chaudhary (La Leona Salon) Henri Fanthome Office for Architecture (HFOA) September 2013 March 2014 950-Sq ft
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Materials natural stones
Jensil John and Suparna Ghosh, Principal Designers, Forum Architecture, did their M. Sc. (Architecture) from Politecnico di Milano, Italy and B. Arch from TVB School of Habitat Studies, Delhi. John is a well-rounded designer with a keen sense of the artistic and the technical aspects of architecture. With a masters focusing on urbanism and large scale design, he has an in-depth understanding of the city scale and can marry the two fields of architecture and urban design. He has an added interest in architectural photography. Before forming the firm Forum Architecture, John worked with MAas Architects, Ashok B. Lall and as a lighting designer with Mandala : Forum for Design. He also works as a visiting faculty for the undergraduate level at Jamia Millia Islamia’s School of Architecture and the School of Planning & Architecture, Delhi. Suparna has a keen interest in both architecture and interior design and their inter-relationship. She is currently focusing on interiors and small scale architecture to tell an artistic story. She is an avid traveler and architecture tourist & critic.Before forming the firm Forum Architecture, Suparna worked with ABRD Architects, Sumant Jayakrishnan and Morphogenesis. She also spends time teaching as a visiting faculty at SPA, Delhi.
The design of Banaras - an Indian ethnic wear couture showroom at Gurgaon, Haryana, by Forum Architecture, started with one common goal between the client and the architects – to emulate the traditions of India and recreate for the customer an allencompassing experience of Indian craftsmanship in both clothing and interiors. The Interiors were kept simple and elegant so as to complement the products and not overpower them.
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Text & images: courtesy, the designers
Truly Indigenous Banaras - Garments Couture Store, Gurgaon, Haryana, India Forum Architecture
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he design concept for the Indian ethnic wear couture showroom - Banaras - at Gurgaon, Haryana, by Forum Architecture, started with the most relatable aspect of Banaras – the ghats. The space was perceived as an array of levels that created the illusion of traversing through the stepped streets of Banaras. Platforms of irregularly shaped polygons guided the way and doubled up well as display podiums creating the rustic semblance of the ghats. The customer is led along the clothes display to a steeply rising plinth that leads to a haveli jharokha and the trial room. Two mannequins are propped in the store in a way to further accentuate the elements of the interiors. The first adorns the irregular platforms and sits like a bride in a veil and forms the first view at the entry of the store. The second stands at the elevated haveli plinth and serves as the highlight product display for the store. The podium also creates a viewing stage for the customer to model the garments and provides a lavish photo-op space framed by the jharokha, steps and a traditional dress mirror.
The materials used in the design of the store were kept simple in nature and were limited to rough Gwalior stone on the floor as well as the walls in order to celebrate the products working in contrast to the vibrant colours of the garments. Antique hand carved monolithic Gwalior stone columns were sourced and used to support the main display niches designed to look like the interior spaces of Rajasthani havelis. The niches were adorned with traditional household objects and curios displayed on top of them and arranged with a deliberate casualness in order to exhibit a warm homely and cozy ambience to the store. Various antique furniture pieces were sourced to add to the overall concept of a traditional Indian interior. An antique wooden window with wrought iron grill work was sourced and placed strategically as one of the show windows. A mirror cabinet with ornately carved wood motifs was placed as a functional storage and mirror as well as a space dividing element creating a subtle break between the sari and anarkali Architecture Update March 2015
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sections of the store. The cash counter was envisioned as a traditional writing desk and customized to work as an effective POS station. One of the most striking elements of the store was the main display show-window which carried an installation of charkhas – spinning wheels created in a way to exhibit the most essential ingredient of Indian handloom and craft - the 'thread' itself. Six yarns of white thread represent the essence of the weave and are used as an artifact on display. Charkhas of varying sizes are arranged along the display window and suspended from the ceiling at varying heights. The yarns adorn the wheels travelling from one to the other like a spinning loom chain and then travel along the ceiling for the length of the store terminating on the stepped display of the ghats and integrating the entire space.
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In an attempt to create a flagship store and for brand recall value, the branding and logos of the store were also incorporated into the interior design process of the store. The ambi element from the branding of the store name was customized and used as the door handle at the main entrance of the store. The handle, all signages and the logo crest on the exterior façade were cast in brass and treated to have authentic patina finish to go with the look and feel of the space. The client’s vision for the brand was to bring to the forefront the very essence of an 'Indian-ness' that would span across the overall impression of the brand. The interiors designed by Forum Architecture work as an element that ties together all these facets through space and experience and highlights the motto of the couture brand – Hindustan ma banamaal– and provides an apt platform for the display and sale of the products.
fact file: project location client interior designer & architect commencement date completion date site area cost material specification
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Banaras, Garments Couture. Galleria Market, DLF Ph IV, Gurgaon. CODE inc. - Kamal & Jatin Gandhi
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Forum Architecture (Suparna Ghosh & Jensil John) July 2013 December 2013 550-Sq ft 25 lakhs Rough Gwalior stone, Monolithic Gwalior stone column, Sourced antique wooden windows, furniture, mirror, charkha, Sourced antique stone jharokha, Die cast brass with copper patina finish
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Materials green roof
Built Green 'Green One', H-1456, Chittranjan Park, Delhi Design Consortium 'Green One' at H-1456, Chittranjan Park, Delhi, designed by Design Consortium is India's first residence to achieve a five-star rating, the highest possible, by TERI and GRIHA collaboration, SVAGRIHA, with a total score 48/50.
the purpose. The green roof adds to the process of insulation, while internal and external water bodies help maintain the micro-climate.
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reen One' at H-1456, Chittranjan Park, Delhi, designed by Design Consortium is a green residence with a 5 Star Rating from SVAGRIHA (Simple Versatile Affordable – Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment). The design economizes construction and maintenance of buildings. It reduces the carbon footprint- the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere by the building/users- of the building.
The overall design of the 'Green One' is made with fenestrations, such that they reduce heat gain. The staggering and stacking form provides shade and also maximises diffused lighting. With a west facing plot, the planning was done to receive the morning light in the private spaces. Due to east west orientation, all the windows were double paneled glass with low SHGC (Solar Heat Gain Co-efficient) glass. 54.72 per cent of the total living area falls under the day lit zone as calculated by ECBC method.
SVAGRIHA rated that 74.5 per cent of the paved area is either soft paved or shaded with trees. The thermal efficiency of the building was calculated to be 443.32-Sq ft/TR, which is higher than the second SVAGRIHA threshold for Delhi (which is 325-Sq ft/TR). Artificial lights with low LPD (Low Power Density) are installed and are mostly LEDs and CFLs. Solar panels are installed on the roof that produce, 3kWp of power, along with solar heaters instead of electrical geysers. To ensure that no energy is wasted, all appliances installed have a 5-star energy efficiency rating. As a water saving technique, the site has a rain water storage tank, connected to the recharge pit, which ensures that all the water is either consumed or recharged back in the earth. No waste water goes directly to the municipal line. It gets collected in the waste water collection tank to be chemically treated, and is then taken to the phytorid bed for natural oxidation. After this the water is used either for irrigation or other purposes and therefore has a zero impact on the environment. By receiving a total score 48/50, the house achieved a 5 star rating.
The Envelope is made of green materials such as fly ash bricks for interior walls and AAC bricks for exterior. Old door frames, bricks and reinforcements are used in non-critical areas. Vermiculite insulation is used on the roof and in some places earthen pots inside the slab solve
SVAGRIHA (Simple Versatile Affordable – Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment), is a green building design-cum-rating system. It has been jointly developed by ADaRSH (Association for Development and Research of Sustainable Habitat) and TERI (The Energy and Resources Institute). SVAGRIHA has been developed for rating of stand-alone buildings of cumulative built up area of up to 2500-Sq m
fact file: project location architect client plot size built up area completion date
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Green One H-1456, Chittranjan Park, Delhi Design Consortium Prasanto K. Roy, Advisor, ICT Publications 2842-Sq ft 10956.96-Sq ft December 2013
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Materials contemporary
Text & images: courtesy, the designers
Playing with Shades & Shadows
C- 221, Defence Colony, New Delhi, India Design Consortium
Nilanjan Bhowal, (Principal Architect and founder of Design Consortium), is a revered architect and urban planner in India. He comes with an experience of over 25 years in the field of architecture and interiors. After completing his Bachelors in Architecture he pursued post graduation in Energy-efficient Architecture from Istanbul Technical University, TURKEY and Master’s in Architecture from Katholieke Universities, Leuven, BELGIUM. His projects ranging from urban design, hospitality, conservation, institutional as well as interiors have received great appreciation. He is the recipient of several awards from the Institute of Interior Designers and Indian Institute of Architects for his outstanding contribution. He also received Rashtriya Gaurav Award and many such accolades.
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While designing the interiors of a house for three families of two generations at Defence Colony, New Delhi, the designers from Design Consortium were careful with their palette of colours. The house was designed keeping contemporary aesthetics and functionality in mind. The interiors of the house were designed to look classical but not ornamental; opulent, yet elegant with easy to maintain materials.
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as a staggering form on the site, the residence at Defence Colony, New Delhi, designed by the architects from Design Consortium, plays with the shades and shadows of the sun during the day. A play of white and grey on the elevation forms an interesting faรงade with stone clad massing that accentuates the form and windows as punctures and slits that add to the play. With a huge 20 year old palm tree at the entrance of the site, a stilt plus four storey structure was constructed, of which the basement, ground and first were designed as one unit for the parents and the upper two floors as independent residences for their two sons, the house caters to two generations with all the comforts. The stilt floor was designed to not look like the conventional stilt floor, where all the columns are visible, instead; the entrance lobby and a small staircase were kept to the front, shielding the back from view. This lobby space was designed as a double height space with glass contrasting against the warmth of wood and dark black stone, which gave character to the space. From here, a staircase led down to the
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basement, which was not the conventional neglected dark storage space without any natural light, but instead was designed as a family entertainment zone next to an open to sky green courtyard. A lounge and home theatre system completed the space. The interiors of the house were designed to look classical but not ornamental; opulent, yet elegant with easy to maintain materials. The ground and the first floor as one unit had 5 bedrooms, a kitchen, dining and a drawing room; designed lavishly with ample space for separate dressers in every room. A wooden staircase with glass treads led to the first floor, which had a subtle light on each step accentuating it. The second and third floor was designed as a three bedroom apartment; with exaggerated colour schemes. Overall the house was complete with a green terrace space with wooden decking, which included a water body as well. With a careful palette of colours, the house was designed keeping contemporary aesthetics and functionality in mind.
fact file: project location
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client interior designer architect other consultants commencement date completion date area cost
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Residence at 221 Defence Colony, New Delhi Bhasin Design Consortium Nilanjan Bhowal Structural- C.P.Saluja 2010 2012 500-sq ft 1.5 crore
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Materials recycled wood planks
The new flamboyant Office Space for Delhi Daredevils, one of the Indian Premium Cricket league (IPL) teams, designed by M:OFA at Delhi, reflects not just the brand identity of the team, but also incessant flow of energy. The idea was to blur the lines between ‘work-play-mee’t spaces in order to get the sporting energy vibe throughout the office. The Think Tank Lounge which occupies the central place in the office showcases intricate designs in wood planks resembling a swirl of energy.
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Text & photographs: courtesy, the architect
A Swirl of Delhi Daredevils, Cricket IPL Head-office, New Delhi, India Manifestation of Fluid Architecture [M:OFA]
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he Head office for Delhi Daredevils, an IPL cricket team, located in New Delhi, designed by M:OFA, is an exemplary model of fluidity. The designers fused the old model with refashioned logo of the team to create an intrinsic fluidity in architecture of the place. The GMR group which bought the team desired a complete image makeover of the team, from replacing the old players with new, even changing their logo. They wanted the office space to be designed to explore tremendous scope for work and leisure, at the same time symbolizing the young brand with sports energetic vibe In keeping with the new brand image, the designers planned an office space as a youth oriented semi formal open plan with multiple overlaps
Manish Gulati, the Principal Architect and Director M:OFA Studios has over 14 years of work experience working on multiple verticals right from institutional, sports infrastructure, hospitality, residential, retail and commercial. Architect Manish is an alumnus of School of Architecture, CEPT Ahmadabad. He started his practise in 2002 in New Delhi. His innate ability to remain abreast with technology, his deep love for the arts and sensitivity towards life always remains at core to any of his works. His forte and driving passion is design and innovation. His design process is supported by his global and holistic approach towards architecture in terms of constant research, resolution, analysis, reports, case studies & project discussions on design, functionality, technology, inventive concepts and sustainability issues. This innovative approach has lead M:OFA to create many national and international award winning projects and to generate a niche for itself in a short span of time.
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the reception desk designed in white Corian, with display boxes of various sizes in the backdrop, and the Think Tank Lounge in the forefront
between working and meeting areas. The idea was to blur the lines between work-play-meet areas, to allow the sporting energy vibe to flow uninterrupted throughout the office. Apart from a formal conference room meant for sponsor meetings, two more meeting areas were introduced. One near the reception as an informal discussion/ ideation space that could be reorganized in multiple configurations and the other space called “the think tank lounge” as an ideal ‘work-play-meet’ space. The reception desk is designed in white Corian with display boxes of various sizes in the backdrop that bears the team memorabilia, autographed bats, hand-prints by the players over last six years, LED screens, permanent display of player profiles over the cloud installation, etc - all are used to associate the new with the old, creating high fervour and madness with which cricket is associated in India. The Think Tank Lounge, the focal-point of the office, is designed as a swirl of energy. Multiple movie frames of batsmen hitting various strokes to bowlers swing arms were analysed and carefully overlapped with various shots to derive the splines that led to model a swirl cloud which is a true representation of various cricket balls hit by multiple batting strokes in all directions across the stadium. This NURBS (Non Uniform Rational B-Splines) model was further resolved to be constructed economically, using slender steel cage covered by modules
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of four inch by three feet of wooden planks recycled from waste shipping pallets which is approximately close to a size of a cricket bat. The lower part of this installation was divided into trapezoidal panels, each representing a player over the six years of Delhi Daredevils, UV printed over MDF boards. The installation of this master-piece, offers multiple experiences from various angles both from outside and inside of this shape. From outside it emulates the energy of batting strokes, whereas from inside, it resonates the collective force of thousands of spectators cheering during the match. The work-stations and cabins are conceptualized in collaboration with steel-case. The workspaces are designed to encourage flexible collaborative working while keeping the identity of an individual desk intact. The opaque divider panels between the workstations are replaced with low dynamic red acrylic panels to spur the team spirit among the co-workers. Usage of similar desks with clear glass partitions for the executive cabins reduces the hierarchy and induces free flow of ideas and strategies. This has resulted into strong team bonding between top-management and the lower level-management. The whole aura of the office has been kept sporty with the controlled use of corporate reds and ambers over the neutral grey palette created by the cement board panelling in the entire office space. The interplay of bright colours with neutral greys has further been juxtaposed with
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the extensive use of recycled wood planks and natural MDF panels which adds another layer to the experiential depth of the office. The light fixtures were custom designed by Luzlight design Studio, New Delhi. The task-lights over the workstations, designed as a group of three long and thin slivers of light represents the three wickets while the randomness of linear point-lights within the think tank lounge represents millions of flashbulbs in the stadium. The air-conditioning ducts which runs openly throughout the office is illustrated with “Delhi Daredevils� spray-painted in 10 different Indian languages representing the multi-cultural profile of the team players.
the management rooms
fact file: project location client architect
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design-team
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consultants contractors
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material used
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commencement date : completion date : area : workstations and storage
Head Office for Delhi Daredevils, IPL Cricket team New Delhi, NCR, India GMR Sports Pvt Ltd Manish Gulati, Manifestation of Fluid Architecture [M:OFA] Abhishek Sorampuri, Sameeksha Gulati, Smriti Dhawan, Sonali Gupta M:OFA Studios Pvt. Ltd. and PMC by Jade Consultants Electrical, Civil & Interiors: Vishal Furnishers; Cloud Installation: Cutting Creations; HVAC: Ambience Airtech Pvt. Ltd. Cement board panels, Recycled wood planks from shipping pallets, MDF UV printed or Duco coated, Corian, Carpet, custom designed lighting fixtures December, 2013 April, 2014 site area - 298-sq m ( 3200-Sq ft); built-up area 298-Sq m (3200-sq ft)
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Materials perforated aluminium facade
Text: courtesy, the architect, Photo credits: AndrĂŠ J Fanthome & Ayush Prakash
An Idiom 034 Architecture Update March 2015
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Madhav Raman founded Anagram Architects in 2001 with Vaibhav Dimri as a partnership architectural practice. Both graduated from School of Planning and Architecture in 2001. 13years of their experience and expertise in urban infrastructure, design consultancy & allied services in architecture has brought a number of awards and accolades to the company. In 2009 they established Studio Insitu, in partnership with the internationally renowned artist Asim Waqif, as a foray into the realm of high value design-build, installation art design and public art. Apart from designing and creating, Madhav is also a visiting faculty in his alma-mater and has presented talks at many prestigious forums, nationally and internationally.
The design for ‘The Digit’, an office for one of the major outdoor advertising companies in India, designed by Anagram Architects on New Rohtak Road, New Delhi is an epiphany of its brand identity. The clamorous visual language of its façade made of red aluminium perforated screen acts as an overlay or imprint on the urban built language. It intrepidly uses built volume and urban inserts to increase its visibility or to accent its messaging, adding chaotic visual cacophony to inspiring its street art.
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lement of The Digit, an office space located on New Rohtak Road, New Delhi designed by Anagram Architects for Pioneer Publicity, one of the largest outdoor media firms in the country, is an epiphany of its brand identity. The nature of corporate business communication has always been about altering minds and capturing eyeballs. Corporate brand identities are becoming inescapable to the urban-scape with outdoor or out-of-home (OOH) advertising. An extremely dynamic form of communication relies heavily on high visual impact in a momentarily brief engagement. The main idea behind the design was to investigate the notion of identity (corporate, organisational and individual) and its urban projection. The realization was to project an eye-catching visual language and a split second impact of a road-side billboard while simultaneously committing to a deeper value and meaning to the organization, the architecture and the occupant.
of Identity The Digit, New Rohtak Road, New Delhi, India Anagram Architects
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projected profile of a thumb. The semi-elliptical cylindrical ambit creates a linear void that stretches along the length of the building, infusing the workspaces with natural gleam diffused through a membrane of louvres. The company's corporate structure is implied in the volume with the hierarchical levels of the work force and management segregated into various floors of ascending seniority and reducing occupancy. The front of the site confronts a noisy road as well as huge solar heat gain which was a low point of the site. This drawback is mitigated with remodelling the faรงade with glimmering and visually exciting layered face. The glazing on the faรงade is protected by a red aluminium perforated screen. The pattern of the logo is articulated by re-attaching the stamped-out discs through a pivot detail.
The site for the structure was on a narrow urban plot with limited street frontage. The neighbouring buildings had larger frontage and this restricted built volume of the project which was built around a central void or atrium. As a result, the front faรงade was the main source of light for the interiors which remained largely dingy and required artificial lighting. The design proposed a divergence from the existing street through a singular formal articulation that symbolically hints to a
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The ground floor of the office accommodates the parking-lot. Upperground floor is the entrance lobby, with a thumb impression, an idiom of identity of an individual within the organization, carved on its ceiling. The design idea came from delving into semiotic communication, where the most common idiom of identity is the thumb-print. Reception opens into three meeting rooms and the work-space. The workspace comprise of cabins and open office, both in first and second floor, along-with separate pantry and server room. The language of the perforated screen is carried through, in the partitions between the main circulation spine and the workstations in the office. The third floor
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houses four director’s cabins and a conference hall connected with the lobby. The director’s cabins are fronted with perforated façade that filters sunlight inside the cabin. In the reception area the flooring is done in 4 inches wide flexible, polished wooden-ply. The common area has vinyl flooring while the office-space flooring is done in carpet-tile. For investing greenery into every nook and corner of the office, planters are projected into the linear voids that stretch along the edges of the floor-plates. The exceptional design of the building stands out from among its neighbouring buildings with its corporate identity and domain infused on the façade shimmering in the breeze.
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The Digit New Delhi Pioneer Publicity Anagram Architects January 2012 August 2014 1400-Sq m INR 6 crores André J Fanthome and Ayush Prakash
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Materials indigenous & organic
Text & photographs: courtesy, the architect
The Acropolis on a Hill Auditorium at YS Parmar University, Solan, Himachal Pradesh, India Sangeet Sharma
Sangeet Sharma is a practicing architect and a partner in SD Sharma & Associates, a well-known firm in Chandigarh. He is a multifaceted personality and has authored many books such as Architecture, Life and Me, Corb’s Capitol, Architectural Aesthetics, and Step by Step Hospital Design and Planning to name a few. He has won many awards and accolades in his field. He has also been part of many national and international jury for architectural awards. Ar. Sangeet Sharma commands an undisputed international reputation in profession. Carrying forward the legacy and vocabulary established by Chandigarh and modern architecture, he is fascinated by geometrical forms. By looking at every drawn line as built spaces he follows a certain rationale to his reflective practice. His buildings are based on sustainable applications.
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To be in tune with aesthetic and nature, it is essential to embrace it the way it is, to retain and relish its beauty while being one with it. The newly constructed Auditorium at YS Parmar University, Nauni, Solan, Himachal Pradesh, designed by Architect Sangeet Sharma is an apt example of this association. The design is organic & blends with the hills without violating the topography, and is based on sustainable elements & principles of design: The main being, the non-tampering of the nature.
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he concept of the Auditorium at YS Parmar University, Solan, Himachal Pradesh designed by Architect Sangeet Sharma was derived from its site and location. The auditorium is built up on small hillock, which is a part of the campus, providing a 360 degree panoramic view of the natural beauty around.
Looking at the site, what struck the architect was that it should be the “ACROPOLIS ON A HILL� - as the structure sits on a hill like the seat of interaction and intellectual activity that was the case also in Acropolis. The approach to the hill was negotiated and the location of the auditorium was decided.
Client wanted to build the auditorium on a flattened hill. The flow of the hill was retained by the architect much against the wishes of the client.
The building is a large complex within an organic setting that gets vibrant by sensitively organized architecture and planning. The form blends conductively within the hilly terrain and merges well. The Auditorium is a structure in RCC frame and is supported on raft foundation. It is designed with the seating capacity of 1200. There are cut-outs within the entrance and the foyer which keep the people in constant visual communication. The design of the openings is to get maximum light and heat within the ramps and movement areas. Being located in a cold region it is designed to facilitate maximum heat-gain. The design of the windows is interesting and is based on the local pine fruit and other elements of the hills. The windows are aluminium glazed with low E-glass. The architecture vocabulary is in tune with the hills as the shape of the roof is derived from the pine tree. The ascend of the auditorium is by the ramps which are located outside the sitting hall. Ramps are provided for vertical circulation which gives the feeling of ascending the hills. They move upwards almost 40 ft, and are the source of panoramic views of the hills and help the occupant to explore and to be in constant touch with the nature. By keeping the ramps outside, there is ample light in the movement areas, the lobbies and other areas of congregation. In the cold region, the cavity walls of the auditorium give enough insulation and this furnish for the sustainability of the building. Architecture Update March 2015
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since the ramps are outside, there is ample light in movement areas
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ramps are provided for vertical circulation
connecting interiors with nature
Moreover, the cat walk acts as insulation both for sound and heat. The South-east-North-west (SE-NW) orientation supply abundant sunlight in winter and lessens the heat impact in summer. The interiors with acoustic panels and false ceiling add to the acoustic properties. On stage the flooring is wooden while rest of the flooring is in PVC and carpet-tile. Furniture is from Godrej and is of fire-proof material. Exterior wall design includes motifs and elements of local hill architecture including “dhajji walls� in terracotta colour. Trusses are used for supporting the roof. The covering is of aluminium sheets. The overall architecture is a befitting solution to an organic, an intelligent option. The hillock on which the auditorium has come up was retained which is the most important sustainable feature of this design.
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fact file: project client location principal architect construction agency structure design commencement date completion date cost
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Auditorium at YS Parmar University Director, Nauni University Nauni, Solan, Himachal Pradesh, India Ar. Sangeet Sharma UNIPRO Dr. I C Syal April 2012 March 2014 INR 13 crores
41] Interview_vmzINC.qxp
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OUR SOURCE OF INSPIRATION FOR NEW RANGES There are many reasons for choosing VM ZINC® for roofing and façade projects. Zinc is naturally resistant to corrosion, is extremely durable, and does not require costly maintenance. In addition, the malleability and versatility of zinc, combined with its pleasing aspect, make it the material of choice for imaginative building projects, from individual homes to commercial complexes, public buildings and private projects. The qualities of VM ZINC® are the foundation of architectural expression. CREATING EMOTION Work, like any work of art, should stimulate emotion. This is far from simple as ever increasing regulatory requirements need to be reconciled with the creativity needed to generate the intended reaction. Of-course the building envelope is one of the main ingredients of this emotion. When the envelope is entirely made of zinc, the source of seduction is in its soft textures, its colours, its curves and the subtlety of light play.
PREFERRING SIMPLICITY While some architects favour complex forms, others delight in simplicity. Simple, however, is not a synonym of easy. Contrary to a grand gesture, the aim is to convey discretion, modesty and conviviality. Simplicity is, as often as not, only in appearance and achieving it requires art and delicacy. By its very nature, zinc is suited to this approach. What other material offers sober shades, refined texture and pure forms to express such simplicity?
PROTECTING THE ENVIRONMENT Respect for the environment is far more than mere greenwashing and is now integrated by architects as a natural part of the act of constructing, from design through to building. Environmental awareness has been concretized by specific regulations and labels in a number of countries, with the common goal of controlling environmental impact both during construction and during the entire life cycle of the completed building. Within this context, zinc has a strong role to play, as a durable and 100 per cent recyclable construction material.
PLAYING ON CONTRASTS Colours, volumes, materials, transparency, opposing styles…Façade express their individuality and architects have a wealth of choice when composing them. Façades play on originality by combining materials, contrasting with existing cityscapes, or breaking up space. There are no limits so long as the harmony of forms and materials is respected. The various shades and application possibilities of zinc, used alone or in combination with other materials, make it ideal for this approach.
DESIGNING INTEGRATION Designing integration involves unostentatiously fitting the building into its environment, as though it had always been there. In urban environments, architects are often confronted with historical neighbourhoods where they wish to maintain the existing harmony. In rural areas, buildings need to achieve a balance with the landscape, blending with their surroundings rather than disrupting them. Designers want envelopes that will enable them to create this balance successfully. Their frequent choice of zinc is not down to chance….
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Materials indigenous & organic
Text & photographs: courtesy, the architect
A conscious effort has been made by architect Ketan Jawdekar of Studio K-7 Designs Pvt. Ltd to blend the local rudiments of design with contemporary elements in his design for the restaurant Wah Marathi Dine‘n’Wine at Pune, Maharashtra. Eco-friendly, indigenous materials and traditional construction method lend a nostalgic touch to create a delightful fine dining experience.
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Ketan Jawdekar has over 18 years of experience in the field of architecture and interior design. He studied architecture form Shivaji University, Maharashtra. After graduating he worked with Ar. Sanjay Prasade. To gain on-site experience along with critical detailing in design he joined Ar. Mickey Chana. His academic excellence, qualifications, experience and expertise help Ketan enhance aesthetics and structural combinations. His tangential thinking and the abstract approach towards design have won many accolades and have delivered some of the world-class projects. He believes that utilization of available resources ensures work and client satisfaction, a perfectly blended composition. A good design for him is a combination of Desire, Enthusiasm, Simplicity, Innovation, Grace and Necessity.
Of the Earth
Wah Marathi Dine‘n’Wine, Pune, Maharashtra Studio K-7 Designs Pvt. Ltd.
W
ah Marathi a restaurant and bar, housed in Seasons Mall, Magarpatta, Pune designed by Studio K-7 Designs Pvt. Ltd is a fine example of culmination of great Maharashtrian culinary with contemporary design and architecture. The décor of this restaurant was inspired by the thought to re-create the local identity which is otherwise over-shadowed with extraneous influences. The client, desired for a place where people can get connected to their cultural roots. Therefore, a subtle fusion of aesthetics was selected, and rural materials and objects were woven into the contemporary fabric. Very often, Indian regional cuisine restaurants use Indian motifs and design elements in their décor. Here the attempt was to take out only essential extracts from Maharashtrian regional culture and infuse the otherwise contemporary styling with a touch of rural Maharashtra. The fusion of earthy and contemporary extends a very different experience for the patrons.
In a restaurant the sensory perceptions of the space dominates the level of appeal. The décor was based on the concept of creating a sense of nostalgia in the local patrons’ minds subtly; without letting the cultural overtones completely overpower the space. Therefore the base for the styling was chosen to be contemporary; with certain elements lending the nostalgic touches – to create an overall delightful fine dining experience. With simplicity as the primary guiding factor, an earthy look was chosen and splashes of bold colours were introduced through various elements such as traditional local artifacts, displays and merchandise. An engaging play of light and shade, with a cleverly designed lighting pattern enhances the divine experience generated through organic components like wood and stones. The overall experience though quite emotive, showcases Maharashtrian culture and philosophy ingeniously without compromising on the functional and visual factors.
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earthy look was chosen through organic components like wood and stones
The most important design decision was to use eco-friendly, indigenous materials and traditional construction techniques. The lobby has the display of Indian spices and regional merchandise such as pickles and snacks; made by the womenfolk of economically weaker sections of society in the state. Pro-grammatically the restaurant is divided into two sections. The lower section at the entry hall has couple seating separated by a low height exposed bricks using interesting bonds of brick masonry. Openings in this wall relate to the special lighting features (konadas) in traditional construction methods. A screen of vertical pine wood members (locally called mundas) gives identity to this central seating. Wire cut exposed brick masonry and creative use of brick-bonds is a highlight in the central portion of the restaurant. Two long walls separating the two sections are clad with horizontal strips of wastage from wooden planks, plywood and raw wooden slices. The design of the compound wall is an attempt to recreate the effect of dry stone masonry and random stone masonry of Maharashtrian villages. The raw wooden logs cladding on the counter wall is symbolic representation of ancient stone masonry structure in rural India and particularly in Maharashtra. The flooring in leather-finished black local stone (Cuddappah) is reminiscent of old Dravidian architecture. The upper section is raised by a step with seating designed to cater to larger groups or families. Calligraphy frames in the ancient Indian Devnagari script placed on the black wall is a unique way of engaging guests while they are waiting for the food to be served. LED spotlights used as general lighting as well as task and highlighters on feature
use of eco-friendlymaterials and traditional construction techniques
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artefacts showcasing Maharashtrian culture
walls. The other side of this section displays various artifacts from the Maharashtra region like the very famous wooden toys from Sawantwadi, bottles filled with rangoli (the traditional art of creating designs on the floor with coloured sand), famous literature in Marathi and Maharashtrian sarees. Ceiling is kept exposed and is painted black to give the effect of having dinner under the twinkling stars in an open courtyard of a rural house. The overall ambiance of the restaurant is a fusion of traditional earthy elements with a contemporary design as a base. It gives an international look to the restaurant and encourages even the expats in the city to step in and experience the regional cuisine. fact file: project location client architect interior designer commencement date completion date area cost material used
: : : : : : : : : :
Wah Marathi Seasons Mall, Magarpatta, Pune Magarpatta Club and Resorts Pvt. Ltd Ketan Jawdekar, Studio K-7 Designs Pvt. Ltd. Studio K-7 Designs Pvt. Ltd. July 2013 September 2013 250-Sq m INR 6,000,000 flooring - Leather finish Black Cuddappah; ceiling Exposed, painted Black; vertical planes - Wire cut exposed brick masonry, wastage of ply, wood and wooden logs, white oak veneer on ply, construction scaffolding wood, glass.
the raw wooden logs cladding on the counter wall
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Material powder coated aluminium
Text: courtesy, the architect; photographs: RĂŠmy Schejbal & Laurent Rouvrais
Transient Structures The Pavilion Monte-Carlo, Monaco, European Union Affine Design
Keeping in mind the requirement of accommodating luxury brands and jewellery boutiques, Richard Martinet of Affine Design along with the Monacan architect ChĂŠrif Jahlan have designed the Five Pavilions at Jardins des Boulingrins, Monte-Carlo in Monaco, as five demountable bulbous modules of different sizes on the principle of ephemeral architecture. Breaking with classical rationality and linear order, the curvaceous geometry of these pavilions resemble giant pebbles that gels well within the context of the site, connecting with the historic, social and cultural development of the city. Architecture Update March 2015
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Richard Martinet of Paris-based Affine Design is a certified architect and civil engineer from École Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées (ENPC). According to him each project is an opportunity to confront a building, a city, a site and is a complete tour, an interpretation of the place, a contemporary rewriting of the elements of architecture and style. Capturing the living force of the place is an exercise which implements the work of specialists, historians, analysts, artisans and from this Richard acquires the creative energy that determines the concept, the path and the stages of the transformation of a project, whether a pure creation, a renovation, a rehabilitation or a re-utilisation.
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he five magnificent Pavilions, built to accommodate luxury brands and jewellery boutiques at Jardins des Boulingrins, MonteCarlo in Monaco, is conceived and created by Richard Martinet of the Affine Design for their client Société des Bains de Mer (SBM). Since its foundation, SBM has continued to play a fundamental role in the Principality of Monaco, participating in modern developments and introducing new trends. Initially the boutiques were a part of the Hôtel de Paris which was under restoration. The five pavilions of different sizes, ranging from 220 to 600 Sq m each, reaching a maximum of 10m in height, within the total surface of 2700 Sq m, will house the boutiques during the four years of construction. The pavilion design is inspired by the desire to respect for the environment and ensure the sustainability of the heritage flora in and around Jardins des Boulingrins. Keeping in mind the requirement of the client, Richard Martinet along with the Monacan architect Chérif Jahlan have designed the five demountable bulbous modules of different sizes on the principle of ephemeral architecture. Breaking with classical rationality and linear order, the curvaceous geometry of these pavilions is no stranger within the context of the site and was connected to the historic, social and cultural development of the city. The morphologies of the Pavilons and consequently that of its spaces, erase the architectural conflict that opposes the structure of a building to its interior and its standardized elements. The boutiques foreshadow the future ensemble which will renew the quarter into a place of animation and conviviality, exemplary in terms of green urbanism and sustainable development.
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each pavilion was conceived. The passage of natural light from the skylight of the roof to the aperture of the façades reveals the interior form and its relation to the geometry of the cladding.
FABRICATION The pavilions resembles giant pebbles. All the five structures with a total surface area of 2700-Sq m, are of different sizes, ranging from 220 to 600-Sq m each and reaching a maximum height of 10 metres. Each module of the demounted structures comprises of two independent steel grid shells -- one follows a structural sense, the other a formal logic. The inner framework is of painted steel triangles, a sort of origami and is waterproofed, soundproofed and thermally insulated. The interior shell have expansion joints to protect the structure at time of earthquake or fire. The exterior composed of faceted cladding panels of white powdered aluminium panel in a shape of honeycomb. The latter is a web of rigid scales, fixed to the first by means of a transition structure. The points of attachment of the scales are adjustable in three
dimensions. All the five pavilions are designed with two floors, while flooring depends on the boutiques choice. The technical development and quality control of the fastening systems and coverage were done in the Acieroid workshops in Barcelona. Jean MUS, specialist in Mediterranean gardens, joined the team to oversee the technical aspect of the landscaping project and the aisles of processed aggregate concrete. During the construction of the modules, some of the existing trees in the Jardins des Boulingrins were moved and transplanted in nurseries, before their definitive return to the garden.
the construction process
Jardins des Boulingrins is located on a seismic zone, above subterranean parking with a declination of eight percent. This topology necessitated the transfer of complex loads, tested on the first prototypes in collaboration with the research offices TESS for façade engineering and SETEC for structure engineering and led to extend the winding paths to facilitate the passage of commuters. The project preserves footpaths around the five pavilions that draw the walkways in meandering paths. From this walkway was born the primary morphology of the pavilions. Determined precisely by iterative approaches, the definitive form, the structure and design of the shell of
fact file: project location client architect other consultants
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design period construction period total net floor area landscape area material used
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photographs
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The Monte-Carlo Pavilions Jardins des Boulingrins, Monte-Carlo, Monaco Société des Bains de Mer Monte-Carlo Richard Martinet, Affine Design TESS for façade engineering; SETEC for structure engineering; Jean MUS for the landscaping and fabrication by Acieroid, Spain and Richelmi, Monaco. 2012-2013 2013-2014 2700-Sq m 4.400-Sq m Exterior finish: powder-coated aluminium honeycomb; Interior finish- painted steel structure Rémy Schejbal & Laurent Rouvrais
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Let’ssustainability Talk
Q
. As one of the largest architectural and design firms in India, how does Morphogenesis prioritize sustainability not only in their buildings but in the everyday operations of your offices. Why is sustainability important to you? A. At Morphogenesis, we operate on the principles of SAIL (Sustainability, Affordability, Imageability, and Livability) which, in addition to design, include socio-economic aspects of sustainability as well. Every project is rigorously measured against these at various stages of design, embedding them thoroughly within our work and our psyche. Through passive design methods, we have ensured that our office energy consumption is well within GRIHA (Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment) and BEE (Bureau of Energy Efficiency) stipulated standards for air-conditioned offices. Our office is centrally located and next to a major metro station which encourages employees to use public transport. Additionally, we pledge 5 per cent of our total man hours for CSR work as we believe we can make a more valuable contribution through our expertise in sustainability than through monetary means.
“Green Building Design Should Not Be Optional Anymore But Mandatory” For Ar. Manit Rastogi, Founder Partner of Morphogenesis, sustainable architecture is no more a choice or a ‘layer’ that can be applied to the design of a building; for him it is inherent in the process of design, from concept to completion and during the full life cycle of the building. Manit talks about the importance of ‘building Green’ and the key factors that would generate consciousness in the mindset of people, which would drive them towards ‘sustainability’ thus, creating a real, substantive change in the built environment.
Q. How important is it, in your view, to “build green”? A. I don’t see that we have a choice. With buildings consuming about 40 per cent of available resources and contributing to emissions in equal measure, and given our frenzied rate of development, we are staring at certain disaster. Sustainable architecture is no more a choice, or a ‘layer’ that can be applied to the design of a building; it must be inherent in the process of design, from concept to completion and during the full life cycle of the building. The goal while building green is to use energy and natural resources wisely and in a healthy manner. In simple words, we use the phrase “NO IS MORE” – begin any design process by saying NO: We have no energy, no water, no waste disposal etc. and then begin to evaluate from first principles how to passively provide the basic fundamentals of comfort, safety, livability and sustainability. Q. Is the LEED or Griha rating are valid ways to encourage that type of design? Do you think the point system is useful? A. LEED and GRIHA are valid to encourage green design and in their own ways, quantify sustainability, but that is a top-down approach hence incomplete in itself. It forms a very small component of establishing a wider green ideology. What is required is a bottom-up systemic change in the way we think; starting with the individualthrough education (both architectural and mainstream) and action in our daily lives. Only then will we be able to contribute towards an organizational and cultural shift that truly values sustainability from within. The point system of Green rating systems is useful but rating systems need to continuously evolve themselves to remain relevant in the fast changing socio-economic conditions of the country. Q. What do you think the government’s role should be in bringing in more Green Buildings? A. I’m not sure how far an approach like incentivising green buildings will help. And sometimes it doesn’t serve its purpose. For example allowing additional FAR for a project with Green credentials, when possibly depending on the infrastructure present, greater FAR would have been the greener thing to do in the first place. Green building design should not be optional anymore but mandatory for all buildings above a certain size. The Indian government already follows such policy for their own buildings where green building rating is mandatory.In Dubai all buildings must be LEED Gold as a minimumno incentives! That’s where rating systems come in handy. Q. What do you think it will take to make a real, substantive change? A. Education! We need to revamp our mainstream and architectural
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educational system. That is at the core of the problem today. Simple things- how aware is a child that a light switch is an energy saving device? People traditionally turn it off to save on their electricity costs, but how many consider its implication beyond their monthly bill? So what’s important is creating consciousness from a very early age - a consciousness that we are all sharing resources, a consciousness that extends even beyond green. It means we wouldn’t encroach on public areas like pavements, wouldn’t build such that we block a neighbour’s access to sunlight, wouldn’t consume too much water so that the other person doesn’t have any, and we wouldn’t leave a light on so that someone else pays the price for it. It is the consciousness that seven billion people on this planet are sharing the same resource. In architectural education, we discourse very well, the passive methodologies employed in the past 5000 years of traditional Indian architecture. What we also need to embed is that sustainability through passive design means must be at the core of our modernity. That will also go a long way in building Brand India for Architecture. Q. What can be done to encourage architects to build with materials which are greener like a building skin that’s photovoltaic or a wind farm for energy? A. Education again; Continuing Professional Development for practising architects to be able to keep up with rapidly evolving technological and material development. Indian architects should not be given a license to practice in perpetuity but have to recertify annually or biannually, which will ensure that they are up to speed with product awareness. After passive methods, that would be the next step in ensuring a greener building. Q. What common misconceptions are there about green buildings and green architecture? A. The biggest misconception is that a green building costs more to build. The thought may have gained credibility from an approach of
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superimposing a green layer on an already conceived or built structure, which will of course come with added costs and yet, never be truly green. If one were to incorporate it right at the conceptual stage, starting with reducing energy and material requirement through passive means, one is likely to build leaner and more efficiently. Green architecture if approached correctly, should be cheaper to build and cheaper to run. Q. What is the most challenging aspect of bringing together sustainability and architecture? A. There is no challenge in bringing sustainability and architecture together if passive design approaches to design are followed right from the conceptual and planning stages.
Graduated from the School of Planning and Architecture (New Delhi) and the Architectural Association (London) with Honours (Diploma school) and Distinction (Graduate school) in Energy and Environmental Studies, Manit Rastogi is the Founder Partner of Morphogenesis, one of India’s leading awardwinning Architecture and Urban Design practices based out of New Delhi, India. Morphogenesis has been ranked for the third time running, among the Top 100 Architectural Design Firms worldwide. Manit is a Fellow of the IIA (Indian Institute of Architects) and the RSA (Royal Society of Arts, UK). He along with Sonali Rastogi (Founder Partner of Morphogenesis) have recently been awarded Laureate of the SIA Getz Award for Emergent Architecture in Asia, Singapore 2014. Manit has taught at various universities and been a director of the Sushant School of Art and Architecture as well as the Sushant School of Design. He is a founder member, Association for Development and Research of Sustainable Habitats (ADaRSH). As a member of the Technical Advisory Committee of GRIHA, India’s own Green rating system, and as member, Resource Persons Group on Environment and Ecology- Lt. Governor’s Secretariat, New Delhi, Manit works with urban policymakers to spearhead initiatives with an emphasis on environmental sensibility and social welfare.
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Pearl Academy of Fashion JAIPUR, Rajasthan, India
The design for The Pearl Academy of Fashion, Jaipur by Morphogenesis is a very successful model for cost effective passive architecture in desert regions. The materials used for construction are a mix of local stone, steel, glass, and concrete - chosen keeping in mind the climatic needs of the region while retaining the progressive design intent.
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he Pearl Academy of Fashion, Jaipur by Morphogenesis is a campus which by virtue of its design is geared towards creating an environmentally responsive passive habitat. The institute creates interactive spaces for a highly creative student body to work in multifunctional zones which blend the indoors with the outdoors seamlessly. The radical architecture of the institute emerges from a fusion of the rich traditional building knowledge bank and cutting edge contemporary architecture. The institute is located in a typical hot, dry, desert type climate on the outskirts of Jaipur in the soulless Kukas industrial area, about 20 kilometers from the famous walled city. The design needed to represent the seriousness of its academic orientation through its formal geometry. Given the nature of an institution, budgetary constraints on the project necessitated the use of cost effective design solutions to keep within the price points set by the client and yet be able to achieve the desired
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functionality and effect. The adverse climate makes it a challenge to control the micro climate within the project thus incorporating various passive climate control methods becomes a necessity and also reduces the dependency on mechanical environmental control measures which are resource hungry. The architecture of the academy needed to be a confluence of modern adaptations of traditional Indo-Islamic architectural elements and passive cooling strategies prevalent in the hot-dry desert climate of Rajasthan such as open courtyards, water body, a step-well or baoli and jaalis (perforated stone screen). All these elements have been derived from their historic usages, but manifest themselves through the built form and become an intrinsic part of the daily life of the design student. The building is protected from the environment by a double skin which is derived from a traditional building element called the ‘Jaali’ which is prevalent in Rajasthani architecture. The double skin acts as a thermal buffer between the building and the surroundings. The density of the perforated outer skin has been derived using computational shadow analysis based on orientation of the façades. The outer skin sits 4 feet away from the building and reduces the direct heat gain through fenestrations, yet allowing for diffused daylight. The jaali thus, serves the function of 3 filters - air, light, and privacy.
the employment of any mechanical means of heating and cooling. The entire building is raised above the ground and a scooped out under belly forms a natural thermal sink which is cooled by water bodies through evaporative cooling. The water body which is fed by the recycled water from the sewage treatment plant helps in the creation of a microclimate through evaporative cooling. The under belly which is thermally banked on all sides serves as a large student recreation and exhibition zone and forms the anchor for the entire project. During the night when the desert temperature drops this floor slowly dissipates the heat to the surroundings keeping the area thermally comfortable. This time lag suits the staggered functioning of the institute. Passive environmental design helps achieve temperatures of about 27 degree celsius inside the building even when the outside temperatures are at 47 degree celsius. fact file: project location client Climate architect size cost
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Pearl Academy of Fashion Jaipur, Rajasthan, India Pearl Academy of Fashion Hot and Dry Morphogenesis 2, 15, 278-Sq ft Rs 1300/Sq ft
The scheme relies on self shading sliver courts to control the temperatures of internal spaces and open stepped wells while allowing for sufficient day lighting inside studios and class rooms. Programmatic requirements enabled the conception of a whole level of functions in the underbelly which would operate in a passive environment without
The materials used for construction are a mix of local stone, steel, glass, and concrete - chosen keeping in mind the climatic needs of the region while retaining the progressive design intent. Energy efficiency is a prime concern and the institute is 100 per cent self sufficient in terms of captive power and water supply and promotes rain water harvesting and waste water re-cycling through the use of a sewage treatment plant. Besides having become a very successful model for cost effective passive architecture in desert regions, the design and facilities of the campus complement the ideology of the Pearl Academy of Fashion – a cutting edge design institute with a sustainable approach. The Pearl Academy of Fashion is an exemplar of an inclusive architecture which intends to accommodate all the heritage values while positioning it within the contemporary cultural and architectural paradigm.
For the Pearl Academy of Fashion, the goal was to build a low-cost, environmentally sensitive campus that would serve as a model for other institutions. It is located in one of the hottest climatic zones in the world with summer temperatures touching 47°C. The focus was never to conform to a rating system but to build to the least possible requirements of material, energy, water and other resources. To achieve that, traditional passive climate control methods of the region have been re-interpreted and made an integral part of the design to help reduce the dependency on resource hungry mechanical environmental control measures. The resultant of the approach was a building that achieved an annual Energy Performance Index (EPI) of 24.7 kWh/sq.m/year, which for any public building world-wide of this scale is an excellent achievement. It does this without compromising on thermal and visual comfort. As outlined by GRIHA, the benchmark energy performance for air-conditioned buildings is 140 kWh/sq.m/year and for a mixed mode building (which operates both as air-conditioned and naturally ventilated) is 81.4 kWh/sq.m/year. So, effectively the Pearl Academy of Fashion performs at an efficiency of 80 per cent lower than even GRIHA benchmarks. As the Pearl Academy shows, one does not need a slew of solar panels on the roof and expensive gadgets to be green. This result through the refinement of passive design techniques is what made the Pearl Academy of Fashion the subject of a research paper at the PLEA (Passive and Low Energy Architecture) Conference in Lima Peru, in 2012. Energy efficiency Design Load : 676 kW Annual Energy Consumption : 2,90,0005 kWh Comfort Modes (per cent of gross floor area designed to be predominantly reliant on passive or active modes of comfort): Passive (natural ventilation) : 100% (during 80 per cent operational hours) Active (air conditioning) : 50% (during 20 per cent operational hours) Visual Comfort Passive (daylight) : 90 per cent Active (artificial light) : 10 per cent
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52-53] Interview_Dikshu Kukreja - CP Kukreja Architects.qxp
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Let’ssustainability Talk
Q
. As one of the largest architectural and design firms in India, how does C.P. Kukreja Architects prioritize sustainability not only in your buildings but in the every day operations of your offices. Why is sustainability important to you? A. ‘Sustainability’ is not only a design statement, I think it is one of the rules governing the universe. It is a force controlling continuity of life, regeneration and revival – any activity against such a universal force may be considered ‘impermanent’ and ‘dis-orienting’. This in turn may ultimately lead to destruction or degradation of the natural factors, creating abnormal conditions in the otherwise normal ecosystem. Such an explanation holds equally good for the development of a built environment – architecture, being worshipped as a tribute to the ‘ephemerals’ like culture, tradition and life, should be able to stand the test of time, in other words, “sustain” itself across a great span of time – having said so, ‘sustainability’, I believe, is an integral part of any design response towards the built environment. Any architecture qualified to become sustainable if it is able to respond to the ‘change’ in needs, technology, economy and social values by fitting into the urban fabric coherently through changing times. CPKA believes that any design philosophy should focus on the adaptability of its buildings to transformations along with simultaneous blending with the nature of the surrounding context. Above all, any architectural design should be spontaneous and flexible to change.
“It is Time to Encounter the Local Sustainability Principles” Today, the biggest challenge is a holistic understanding of sustainability and its expression in architecture. It is unfortunate that in a nation where the history of architecture is adorned with outstanding examples of indigenous sustainable designs, we are still struggling to find gestures of sustainability in modern times, says Dikshu C. Kukreja of CP Kukreja Architects, a Delhi-based architectural firm, now ranked amongst the top 100 architecture firms in the world and top 10 in Asia.
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Q. How important is it in your view to ‘build green’? A. With the built environment falling into conflict with the natural environmental systems, today it is very important to stress on ‘natureinclusive’ designs. According to C.P. Kukreja himself: “Today, man is still the same, but his stars, his sky and his landscape have been taken away. An Architect should be able to bring all these back to him, renew his sense of harmonious existence, give him a bit of sky, air and greenery….. And in all these, ‘Design Style’ is not a good word… It is not a question of ‘style’ of design, but one of ‘awareness’.” C.P. Kukreja believed strongly in the impact of environmental factors on design, especially in the tropics, where the environment is very sensitive to weather variations and the frequent seasonal changes weighs down its telling effects on the built environment – his research in this particular concern has even been laid out elaborately in his book ‘Tropical Architecture’, published by Tata McGraw Hill in 1978. Not only through what we have built, but also through our research, our writings and the thoughts we have shared over the years, we have tried to aware the architectural fraternity and the common population of the importance of ‘sustainable architecture’ and ‘green’ ideas in rethinking urban development of future cities. In fact, we believe that building ‘green’ is not only a singular responsibility of the architects, but the greater society as a whole – any discipline or industry which deals with shaping the built environment should actively recognize the philosophies and methods of sustainable development and that is the only way forward in realizing future urbanscapes. Q. As the LEED or GRIHA rating valid ways to encourage ‘Sustainable’ design? Do you think the point system is useful? A. ‘Numbers’ should never be the method to measure any good architecture – never has been in the past, numbers or points were units of measurement of quality of design. We strongly believe that some of the greatest sustainable architecture built harmoniously in the cradle of nature were accomplished in historical times when the method of measuring quality through points never existed. In fact, things which are very good is difficult to measure and beyond appraisal through points, as Louis I Kahn himself believed: “A great building must begin with the immeasurable… and in the end must be immeasurable itself”. In saying so, what he had stressed on is the real soul of a design which concerns greater values for the society as a whole, and is defined by the immortal truth of nature and tradition. Such great values has much deeper, complex philosophical understanding of multiple dimensions (like environment, nature, economy, culture, history, politics etc.) which
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A. The most effective encouragement for an architect is the “client’s will” – the client, above all, needs to be aware of a good architecture which he must encourage even if it costs a bit of his personal gains. Awareness is needed to be created across the length and breadth of the commons’ society about the intelligent use of locally available materials, low energy building technology, energy harnessing materials etc. It is vital to propagate the importance of environment friendly design through passive controls like natural cooling and ventilation, nature inclusive design principles and zero waste architecture which is possible through popularizing such materials and methods of construction, especially by local builders and architects, who have the best understanding of the behaviour and needs of local environment. In that way, a considerable progress is possible in the field of indigenous technologies of development across different regions, not only in India but in the world.
constitute the holistic meaning of ‘sustainability’ and is immeasurable through numbers. The objectives of LEED and GRIHA which quite comprehensively address the factors of sustainable design should, hence be understood to the core and not assumed superficially, reducing evaluation of architecture to a scoring system. As architects, we believe that it is the greater goal of design that needs to be fulfilled and not a ‘mark-sheet’ that evaluates quality of design. So rather than for the sake of scoring marks as per GRIHA, LEED or such design guidelines, it is important to understand the deeper meanings of sustainability while designing buildings. Q. According to you, what should be the role of government on bringing in more Green buildings? A. Good governance in urban development must look forward to the holistic growth of urban areas. In doing so, creating a sustainable built environment needs appropriate contribution from architects, urban planners, urban designers, real estate developers, market stake-holders and urban local bodies which should collectively address the development of future cities. To bring design controls to check abnormal and incoherent moves in the holistic development of a city or even a region, it is thus needed to frame a set of guidelines as bye-laws that would help methods of sustainability in design be executed as a rule. In order to enhance adoption of such environment friendly methods, incentives should be announced by government agencies for developers which would provide economic benefits as well as relaxation on height and built up area in development of designs. Buildings so designed as per such guidelines, which perform efficiently, should be recognized through awards and popularized in the common society, so that awareness on designing with green principles can be strengthened. In a nutshell, government holds the greatest responsibility of propagating awareness of sustainable design amongst common man, which if addressed efficiently would benefit the society as a whole. Q. What can be done to encourage architects to build with materials which are greener like a building skin that’s photovoltaic or a wind farm for energy?
Q. What common misconceptions are there about green buildings and green architecture? A. We think the basic as well as the biggest misconception about green architecture is the word ‘green’ itself – many under-literate and even people not belonging to this profession tend to familiarize it with vegetation, plantation or even the colour green. It is very unfortunate that in many regions of this country where there is a lack of knowledge about green architecture, developers are constructing buildings which they call ‘green’ because of the extensive use of planters, creepers, terrace gardens or, quite shockingly, even the use of green paints on them. People need to realize that just by putting a handful of superficial choice of materials and technology into the construction activity would not mean designing a green building. In fact, terms like green, blue, red etc. should be carefully applied to avoid such misconceptions which may prove to be dangerous. The term ‘sustainable design’ qualifies to be more dignified in this context, which should appropriately address the green plant life, the blue waters and skies, the red or yellow sun rays, the brown soil, the colourless air and much importantly, the timelessly colourful biodiversity on earth which together make a habitable environment. Q. What is the most challenging aspect of bringing together sustainability and architecture? A. The biggest challenge, we feel, is a holistic understanding of sustainability and its expression in architecture – it is unfortunate that in a nation where the history of architecture is adorned with outstanding examples of indigenous sustainable designs, ranging from the stilt houses of Assam to the Havelis in Rajasthan, from the bamboo architecture of the Sunderbans to the Boat Houses of Kerala, we are still struggling to find gestures of sustainability in modern times. The aspect of globalization and colonization have drawn us even more towards the West, who have been following a totally different language of sustainability which may be suitable to their context and not ours. We strongly believe that today there is an urgent need to understand the Indian interpretation of sustainability – in that case, it is time to encounter the local sustainability principles.
Dikshu C. Kukreja received his B.Arch Honours as gold medallist from School of Planning & Architecture, New Delhi. He attended the prestigious Taliesin Fellowship at Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture, USA and received his Masters of Architecture & Urban Design from Harvard University. He has worked in India, France and USA and has lectured and taught at institutions both in India and abroad. He is Member, Governing Body, Sushant School of Art & Architecture and elected as the youngest President of Harvard Club of India and the first architect to achieve this distinction.He has been selected as the ‘Young Icon of the Decade’, Best Citizen of India and most recently as the Face of 21st Century Architecture in India. Some of his prestigious projects include Gautam Buddha University, Headquarters for CA&G and Election Commission of India, (both national level competitions), etc.
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54] Interview_Prof K Jaisim of Jaisim Fountainhead.qxp
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Let’ssustainability Talk
Q
. How do you prioritize sustainability not only in your projects but in the everyday operations of your offices? Why is sustainability important to you? A. All our projects without exception undergo reviews continuously unless otherwise interfered in by the client. That is the timeless aspect of design. It is not just for yesterday or today. Energy efficiency of everything, from products consumed to spaces evolved, should be based on function and form and all other architecture processes... The available technology is the only context that holds it back or limits it; If technology changes, then the application of art changes. Q. How important is it, in your view, to “build Green”? A. Call it what you want - red / yellow / green... energy efficient buildings have to be built to consume energy efficiently. Q. Are the LEED or Griha ratings are valid ways to encourage ‘Sustainable’ design? Do you think the point system is useful? A. Good and great architecture does not require or need any of these ratings. These systems are necessary only for the 'average' and commercial lot to - in some manner - keep them in line. Great/good architects do not require and are far beyond these guidelines (which is why we do not follow it).
“Any Sensible Architect Will Use Materials That Are Efficient” Green and Sustainability are much bashed about words wherever one went on and whatever is the subject. At all levels they seem to have percolated into the everyday life of people. But Energy efficient architecture is not understood in its entirety. Misconceptions abound about what it really means, says Prof. K. Jaisim of Jaisim Fountainhead, in response to Architecture Update’s search for an understanding of the ‘Green’ transition – if any.
Q. What do you think the government’s role should be in bringing in more Green Buildings? A. The government should not govern nor interfere. The government must encourage and facilitate. This must be driven by sensitized bodies. The government cannot and should not be the implementing agency. Interference by government leads to influenced behaviour. Q. What do you think it will take to make a real, substantive change? A. Good Indian architects, historically and culturally, are anyway doing these projects. It now needs to be on a larger scale. Schools of architecture must include environmental art and science in the 4th and 5th year curriculum. Q. What can be done to encourage architects to build with materials which are greener like a building skin that’s photovoltaic or a wind farm for energy? A. Any good (read sensible and sensitive) architect will use materials that are efficient. It is important to realise this in great spaces that cross time. Q. What common misconceptions are there about green buildings and green architecture? A. Energy efficient architecture is not understood in its entirety. Misconceptions abound about what it really means ‘value driven design’. Using efficient energy, not everyone can realise it. It requires a lot of inputs. Q. What is the most challenging aspect of bringing together sustainability and architecture? A. If architecture is not sustainable it is not architecture.
Prof. Ar. Krishna Rao Jaisim is a name to be reckoned within the field of Architecture. He is an Architect, Professor and Patron - all in one. Encouraged by Sheila Tribe, Design Instructor at The School of Architecture (Madras), inspired by the likes of Buckminster Fuller, Dr. Koenigsberger and Geoffrey Bawa amongst other notables, spirited away by Ayn Rand’s Fountainhead, and trained at L.M. Chitale and Son, Jaisim’s incurable romanticism led to the start of JAISIM FOUNTAINHEAD in 1970. Since then, he has created and recreated innumerable homes, institutions and commercial enterprises. He has written over 150 papers and articles, made about 1500 presentations, serves on several boards and councils, and finds time to interact with students of architecture all over India. Prof. Jaisim was most recently awarded the NDTV Award for Lifetime Achievement in April 2014. Other awards he has won include the Award for Dedicated Services in the field of Civil Engineering by CIVIL-AID in February 2012, the JK Cements Chairman’s Award in August 2011, and the Award for Best Commercial Architecture by CNBC Awaaz Crisil Real Estate Awards in 2008.
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Matrialsglass
Glass: The Smart Material for the Smart New Age Vikram Khanna, COO, Consumer Glass; CIO & CMO, Asahi India Glass Ltd. (AIS) raditionally, the materials used to design and decorate homes have been wood, metal or cloth furnishings. Few people realize that delightfully beautiful effects can be achieved with glass. Available in a stupendous variety of styles, colours, designs and textures, glass has the potential to create stunning ambiences that have the power to transform living and elevate lifestyle.
T The consumers of urban India today are a whole lot different from those over a decade ago. Smart, well informed, and with a new-age outlook, they demand a contemporary lifestyle that is in tune with global tastes and trends – one that their predecessors only dreamt of. The desire for a welldesigned home, office or commercial space is a reflection of this transformation. And glass has emerged as one of the favoured materials in architecture and interior design, which can fulfil these aspirations beautifully.
Glass is that aesthetic, adaptable, versatile, economically viable and ecofriendly material which actualizes possibilities in architecture and design that few materials can. State-of-the-art technologies for lamination and processing have made possible new types and varieties of glasses that enable the perfect blending of function and aesthetics – for both exterior and interior applications. Glass enhances the visual appeal of living spaces and adds a touch of modernity wherever it is used. Whether it is used for facades, doors and windows, or in interiors, glass is the perfect material for creating a stunning effect and stylish ambience. For confined spaces, glass is the preferred solution. It makes interiors look larger and livelier by reflecting light, illuminating surfaces, and
connecting the inside to the outside. Glass is also the ‘right’ solution for the requirements of peace and serenity, privacy, safety and security. Value additions and processing done on glass ensure that it provides a person with acoustic, privacy, and security and safety solutions. Hence, peace of mind is assured, without aesthetics being hampered!
helps achieve great design the ecofriendly way. A varied range of highperformance energy-efficient glasses, that reflect or absorb heat while
Moreover, glass being a completely recyclable and sustainable material, allowing light inside a building or room, enable higher standards of green architecture and living.
Most importantly, glass is extremely amenable to specific requirements, as customised solutions in glass can be tailor-made to meet individual design needs and preferences. As such, more and more people are choosing glass to bring their imagination and ideas to life.
Indeed, the applications and uses of glass are as breathtaking as its effects. From entire facades to doors and windows, from floors, walkways and staircases to domes, canopies and skylights, from partitions and enclosures to shelves, table tops and countertops, glass is the one material with which you can see more, do more and be more. Vikram Khanna, COO - Consumer Glass, CIO & CMO, Asahi India Glass Ltd. (AIS), is a man of many facets. Armed with an MBA, he joined AIS in the capacity of Material Head, in 1996.Over the years, Khanna has integrated several functions within the organisation that used to operate in silos. This has resulted in greater cohesion and efficiency, helping various departments cut down costs and streamlines various revenuegenerating operations. As a de-risking strategy, he diversified AIS Auto’s offerings to include commercial vehicles, heavy earth movers, exports, industrial glass applications, etc. The robust processes that exist today in the Materials Division were initiated under his leadership and are testament to his vision and commitment to sustained progress. Over the past 18 years,Khanna has enhanced the value of every department he has been a part of, contributing to the overall growth of the company.
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Materials bricks
Eco-friendly Construction Material Zeenat Niazi, Vice President, Development Alternatives Group he construction sector is an important component of the Indian economy. The sector grew 4.8 percent in the second quarter of 2014, owing to rapid urbanisation and the increased housing and infrastructure needs of a growing population. The sector accounted for 8.2 percent of national GDP in 2011-12 and is the second largest employer after agriculture, providing jobs to 41 million people in 2011, which is an increase of 10.5 million from 2005.
T No sector of the economy consumes more material than construction, and of all the materials used in construction, cement and bricks accounts for the largest share of resources that are extracted from nature. The current scenario necessitates developing ecofriendly and low cost variants of construction material to ensure economic interests do not undermine environmental concerns. Obviously, any saving of resources achieved through innovation can yield a huge benefit for the environment and thus to the economy.
056 Architecture Update March 2015
In the next three decades, we can expect even more new buildings and infrastructure to be built globally than the entire stock that exists today. No sector of the economy consumes more material than construction, and of all the materials used in construction, cement and bricks, accounts for the largest share of resources that are extracted from nature. Obviously, any saving of resources achieved through innovation can yield a huge benefit for the environment and thus to the economy. As the manufacturing sector, is getting ready for a major push under “Make in India” initiative of the government, the need for sustainable infrastructure development is one of the key challenges. With the increasing demand for cement and bricks in the housing and infrastructure projects, there is going to be a huge pressure on these industries. The current scenario necessitates developing eco-friendly and low cost construction material to ensure economic interests do not undermine environmental concerns.
TRADITIONAL BRICK TECHNOLOGY Building material, especially bricks, form the backbone of the construction sector. India is the second largest producer of bricks after China. With over 150,000 brick kilns, India produces an enormous 150- 200 billion bricks annually. However, the Indian brick sector is dominated by resource and energy
inefficient technologies like Fixed Chimney Kilns (FCKs) and Clamps. The clay brick sector consumes nearly 35 million tonnes of coal annually, and its total carbon-dioxide (CO2) emissions are estimated at 41.6 million tonnes, accounting for 4.5 percent of total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from India. In addition to coal, the red brick sector also consumes approximately 350 million tonnes of fertile top soil. Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal are the major brick producing states. Though alternative technologies such as fly ash bricks, Compressed Earth Blocks (CEB), concrete blocks, and stones are also being used, they only occupy a tiny market share. There has however been a relative growth in the market for alternatives over the last ten years. Brick production is slated to increase in several parts of India, in order to address the urbanisation and growth demands especially the housing shortage and reconstruction activities due to the impacts of natural disasters. Current practices will only worsen the impacts on the environment. Therefore, it is necessary to accelerate the adoption of cleaner brick production technologies.
ECO-FRIENDLY BRICK PRODUCTION The usage of fly ash for the production of bricks presents a lucrative opportunity to reduce the negative environmental impacts of clay brickmaking, while also mitigating the land used in the disposal of fly ash, which is produced during coal burning at power plants. In a recent study titled “The Fly Ash Brick Industry
in Bihar” some interesting results have been shown. The establishment of fly ash brick making units since 2006 has achieved the following in Bihar: Produced 91.2 million bricks Saved approximately 274,000 tonnes of soil Saved 20,000 tonnes of coal Saved approximately 63,000 tonnes of CO2 The report states that the current market share of fly ash bricks as part of the clay brick market share is only 0.33 percent. If the optimal level of fly ash brick production is implemented, fly ash bricks could have almost 60 percent of today’s clay brick market share. These savings will have a major impact on the environment and can be achieved by 2025, if rigorous implementation of profly ash policies takes place. For people, eco-friendly construction material represents a sustainable wellbeing; for business, it represents more sustainable profits; for our resource base, it represents a sustainable future. It’s a win-win opportunity for all. There is an urgent need to strengthen the capacity of the construction sector to design and build green houses. Sustainability should be integrated into all relevant professional curricula, and professionals and technical staff should be certified for green construction. Focus should also be on the training and capacity building of labourers as well.
Zeenat Niazi is the Vice President and Head - Development Alternatives Group. She is an architect from the School of Planning and Architecture (SPA), New Delhi, and McGill University, Montréal. She has over 22 years experience in the field of habitat processes and housing technology, involving women construction workers, masons and Women’s Self Help Groups. Additional areas of Niazi’s professional engagement comprise the dissemination of large-scale environmentally friendly housing technologies in rural and urban areas, networking and policy development. She was an instrumental leader in the development of the first National Rural Housing and Habitat Policy for India.
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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