Window & Facade Magazine - Jan/Feb 2020 Issue

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www.wfmmedia.com Volume 6 | Issue 3 | ` 150 January - February 2020

GLASS & GLAZING TECHNOLOGIES For optimising energy efficiency & occupant comfort

Face to Face

Ar. Mitu Mathur Director, Gian P. Mathur & Associates, Architects & Planners (GPM)

Shaping Glass Faรงades in Age of Parametric Design Ar. Gaurav Goel, Founder, Studio Parametric Curiosity

Project Watch

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PUBLISHED BY F & F Media and Publications C-55, Okhla Industrial Area, Phase - 1, New Delhi-110 020 T: +91-11-40623356 CO-FOUNDERS Syed Ahad Ahmed Amit Malhotra

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TECHNICAL PANEL Mahesh Arumugam Director Meinhardt Façade Consultants

Façade Designs: Integrating Glass and Other Traditional Building Materials Sunando Dasgupta, Founder and Principal Architect, Sunando Dasgupta and Associates

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Circadian Curtain Wall: Geometry Inspired by Nature John Neary, Senior Façade Specialist, HOK

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The Closed Cavity Façade – A High-Performance Building Skin Valentin Balog, Senior Project Partner, Drees & Sommer Advanced Building Technologies, Stuttgart, Germany

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Shaping Glass Façades in Age of Parametric Design Ar. Gaurav Goel, Founder, Studio Parametric Curiosity

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Structural Glass for Unique All-Glass Constructions Andreas Geyer, Managing Director, seele (S) Pte. Ltd

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How Façade Retrofit Solutions Improve Occupant Comfort Hemant Rathod, National Head - Structural Glass Solutions, Saint-Gobain India Private Limited (Glass Business)

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Cover Story Glass & Glazing Technologies - Increasing Efficiency of Building Systems

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Face to Face Interview with Ar. Mitu Mathur, Director, Gian P. Mathur & Associates, Architects & Planners (GPM)

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Industry Speaks Interview with Vikram Khanna, COO, Consumer Glass, COO, Architectural Institutional Business, CIO & CMO, Asahi India Glass Ltd.

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Project Watch REC-Tech Park, Thandalam, Chennai

By Architecture Plus Value, Chennai

KR Suresh Regional Director xis Façade Consulting A EDITORIAL Renu Rajaram renu@wfm.co.in +91 9312864830 Shefali Bisht shefali@wfm.co.in DESIGN & CONCEPT BY Prashant Kumar MARKETING & OPERATIONS Kapil Girotra kapil@wfm.co.in +91 9560925255 SUBSCRIPTION & CIRCULATION Richa Parmar support@wfm.co.in +91 9871151112 Mukesh Kumar mukesh@wfm.co.in +91 9560088995 RNI: DELENG/2014/57870

Cover image, courtesy: Gian P. Mathur & Associates, Architects & Planners (GPM)

DISCLAIMER: With regret we wish to say that publishers cannot be held responsible or liable for error or omission contained in this publication. The opinions and views contained in this publication are not necessarily those of the publishers. Readers are advised to seek expert advice before acting on any information contained in this publication which are very generic in nature. The Magazine does not accept responsibility for the accuracy of claims made by advertisers. The ownership of trademarks is acknowledged. No part of this publication or any part of the contents thereof may be reproduced in any form or context without the permission of publishers in writing.

WRITE TO THE EDITOR Please address your suggestions to: The Editor, Window & Façade Magazine, C55, Okhla Industrial Area, Phase – 1, New Delhi, 110020 or email renu@wfm.co.in. Please provide your full name and address, stating clearly if you do not wish us to print them. Alternatively log on to www. wfm.co.in and air your views. The opinions expressed in this section are of particular individuals and are in no way a reflection of the publisher’s views.

“Printed and Published by Amit Malhotra on behalf of M/s F & F Media and Publications Printed and published at Utility Forms Pvt, Ltd., 602, DLF, Tower A, South Delhi, Delhi, 110025. Name of the Editor-Ms. Renu Rajaram”

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EDIT

O NOTE

R’S

Experts predict COVID-19 will have long-term ramifications for many aspects of the construction industry world over. Once the scale of the pandemic became clear, the industry worldwide is planning to cope with business disruption and the global financial markets have been on the edge. Several industry events have been postponed, or are being rescheduled, or are moving on with their virtual programmes. Many in the construction sector are being dramatically and severely affected. If the government decides to put the country into ‘lockdown’ due to coronavirus, decisions will be taken out of the hands of individual companies and sites may have to close.

The impact on the industry’s supply chain, consisting of multiple layers of businesses will be catastrophic and unavoidable. Many individuals are also concerned about their financial situation, the future of their business, their employer and their job.

With the COVID-19 hitting the world hard, a lot of countries have declared lockdown. People are staying indoors and working from their homes. The indoor environment affects health and well-being, be it an office space or a house. It is important to maintain peaceful and energy-efficient indoors. Solutions like solar controlled, thermally insulated, acoustic proof glass provide much-needed solace and tranquillity, also helps in 50-60% noise reduction. Selecting a window glazing is complicated when energysaving and daylighting aspects of a building are considered concurrently.

Optimization techniques offer a balanced solution for the contradictions in selecting a window glazing of energy-efficient building. The selection of glasses should be done as per sun path analysis and thermal comfort, and acoustics studies for better efficiency and comfort. This edition is themed on efficient and effective glazing and selection of glass for façades and fenestration to achieve these objectives.

Amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic in the country and the world, we wish our readers safe, happy, progressive and healthy times ahead. In the meanwhile, we want to hear from you what you think about these articles.

Renu Rajaram renu@wfm.co.in

WFM | JAN - FEB 2020

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Glass & Other Materials

Façade Designs: Integrating Glass and Other Traditional Building Materials

I

n the contemporary architectural scenario, with the easy availability of largeformat structural glass, the tendency of indiscriminate use of glass as an external façade material, with no proper material audit and decision making, has resulted in poorly functioning buildings with huge energy demands and carbon footprint. In the present context, understanding the process involved in auditing a strategy for combining glass and natural materials is of paramount importance.

The parameters one may use to audit the use of natural materials with glass fall under some broad categories: • Energy conservation • Cost-effectiveness • Aesthetics • Building typology • Site context and vernacular • Façades and human behaviour ENERGY CONSERVATION The plaster has a thermal conductivity of 0.18 W/Mk. Brick has a thermal conductivity of around 0.77 W/Mk. Normal window

Officers bachelor accommodation for ONGC at Nazira, Assam

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WFM | JAN - FEB 2020

glass has a thermal conductivity of around 0.80 W/Mk and natural stone has a thermal conductivity of around 1.6 to 3.5 W/Mk. However, the flow of heat also depends on the thickness of the material, inside and outside temperature difference and air gap or cavity between the materials and also the quality of the materials used. For example, thicker wall thickness or thicker glass pane, use of double glass unit and cavity wall construction, the quality of clay used in brickwork can alter the thermal conductivity and UV

Glass & Other Materials coatings on the glass surface can reduce the thermal conductivity to a great extent.

Standard brick masonry with the plastered surface has a lower thermal conductivity than a normal 5 mm thick glass window (Although this factor cannot be the only criterion for the choice to determine the extent the use of glass on an external surface). It is imperative to use 12 to 15% of the external wall’s area of any habitable space to be left for glass windows for natural lighting and ventilation as per norms.

However, heat gain due to the greenhouse effect of glass surface (heat transferred through glass) tends not to be dissipated back to the atmosphere which is not the case in brick walls with plaster.

The use of solar control glass is advantageous compared to conventional building materials in terms of heat reflectivity, absorbance and transmittance.

Solar control glass is developed to allow sunlight to pass through a window or façade whilst radiating and reflecting away a large degree of the sun’s heat. The indoor space stays brighter and much cooler than those where normal glass is used.

Solar control is a key issue in terms of energy saving. In

hot conditions, or for buildings with high internal loads, it is used to minimise solar heat gain by rejecting solar radiation and help control glare. In more temperate conditions, it can be used to achieve high levels of natural light.

Solar control glass panels used for large format structural glazing walls also have an easier maintainability factor when compared to natural building materials like brick, plastered or stone surfaces, primarily because of the seamless nature of the material, and because of the use of a dual-action self-cleaning coating located on the external glass pane.

COST EFFECTIVENESS The cost of full brick masonry is around Rs 2000/Sq m. The cost of a 5mm thick glass window with aluminium frame is around Rs 3000/Sq m, and full random rubble masonry is around Rs 2600/Sq m. However, special solar control glass panels like opal glass, super silver glass, Eco sense glass and sun shield glass are comparatively much more expensive. Prices of structural glazing walls, including necessary framework, range from Rs 4000/Sq m to Rs 6000 /Sq m. Hence, although glass is more expensive than brickwork, the use of glass is essential for natural lighting and ventilation and

masonry work. So glass needs to be synchronised harmoniously to increase the energy efficiency of the building, and at the same time avoid undesirable increases in heat load.

Another important factor to be taken into account whilst deciding the choice and integration of external materials is the process of Life Cycle Cost Analysis.

This is an audit of the choice of materials in view of their initial cost, procurement ease, initial price factor, installation and commissioning ease, operation maintenance and performance monitoring, ease of modification or up-gradation and decommissioning, and the replacement and recovery of materials.

AESTHETICS Installing reflective glass imparts a sharp, bold appearance to the exterior. Large seamless glass façades impart a 'contemporary' character to any building façade. With global reach and presence becoming an image/ branding requirement in business establishments all over the world, more and more multinational companies and other business houses are leaning towards the extensive use of glass façades in multistoried building blocks.

Although one cannot deny the timeless aesthetic character of stone or exposed brick masonry,

Regional Science Centre at Pilikula, Mangalore

WFM | JAN - FEB 2020

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Glass & Other Materials Some spaces require only artificial lighting and do not require any natural lighting, which might hamper the proper functioning of the programmatic activities.

Hence, it is always important to carefully choose and balance the proportional usage of glass and other materials for the eternal faรงade depending on the internal usage.

Rural self employment training institute, Hatras

trends in past decades indicate a gradual shift towards the glass and other surfaces like drywall and metallic cladding.

BUILDING TYPOLOGY The integration of glass with conventional building materials must be determined according to the building typology. This is one factor that many architects

and designers very often tend to ignore in their quest to create a faรงade design that is aesthetically pleasing. The requirement for natural lighting and ventilation varies considerably with the Internal usage and functions of Internal space planning.

Some internal spaces require abundant natural lighting; others require a moderate amount.

Sub Regional Scienc Centre at Udaypur, Tripura

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SITE CONTEXT AND VERNACULAR The location of the building site with respect to the surrounding region is a very important factor when deciding the choice of natural materials to use with glass.

It is always preferable to use natural materials with glass which are easily available, to minimise issues of maintenance and replaceability. The use of large quantities of glass and aluminium in inaccessible or remote regions is never a good idea unless one can find local glass manufacturers or dealerships. It is preferable to use locally available materials like brick, stone and wooden frames, and optimise the quantity of glass

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Glass & Other Materials used. In such areas, window designs should promote the use of smaller glass panels and segmentation of the window surface, to make replacement and repair easier, and also minimise the chances of breakage in long-distance transit.

Ultimately, when combining natural materials with glass in remote areas, it's important to remember that the vernacular character of such areas is retained by highlighting and utilising the indigenous character of that region.

FAÇADES AND HUMAN BEHAVIOR We design our building interiors and exteriors for our users, and building design shapes the behaviour of its users in the long run. It is the architect’s responsibility and endeavour to continuously and consciously try to improve the quality of life of the end-users of our buildings.

When combining glazing with natural materials, one must be cognizant of how buildings are actually used, more than how they look in a computer rendering or photograph. For

example, educational institution design often uses exposed brick combined with the strategic use of glass.

CONCLUSION The building façade is a manifestation of the character, efficiency and longevity of the building, internally and externally.

Hence, any good architecture must take into account all these aforementioned factors that contribute to the decisions one must make when creating a building façade, and choose the use of glass and natural materials accordingly.

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WFM | JAN - FEB 2020

SUNANDO DASGUPTA

Founder and Principal Architect, Sunando Dasgupta and Associates

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Sunando Dasgupta made his own path in contemporary Indian architecture and is renowned in his native State and pan India. He is emerging as a brand architect for Science Museums. He has designed two iconic science city projects apart from several other state and district level science centers. After completing his graduation in architecture from Bengal Engineering College in 1981, he worked under many reputed Architects in Delhi, before starting his own firm in 1991i. His career took a sudden upswing with the design of a Science Museum near Mangalore. His projects exult irresistible sensuality and sheer pleasure when it comes to integrating built-up forms, surrounding topography, environment, landscapes and people. All his building designs seem to yearn for a rediscovery of the architectural ethos of the pure modernist movement.

Glass & Glazing

Circadian Curtain Wall Geometry Inspired by Nature

H

OK’s Circadian Curtain Wall concept draws on biophilic design to offer building occupants abundant natural light while minimising solar heat gain.

How can façade systems play a more important role in improving employee health and well-being?

That was the challenge in a recent competition, and it got me thinking about an idea.

For the past two years, me and my colleagues in HOK had

High Alertness

been working on a concept for a load-bearing façade for high-rise buildings. That design of structural exterior enclosure, replaced much of the aluminium found in modern curtain walls with steel, giving the façade additional strength to serve as part of the building’s overall framing and, because steel requires one-third the amount of carbon to produce as aluminium, reducing its embodied energy.

More recently, I have been toying with a further evolution of the concept: What if curved glass could also reduce the use of aluminium while giving the building skin more strength and wind resistance?

I was playing with this idea of curved bay windows and putting them into clumps where you have curve atop of curve in a kind of fractalian pattern. And it struck me that such a curved glass façade also spoke to the design brief. It

extends the indoors outside and creates an office environment with elements from nature that we know contribute to health and wellness.

Thus was born the Circadian Curtain Wall.

GEOMETRY INSPIRED BY NATURE As its name suggests, the Circadian Curtain Wall draws on the very real connection humans - and all living organisms - have with the daily cycle of daylight and darkness.

The façade’s bubbled glass offers wide-angled views to the outdoors and brings natural light deep into the building, keeping occupants synced to the circadian rhythm of night and day. Natural light and views are also key components of biophilic design that have been shown to boost performance and general happiness.

Best Coordination Fastest Reaction Times

Fastest Increase in Blood Pressure

Highest Body Temperature

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Highest Blood Pressure

Lowest Body Temperature Deep Sleep

Melatonin Secretion

Inspired by the 24-hour circadian clock, the façade’s design maximises building occupant’s exposure to daylight and the daily rhythms that influence human health

Interior view of the Circadian Curtain Wall: The façade’s curved glass allows building occupants to walk out beyond the building’s main footprint to connect to the outdoors and daylight.

WFM | JAN - FEB 2020

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Glass & Glazing Biophilia plays into the design in other ways, too.

The design competition challenged participants to imagine a façade for a proposed 30-story office building on a waterfront site.

HOK’s concept, submitted with assistance from WSP Built Ecology, imagined the building with an ovoid floor plate that, with the addition of the convex curtain wall glass, would create a flower-like organic geometry.

The enclosure and building form are shaped in response to the path of the sun both discreetly at each window and overall across the oval floor plate. You can follow the sun around the footprint of the building somewhat like the hand of a clock. The circular geometry of the windows and the floor plan follows the cycle of the circadian rhythm.

Within office areas, the façade’s bay windows serve to extend the interior out past the building’s main footprint, allowing office workers to surround themselves with views and natural light. Dual atriums on the north and south of the building further connect building occupants to nature. In contrast to the office bays, these spaces bring the outdoors into the building, playing host to distinct plant life in a semi-conditioned space. Flora in the north atrium include species that thrive in low light, whereas plants in the south atrium feature full-sun varieties.

PASSIVE AND AUTOMATED SHADING The Circadian Curtain Wall’s bulged windows provide external shading even on sides of the building exposed to full sun. At any given moment the tower to the right is 75 percent self-shaded, the one on the left 50 percent.

As the sun moves around the building, the clusters of curved window bays limit the surface area exposed to direct sunlight and provide shading to adjacent areas

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WFM | JAN - FEB 2020

As the sun moves across the sky, the façade’s curved glass provides self-shading to adjacent windows—minimising glare and heat gain

Circadian Curtain Wall’s shades deploy automatically depending on the location and strength of the sun. Here fewer than half of the shades are deployed

of the façade. This design allows more natural light to enter the building and reduces the reliance on view-limiting window shades to control glare. Modelling analysis found the Circadian Curtain Wall’s natural shading also significantly reduces solar heat load when compared to a traditional building with a rectangular floor plate and flat façade.

The oval floor plate exaggerates this phenomenon, but I think the Circadian Curtain Wall could provide similar benefits if used on a rectangular building. The curvature of the glass means the sun is only hitting the windows at a right angle in a fairly limited area, and the windows’ convex shape is providing some shading elsewhere.

Even with natural shading, building occupants will require additional sun filters. To address this, the design team proposed automated shades in a ventilated six-inch cavity between an exterior piece of glass and insulated glazing along the interior of the building.

The shades protect each bay window from direct solar gain and glare at all times and automatically open and close in response to the sun’s location and intensity.

Housing the shades within a vented cavity supplied with filtered air keeps them clean and reduces maintenance costs, while automating them increases the amount of natural lighting within

the building and reduces energy use. In making them mechanical, the design also eliminates human error, i.e. people’s tendency to draw the shades and then forget to open them when the sun is no longer a factor.

A PEEK BEHIND THE CURTAIN The Circadian Curtain Wall offers several other advantages over traditional building envelopes. The concept’s double-skin façade, for example, provides the building with an extra level of thermal and sound insulation. Additionally, the cavity between the outer and inner glass could be used to create a Trombe Wall effect where solar-warmed air within the cavity is used to heat the building during the winter or siphoned off to reduce cooling load during warmer months.

Trombe Walls were popular in the 1970s when a lot of hippies - including my parents - were building solar houses in places like New Mexico where I grew up. That background notwithstanding, they are a simple and effective form of passive solar energy that could be used more widely for heating a building in cooler months and shedding heat or storing it for night-time in the summer.

In using curved glass, the Circadian Curtain Wall also has much greater inherent strength and stiffness than it would with traditional flat-panel glass (though

Glass & Glazing

Circadian Curtain Wall continues HOK façade specialist John Neary’s research into building skins that increase energy efficiency while minimising the use of carbon heavy aluminium.

The curtain wall’s design limits the exposure to direct sunlight, allowing the automated shades to remain open in parts of each window bay. Air in the cavity space for the automated shades is circulated to aid heating and cooling of the building’s perimeter.

the glass is not safe to augment the building’s primary bracing).

Wind-load analyses (below) suggest that the curved glass acts as a beam spanning floor to floor and could eliminate the need for supportive mullions every five feet as in most conventional curtain walls.

Wind pressure analysis on traditional, flat-panel glass and Circadian Curtain Wall’s curved windows

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WFM | JAN - FEB 2020

Convex glass panels measuring 10-by-15 feet could be connected with structural silicone with only a slight aluminium frame needed to house the internal shading units. In eliminating the supportive mullions, My team estimates that a 30-story building like the one used in the design competition could save 300 to 400 tons of aluminium in 300,000 square feet of skin compared to a conventional curtain wall.

PROMISING RESULTS Circadian Curtain Wall grew from an abstract idea to a detailed concept in just a couple of months. Though the design team is now refining some of the façade’s initial assumptions and ideas, the initial analysis of the curtain wall has been encouraging.

Daylighting and energy model simulations (above) conducted

by WSP Built Ecology found that the system could reduce energy use by 16 percent, peak cooling load by 24 percent and peak heating load by 27 percent in a 30-story building.

Those are significant amounts.

Intuitive belief, knowledge about people’s innate need to connect to nature and results from early modeling suggest that Circadian Curtain Wall is a concept worthy of further exploration.

In addition to Neary, the design team included Michael Miller, Zhenhuan Xu, Blake Kurasek, Marie, Achalabun, Mario Claussnitzer, Apoorv Goyal and Matt Breidenthal from HOK, and Matthew Payne and Elliot Glassman from WSP Built Ecology.

JOHN NEARY, AIA, LEED AP, NCARB

Senior Façade Specialist, HOK

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: John Neary (AIA, LEED AP, NCARB) is a senior façade specialist at HOK. John has over 30 years of experience as both a design team leader and a façade specialist on civic, higher education and commercial projects. He has a special interest in building enclosure systems and exposed structures.

John is an adjunct associate professor at New York City College of Technology teaching a façade design studio and has also taught at Kansas State and Washington State. His research has focused on structural façade systems for high-rise buildings, the performance of non-planar cavity façades, and the use of wood and other low embodiedenergy material in curtain wall systems. John is a member of the Special Advisory Council of the Façade Tectonics Institute.

Glass & Glazing

The Closed Cavity Façade – A High-Performance Building Skin

N

umerous innovations have been seen in the last decades concerning new façade technologies.

These were driven by new materials or new applications of known materials, such as glued-on wall structures (structural glazing) in the '60s and '70s. On the other hand, we saw the increasing introduction of double and multiple-layer façades including a return to natural ventilation in the ’90s and the new millennium.

Today we see the closed cavity façade (CCF) as a promising and innovative way to develop new possibilities especially for highrise buildings that may come to the same rank within the next years. The following report will provide an overview of the existing systems. It will also point out the challenges and the chances of this advanced new façade system.

Furthermore, several reference projects of the past years are presented, both completed and under construction.

The report shows the way to functional proper design and it illustrates the most important issues of good quality assurance management.

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WFM | JAN - FEB 2020

FROM DOUBLE SKIN FAÇADE TO CLOSED CAVITY FAÇADE A number of positive examples of double-skin façade buildings have been reported. In case an open competition for the erection took place, prices were often more moderate than expected. Books were published at the turn of the millennium, how engineering of façade and ventilation may be optimised. Nevertheless, the examples with limited function, heat-up or short circuiting from exhaust to supply air exist in large numbers as well. Especially if openings to the outside or distances between inner and outer skin are reduced to much, such faults appeared.

This insight created a new idea for a double-skin façade type called closed cavity façade or abbreviated “CCF”. The combination of the advantages of a single-skin façade with those of a double-skin façade led to a non-ventilated doubleskin with very good heat insulation to the inside and a larger depth to the outside.

THE ADVANCED FAÇADE TECHNOLOGY - CCF The façade type closed cavity façade (CCF) avoids the pollution of its

inside surfaces as it is not exposed to ventilation. Condensation is suppressed with the supply of dried air to the inside, but the amount is very low, as the unit is constructed to be almost air tight.

The good sound insulation and sun shading properties of a doubleskin are maintained. If one needs a possibility for natural ventilation, an openable flap can be combined with the CCF element that under normal circumstances will not be openable.

The supply of dry air is controlled with its dew point temperature to outside and surface temperatures.

The larger is chosen the so-called dew point distance to the critical surface temperature (for example, the inside of the outer singleglazing), the safer the design is prepared against impairment of the view by condensation. A fact that bothers with many not so well-designed ventilated doubleskin façades. Two fundamentally different systems are available in the market today. One system produces the dried air in local units, the other with central units.

Some airtight tubes to the façade elements are hence necessary but of only small diameters.

In the decentralised dry air

Glass & Glazing the end. A written system warranty with a term of at least ten years is usually required in the contracts for CCF façades.

The CCF design is attractive as it costs little or no additional investment compared to a conventional double-skin façade.

This is mainly due to the fact that the relatively modest additional investment for the airlines and the central compressed air is compensated by avoiding the opening and cleaning as found on double-skin façades. In addition, the annual maintenance cost for the window sash in a conventional double-skin façade is roughly equivalent or even higher than the maintenance costs of the dry-airsystem of a CCF. Figure 1: Overview double-skin façade systems

conditioning (Figure 1 / Type C) drying boxes are used, which are positioned in close proximity to the façade elements. They can be installed either in the cavity below or in the ceiling void above the elements. Important in any case is the permanent accessibility of the corresponding access panels in order to maintain the units and to replace the desiccant cartridges employed before saturation.

Another possibility is the use of distributed conditioning units called "AHC units", that perform the regeneration process within the device, thus no replacement of any drying agent is necessary. Such a system was implemented for the first time in the new corporate headquarters of Energie AG Upper Austria at Linz. The local façade is made of a triple insulating glass with krypton filling on the inside with sun-shading in the cavity and a single pane of glass to the outside.

Even some openable CCF devices were realised on one façade of this interesting project.

Quite different paths were taken with a compressed air-fed CCF

version (Fig. 1/ Type D). The dry air is produced in a central unit and controlled for all connected elements. This allows a very efficient way of drying this air (for example, via adsorption) and is easy to maintain. Furthermore, the elements are readjusted individually with regard to the supply needs of this dried and compressed air. The air supply network is made of steel or stainless steel pipes to cover the higher pressures employed for the distribution in small diameter tubes.

The planning of the air pipes and the central compressed air plant is usually handled by the HVAC planning team but incorporates some important interfaces to the façade planning and production.

The final definition of the design parameters such as dimensions of the compressed airlines is made however by the executing façade contractor. This is especially important, to define and ensure clear interfaces for responsibility and liability regarding the correct operation of the entire system at

OPPORTUNITIES & CHALLENGES OF THE CCF TECHNIQUE In addition to the above mentioned technical advantages of a CCF for maintenance and upkeep, we see some architectural and design advantages for this type of façade. Due to the elimination of inside cleaning, the profiles of the frame are significantly slimmer.

Furthermore, considerably larger glass sizes are possible compared to double-skin façades with wings on the inside.

High visual quality at the prospect of interior and exterior façade makes the CCF extremely interesting for architects and building owners.

In addition, new possibilities for the use of directing light with sun protection systems are created. The material choice for the sunblinds is broadened as there is no wind or rain exposure in the CCF and materials need only be stable to temperature and sun exposure. As heat is not transported mainly by convection but through radiation the direction of the blinds’ rotation axis is not so important.

The heat insulation on cold winter days is excellent with possible Ucw values (total thermal transmittance

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Glass & Glazing of the curtain wall) of about 0.6 to 0.9 W/m² K for CCF elements with interior triple glazing. Depending on the ratio between windows and opaque elements in a façade even very high thermal insulation requirements may be met.

However, the new façade-type CCF also brings some challenges for façade planners and constructors.

Elements installed in the closed cavity are hard to exchange/replace or to be maintained. Therefore, new ways of motorising and controlling elements may be useful with activators outside the closed cavity.

All active or passive elements in the cavity need to survive high temperatures (of up to about 80 °C – 90 °C) and should have a long life without maintenance. The framework of the cavity needs to keep airtight under those high inner temperatures and may be exposed to high-temperature gradients with respect to the surrounding building elements.

The heat insulation of the interior (double or triple) glazing of a CCF element is not only needed for internal insulation but mostly for the reduction of so-called secondary heat transmittance under full insulation in summer.

Instantly after signing the contract, it is very important that real-life test of those components is carried out by the contractor before he is allowed to produce the façade in large amounts. Following this rule, it has been done on one of the first high-rises to incorporate the CCF façade on a large scale - the new Roche Building 1, a 178 m high-rise in the heart of Basel, Switzerland.

CCF – IMPLEMENTED INNOVATION In the past decade, the CCF façade type has been successfully realised on a number of projects. One of these projects is the Power Tower in Linz.

For the Roche building department, a comparison was prepared between features of a conventional double-skin façade

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Figure 2: Power Tower Linz (Source: Energy AG)

QUICK FACTS:

Project: Power Tower Linz Client: Energie AG Upper Austria / A-Linz Architect Planning Design: Weber & Hofer AG / CH-Zurich Architect Design: Prof.

Kaufmann & Partner / A-Linz Façade builder: GIG GmbH / A-Puchheim

QUICK FACTS:

Project: Roche Bau 1 Client: F. Hoffmann LaRoche AG / CH-Basel Architect: Herzog & de Meuron / CH-Basel Façade Planning: Drees & Sommer / CH-Basel Façade builder: Gartner / D-Gundelfingen

Figure 3: Roche Diagnostics Rotkreuz

vs. those of a closed cavity façade.

The results were so convincing that the new high-rise headquarters for Roche Diagnostics at Rotkreuz, near to the “Zuger-See”, was built with the same CCF technology and completed in 2010 in advance to the Roche Tower at Basel. Until this date, there were no or only a few practical experiences on which the owner would rethink his decision for the main headquarters.

The new Roche head Quarter Building 1 at Basel has been completed in 2014 and currently the highest skyscraper of Switzerland. The clearly white monumental appearance in the early morning hours results from

QUICK FACTS:

Project: Roche Rotkreuz Client: Roche Diagnostics AG / CHRotkreuz Architect: Burkhardt + Partner AG / CH-Basel Façade builder: Gartner / D-Gundelfingen

Glass & Glazing the absolute clean white surface of the sun-protecting lamellas, which is both a unique building view and CCF-resulted design advantages.

THE SUN-PROTECTING LAMELLES AS A KEY ELEMENT In addition to the effect of different sun-protecting lamelles on the daylight situation in an office, this test office was used for longterm tests of the sun protection efficiency. Calorimetric testing was also carried out to ensure sustaining g-values.

In the long-term test also, possible influences on the mechanics and the operating characteristics of the sun-blinds were tested, following the rules of the ift Directive VE 07 for such tests.

Figures 4: Roche Building 1 Basel

LOOKING TO THE FUTURE A return to super-insulated, closed faรงade systems without manual window ventilation options, but

Figures 5 and 6: Roche construction 1, Main-Faรงades in vertical and horizontal section

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Glass & Glazing to avoid high cooling efforts.

The new and innovative type of façade CCF is surely a step in the right direction and without a doubt, a new key technology in designing double-skin façades in the 21 Century.

Figure 7: Calorimetric measurements at ift Rosenheim (Source: ift Rosenheim)

with controlled ventilation and heat recovery features already off, and also the reduction of the transparent parts of the façade is the future a possible way to implement building envelope energy-efficient and yet visually appealing.

Against the background of increasingly scarce energy resources, it is now more important than ever to advance new and promising technologies.

The façade type and layout of the new façade of the completed building 1, the currently designed building 2 and the new pRed Center of Roche in Basel, here are good examples of far-sighted and forward-looking buildings.

Much potential lies technically in the use of ever more powerful sun protection types with improved light control properties or creatively in the use of completely new sun protection solutions such as quality sun protection curtains with a highly individual look. The currently hot discussed topic like the changes in world climate and the necessity to reduce carbon dioxide emissions are the best arguments for developing new façade and sunshade technologies in order

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VALENTIN BALOG

Senior Project Partner, Drees & Sommer Advanced Building Technologies, Stuttgart, Germany

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Figure 8: Richti Areal, CH Wallisellenstrasse, CCF with curtains inside of the cavity

QUICK FACTS:

Project: Richti area Wallisellenstrasse Client: Allreal Group Architect - design: Wiel Arets Architects / Maastricht – Amsterdam – Zurich Façade builder: Gartner / D-Gundelfingen

Valentin Balog started his career as a metalworking technician.

In the early 90ties he studied architecture in Stuttgart, Germany. He combined his experience in production and mounting of façades with advanced architecture. In 1996 he changed to DS Plan (today Drees & Sommer Advanced Building Technologies) and began with consulting, planning, tendering and quality assurance of high performance façades, most of them built in high-rise buildings. Further on he was involved in a number of façade renovation projects and feasibility studies, technical and economic controlling in façade planning and tendering.

Since 2013 he is working as a Senior Project Partner at Drees & Sommer Advanced Building Technologies. Over the years he was the façade project leader and consulting engineer in several well known highrise projects with famous architects like Herzog & de Meuron/ Switzerland, Murphy Jahn/USA and GMP/Germany.

ALFA ICA

ALFA ICA

Glass & Glazing

Shaping Glass Façades in Age of Parametric Design

G

lass has been present for more than 5000 years on earth. Its earliest existence was noticed in Egypt and eastern Mesopotamia, where it existed in the form of beads.

Later, craftsmen around the world learned to blow it into different shapes and colours to produce unique artefacts. The first examples of glass in architecture appeared in Roman civilisations where the glass was put in wood and bronze frames to open up buildings towards outside environment. Glass gave an opportunity to experience outside environment and light while being indoors. Therefore, glass became a favourable material for wrapping buildings by architects.

Many innovations happened in glass production and manufacturing, but the major shift in glass production was the result of an invention by British scientist

Alastair Pilkington.

Pilkington has developed the process of manufacturing float glass by casting it on the bed of denser liquid tin.

This process allowed the glass to be manufactured in bigger sizes with fewer imperfections, making it apt for architectural applications. Soon after the float glass was discovered along with sealants, glass was started to use as a façade material in the form of curtain walls. Some earliest examples (Img 1) were glass and steel building of Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago (1940), Seagram building New York (1958), and General Motors Technical centre Detroit (1955).

glass façades. Today, architects and engineers can employ computational tools for the design and production of architectural glass façades. Some aspects that can be enhanced using parametric tools in glass façades include their environmental performance, their size and orientation on a building’s surface and their 3-dimensional geometry to attain a specific design agenda. Focussing on geometry optimisation and shaping of free form glass it can be observed that Doubly curved, spherical and complex curvature glass are some

EVOLVING PARAMETRIC DESIGN PROCESS FOR GLASS FAÇADE DESIGN With recent technology and developments in the 21st century, there are innumerable possibilities of innovations in building

Img 1 – Glass façades of General Motors Technical centre in Detroit and Seagrams Building in New York

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Glass & Glazing of the new products that express a distinct architectural language in the realm of glass façades today.

Architects are creating façades that are no longer planar or composed of a plain sheet of glasses (Img 2).

In such façades, first individual glass component ideas are modelled in the digital environment using parametric design tools along with their assembly instructions. Eventually, those 3D digital design models are realised by the latest shaping techniques of glass used in the industry. This process is illustrated in Fig 1. This article talks about the process that is employed with shaping techniques to produce those freeform, curvy and wavy façades through an example of a building constructed in Germany.

But before listing details of that building, a glimpse of current glass shaping techniques is inevitable.

SHAPING PROCESSES OF GLASS FOR BUILDING FAÇADES Broadly, there are two types of the process by which a glass can be formed into a particular shape.

The first method is hot bending in which glass is heated to high temperature and then moulded to the desired shape. In this process float glass sheet is positioned on a frame of steel or a mother mould

Img 2 - Emporia Mall façade - Malmo

1

2

Glass facade design concept

Parametric digital model of facade module

3 Parametric digital model of facade assembly using designed module

4 Digital analysis and optimization of facade’s structural and environmental performance

5 Manufacturing designed modules using suitable glass shaping technique

6 Site glass module assembly as per digital model instructions by architects

Fig 1 – Parametric design process for free form glass façade design (source - Author)

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7 Finished glass facade using digital information from parametric model

Glass & Glazing of the desired shape and it is heated gradually to a temperature up to 650°C. This results in the glass to lose its plastic and brittle state to achieve the shape of the mould. Interestingly glass with a radius of 2m or greater shapes itself by sagging under its own weight due to gravity. An example of such buildings includes Zaha Hadid’s Nordpark Railway Station and façade of Elbphilharmonie building in Hamburg.

Another technique is called cold bending technique. In cold bending, glass is bent to shape on-site during the assembling of façade. External pressure is used to shape the glass along with pressure bars to hold the glass in shape. This technique has been used to bend glasses up to 10m in radius. Buildings with coldbent glass include Jinso Pavilion in Amsterdam and IAC Headquarters New York (Img 3).

Glass shaping techniques coupled with architect’s parametric free form design model evolves into enthralling glass façades. To witness the use of these computational tools along with these shaping techniques an interesting case example to

examine would be façade of Elbphilharmonie building in Germany designed by Herzog & de Meuron architects (Img 4).

CASE EXAMPLEELBPHILHARMONIE BUILDING FAÇADE GERMANY Elbphilharmonie building in Hamburg is a mixed-used building housing a music concert hall along with hotel and luxury residential apartments.

It is an extreme example of glass engineering coupled with the use of computational design tools. This building consists of free form glass units designed and assembled using architecture design technologies.

For this project, the architects created a separate digital team which developed parametric design tools using computer algorithms to explore the geometry of the glass. Parametric tools are a set of systems designed to generate design results based on different parameters specified by the designer. Therefore, such tools facilitated this complex project with free form glass geometry and a large set of design data related to variations of each façade module.

Img 3 - IAC Headquarters in New York - cold-bent glass with double curvatures

FAÇADE CONCEPT AND DESIGN Façade concept of this building includes two modules of glass that are assembled in a varying manner according to the function behind it.

This led to the creation of a unified glass façade to impart crystalline character to the building. Each module has been designed and modelled using NURBS surfaces in the digital parametric software where they are bent and deformed to create the shape of glass modules that opens to views, air and smell of the surrounding port environment.

Eventually, all modules were parametrically arranged on the façade to create apt openings and aesthetics (Img 5).

Façade glass module 1 was modelled by deforming one edge to allow inserting a black aluminium oval window for ventilation. These modules are mainly used in the hotel area to allow openings. These modules are used in different configurations in the whole façade by rotating their orientation or alternating sides of deformations.

Whereas Module two is designed as a y-shape unit composed of deformed glasses topped with a fibreglass reinforced plastic. Type 2 module has been used in foyer areas along with loggias created to enjoy outside air and views. These glass modules were manufactured by hot bending technique using moulds where after heating glass sagged under its own weight to achieve desired mould form in the furnace.

Img 4 - Elbphilharmonie building Hamburg

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Glass & Glazing

Img 5 - Parametric Glass façade with variation and repetition of glass modules (source detail journal 2014)

TECHNICAL DETAILS AND STRUCTURE Doubly glazed Type 1 module consists of two layers of glass, each of which are made of three layers of glass, whereas type 2 module is a single glazed unit with two layers of glass laminated and formed together (Img 6 & 7). A chrome dot pattern was designed and printed on each glass module using the parametric algorithm to improve g value of the glass by 25%. Eventually, all glasses were coated with sun protection and heat insulation coatings to achieve sustainable glass façade.

Finally, from the above article

IMG 6 - Glass façade Module 1 with vertical section (source detail journal 2014)

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and case example, it is evident that glass façades in the age of parametric design has led to a new era of glass shapes and façade configurations.

These façades can be more freeform, performative, sustainable and collaborative from concept design stage. Further advancements in the glass façade arena portray an intriguing possibility of a complete automated file to factory digital production systems. These systems would enable architects to have more control in the production process, resulting in the increased creation of such free form glass façades.

IMG 7 - Glass façade Module 2 with vertical section (source detail journal 2014)

AR. GAURAV GOEL

Founder, Studio Parametric Curiosity

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Ar. Gaurav Goel holds Masters in Arch. Technology from Uni. of Nottingham England, and a Master dip. in Parametric design from Spain. He is a gold medallist in B.Arch. from Amity University. Goel founded his architecture studio Parametric Curiosity in 2016 with a social media blog for sharing parametric explorations in the field of architecture along with creating online educational videos. Besides, he has attended international workshops such as visiting the school of Architectural Association London and workshop with Mc-Neel Barcelona to learn nuances of algorithmic Design.

He has taught in Madrid and regional colleges of India.

Goel’s research interests lie in exploring architecture using computational tools.

His projects include a school in Kanpur, hotel in Lansdowne, pavilion proposal for CEPT workshop and residences in Delhi and NCR.

Glass & Glazing

Structural Glass for Unique All-Glass Constructions

M

i n i m a l i s t , m a x i m u m transparency, large glass formats, amazing attention to detail – those are the attributes of the building envelopes designed

by world-famous architects. Fixing elements are not to be found. It is the glass itself that carries heavy loads via shear-resistant interlayers and does not require any further mechanical connections by structural bonding. That opens

up totally new possibilities for glass roofs and façades as well as glass balustrades, stairs and bridges in the interior. In 2007, for example, an all-glass construction for a retail store in Sydney with panes measuring 13.5 x 3m was

Luxury department store ICONSIAM in Bangkok, Thailand, with a glass front up to 24m high. © seele/Andreas Keller

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Glass & Glazing implemented. Most recently, 17 x 2.8m cold-bent insulating glass units were used, which clearly shows the advancement in allglass constructions - all realized by construction specialist seele.

A deep understanding of the materials used results in unique façade and roof solutions.

Comprehensive expertise in structural glass designs, highprecision steel construction manufacturing and know-how in the field of digitalisation is the key for such exclusive façades. From engineering, design, production, logistics to assembly, the façade construction specialist takes over the entire process of creating unique building envelopes. In this way, numerous architectural icons have been created in recent years.

17M HIGH, CURVED INSULATING GLASS UNITS FOR THE TRADE FAIR TOWER IN FRANKFURT For the redesign of the lobby façade of the trade fair tower “Messeturm” in Frankfurt, Germany, the largest curved insulating glass units are used. The special feature of this design is that the façade essentially consists of only a few parts: just nine panes and ten posts on each side of the tower. There are no horizontal members interrupting the glass, which helps to create lightness and transparency despite the dimensions. Owing to the huge size, each pane requires special bearings and must be held in place with glazing bars.

The cold-bent insulating glass units measure approx. 17 x 2.8m, is approx. 71mm thick overall and are supported by stainless steel posts weighing approx. 3.5t each.

With its solar-control coating on level 4 to reduce solar heat gains, the insulating glass, therefore, combines aesthetic and functional criteria.

SUPER-SIZED GLASS FORMATS – ICONSIAM In 2018 the skyline of Bangkok

Trade fair tower “Messeturm” Frankfurt, Germany: Nine cold-bent insulating glass units measuring 17 x 2.8m each form a façade segment. © seele

along the riverfront of the Chao Phraya got a new 750,000sqm landmark, the luxury mall ICONSIAM. The design by Urban Architects incorporated a giant 5,300sqm “shop-window” into the riverside façade of the building.

A 3-story high, 3-dimensionally shaped all-glass façade, aiming for a maximum of transparency by minimising the fixing details.

The glass panels are sloped in 2 directions, are arranged in a jagged pattern and follow the curved plan of the podium of the building - A 3-dimensional structural challenge with zero repetition. The total height is up to 24m. For the suspended construction, glass fins are used as a main structural element. Those fins were assembled from up to 16m long and multi-laminated

ICONSIAM - a 3-story high, 3-dimensionally shaped all-glass façade. ©seele/ Andreas Keller

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Glass & Glazing

ANDREAS GEYER Managing Director, seele (S) Pte. Ltd ICONSIAM - maximum of transparency by minimising the fixing details. ©seele/Andreas Keller

glass elements to achieve the total length of 24m. The steel elements connecting the fins are executed as bolted connections to avoid the tolerances that would be occurring when welding such construction. The front glass consists of single glass panels of up to 16m x 3.1m. The weight of such a panel is up to 3.5t. For the successful execution of the project, it was essential to master all challenges - from engineering, fabrication and transportation of the super-sized façade elements, to their installation in Bangkok, against the background of an extremely tight schedule. Since the opening in 2018, the “luxury façades” of this project became an icon, that stands for Thailand’s fast-paced urban modernisation process.

UNIQUE TESTING EXPERTISE Load and performance tests are done in-house at seele. Innovative solutions are tested at the testing centre in Gersthofen, Germany.

Engineering services and façade structures are tested according to international guidelines as well as test scenarios developed

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in-house using true-to-scale mock-up buildings. Individual approval is required for almost all building envelopes. Extensive tests are usually necessary for the realisation of complex building envelopes. In the case of all-glass constructions.

Primarily, tests are done checking fittings and adhesive joints and their loadbearing capacity.

HANDLING OF LARGE GLASS FORMATS WORLDWIDE The handling of large glasses can be realised with specially developed suction systems and assembly equipment.

The experienced assembly team carries out the fitting of the large glass panes with millimetre precision. Often the biggest difficulty is the assembly in the middle of a big city, which is challenging, especially with regard to space and time management. Roads, for example, have to be specially closed or installation can only be carried out at night. To successfully execute such complex projects one must master all aspects of the business, and the logistic part must not be underestimated.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Since graduating in architecture in 1996, Andreas Geyer is involved in the execution of prestigious façade projects mainly in Asia. His first project was with seele in 1997, the Shanghai Grand Theatre, at that time a cutting edge cable truss construction. From 2007 until 2015, as the Technical Director and then as Managing Director, at Schueco - South East Asia, he was primarily looking into aluminium curtain wall-, window- and door systems. In 2015 Geyer returned to seele and is now responsible for the South East Asian, Indian and Australian markets. Examples of recent projects in the region executed by seele are the gridshell roof of the Chadstone Shopping Center in Melbourne, the luxury façade and Wisdom Hall on ICONSIAM and the rooftop features on the MahaNakhon, both in Bangkok.

Façade construction specialist seele develops innovative methods and design principles to realise all-glass constructions in architecture. All-glass creations by seele are just as complex as they are minimalistic.

CREATING

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Established in the year 1989, Powdertek offers wood finish powder coating process which is the latest technological breakthrough in metal coating giving the strength and durability of metal and the aesthetics of wood.

Appreciated by architects & designers

can cater upto 20 feet long objects like aluminium sections/ profiles and also rectangular/ flat objects like steel doors and

frame upto 16'x4'

Available in different shades

POWDERTEK A-18/A, Naraina Industrial Area, Phase-1, New Delhi-110028.

Phone: 011-41411141, +917770888666, 9811173861 Email: info@powdertek.in www.powdertek.in

All kind of powder coating job work undertaken

Glass & Glazing - Retrofitting

How Faรงade Retrofit Solutions Improve Occupant Comfort

T

o improve the occupant's comfort without causing a significant disturbance, even while improving the energy performance of an existing building envelope is no longer what one would call wishful thinking. It is called retrofitting of fixed glazing in faรงades, wherein single or double glazing is added to the existing glazing. It is typically executed from inside of the building when it is in use and causes hardly any disturbance to the occupants. It is not only a more cost-effective alternative to traditional forms of re-installation but also much simpler in terms of execution. Imagine the possibility of doing away with the need for dismantling the entire existing glazing!

CHALLENGES The habitat and construction industry worldwide is fraught with several challenges, among which are energy crisis, impact on environment, increase in population, etc.

Buildings contribute to nearly 40% of energy use globally and this shows no signs of slowing down, more so in the developing countries (Voita 2014; Al-Salal 2014, amongst others). Hence there is a growing need, more than ever before, to build sustainably. Not just that, built structures, when renovated, need to be just as energy-efficient as well, so as to reduce the carbon footprint while also increasing wellbeing for the occupants.

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Window panes after retrofitting of glass

Glass & Glazing - Retrofitting Also, taking into consideration, the impact of building envelopes on its occupants, one needs to understand the economic implications and the value that sustainable office spaces provide to two different stakeholders: (A) the tenant who occupies the building and (B) the developer or builder who constructs the buildings and rents or leases it out to the tenant. For the case of the tenants, sustainable buildings provide greater value, not just because of reduced energy bills, but also because such buildings influence the occupants to be more productive. The increased value for the tenant, in turn, can be realised by the developer via increased rent or leasing income from the tenant.

In this regard, studies have shown that the additional investment made by the developer on making building more sustainable is recovered more quickly and the payback periods can be shorter (Miller et al. 2009; Kok et al., 2012).

HOW RETROFITTING FITS IN India is believed to have a commercial building stock of over 1.1 billion Sq m (Kumar et al.

2019). Consequently, the energy services market in India across dimensions of design, consulting, retrofit, sensing & monitoring and technical servicesthat demand building that span verticals across building envelope, lighting and HVAC, is estimated to be between $10-35 billion (Kumar et al. 2017).

An average commercial building in India is expected to have a life of over 40 years (von Paumgartten, P. 2003). Therefore, renovation and retrofits of aging building envelopes are driven by two major factors: • Firstly, new standards keep coming up which demand buildings to spruce up their performance in energyefficiency and occupancy comfort. • Secondly, product and process

Glass panel getting prepared on site to be retrofitted on the pane

innovation has led to highperformance materials in the market, often exceeding their older counterparts.

Hence, these make for a better option to retrofit existing building envelopes.

THE WAY FORWARD Commercial buildings in India typically have window-wall-ratios in the range 25 – 70% and glazing form an important part of the building envelope (Evans et al.,

2009). The way forward for aging buildings is by way of retrofitting with advanced solar-control glazing that can help energyefficiency through insulating interiors from the exteriors, preventing direct solar radiation penetration, minimising glare, maximising comfort, reducing external noise and thereby improving the acoustic insulation, all of this without disturbing the daily continual operations of the space.

Retrofit installation in progress

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Glass & Glazing - Retrofitting

T

he following two casestudies present the retrofitting methodology launched at a pilot scale to retrofit office spaces in India.

These case-studies demonstrate significant benefits of reduced heat-gain through the façade and improved thermal & acoustic comfort to the occupants of these office spaces (retrofitting using SGG Evolve).

CASE STUDY 1: RETROFITTING OF A CONFERENCE ROOM The retrofit solution is executed in an office space located in Mumbai (warm-and-humid climatic zone) with glazings in the SW and NE directions.

CASE STUDY 2: RETROFITTING OF AN OPEN OFFICE SPACE The façade of an open office located in Chennai (India) is retrofitted, primarily to address the issue of external noise transmission into the office space through the façade. Due to the close proximity of the facility to an adjacent railway line, the average background noise level measured indoors is of the order of 55 dB in the office space (this measurement is performed at a distance of 0.3 m (1ft) from the façade over the weekends when other sources of noise such as occupancy, HVAC etc. are absent).

The glazing existing as part of the façade is comprised of 6mm (0.02 ft) clear glass (tempered).

RESULTS The retrofitting solution has been launched at the pilotscale for retrofitting office spaces, and estimates of the heat-gain through the glazings demonstrate energy savings of the order of 50%. Pre and post-retrofit evaluation of the occupant thermal comfort in an office space, as quantified

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Post installation

using spatial distributions of the operative temperature, reveals a significant improvement in the thermal comfort of the space close to the façade. Depending on the time of the day, the drop in the operative temperature is found to range from 1.5 to 5oC (2.7 to 9oF) at workstation locations closest to the façade.

Additionally, significant improvement in the acoustic comfort is also noted, and the peak noise levels, measured close to the façade (inside the building), are seen to drop from 60dB for the pre-retrofit scenario to 39dB for the post-retrofit scenario. Hence, these examples demonstrate the impact of the proposed retrofit solution on improving the building indoor environmental quality, and as a result, improving occupant comfort.

CONCLUSION Retrofitting is the go-to solution for giving old buildings a new lease of life. Whether it is single/double glazing, it allows one to look at glass in a new light – increasing daylight even while reducing heat ingress, maximising comfort while minimising noise levels. Retrofitting is indeed the new-age renovation, fitting into the demands of modern day lifestyle seamlessly with minimal hindrance to everyday life.

HEMANT RATHOD

National Head - Structural Glass Solutions, Saint-Gobain India Private Limited (Glass Business)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Hemant Rathod graduated in Economics & Commerce from Mumbai University. He is also a post-graduate in management from Welingkar Institute of Management, Mumbai. He holds a Diploma in sales from the National Institute of Sales, Mumbai. In 2001, Rathod joined Saint Gobain Glass as Area Sales Manager of Mumbai and served in various functions such as distribution, processing, and institutional sales.

Today, he is the National Head – Structural Glass Solutions.

He is also a member of the Glass Academy Board. Rathod is a business leader and a strong believer of minimalism, optimistic with a spark of creativity, Innovation and visualisation to drive continuous change and improvement in business strategy.

Home is not a place it's a feeling

29

SHRIRAM

Brand Watch

Alfen A

lfen, a pioneer in the aluminium architectural industry, has ventured in Indore with a showroom at E-87, Anurag Nagar Extension, LIG link Road, Indore, launched on 31st January 2020.

The showroom was inaugurated

by Ar. Naeemuddin F. Qureshi, Chairman of IIID Indore regional chapter. IIID Indore chapter management committee and their distinguished members graced the auspicious occasion.

Also, Ar. Anshuman Sharma, Chairman and Managing Committee of IIID-Jaipur Regional Chapter was present at the occasion. Additionally, legendary AR. Sanjay Kothari & AR. Rajinder Puri gave their valuable time

Launches New Showroom in Indore

bestowing their presence at the event.

The goal of the company is to satiate the needs of the Indians in perspective towards aluminium architectural fenestration products. The industry was not focused to fulfill the requirement of Indians residential and commercial architectural products. Fenestration products were manufactured in India and sold under the name of many reputed brands, which also lead to cost inflation. Moreover, these products were based on standardised and universal implementation, whereas in our country with extreme climates and peculiar demands, it did not suit much.

At Alfen, they worked backwards,

diving deep, finding the exact requirement and molding the entire system exclusively to bring world-class designs and high-tech fenestrations for Indian needs and demands. Alfen plans, designs, manufactures and works as a company for India, delivering for our people.

Alfen delivers excellence, functional and aesthetical solutions.

The products manufactured here are a legacy, enduring, ergonomically designed and eco-friendly. Specialising in windows with minimal framework, create transitions as glass curtains.

Alfen aluminium architectural fenestrations catered by the company include door, windows, retractable roofs, railings, pergolas and much more.

The showroom

The new Alfen showroom at Indore was inaugurated by Ar. Naeemuddin F. Qureshi, Chairman of IIID Indore regional chapter, in the presence of many distinguished members

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The product display at the showroom - simple and elegant

Brand Watch

Renson T

he Renson Fixscreen sunprotection has celebrated its 15th anniversary on 15th January at the Polyclose-exhibition in Ghent, together with all the partners and ambassadors who contributed to the success.

As the first sun screen of its kind in which the screen is zipped closed using two side channels as it is lowered, the wind resistance (in every position) of this type of external solar shading rose rapidly in one fell swoop. An added advantage was the fact that, with the screen down, insects, no longer had any chance of getting inside windows that were left open at night to provide ventilation. It was logical then that this was the most efficient way to prevent overheating indoors. But the higher wind resistance of the screens meant they had a much longer lifespan. Renson is now also launching the Fixscreen Minimal as the next step in the - already - rich Fixscreen history.

Since then, windows are only getting larger, and the importance

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Fixscreen Celebrates its 15th Anniversary

Renson Fixscreen Solar

of dynamic sun protection like this is only increasing: in winter and inbetween seasons, you can make optimum use of the free heat from the sun. And keeping the screens down during the summer helps you prevent your home from heating up too much. Moreover, the view outside - even with the screens down - is always retained, which is seen as a significant asset.

Fixscreen technology quickly became the basis of numerous new developments for equipping more than just standard windows (up to extremely large dimensions of no less than 22 m²) with

sunprotection screens: from verandas and roof windows (Topfix and Topfix Max), with or without combined ventilation (Fixvent), to corner (sliding) windows (Panovista and Panovista Max) and sliding windows (Slidefix). Each one distinguishes itself in true Fixscreen tradition for durability, wind resistance (up to 130 km/h for Fixscreen, 90 km/h for Panovista Max), Fixscreen zip technology (with a 7-year warranty), and Smooth technology for silent movement and adhesion of the screens in the side channels, and the ‘Connect & Go’ system for smooth (dis)assembly of the sun screen in the box.

With the arrival of the Fixscreen Minimal, Renson will be taking another big step in the further development of its renowned sunprotection screen, in search of the limits in terms of minimalist design. For curtain walls and postinstallation on existing ‘minimal windows’, there will now be an extremely suitable, sustainable, and high-quality solution.

Product Watch

AIS Unveils

a First of its Kind AR App in the Glass Industry

A

sahi India Glass Ltd, India’s one of the leading automotive and building glass company, has introduced AR (augmented reality) feature in their ‘AIS World of Glass’ app. This new AR feature helps in choosing perfect fenestration products for every door and window requirements.

The app offers a number of benefits. Through this app, one can explore the space, select the window frames, frame colour, glass, and hardware of own choice and visualise the dream space.

The app also has a feature that will help in experiencing an acoustic solution. It also shows energy efficiency which helps to choose the perfect doors and windows for the dream space.

Other features of this app include: change background outside the frame (background can be changed accordingly to day/night mode), it gives you the product information.

KEY FEATURES • Toggle between different shades of glasses and frames across all the three categories

Excerpts from the App

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WFM | JAN - FEB 2020

- uPVC, wood & aluminium • Visualise AIS Doors and Windows from all angles • Find perfect doors and windows for any setting • Customise doors and windows on the basis of type and colour • Animate your customised doors and windows • 360° view of doors and windows • Experience acoustic solutions at its best • Discover the temperature change with the energy efficiency meter

Product Watch

Flexible Doors and Windows by

E

ENCRAFT

NCRAFT, a renowned name in the façade and fenestration industry, offers a wide range of doors and windows in the market.

All the products offered by the company provide flexibility and serves various benefits that are listed below: SLIDING WINDOWS Based on a range of sections, it offers the full flexibility, offering from a single sliding to multiple sliding openers, clip-on or integrated sections for fly screen and a range of section sizes covering small and large openings. It provides the ideal range of products to suit any window replacement program or building type in the fast-growing construction industry.

TWINSASH WINDOWS It provides the option of combining

Heavy Duty Patio door

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WFM | JAN - FEB 2020

the traditional casement window with the traditional inward opening fly screen option. There is a facility to incorporate a security grill or blinds for security or privacy. It also offers an additional variant of the sash with integrated louvers with a fly screen option. It was designed to facilitate maximum application coverage with the minimum number of profile sections.

TILT N SLIDE DOORS ENCRAFT Tilt N Slide doors offer the ultimate protection to the home. The European concept of tilting and sliding the door sash allows the provision of a dual compression seal and provides the maximum ventilation and glass area.

HEAVY DUTY PATIO DOORS ENCRAFT's Heavy Duty Patio doors can comply with new challenges

Invisi Fold door

with its 2-pane version which can be manufactured up to 5.8 meters wide and up to 3.0 meters tall, accepting a maximum sash weight of 300 kg. The overall outer frame depth of 142 mm housing two 62 mm deep sashes is perfectly suited for modern straight-through apertures. The effortless operation of the heavy sash (es) is achieved by using tandem rollers with a high weight carrying capacity.

INVISI FOLD DOORS ENFOLD is a unique alternative for ‘concertina’, ‘fold &slide’ or ‘bi‐fold’ windows & doors which are based on the movement of individual panels. It can be manufactured with invisible hinges showing only 1 or 2 handles (depending on style) and also it can be manufactured alternatively with face mounted and fully adjustable 3D hinges.

Sliding windows

Product Watch

Halio’s

Smart-Tinting Technology Passes Tropical Test

A

study by the BCA Skylab Singapore has compared the electrochromic technology of Halio® glass with classic 2-layer thermal insulation glazing plus mechanical sun protection.

The results show that smarttinted glass improves user comfort and lowers energy costs while maintaining visual contact with the outside world. 100% of the glare was blocked, between 17 and 25% of the energy costs for the lighting was saved and over 95% of the test period, a good room comfort was achieved.

In the Halio study, a façade with Halio glass and a façade with conventional double glazing with low-E coating plus shutters were installed next to each other in the test rooms. Both rooms mimicked the identical office situation. The results show that Halio technology outperforms traditional low-e glasses in three areas: anti-dazzle, thermal comfort and energy savings in lighting.

VISUAL COMFORT - GLARE PROTECTION: Shots with an HDR camera that covered the complete field of view of a building user show that Halio blocks even extreme glare for 100%. The improvement of visual comfort was accompanied by a reduction in energy costs for lighting. The test room, equipped with Halio glass, required 17% less energy when facing west and 25% less energy when facing north compared to the closed-blind reference situation.

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WFM | JAN - FEB 2020

IMPROVED THERMAL COMFORT: The differences in thermal comfort according to DIN EN ISO 7730 and DIN EN 15251 were measured.

The results show the clear advantages of electrochromic technology. Over 95% of the time, the Halio glazing provided a comfortable category B climate.

This suggests that the SmartTinting, in addition to preventing glare, can also sustainably improve the energy input from the outside and thus the thermal comfort.

Contact: Halio International, E-Mail : laurie.brion@halioglass. com. Web site : www.halioglass.eu

REFERENCE ROOM Low-E coated glass with closed blinds

HALIO ROOM Halio Glass with automatic control

3 hours of intolerable glare, 1.25 hours of disturbing glare

Visual Comfort

No glare was observed

Baseline lighting consumption with low-E glass and closed blinds

Energy Savings

Cuts lighting consumption by 17% (West orientation) and 25% (North orientation)

75 – 78% of the time

Thermal Comfort ((PMV2 in category B per DIN ISO 7730)

95% of the time

Category A Recommended for spaces occupied by very sensitive and fragile persons with special requirements (very young children elderly, ill person)

Category B Suitable for most new buildings and renovations

Halio

61% of the time over the testing period

95% of the time over the testing period

Double glazing with retracted blinds

33% of the time over the testing period

75% of the time over the testing period

Double glazing with closed blinds

36% of the time over the testing period

78% of the time over the testing period

Cover Story

Glass & Glazing Technologies

Increasing Efficiency of Building Systems

O

ne of the most prominent trends in the last few years in real estate has been the usage of glass façades. Most of the iconic buildings in Indian metros today are elegant corporate houses with glass façades. Today, glass façades have become an industry with several companies offering a plethora of choices in everything from supplying different glass to customisation, cleaning and maintenance.

The reason for architects' and developers' preference for glass is because it reduces the weight

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WFM | JAN - FEB 2020

on the foundation and hence makes the building lighter as compared to constructing walls.

Structurally glazed façade systems create greater transparency than traditional captured systems.

There are fewer visual interruptions due to the use of lesser metal on the glass façades, creating a seamless, continuous transparent look, merging the interiors with the exterior. Since there is little to no exposed exterior metal, there is also less thermal bridging with structural glazing, saving on energy consumption costs.

Moreover, glass makes the area look far more

spacious, wider and creates a sense of a ‘feel-good’ factor with big windows and brightness.

The cover story of this edition discusses types of architectural glass and their use on modern façades and fenestration; the functional, structural and energetic aspects of glass façades; the structural safety of glass; selection of glass for façades considering energy, thermal and acoustics related parameters; fire-safety norms to be followed while designing and mounting glass façades; effective façade maintenance and the future of glass façades and fenestration.

Cover Story

Corporate Building Ahmedabad, Blocher Partners India

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57

Cover Story

AR. GAURAV GOEL Founder, Parametric curiosity

SANGRAM SINGH

Assistant General Manager, GSC Glass Pvt. Ltd

BINOY KUMAR DAS

Managing Director, Façade Concept Design Group

RAJIV BALAGGAN

Sales Head - Architectural Glass India, Pilkington Glass India Pvt Ltd

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ARCHITECTURAL GLASS Architectural glass is used copiously in modern building façades nowadays due to its properties as a building material along with its aesthetic qualities. It offers lightness to the structure along with natural light and surrounding views to its inhabitants.

Also, it offers a swift construction of the façade with standard and repetitive glass modules. These qualities coupled with sustainable aspects of different glass that have been engineered by material scientists for specific performance standards, describes Ar. Gaurav Goel, Founder, Parametric curiosity.

Architectural glass is classified based on manufacturing process and techniques, says Sangram Singh, General Manager, GSC Glass Ltd. Nowadays almost 100% of the glass is manufactured using the float glass manufacturing technique invented

by Sir Pilkington in the 1950s. The float glass manufactured with this process has excellent optical property and thus most suitable for architectural application.

Binoy Kumar Das, Managing Director, Façade Concept Design Group stresses on the importance of glass selection, since it plays an important role for aesthetics and performance with internal and external reflection control.

The architectural glass used as a building material, mainly provide aesthetic, technical and energysaving properties like solar control, thermal insulation, or both in modern façade and fenestration, agrees Rajiv

Balaggan, Sales Head - Architectural Glass India, Pilkington Glass India Pvt. Ltd. The use of architectural glass defers from project to project and places to places. Depending on the requirements, appropriate energy saving glass/glass units can be suggested/proposed, adds Balaggan.

Amrit Raj Thakur, Dy. Manager, Central Procurement, Lodha Group too agrees that glass, as a versatile building material, enables the efforts of the architects due to its transparency.

Though it is transparent, it can support structures due to the development of glass strengthening procedures.

TYPES OF ARCHITECTURAL GLASS There are different types of glass available in the market and the selection of glass for the projects are based on energy studies. Glass with low external reflection is used to avoid maximum reflectivity on outside façade which can affect the nearby building. Glass with low internal reflection help to avoid the mirror effect from inside of a building at night, maximum visibility and light transmission. It also controls solar heat gain. Looking into these parameters, the selection of glass should be done as per sun path analysis and thermal comfort studies. Different types of glass, including low-E coated glass like double silver glass, triple silver glass, etc., can be used in the façade. Das explains the importance of performance studies, which are very much necessary before selection of glass.

Glass selection should allow maximum daylight to come inside the building to reduce artificial light inside, but control solar heat gain, says Das.

AMRIT RAJ THAKUR

Dy. Manager, Central Procurement, Lodha Group

Trump Tower by Lodha Group

Cover Story

JSW HQ1, Image courtesy - Pilkington Glass India

To improve the energy performance of the façade, an additional coating is applied to the glass, either online called hard coating or offline called soft coated glass. “On one side hard-coated glass balances the equation between cost and energy performance, on the other side soft coated glass strikes balance between energy performance and light transmission”, adds Singh.

Primarily two types of coatings are used: 1. Solar control coating, to cut down the solar gains inside the building; 2. Low E coating to cut down the heat gain /loss due to non-solar heat. Various other processing like heat treatment, insulation and lamination are used to meet the safety and energy requirement. In addition to these processes, ceramic fritting, frosting /acid etching, etc., are used for decorative as well as energy-saving purpose, explains Singh.

Due to innovations in manufacturing, glass is no longer a flat sheet material, explains Ar. Goel. Today, architects and façade engineers can manipulate glass

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WFM | JAN - FEB 2020

for double curvature or bending to achieve complex forms of building geometry. Therefore, architectural

glass in modern façades are flourishing as an adaptable material to deliver innumerable

Types of architectural glass used in modern façades & fenestration: • Clear glass • Sun control glass • Ceramic printed glass • Digitally printed glass • Electrochromic glass/Translucent glass • Annealed glass • Fully-tempered glass (toughened glass) • Laminated Glass • Insulating glass • Tinted glass • Self-cleaning glass • Fire-rated glass (protective glass) • Low E-coated glass • Frosted glass • Embossed glass • Sandblasted glass (Inputs from Madan Mohan Joshi, D.G.M. – Projects, Lotus Greens Developers Ltd. & Amrit Raj Thakur, Dy. Manager, Central Procurement, Lodha Group)

SMART FENESTRATION FOR SUSTAINABLE LIFESTYLE LIGHT ENERGY ACOUSTICS COMFORT SECURITY

www.gscglass.com

GSC Glass Pvt. Ltd. Greater Noida

Delhi

Glass Windows Railings Sun-protection

Windows are our connection to the nature and world outside our limited living spaces. We want to see through big windows but do not want the heat and glare that comes with in. We want fresh air and ventilation but some greens around us.

We are sensitive to conserve our environment by consuming lesser energy and using sustainable materials with least impact on environment to leave a less depleted world for our future generations.

GSC offers a wide range of solutions for Glass and Windows to address the above challenges and maintaining a harmony with nature by harnessing natural light, providing safety, security and comfort from heat and noise for better living and a sustainable Lifestyle.

Call: 0120 4889000

windows@gscglass.com

gsc@gscglass.com

Cover Story possibilities. There is an intriguing future ahead filled with constant innovation and research in modern glass façades.

MADAN MOHAN JOSHI

D.G.M. – Projects, Lotus Greens Developers Ltd

AR. HARTMUT WURSTER Architect and Head, Blocher Partners India

THE FUNCTIONAL, STRUCTURAL AND EFFICIENCY ASPECTS OF GLASS FAÇADES While designing the glass façade, there are three most important parameters to consider, explains Singh. They are: 1.

Functional fitness, 2. Structural safety and 3. Energy efficiency.

According to Madan Mohan Joshi, D.G.M.–Projects, Lotus Greens Developers Ltd., the glass façades are designed for following functional, structural and energetic aspects: energy efficiency/thermal performance, visual light transmission (VLT), safety, appearance and fire safety.

Functional Aspects Explaining the function of glazing, Ar. Hartmut Wurster, Architect/Head, Blocher Partners India points out that glazing creates view relations between inside and outside of a building, which is important for

Colombo city center project in Colombo, Sri Lanka: FCD in collaboration with Globeclad, part of Mulk Hold, UAE carried out design and built for façade where FCD designed the façade. Sanken Construction is the main Design and Built Contractor. Architect - AEDAS, Singapore

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orientation in buildings and to increase the aesthetic quality of a room in terms of creation of depth due to sun and shadow casting. Glazing provides daylight that can be established with a manmade lighting system only with effort. And daylight is a source of health for human bodies.

Functional fitness is the function of various parameters like size/weight of the glass, handling/ manufacturing capabilities, constructability, daylighting, placement of mullion/ transoms/openings, etc. The façade should be able to accommodate designed built of tolerances without affecting the form and function of the façade, says Singh. This part is looked upon while assessing the structural integrity of the façade - Will the façade be able to resist the designed wind load, accommodate thermal movement without putting undue stress on the joinery or glass, and accommodate building movement.

According to Das, building physics like sun path, daylight, shadow with thermal analysis are very much important analysis’ to be carried out by façade engineers while selecting a type of glass in façade. These studies also help to design air conditioning calculations properly when the overall thermal transmission values are provided by the façade engineer. This helps a lot to optimise and save overall cost while selecting the product, also overall maintenance, and to reduce operational cost.

Structural Aspects It is necessary to design the façade to be structurally fit and tolerant to all other loadings which can be encountered during the service life of façade like live load, maintenance loading (BMU), etc., points out Singh.

According to Wurster, the glass itself can’t be used as a loadbearing building material. With regulation in the area, it can take its loads without supporting structures (structural glazing).

Otherwise, there is always an opening of whatever dimension in building structure required and the glazing itself needs structural support in a frame

Cover Story

Altamount by Lodha Group

fitting into the PR system. So from that point of view, there is already complexity shown, because there are different crafts involved that need to work together coordinated.

Structural analysis like wind load studies can decide the thickness of glass, whether used as single glass and double glass unit into façade, says Das. The wind tunnel report can give accurate results and based on wind load parameters, the glass can be designed accordingly. If there are no wind tunnel reports, then wind simulation and wind load calculation can be done, which is followed by most of the current cases and the glass thickness can be decided. Identifying wind load KPA can be done considering the surface condition and corner conditions, including zoning can optimise the glass thickness and also aluminium profile, adds Das. Energy-Efficiency Aspects Nowadays energy performance of the façade is a key factor while designing the façade, as energysaving is the need of the hour.

There are various techniques used to make the façade energy efficient, explains Singh. It starts from selecting the right orientation of the building, designing various architectural elements like sun breaker, louver, ceramic fritting, etc.

This ensures the solar gain into the building is restricted at the design level itself for cooling dominated climates. The use of solar control and Low E coating is very popular

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in designing an energy-efficient façades.

Apart from providing various choices and fascinating look, a glass façade and fenestration provides energy efficiency while significantly reducing the cost of the building, says Balaggan. It helps to obtain natural light and transparency to the architects and clients and controls heat energy as well. There are now multifunctional façades that provide a variety of functions such as maintenance, heating and cooling.

The façade engineering helps resolve aesthetic, environmental and structural issues to achieve the required results.

With today’s window and shopfront systems, any energetic standards can be resolved. More often the glassed openings work with better thermic insulation than wall parts and the built-in condition, observes Wurster. So sometimes specialists are required to check the overall package in openings in the façades to avoid different conditions which can lead to condensation. In

Ichitan Tower Bangkok, Image courtesy - Façade Concept Design Group

shopfront situations and areas with bigger scale openings, the thermic loads need to be reviewed for overheating in hot summer conditions. This can be done with a thermic simulation software by a specialist to avoid non-agreeable inside temperatures.

Then measurements to reduce thermic loads should be taken. With thermic simulation, you already know about the inside room condition in the design development stage, so an integrated and coordinated shading system can be placed or special glazing can be used, elucidates Wurster.

DESIGNING & INSTALLING DOUBLE SKIN FAÇADES The double skin façade is an envelope construction made of two transparent skins that are separated by an air corridor. The glass skins can be of single or double glazed units, depending on the requirement. For such buildings, external environment like wind velocity and direction is very important to know.

The concept of double skin façades is not new, and there is a growing tendency by architects and engineers to use them. Since the function of this façade type is not yet completely investigated, in the existing literature, one can find reports that prioritise the main goals of this system in different ways.

According to Sangram Singh, the double-skin façade is a European architectural trend driven mostly by: • The aesthetic desire for an all-glass façade that leads to increased transparency • The practical need for improved indoor environment • The need for improving the acoustics in buildings located in noise polluted areas • The reduction of energy use during the occupation stage of a building

Cover Story Double skin façades

Double skin façades are a very good alternative considering that there will be a significant gap between both glazings.

This area is ventilated so that the heat created by the first glazing can move towards the top, and from the bottom cooler air can enter to assure a natural ventilation without electrical fans.

MARIO SCHMIDT

Managing Director, Lingel Windows and Doors Technologies

The cost of double skin façade is higher due to the 2 glazing systems which need to be installed. Moreover, some of the areas of the building are getting reduced due to the space between the two glazing systems. Presuming that the future demand will be for net zero building, and cost of electricity is going to increase, the main criteria for reducing the maintenance cost of buildings will be through a drastic reduction in electricity usage. Here it is important to create general awareness among the buyers and the users of commercial properties where curtain walls are widely used. Only when their demands are raised for limiting the maintenance cost, especially the electricity cost to x amount per square feet, the challenge on the developer as well as our industry will start to create environment-friendly glazing systems.

Residence of Deepak Kansal and Amandeep Kansal, a Lingel Project

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Since the concept of double skin façades is complicated and its use and function affects different parameters of the building (that often may interact with each other, i.e. daylight, natural ventilation, indoor air quality, acoustics, thermal and visual comfort, energy use, environmental profile, etc.), the literature studied is from different fields. It is also important to mention that, in this first step, it was considered important to present the function and the impacts of the mentioned system from a different point of view, says Singh.

Complex façades are not easy to design from a construction point of view, states Wurster. In these cases, a specialist façade consultant should be involved in the planning process and in the design development stage to work on the best solution for a building proposal. For instance, for double layer glassed façade, ventilation, aspects like the chimney effect should be considered to avoid overheating.

Many things must be known/ kept in mind while designing and installing different types of glass façades. These are mainly - safety, wind pressure, sustainability, energy consumption, use of natural light, glare, reflection, sound insulation,

Lotus ISLE - Sector 98, Noida, Lotus Greens Developers Ltd.

Cover Story Factors to consider while designing glass façades

The designer should always keep a few important factors in mind while designing glass façades, such as: i. Prefabricated façade systems - Design façade system as a product which should consider factory oriented with best quality check and for easy installation at the site - for example, unitised façade which is the best example as façade system which can be installed using the quality checked product at the factory. It is easy to install and no external scaffolding is required to install a glass façade. The installation can be done from the inside of the building.

The glass façade installation can go simultaneously with construction. The total project timeline can be reduced and it caters to overall saving on the project. ii. Availability of local materials - While designing, one should keep in mind the availability of the local product in the region so while designing, always recommend keeping in mind the local constructability factor.

etc. The orientation of the building and its surroundings are very important to know as this will help take a call on many important factors.

Building analysis is very much essential while selecting glass façade systems, including the analysis is sun path, daylight, shadow and thermal comfort studies, and wind analysis. These analysis results also help to design cost-effective façades.

These studies can also help to design the double-skin façades if it is required for functional purposes.

IMPACT OF GLASS FAÇADES ON INTERNAL ENVIRONMENT Glazing plays a significant role in interior comfort levels, says Balaggan. Glass is used on doors, windows, walls, and skylights/ roofs and even used as a partition.

Depending on the design concept, designers decide as to which glass to go with. Ventilation and insulation are other areas in which glass plays an important role. One of the great benefits of glass in design is that it offers a chance to invite the outside world in.

Glass helps in optimising light transmission and in Improving the acoustic and thermal performance of glass façades & fenestration. Let’s know how it happens: 1. Optimising light transmission It is important to know the orientation of the building while selecting proper architectural glass for façade and fenestration, says Balaggan The other factors to know are the surroundings of the building, shading devices and whether the project required green building certification if any.

The selection of appropriate glass for glass façade and fenestration is based on several factors like optimum light transmission (good enough to avoid using artificial light in the day time), glass reflection values, direct heat value (SHGC or G value) and indirect heat value (U-value). The required data may vary from project to project, place to place and glass selection is done as per the requirement.

The thermal performance of the glass façade & fenestration can be achieved by IGU’s (Insulated Glazing Units). It can be further improved by using Low E glass

in SGU (Single Glazing Unit) or DGU (Double Glazing Unit). It all depends on the requirement. The thermal performance of the glass unit is denoted by U-value. Lower the U-value better would be the thermal performance of the glass unit, observes Balaggan.

According to Wurster, the quality of inside space is regulated by the availability of daylight and the room climate. There are parameters like the U factor of the window to fulfill, which combines glass and frame. But if the U parameter for the frame is very bad, you can still meet the U factor with a better U for glazing. And if there are joints to wall openings, the window part is not even relative to the climate in the room. An architect has to think about details and should try to resolve these connecting issues to openings. The highest insulation standard for one part could create problems on a weaker part with condensation. It is useful to implement a special expert planner to simulate the parts working together in different environmental conditions to create the optimum outcome, advises Wurster.

One will have to strike a correct balance among visible light transmission (VLT) which ensures sufficient daylighting and control glare into the building, energy performance by evaluating solar factor (SF) and U-value of the façade, points out Singh. Another important parameter is noise reduction, which can be achieved with acoustic glass. It is important to adhere to serviceability limits to ensure that the occupant always feels safe inside the building.

One may have to do energy & daylighting simulations to correctly understand the design parameters in terms of VLT, SF & U-value.

A part of the reflection provided by the state-of-the-art highperformance glass might reduce the direct heating, but still, the

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67

Cover Story The G value (IR waves) and the U-value The G value is a measure of how much solar heat (infrared radiation) is allowed in through a particular part of a building.

The U-value is a measure of how much heat escapes via the windows, walls and roof.

The performance of solar control glass The role of solar control glass towards achieving required energy transmittance, low emissivity coatings that improve thermal insulation. To achieve a lower U-value, we have to reduce conduction, convection and IR radiation.

Indirect heating of the glass, Image courtesy - Lingel

The key parameters that describe the performance of solar control glass include.

1. Visible light transmission 2. Solar factor (SF)/Solar Heat Gain Coefficient 3. U-value, i.e. W/m2k 4. Selectively - Visible light/ total energy Thus, the main goal of glass and glazing design should be to provide visual and thermal comfort to the occupants and thereby reducing the electricity cost for lighting and HVAC. When a building is in cooling mode, solar heat gains need to be minimised within the building space while optimising daylight and intake of outside air. Outside air could be introduced, particularly during the evening/night hours when the ambient temperature drops. This strategy cools the thermal mass in the building during night hours and reduces the overall cooling load during the next day. On the other hand, if the building is in a heating mode, the envelope needs to be designed with appropriate glazing selection, coupled with shading strategy, to enhance solar heat gains during the daytime. Therefore, in practice, the architects and building designers need to integrate and balance these varying requirement considerations while designing an energy-efficient building.

indirect heating of the glass due to the hot temperature is creating a huge energy loss to all buildings in hot countries facing the west or the south direction of the building.

According to Das, proper glass selection can give maximum comfort to the end-user. Refer to the table below.

2. Improving the acoustic and thermal performance of glass faรงades & fenestration The acoustic and thermal performance of the glass faรงades could be improved by using highperformance smart glass in place of normal glass observes Joshi.

These high-performance glass are energy efficient, having a good visual light transmission (VLT) and nice in appearance also.

(Amrit Raj Thakur, Dy. Manager, Central Procurement, Lodha Group)

GLASS TECHNICAL SEPECIFICATIONS TYPE

Coating

VLT

Visible Reflectance Out

Visible Reflectance in

U Value

SHGC

A

SGG EnviSion with SKN 765 II in Blue

39

9

16

1.50

0.24

B

SGG EnviSion with SKN 154 II in Neutral

50

18

26

1.50

0.28

C

SGG EnviSion with SKN 465 II in Green

50

12

17

1.50

0.27

(Courtesy - Faรงade Concept Design Group)

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Cover Story In all hot (tropical) countries, buildings are challenged by the negative impact created by unwanted heat. With the increased glass areas, the demand for cooling increases considerably, especially during the hot summers.

The sunlight hits the glass with the energy impact of 1000W per square meter of glass area, explains Schmidt.

The acoustic performance of glass façades & fenestration can be improved by using thick glass, laminated glass, laminated IGU and double skin façade. It’s the thickness of the whole glass unit which provides acoustic values, higher the thickness, better the sound insulation, says Balaggan.

According to Das, acoustic analysis very much important as the selection of glass whether single glass, double glass including façade system barrier design to achieve sound reduction.

Marvel Artiza at Hubli, Blocher Partners India

The design considerations and methodologies based on NBC: While selecting glass and glazing systems, following design considerations and methodologies based on NBC need to be followed to ensure the right use of glass and glazing systems.

1. General considerations- basic considerations must be given appropriate importance at the planning stage to achieve proper selection and design of glass in building façades. They are: a. location, b. climatic zone, c. orientation d. building details, and e. natural ventilation 2. Considerations of safety and structural aspects – Considering all types of loads 3. Considerations for energy efficiency 4. Considerations for acoustical comfort (Amrit Raj Thakur, Dy. Manager, Central Procurement, Lodha Group)

Acoustic lamination

Normal lamination (Images courtesy - Façade Concept Design Group)

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To understand acoustic performance, it is important to understand “Mass Law” and “Inverse-square Law”, says Singh.

Although “Inverse-square law” may not be very useful in urban settings due to limited space but Mass Law plays an important role. Apart from this, acoustic interlayers are available which helps in dampening of the noise.

One will also have to understand the frequency range to correctly provide and acoustically efficient solution.

The higher the STC rating

(Sound Transmission Class), the abler the material is to resist the transmission of sound, points out Thakur. For example, if an 80 dB sound on one side of a wall/floor/ ceiling is reduced to 50 dB on the other side, that partition is said to have an STC of 30 dB. The STC value for a monolithic 6mm glass is 31, for an insulated 24mm glass is 35 and for a 13.52mm laminated glass is 39. Laminated glass also has superior sound insulation qualities in the higher frequency range where the noise from sources such as aircraft is a problem.

Cover Story

Glass – A High-performance Functional Material

AR. REZA KABUL

Principal Architect, Rezakabul Architects

P

l e as e b r i e f o n types o f ar c h i t e c t ural g lasse s us e d on m o dern f a ca d e s an d f e n e stratio n?

The architectural glass comes in different categories. Few that are majorly used are laminated, insulating, coated, tinted, wire, smart glazing and many more categories.

Please brief on the functional, structural and energetic aspects of glass facades and fenestration?

Everywhere you look today you’ll see some sort of structural glass facade.

Major improvements have been made in the facade engineering to make glass one of

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the primary means of construction for new buildings. Not only does glass have a great visual appeal, but it now serves more functional purposes.

Functional Aspects: Allowing sunlight to enter into a building can save electricity as you can use natural light instead of artificial lighting.

Contrary to what may be the public perception, technological advances in glass has helped it regulate heating and cooling in buildings.

With the strict energy requirements placed on commercial buildings today, the glass will only become more valuable to meet the restrictions and also provide costsaving benefits.

Structural Aspect: A structural glass facade is generally strong enough to withstand some of the harshest weather elements. Whether you live in an area with constant sun, wind or rain, the glass will retain its integrity and appearance much longer than many traditional building materials.

And since glass does not rust or weather, environmental effects will not have an impact on your building façade.

weight and impact. Glass has a different behaviour than other structural material, which needs to be understood to make an efficient use of glass in buildings.

Glass reduces the dead load of the structure.

Please tell us about the structural safety of glass?

The structural glass is subjected to numerous loads, such as wind, snow, thermal stresses, people

How can we improve the acoustic and thermal performance of glass facades & fenestration?

Acoustic insulation is a demand to provide a comfortable and healthy

How can we achieve quality interior space using glass on façades and fenestration?

To fully specify a window system, it is necessary to consider certain characteristics: • Window U-value: The higher the U-factor the more heat is transferred.

• Window Solar Heat Gain Coefficient (SHGC) - indicates how much of the sun's energy striking the window is transmitted through the window as heat. As the SHGC increases, the solar gain potential through a given window increases.

• Glass Visible Transmittance (Tvisglass) - indicates the percentage of the visible portion of the solar spectrum that is transmitted through a given glass product.

• Tints (colours) and coatings

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The atrium of the project ICT Tower in Yazd, Iran acts as the central courtyard, allowing more light into the project

environment inside the building, which sometimes is a challenge.

The glass by itself is a weak sound insulator, but the glass industry offers a wide range of solutions where the system of glass elastic membranes can provide a sound insulation index comparable to one of concrete walls. Standard doubleglazing units have acoustical insulation level, but much higher levels can be achieved with the right combination of laminated glass panes. Thermal performance can be improved by double-skin facades, ventilated facades and controlling solar heat gains.

What are the fire safety norms to be followed while selecting and installing glass facades and fenestration systems?

Fire safety design is paramount to a building's design and function.

The fire safety design features can help to evacuate a building safely to preserve life. Its design can help to reduce fire spread and contain smoke and property damage.

Active measures operate only in the event of a fire. They are mostly concerned with the particular problem of smoke control and the limitation of the spread of smoke throughout a building.

Even if well designed, it is inevitable that doors on escape routes will have to be opened and that smoke will, therefore, flow into the protected area. This danger can be reduced by using lobby access to staircases which provide a form

of 'airlock' where only one door will be open at any time.

The simplest way of stopping smoke spreading within a building is to allow smoke to escape to the outside. This will not extinguish the fire but it will tend to contain smoke to its area of origin and gain time for people to escape and for measures to extinguish the fire to be taken. In multi-story buildings smoke ventilation systems using mechanical vent extraction can be used.

A fire stop is a sublime fire protection measure that seals openings and joints in a fire-rated wall, minimising fire escalation.

They hinder the transference of smoke and fire through cracks and crevices in walls and floor assembly. These are available in varied forms and materials like cementitious mortar, silicone, rubber, etc. Fire stops materials

and systems are used to ensure the fire is contained within the compartment created as part of the fire resistance strategy.

Fire stopping systems are tested and listed for specific material combinations and designs. They are needed to be selected and used with extreme caution. Fire stops play a very important role in fire safety to check the fire and smoke in a confined area of the fire. Usually, they are in 3 major areas: between the floor edge and façade, between facade and cabin partitions and in service shafts.

Please tell us about the effective facade maintenance of tall buildings with large glass facades?

Once buildings reached heights that could not be easily or safely accessed from the ground, mounted suspension systems like abseils and Boatswain’s chairs became necessary. Today these systems are limited for safety.

Aerial work platforms (AWPs) are transportable ground-based platforms that provide access to buildings for maintenance or construction. The range of AWP equipment that is currently available is wide, meeting a variety of needs. There are several different types of AWPs, each with its mechanical means of positioning the work platform.

Portions of the atrium façade of ICT Tower are lined with solar cells for onsite power generation

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Cover Story GLASS SELECTION & INSTALLATION – FIRE AND STRUCTURAL SAFETY It is important to ensure that the serviceability and safety limit specified by “National Building Code” NBC 2017 is followed on a minimum basis.

1. Structural safety of glass: Loadbearing capacity Schmidt explains, with the new National Building Code (NBC 2017) in place, where glass has been covered for the first time, it is clearly defined between safety and security areas. If the glazing unit starts from the bottom of the floor up till 900mm from the flooring, laminated safety glass is compulsory.

The thickness of the glass, as well as the thickness of the security PvB film, needs to be decided by the consultant as per law and latest stand of the technique, opines Schmidt.

Talking about the safety aspects of glass façades, Schmidt says, “We need to reconsider the ongoing practice of making laminated toughened glass as the strength of the unit, which may fully collapse once the glass breaks. Here it is really important to use heatstrengthened or annealed glass to assure the strength the moment the glass breaks. As a thought from my end, all laminated glass used in curtain walls and even indoors and windows should be sealed all around like in structured glazing to assure the strength of the unit”.

Glass is one of the hardest materials in the building industry, says Wurster, especially if it gets bent or takes shock forces from the side (in cross direction). In the built-in condition, to make sure to avoid forces like tension as impact, it is taken care of by fabrication elements. In case of breaking, there are safety regulations for glass in special conditions, like balustrades or overhead glazing. If glass breaks, it shall not break in shards, which

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A residential project by GSC Glass

Glass and its applications 1. Annealed glass - It has a good surface flatness because it is not heat-treated and therefore not subject to distortion. On the downside, annealed glass breaks into sharp, dangerous shards.

2. Heat-strengthened glass - It has at least twice the strength and resistance to breakage from wind loads or thermal stresses compared to annealed glass.

3. Fully-tempered glass (Toughened glass) - provides at least four times the strength of annealed glass, which gives it superior resistance to glass breakage.

4. Laminated Glass - It involves sandwiching a transparent sheet of polymer, such as polyvinyl butyral, between two or more layers of flat glass using an adhesive. It can prevent the fall-out of dangerous glass shards following a fracture.

5. Insulating glass - It consists of two or more lites of glass separated by a hermetically sealed space for thermal insulation and condensation control. The airspace between the glass lites can be filled during the manufacturing process with either dry air or a low-conductivity gas, such as sulfur hexafluoride or argon.

(Amrit Raj Thakur, Dy. Manager, Central Procurement, Lodha Group)

Cover Story is called in German “VSG” (A condition of 2 layers of toughened glass with metal foil between). In the usage of “VSG” when required you reduce the danger of shards.

Das recommends the following: The glass on the exterior should be laminated HS glass, if it is single glass to in use. Laminations like PVB layers or SGP films are used for structural safety, but normally the current industry practice is to go with tempered glass with DGU (Double Glazing Unit). The head soak treatment perverts it from spontaneous breakage. The laminated SGP film is strongly recommended for glass railing, canopy or any cantilever façades.

Heat Strengthened (HS) glass has 2-times more strength than annealed glass. Tempered glass is 5-times stronger than annealed glass, adds Das. Balaggan too recommends structurally safe glass, which is a laminated tempered glass, using high strength interlayer like Sentry, which provides high structural properties for applications like glass canopies, balustrades, fins, skylights and for security applications. He agrees that structurally safe glass has good load-bearing capacity compared to other façade materials. “Normally the glass is designed/selected based on wind loads. It has to be strong enough to withstand various loads like building loads, maintenance loads, self-load, load due to building movements, etc.

There is a technical table which indicates the thumb rule guideline for selection of the glass,” he points out.

For creating more transparent buildings, it is necessary to design walls with small fixings, notes Thakur. By applying point fixing, it is necessary to use toughened glass, which can carry concentrated loading. Architects mostly suggest point fixing, which is applied in glass curtain walls.

Mondeal Heights at Ahmedabad, Photo credits - Purnesh Dev Nikhanj for Blocher Partners

For large glass façades, there are some applications of glass in which the glass has to be jointed.

Steel joints are widely used with the coupling of rubber or plastic elements to damp the stresses in the glass. When the glass is used as a principal loadbearing structure, it is important to calculate the stresses at the hole. Some recent researches have shown that the edge stresses are higher than those in the middle of the pane.

The design and detailing of the bearer connection, thus become a primary factor of the overall capacity of the structural system.

Apart from this, barrier loading is an important parameter to be checked upon when considering a full height façade, which is very common in today’s scenario, adds Sing. It is important to perform a complete risk assessment of the façade and very important to understand the post-breakage behaviour of the façade. One may also have to restrict the opening size to eliminate the possibility of somebody/something falling out of the opening. In some (very

few) cases, one may also have to check the fire-resistance rating as required by the façade.

With the advancement of the industry, now the glass is regarded as absolutely safe for use in façade, says Singh from GSC. Various process like tempering, heat soaking, lamination, availability of multiple thicknesses makes the glass safe for almost all the area of usage in façade. Glass is lighter on building structure when compared with other façade material like masonry, stone, etc. and it is maintenance-free.

Regular cleaning of the façade is still required to make the façade look spic and span. Glass is the first choice as façade material due to its transparency, which cannot be matched by any other façade material.

2. Fire safety of glass facades According to Wurster, the fire norms for opening parts depend in most cases on enclosing building parts. If there is an inquiry for a wall or slab part, there is also a requirement for the opening

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Cover Story part. Which is determined by the duration of resistance against fire and classification the way they burn.

While selecting glass façade and façade materials, says Das, the specification should follow façade norms/codes as per location or country wise. Normally glass façade should have a minimum 10% of window opening by providing openable windows for smoke ventilation and also should provide access to fireman to get inside the building if any fire occurs. Every glass façade should have floor to floor fire barrier with a minimum 2-hour fire rating. So all the products to be used as a fire barrier should be fire-rated, and wall cladding material to be used in the façade should have fire rate grades like A2, B1, B2, etc. Balaggan too agrees with these points.

According to Joshi, the following points should be kept in mind while selecting and designing the façade: • Sufficient openable windows (Almost 10% of the façade area on each floor) should be provided.

• All the opening in the floor - i/c shafts, gaps between façade and structural slab, etc., should be sealed properly. Smoke seals need to be provided.

Concerning the new guidelines, the fire brigade has made it mandatory that every building with a glass façade must have openings (both ways openable, having “Emergency Exit” labels) on every floor, says Balaggan. The distance between the building structure and glass façade should not be more than 300 mm. Also, the smoke seals or barriers (made of non-combustible material) must be laid between the wall and the façade. As per the new guidelines, the glass façades that block escape areas like corridor, lifts & staircases should be synchronised with an opening mechanism and glass façade must be laminated. As per the NBC (National Building Code of India) 2016, all-glass walls should be able to resist fire for at least 2 hours, adds Balaggan.

When we talk about fire, points out Thakur, we have to factor in the radiant heat that fire generates.

Radiant heat is invisible, extremely

intense electromagnetic waves that travel at the speed of light.

On striking an object, these waves are absorbed and their energy is converted into heat. Combustible objects like paper and wood auto-ignite due to the heat when they reach their flashpoint. While deciding on the ideal fire rated glazing product, it is important to decide what the design and safety needs are. We need to decide whether glazing requirement comes with only integrity or insulation or radiation control.

Simultaneously, we need to decide as to for what duration we need the fire resistance and whether the fire protection capability needs are from one side of the glazing (as in case of fire escape passages), or from both sides (as in case of internal partition between two sections in an office).

EFFECTIVE MAINTENANCE OF GLASS FAÇADES According to Wurster, during the planning process, façade maintenance is an aspect to consider and to provide a solution for. But there might

Façade maintenance systems Following are the types of façade maintenance systems • Rope access • Building Maintenance Units (BMUs) • Elevated Work Platforms (EWPs) • Scaffolding Presently the safe and reliable building maintenance equipment available for façade maintenance of a tall building with a large glass façade is BMU, an automatic, remote or controlled mechanical vehicle with a cradle that can be suspended from the roof. This is also called Gondolas which is used worldwide for tall buildings with large façades. It comes in different sizes and shapes and suitable to conduct maintenance of the tall buildings.

Residence of Golcha and Aarti, a Lingel project

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(Rajiv Balaggan, Sales Head - Architectural Glass India, Pilkington Glass India Pvt. Ltd)

Cover Story not be a universal solution. For one project, the better option might be securants for façade climbing, for another installed façade elevator might be better. It depends on the geometry of the building. There are different types of building maintenance systems used in the glass façade but for tall building, large glass façade should recommend with BMU (Telescopic zip crane), says Das. The BMU (building maintenance Unit) should be used for effective façade maintenance, advises Joshi.

It has a track mounted machine at the top of the building and a trolley/ gondola attached to it for carrying the cleaning material and persons.

According to Thakur, the façade access systems should cover the maintenance requirements for the high rise building, making sure that it will reach all angles and difficult spots of the building.

Safety and easy-to-use, handling is at the center of the approach. Every maintenance job must be carried out safely, providing maximum flexibility for maintenance workers.

GLASS FOR INTELLIGENT BUILDING ENVELOPE Façade is the main constituent of building envelope and boundary between external and internal environment, which is crucial to energy consumption and comfort within buildings. Incorporating intelligence in their design is an effective way to achieve low energy consumption building.

With the advancement in the glass technology, glass can help create an intelligent building envelope, says Balaggan.

Apart from using an already available wide range of solar control and thermally insulated glass, now there is a new glass product available which adapts to the changing incoming solar heat radiation conditions that change throughout the day and the season.

Kishore Residence - outside view, a Lingel project

The glass lightens and darkens by itself based on the amount of heat from the direct sunlight, explains Balaggan. It adjusts the level of solar control depending on the orientation of the building.

Despite the automatic tinting, this technologically advanced glass enables you to enjoy a clear view of the outside environment

throughout the day.

According to Schmidt, the new age architecture shows a combination of glass, balcony covers and vertical gardens to provide the best mix while allowing the maximum light to come in, at the same time avoiding the overheating of the building due to the glazing. Balconies, as well as

Timesquare, Pilkington Glass India

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Cover Story vertical garden elements, prevent the direct sunlight hitting the glass, at the same time it creates a uniqueness to each building when all those three components are wisely mixed.

In case the direct sun hit cannot be avoided, shading options like roller shutter or outdoor Venetian blinds provide shading as well as privacy and security. Here again, it is the architect or the façade consultant who has a wide range of unique products to play with to create an individual signature to every building.

Façade design should be able to adapt to the changing climatic conditions rather than shutting from climate, points out Das. Adaptive façade help to minimise the disadvantages so that high comfort can be achieved. This can be achieved by the right selection of façade systems and ventilation.

It may include using a dynamic façade system and incorporating Solar PEV for electricity generation.

In the future, intelligence façades could help to maintain optimum indoor conditions.

These days, architects are using a range of engineering and computational services to create intelligent glass building façades.

Firstly, the parameters of the façade performance should be decided that would distinguish it as an intelligent one, says Ar. Goel. Eventually, computational tools can be used to optimise these parameters to achieve the desired goal for design performance. For example, if a designer uses minimum solar insolation as a goal for the façade design, a parameter of incident solar insolation can be minimised using heuristic optimisation tools to produce several apt design options. These tools are provided with visual programming software for architects and allow them to explore design during the schematic design process itself. An

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example is Grasshopper 3D which provides optimisation tools such as Galapagos, Octopus or Wallacei that can be used in conjunction with Rhino 3D to achieve such design agendas.

While we all take for granted that buildings must be equipped with glass, its numerous benefits in buildings are mostly ignored, says Thakur. Beyond its critical role in terms of aesthetics, safety, durability, sound insulation, etc. glass is integral in designing truly sustainable and low energy buildings. Glass is a major contributor to energy-efficient buildings.

GLASS FAÇADES - A SYMBOL OF MODERNISM Glass is one of the most remarkable building materials in the world today and glass is seen as a symbol of modernism in future architecture. Glass not only provides aesthetics but also plays a very important role in the energy efficiency of the building. Many of the industry’s leading architects and designers have used glass in their iconic buildings.

A project by GSC Glass

Experimentation with glass in architectural design has crossed the conventional boundaries. Glass in current discourse has been used with research and knowledge acquired over a century, notes Ar. Goel. Currently, glass façades can be designed with specific parameters and distinct manufacturing processes. This allows controlling its design and performance within the building. As glass façades have got technology-driven to achieve specific performance standards, it can be seen as an expression of modernism in this era of sustainable and engineered built environments.

Modern adaptive façades can significantly improve energy and thus cost efficiency of both new and refurbished buildings by responding to the changes in the outdoor conditions. Furthermore, they can provide a healthy and comfortable indoor environment to the building occupants, by adjusting the response to their needs. In the future, we will see multi-functional façades that provide a variety of functions such as heating and cooling.

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Benefits of Performance Glass in Modern Façades & Fenestration shaping the future. While choosing performance glass, two aspects are to be taken care of by the occupants: a) Optimise light to reduce the need for artificial light b) Cut down the heat inside building to reduce the load on air conditioning

SOURABH KANKAR

Marketing Manager – India, Gujarat Guardian

Performance glass is a glass that provides benefits to its end users (building occupants). The glass helps in achieving benefits for the structure like reduced HVAC loads and light comforts. The need to have different types of glass on façades arises due to many factors such as local climatic condition, external wind pressure, building occupancy type, building geometry, area of application etc.

Energy Efficiency not only plays an important role in society but also plays an important role in

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The selection of the right type of performance glass for the building envelope is critical for building efficiency point of view. We continuously work to create new glass products and solutions using the most advanced technology to help customers see what is possible.

Architects and building owners want high performance coated glass products that deliver optimised natural light combined with energy savings and solar protection. The multi-functional coatings offer high selectivity solar protection for a wide range of applications such as fully glazed façades, roof glazing and large framed windows.

THE NEED FOR GLASS COATINGS The physical definitions of light, energy and heat are described by defining wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum.

When radiation hits an object, certain wavelengths are reflected,

absorbed and transmitted through the object. Coatings are applied to float glass to manipulate which wavelengths are reflected, absorbed and transmitted to serve functional and aesthetic requirements.

For example, designing glass coatings that reduce solar heat requires controlling the radiation emitted by the sun that strikes the earth. Coatings are designed to reflect the solar radiation (solar heat) while at the same time transmitting a significant amount of the visible light wavelengths (daylight) through the glass.

Applying Coatings to Glass Float glass coatings are produced in huge quantities, primarily in two techniques. One is the chemical pyrolysis process, also called hard-coating, which occurs online during glass production on the float line. Metal oxides are permanently baked onto the surface and are very hard (hard coatings) and resistant, but their properties are very limited due to their simple structure.

The second coating process is called vacuum deposition process or magnetron-sputtering.

Magnetron sputtering deposits metals and metal oxides onto glass perfectly smoothly in a sequence designed to achieve outstanding

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optical and thermal properties.

Glass is sent to into a coater with vacuum chambers, each designed to apply a particular material layer to the glass.

The material (the target, which is a metal plate or a tube) that is going to be deposited on the glass surface is mounted on an electrode that has a high electrical potential. Electrode and material are electrically isolated from the wall of the vacuum chamber.

The strong electrical field (fast electrons) ionizes the sputter gas argon. The accelerated argon ions can break off material from the target by colliding with it, which then comes into contact with the glass, where it is deposited onto the surface evenly.

THREE MAIN CRITERIA MODERN FAÇADE FENESTRATION

FOR AND

A Solar Control Glass for Façades, Window & Roofs Solar control glass allows sunlight to pass through a window or façade

while radiating and reflecting away a large proportion of the sun's heat. Solar control glass can help improve the energy efficiency of a building, as it reduces the need for air conditioning during the warmer summer months. The indoor space remains bright and much cooler than would be the case if the standard uncoated glass were used.

A variety of solar control glass products are available in the market, depending on the level of solar control required and are often specified for large glazed areas, façades, conservatories, windows, skylights and roofs, Some of them (like Guardian SunGuard®DS Series) use advanced coating technology to create glass with an optimum selectivity ratio, high light transmission, low solar factor, neutral appearance and optimum thermal insulation. Many products combine solar control, light transmission and low solar heat gain properties with a range of colours and appearances to suit any application.

Architects and consumers are demanding greater solar control and thermal insulation of their building envelopes to satisfy economic, ecological and comfort requirements. We are working tirelessly to enhance building performance without sacrificing the natural light people desire. The motivations behind greater solar control and thermal insulation are: • Economic Building owners and managers are willing to invest in solutions that will reduce their energy costs. Technological advances of the last three decades have produced systems and equipment that can coat hightech insulating glass with razorthin, neutral coatings using lowcost processes. This technology is now applied to millions of square meters of glazed areas of windows and façades.

• Ecological Consumer and industry awareness of environmental

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sustainability has grown rapidly within the building industry.

Due to its natural ingredients and superior energy-balancing properties, glass is a key element to reduce heating and cooling costs and to achieve the goals of globally recognised certification programs for building sustainable and environmentally friendly buildings.

transmitted daylight through the glazing to portray a variety of colours compared to those seen under daylight without the glazing. The scale is 1 – 100. For instance, a low Ra value causes colours to appear washed out, while a high Ra causes colours to appear vibrant and natural. In the commercial glass, Ra indicates the effect the specific glass configuration has on the appearance of objects viewed through the glass.

• Pane thickness The rule of thumb is that generally, the thicker the pane per surface unit is, the greater the noise reduction. Therefore, insulation efficiency increases as glass thickness rises.

• Superior aesthetics The Colour Rendering Index is one of the measures for measuring the ability of

B Noise Control Glass Sound is normally transported both through the air and through solid objects. The intensity of the variability in pressure is called sound pressure and can be extremely variable, from the ticking of a clock to the crack of a gunshot. Three methods are used to control a wide variety of sounds:

• Insulating structure Double or triple insulating glass is a mass-spring-mass system: both outer panes (masses) are separated from each other by the air or gas that fills the interspace (spring).

If glass panels of the same thickness are used, the sounds get transmitted from one to the other pane nearly ideally (resonance). Only asymmetrical insulating glass build up's can improve the sound insulation significantly. The interspace muffles the vibrations from the outer pane before they reach the inner, second pane, with

Monolithic (SGU) – 6mm

Double Glazed Unit (DGU) 6-12-6

Single Laminated Glass 6+1.52+6

Rw Ctr STC 31 -2 30

Rw Ctr STC 34 -4 34

Rw Ctr STC 37 -2 36

• Comfort Better solar control and thermal insulation reduce unpleasant drafts from glazing areas, without sacrificing the benefits of daylight that make people feel better and more productive.

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the rule being the bigger the interspace, the more effective the noise reduction. But this is only possible to a limited degree since this process also reduces thermal insulation.

• Lamination The noise-reducing effect of thicker, heavier glass may be further optimised by using a flexible interlayer (PVB) to connect two single panes of glass. With this solution, the thickness and space weight remain the same; the pane, however, gets “softer” and thus increases its insulating capacity by damping the sound waves.

C Design Options For centuries, generations have used glass for filling “light holes” in massive outer walls. This has drastically changed in the last three decades. Today glass itself forms and shapes the space and creates room enclosures, thus creating transparent architecture that allows people to feel close to nature. A glass’s finish on a façade has always influenced its reflective properties, which can range from being produced so that the glass is very reflective, reflects an overall colour, or has a weak reflection.

• Screen-print technique The screen-print, which is mainly dedicated to painting partial areas and used for a specific design, colour which joins firmly with the glass surface and coating in the following tempering process.

This technology is adopted for larger quantities and is ideal for parapet glasses components is

less suitable for larger areas and homogeneous painting.

• Design glasses Transparent elements can become more and more visual and functional decoration facets. From etching and shot blasting over the ceramic screen-print up to laminated glass with inside foils, the design can be a decorative ornament or symbol or also an all-over illustration or matting.

• Screen-print directly onto the glass The colour screen-print directly onto the glass has a long tradition. The enamel or ceramic paint which is a mixture of small milled glass and joining colour pigments is pressed with a scraper through the open parts of the sieve into the glass.

• Transfer colour print on glass The transfer print offers an alternative to achieve a multicolour print instead of the single colour screen-print. Also, enamel and ceramic colours can be transferred via digital print on transfer foils and can thus reproduce multi-colour motives. These printed foils will then be fixed with glasses that are going to be tempered.

During the tempering process, these foils will burn residue-free and the painted colours will join as previously described.

• Coloured foils in laminated glass Within the same lamination process exists a large pallet of

different colour foils, which can be combined to achieve each imaginable colour in laminated glass.

• Bent architectural glass Architects and designers love to interrupt straightness, corners and curves with soft curves. In the applications of the building envelope, glass is generally bent through a thermal gravity process.

A glass pane is laid over a bending form and in the bending oven heated up to 550 - 620ºC. After having reached the softening point the pane descends (through gravity) slowly into the bending mould and adopts its shape. The following cooling down defines the shape of the glass. Slow cooling, free from residual stress, produces a glass which can be further processed, whereas fast cooling creates a partial or fully tempered glass which is not applicable for further processing.

CONCLUSION It is important to choose the right kind of glass, considering the objectives like colour, safety and comfort-related factors such as sound insulation, thermal insulation and glare control.

The right amount of light, heat and sound passing through the window is crucial to the comfort of the building occupants, therefore it is essential to choose the high-performance glass solutions. Selection of the right type of performance glass is critical for building efficiency too.

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Face to Face

“Glass has Revolutionised the Façade Industry”

Mitu Mathur, Director of Gian P. Mathur – Architects & Planners, is associated with the firm since 2006.

An architect by profession, AR. MITU MATHUR Director, Gian P. Mathur & Associates, Architects & Planners (GPM)

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Mathur has a keen interest in urban redevelopment, designing public domains, art appreciation, systems of project management and understanding the application and utilisation of master plan and laws.

After graduating from Sushant School of Art & Architecture

Face to Face

Indirapuram Habitat Centre, Ghaziabad

(SSAA), Gurugram, Ar. Mathur did her Masters in Architecture & Urban Design from GSAPP (Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation), Columbia University, New York City.

Presently, as a Director, she leads the team of design research

within GPM, which explores the constantly evolving dynamism of design in Indian cities. She also coordinates various initiatives undertaken by the firm for the promotion of ideas in architecture and contemporary urbanism.

In an interesting conversation

with WFM, Ar. Mitu Mathur talks about her practice, their latest projects, the evolution of faรงade and cladding technology and trends in India and many key factors to consider while designing and choosing materials for faรงades. Here are the excerpts from the interview.

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Face to Face

C

ould you please tell about your practice and your firm's journey?

Architecture is not just a profession, but a passion that drives our family. Me and my sister are third-generation architects.

Our father, Gian P. Mathur started the practice 40 years ago and since then we have been blessed with opportunities and embraced all new kinds of projects that are being introduced in the industry over the decades. When my father started the practice, our firm did a number of prominent, particularly industrial projects. With the onset of commercialisation, we ventured into a variety of commercial and mixed-use projects, especially in Delhi/NCR. Soon GPM became the pioneers in the malls & multiplexes industry, designing multi-screen arrangements and retail establishments across the country. Consequently, catering to the housing boom, we forayed in the sector and successfully completed many housing and township projects, especially in the northern & the western part

Netaji Nagar redevelopment, New Delhi

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National Institute of Design, Bhopal

of the country. Subsequently, we have been successfully designing and delivering projects in the infrastructure segment also, including projects such as metro stations, bus terminals, railway stations, etc.

We have been progressively increasing our team size since, standing as a team of more than 100 members today that makes our organisation strong and dependable. Under the leadership and guidance of Director Amit

Face to Face Singhal, along with diversified team leaders like Rajeev Singhal, Namita Agarwal, Jamil Ahmed and many more, we have diversified our portfolio in various sectors. We have different teams for varied sectors we work in. An in-house team of engineers and structural consultants adds much value to each design we execute on the field.

I got inspired to see a lot of large scale developments in the United States. The approach towards large scale developments in the West intrigued me to study urban design in the States. I was lucky to be selected at the acclaimed Columbia University, New York.

While I was studying there, I got a chance to reflect upon our indigenous traditional practices, Indian architecture.

Thereby applying a lot of my learning into my projects, which were really appreciated by my peers. After completing my Masters, and spending a year exploring the American sub-continent, I realised the pool of opportunities India has and hence decided to come back to India and apply my learnings.

After joining the practice, we aggressively pursued getting our hands-on government projects with the intent to achieve better infrastructure and services for the public. Following many discussions with government bodies like NBCC, CPWD; we were fortunate enough to bag some prominent projects like the National Institute of Design, Bhopal and Sarojini Nagar and Netaji Nagar Redevelopment; currently being the largest redevelopment projects in Delhi/ NCR. The GPM team is also working on more than 5 redevelopment projects for Railway stations panIndia.

What inspired you to become an architect?

My parents have been a constant source of inspiration; with my father’s ‘never give up’ attitude

and my mother’s creative insights; I have grown up in a motivating atmosphere. Also, the scenario in our country is very stimulating.

The way our infrastructure is progressing, it has a lot of potential with young designers like us. The government is pushing a lot of new ideas like the concept of smart cities; Railway stations and Bus terminals revitalisation, emphasis on conservation of heritage and public/pedestrian centric designs.

The current scenario has a lot of opportunities that encourage architects like me and other young designers. Today, architecture firms work as corporate entities that have the potential to grow very large and diversify into conglomerates. The profession

has morphed from being a mere provider of shelter to embrace all arts and every new technology, which can be integrated to provide better user experience and better habitat.

Tell us about the latest façade and cladding technology in India.

The façade industry in India is evolving each day. Dating back to 2015-16, when the glass façades were picking up, we managed to complete some well-executed façades in glass for office and commercial buildings with the very basic technology available in the market back then. We lay enough emphasis on the solar properties and maintenance of the façades because nobody

Railway Station redevelopment project, Tirupathi

Railway Station redevelopment project, Dehradun

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Face to Face would want a shiny looking glass building with bad quality glass.

We always suggest our clients go for the products which are easy to maintain, easy to install and as well as having good thermal properties.

In the present day, we are witnessing changes in glass

façades. Today, a clear or laminated glass is equipped to address thermal comfort and noise reduction. These technological developments have helped us go for better visibility with a façade in glasses as well, as opposed to the tinted glass used earlier. Now

National Archives and National Libray, Mauritius

You have done many green-rated projects. Could you please tell us about your approach to choosing the appropriate materials for building façade and fenestration?

We have completed several Greenrated projects, one of them is the

Police Academy, Mauritius

NDRF, Nagpur

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the light intake through a clear glass façade is optimum, thereby cutting down the solar effects and providing thermal comfort.

Lately, ventilated façades have taken over the traditional façades since these outdoor cladding building solutions are much practical and can be applied to both new build and refurbished buildings. It offers improved thermal insulation, continuous finish in the façade and faster installation coupled with easy maintenance. Ventilated façades allow for the circulation of air between the supporting wall and the cladding material available in varied materials like terracotta, marble, ceramic tiling, zinctitanium panels, etc. In this manner, the supporting wall is protected from both the cold and heat resulting in energy savings. These façades are also exceptionally easy to erect, using hidden fasteners and requiring no cutting or drilling of the panels. Ventilated façades help in ensuring a pleasant, dry indoor climate; bring great advantages to the building and provides tangible added value.

The energy savings of a ventilated façade is between 20% and 30%, owing to the “chimney effect“.

The Amaryllis, New Delhi

Sapphire 83 Mall, Gurugram

Face to Face Unity One Mall in Rohini, Delhi.

Originally provisioned to be a multilevel car parking on a plot owned by the DMRC, the mall stands as one of the most efficient multi-use developments in the city today.

We designed it as an integrated development that intelligently combines parking facilities with commercial benefits of retail spaces, multiplex, food courts, etc., providing commuters with a convenient one-stop solution and a great public place for recreation.

The development is envisaged to be an ideal example of how an efficient infrastructure system can be a lucrative development model for any developer entity; and a profitable partnership between government and private developers.

Metro stations have their separate ingress and egress system which are often not integrated with the surrounding buildings.

Realising the potential of utilising the true real estate value of the site, we connected it to the metro station, to maximise footfall in the commercial areas, providing an attraction point for the commuters. The pedestrian space has been converted into a vibrant plaza, which is actively used by the commuters and residents of the neighbourhood for recreational purposes and offers a great place to spend time with the family. It is one of the first malls in Northern India, where customer footfall is ensured from 6 AM to 12.30 AM. Separating the parking area completely from the commercial zone influences the user experience of the overall space. To make the experience effortless, direct access to the commercial and multiplex has been designed at different levels from the parking levels. This greatly enhances the parking experience and encourages people to commute using the metro for intra-city connections.

The faรงade, which is much

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Unity One, Rohini

appreciated for its elegant design, is done in GRC Jhali. The faรงade is made of premium-grade material which ensures a long lifespan and is also alkali resistant, has high impact strength, maintenance strength and is environmentfriendly.

The feather in the cap would, however, be the solar carport installed on the rooftop. The first in the country, this rooftop is connected through the ramp and has significantly helped in the

utilisation of the space; it has also reduced the solar heat intake of the structure, thereby reducing energy consumption. The incorporation of the Solar Carport has substantially reduced its dependence on the external power grid, thereby reducing the load on the city. This building, owing to the extensive use of sustainable measures, has received the IGBC Platinum rating recently. Certificate: IGBC Platinum rated green building.

We practice the utmost care in

The multilevel car parking at the Unity One mall, Rohini

Face to Face Nowadays, Aluminum also offers a good variety and we are proposing a lot of projects. There was a time when uPVC was used widely owing to its easy application and cost, but nowadays better quality of aluminium is available at a competitive price, thus it is being preferred for some projects.

Mahagun Marina Walk, Noida

the selection of materials while designing a building. We are currently experimenting with the recently introduced solar films on our new projects, especially for the south-facing façades. By using solar films, we can actually generate electricity parallelly reducing the heat ingress.

We are also proposing green façades, embedded with a layer of green plantation on the outer skin.

This model is being followed in projects like Marina Walk and the proposed National Archives and National Library in Mauritius.

Could you please tell us about the key factors you consider while designing façades and fenestration?

I feel the experience is very important for us as it brings elements of WOW! From the client-side, it is very important for us to know how the installation is going to happen. We propose new technologies keeping in mind that it should not be outlandish, digging a hole in the client’s pocket. The façade we propose should bring in the right balance of money

spent versus money earned, also taking care of the money which can be saved by selecting the right materials and application techniques...

Maintenance and sustainability are also the key factors that we take into consideration. As an endeavour, we always aim to make buildings that are cost-effective and maintenance-friendly, ensuring an unforgettable yet comfortable experience to its users.

There is a lot of conflict happening between uPVC and aluminium for fenestration. Could you please advise something about this?

It really depends on the quality.

The flexibility in colours, finishes and aesthetic appeal provided in uPVC is great at a good price. uPVC also has different grades and different standards which we have explored in a variety of our projects.

For different projects, the grades need to be specified depending on the purpose it serves. If we talk about the present scenario, for low-cost housing, one uses different specifications of uPVC as opposed to high-end residences.

What are your views on present technologies and materials?

Coming from a firm where we do all sorts of projects, from affordable housing to large scale infrastructure projects, we believe that in a country like ours, the market will evolve and a variety of good quality, pocket-friendly façade materials that are easy to maintain will be available soon.

Over the past 2-3 years, prominent buildings in the Cyber Hub in Gurugram have considered changing their existing façade.

This has happened because the market was not equipped with the right materials and technology to cater to important factors like fire efficiency, glare prevention, thermal and noise controls, etc.

Hence the façades planned back then have failed miserably.

These 10 years have taught us a lot and we don't want to commit the same mistake. There are dynamic façades, media façades, intelligent façades, etc., which showcase much better technologies and are easy to maintain. The longevity of the façades is of utmost importance to us. Quality of materials used, thermal properties, maintenance (easy cleaning) of the façade, noise insulation and safety are some key aspects.

Considering the Indian conditions, what makes the façade intelligent? How can an intelligent façade bring in the greenhouse effect?

As an architect, I have always paid attention to solar passive design

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Face to Face techniques.

We should learn from our traditional culture and techniques used in the orientation and placement of a building. The selection of the material should also be derived from the orientation, which could also bring down the cost of air conditioning and energy consumption substantially.

The selection of materials for the façade is actually third in the step. The first step lies with the right orientation, and the second, designing the plan in such a manner that it gives better crossventilation or air-conditioning.

The third step is the selection of materials and designing the elevation. I also feel that if we have sunlight in abundance, then why should we even go for artificial lighting.

Movable shading design is a challenge in India. Please share your views on it.

Movable shading is a challenge yet because of its power consumption and hence it is very costly.

Operational and maintenance costs are very high. But they have great potential especially at places where temperature changes are erratic and kinetic intervention can add substantial thermal comfort indoors. We are currently exploring mechanisms to effectively use this technology while being cost effective and aesthetically appealing.

Do you use membranes in your projects?

Yes, we do use membranes for shading purposes, usually for the semi-open spaces like atriums in commercial projects, entrances or other highlighted areas.

Membranes add an element of interest so we use them where a lot of people gather. Some of our ongoing railway station projects use these membranes. Some of our ongoing commercial projects use membranes for corridor and plaza

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shading. We have also proposed them for large public areas in railway station Redevelopment projects.

What about the sustainability and environmental considerations when choosing façade and cladding material?

The inclination towards sustainable buildings is driving the shift in façades and claddings. Earlier, there were limited options in the market, but now we have plenty of natural materials like terracotta tiles, zinc panels, aluminium panels, etc., which cause less harm to the environment. As far as sustainability is concerned, the traditional stone façade does the trick. We have a natural abundance of stone and the finest technologies to install them.

How do you choose the materials for façade cladding?

I always look for natural materials because I like my buildings to gel with the surroundings. I prefer anything that is natural - like the stone façades or basic painted textures. It is important that the building should be breathable. I

Indirapuram Habitat Centre, Ghaziabad

am also in favour of glass, it is an excellent material. It will not only change the real estate scenario, but it will also change the attitude with which people live now.

Developments in Glass have really revolutionised the façade industry.

What is your advice for young architects?

Our office has great energy with a lot of young people working with us that we enjoy and promote.

With an uninhibited thought process, the young architects bring fresh ideas on the table and are an asset. But unfortunately, I see a lot of them yearning to shift from India and practice in foreign countries. I feel that we, as a young generation, have a lot to explore in our field and highlight our culture to put ourselves on the global map; the road is rocky but it's definitely worth the effort. On the contrary, we should look at how our industry is getting global with so many international companies showing their interest to enter the Indian sector. It is time to make the most of these opportunities and practice to bring out the best in our country.

www.osakarubber.com

Regd. Off: 6/103, Mittal Industrial Estate, Andheri-Kurla Road, Andheri (E), Mumbai - 400 059, Maharashtra, India.

Ph.: 91-22-4204-4204 | E-mail: sales@osakarubber.com

Industry Speaks

"AIS has Pioneered Innovations in Glass with the Best 'Green’ Parameters"

Vikram Khanna is a man of many facets, and in his time at AIS he has made admirable use of his acumen to enhance and further embellish the company’s profile and standing in the market. He joined the Purchase department of AIS in the capacity of Material Head, in 1996 and held that position till 2003. He has worked in various roles and capabilities in AIS, including COO – Auto Services, COO – Consumer Glass, CIO, CMO and COO - Architectural Institutional Business. Over the past 24 years, Khanna has enhanced the value of every department he has been a part of, contributing to the overall growth of the company, and he is committed to carrying on in the same vein in the future.

VIKRAM KHANNA

COO, Consumer Glass, COO, Architectural Institutional Business, CIO & CMO, Asahi India Glass Ltd.

Vikram Khanna talks about his company, its growth and success stories, AIS’s various product categories, facilities and infrastructure, some of their major projects, market for glass in India, AIS’s contribution in bringing about the current revolution in the façade and the fenestration sector, main challenges faced by the glass industry, and the future of façade and fenestration industry in India. Excerpts from the interview with WFM. WFM | JAN - FEB 2020

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Industry Speaks

P

lease tell us about your company AIS and yourself? How long you have been in this business and in the Indian market?

Asahi India Glass Ltd. (AIS) is India's leading integrated glass solutions company and a dominant player both in the automotive and architectural glass segments. It commands over 70% share in the Indian passenger car glass market.

Established in 1984, AIS' footprint today spans the entire spectrum of the automotive and architectural glass value chains. AIS provides end-to-end solutions right from manufacturing of glass, processing, fabrication and installation services. We cater to customers in domestic and international markets. It is a sand-to-solutions organisation offering varied types of glass products & services for institutional buyers as well as retail customers.

I currently hold the position of COO - Consumer Glass, COO Architectural Institutional Business, and CIO & CMO – AIS. During my tenure at AIS, I have

always strived to enhance and further improve the company’s profile and standing in the market.

Tell us briefly about your journey with the company over the years?

I started my career with ITC Hotels in 1987. I joined the Indian army the same year and spent 8 years as an officer. I went on to do a full time MBA program and joined the corporate sector in 1996 as the Head of supply chain and held that position till 2003. I was appointed as Vice President Commercial with additional and direct charge of Sales & Marketing, a position that I held from 2003 to 2006, post which I was Director Commercial for AIS Automotive. As the sales and marketing head over six years I became the face of the company across OEM’s and led the company’s initiatives for exports and other product lines in glass including the mass transportation and white goods segments.

In 2009-10 I moved to a role to grow the automotive aftermarket business in distribution and retail as COO Auto Services.

With my experience in the ERP

DLF Cyber Park, Gurugram - AIS Ecosense Exceed

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implementation I was also appointed as the CIO for AIS the same year.

In 2012-13 I was appointed as COO AIS Consumer Glass. This was a new vertical that was carved out of the automotive and building glass verticals and included businesses that were front end focused and involved high performance glass products and high potential consumer brands for the future.

The same year I appointed as the CMO of AIS with a view to drive marketing strategy and grow the AIS and sub brands of AIS. Over the past 24 years, I got the opportunity to work in most businesses of AIS and that has given me a great all round experience and understanding of the automotive and building & construction markets and allowed me to contribute meaningfully to the growth of the company.

Tell us about your major success stories in India in the recent past?

From being a ‘single product, single customer’ company, AIS has grown to become an industry leader with 13 plants and sub-assembly

Ummaid Heights, Jodhpur - AIS Opal

Industry Speaks

Cyber Park, Jodhpur - AIS Opal

units and an impressive clientele featuring a host of leading domestic and international companies. The company has maintained focus on developing an integrated value chain for automotive and building & construction markets. In the faรงade and fenestration segment, AIS delivers a consistent and high quality value proposition through its product and services, which are competitive and compelling.

AIS forayed into the doors and windows segment in the year 2011 under the brand name AIS VUE, which is now known as AIS Windows. The fact that the Indian market was rapidly moving towards uPVC windows presented AIS with a unique opportunity to add to its existing portfolio of glass products so as to offer a customer end-toend solution from one source.

AIS Windows now offers windows and door solutions in uPVC and aluminium and have thousands of satisfied customers today. We have recently commissioned a state-of-the-art windows facility in Faridabad and added the aluminium line of windows and door solutions.

In the end of 2017, we restarted our float plant in Taloja. It is currently the most advanced and updated float plant capable of producing flat glass for all high quality sensitive applications like

Supreme HQ, Pune - AIS Ecosense Enhance

off line coating for buildings and automotive glazing.

We continue to build our coated glass business in both the trade and institutional segments. We are leaders in the hard coat glass segment, and in soft coat we continue to build market share by winning and executing a range of

projects with many of them being from the same clients.

In 2019 AIS has set up its 5th automotive glass plant - a new green field project in Gujarat, mainly to service the requirements of the Suzuki Motor Corporation (SMC) plant in Gujarat. The A5 project is a state-of-the-art automotive glass plant with the latest global technologies with the ability to manufacture all value added glass products for automotive glazing.

AIS has made an investment of Rs. 500 crores in this project over 2 phases. In the first phase the plant will have capacities to produce 1 million laminated and 1.2 million tempered glass sets per annum. The A5 plant will further strengthen our scale, flexibility and ability to seamlessly service our customers across India. This investment is in line with the make in India initiative launched by the Government of India.

Amanora Towers, Pune - AIS Tinted glass

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Industry Speaks In 2018 AIS entered the fire resistant glass market with our product line called AIS Pyrobel and have been well received.

What are the product categories offered by AIS for the façade and fenestration?

AIS has a wide portfolio of glass products/solutions which are necessary for façades: High-performance glasses - A metallic coating is applied to one side of the glass in order to significantly increase the ability of the glass to reflect both the visible and infra-red (light and heat) range of the electromagnetic spectrum.

High performance glass, also known as heat reflective glass, reduces heat gain and glare from the exterior and allows optimum visible light transmission to the interior. It facilitates energy savings through reduction in interior solar heat gain and cost reduction in the cost of heating and cooling systems. It also improves occupants’

comfort as interior temperature variations are less and easier to control and it also reduces the airconditioning load of the buildings.

AIS offers a wide portfolio of high performance glasses. The hard coat range includes (with the superior CVD technology) AIS Opal which is available in 5 vibrant shades.

The soft coat range Ecosense, the green standard in glass comes in five categories – Enhance (Solar Control), Exceed (Solar Control Low-E) and Essence (Low-E), Edge (Solar Control and Thermal insulation), Excel (Solar Control & Double Low-e) high-performance glasses. Ideal for solar and thermal insulating parameters, Ecosense combines aesthetics with environmental sensibility and conforms to all International and National Green Standards, making it the natural choice as a green building solution.

AIS Windows offers end-to-end, professional fenestration solutions by integrating together the

Riana Towers, Noida - AIS Sunshield

material of your choice – be it uPVC or aluminium with the required glass product to give a window system solution in terms of an energy efficient window/Security solution. AIS Windows gives customers a 360 degree solution, viz design consultation, glass & frame selection to installation and most importantly, post-installation support.

Throw some light on your company's facilities and infrastructure?

AIS has a pan India presence with 13 plants including float and automotive and architectural processing plants and automotive sub assembly units. We also have a distribution and retail infrastructure of 46 depots and 90 plus stores respectively to service the trade and consumer segments. We have 8 offices across India.

Ashtavinayak Heights, Navi Mumbai - AIS Sunshield

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How do you see the façade and fenestration industry evolving in India?

Due to its fragile nature, the use of glass to bring natural light into

Industry Speaks

IFFCO, Gurugram - AIS Ecosense Exceed

buildings was earlier restricted only to windows and other small installations. Due to the development of new construction techniques, value additions and processing being done on glass, this material is now strong and durable and hence considered a viable choice for more complex structural requirements.

Glass is now being used for façades on an unprecedented scale to create remarkable designs and yield eco-savings. Use of glass in façades gives a building a sustainable new look and is easier to maintain. Glass Panel Façade systems offer versatile, highperformance coverage, with a wide range of stylish design possibilities.

It is one material that is aesthetically pleasing, eco- friendly and economically viable. It is a smart, adaptable and versatile material, lending itself to endless possibilities both in terms of design, functionality and speed of construction, across exterior and interior applications. All in all, glass in the façade stands in a league of its own. The reason for this is simple to understand – glass speeds up

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the pace of construction, enhances the visual appeal of buildings, adds a touch of modernity and elegance, gives the building an enduring new look and helps the building gain recognition for its stylish and luxurious environment friendly ‘green’ architecture.

The Indian façade and fenestration industry has been accepted as an emerging industry looking at the advancement in its size, technology, etc. Given the green nature of glass, the advantage it brings in speed of construction and energy savings and the increasing desire of people to have work and residential spaces well lit and connected with the outside world, the glass and therefore the façade and fenestration industry will continue to grow and modernise. In line with the consolidation in the client- developer/builder segment, the façade and fenestration industry will also witness consolidation and emergency of some high quality pan India and regional level industry players. The

market will continue to organise through regulations that enforce technical and quality standards, standardisation, consolidation that drives scale and cost economies leading to the growth in glass façades and system windows.

What has been your organisation’s contribution in bringing about the current revolution in the façade and the fenestration sector?

The entry of AIS into the high performance soft coat market helped guide the market to sustainable use of glass by proposing solutions for façade glass based on the introduction of energy simulations, daylighting and glare studies thereby ensuring a more responsible and sustainable use of glass in façades. AIS is a long term partner with TERI for the promotion of sustainability by the use of the correct glass as required by the orientation of the building in both façade and window applications AIS has pioneered innovations in glass processing technology to

EIH Oberoi, Gurugram - AIS Ecosense Exceed

Industry Speaks develop both single-glazed and double-glazed products with the best ‘green’ parameters. This is giving developers and architects a greater choice and the ability to explore possibilities.

AIS

Bank of Baroda, Jaipur - AIS Ecosense Enhance Cove

continuously studies the Indian climatic condition to develop new products. It also focuses on improving existing products on different parameters. In the last few years, AIS has developed quite a few products in the high performance glass segment.

AIS is also at the forefront in the fenestration industry to lead the use of high performance glass in windows to ensure energy efficient, acoustic and security solutions in the retail market by educating clients of how one can deliver these solutions by integrating the right window system and glass AIS is actively supporting government bodies in shaping the codes and norms related to glass and glazing for buildings which constitute of codes like ECBC, NBC, GRIHA, etc. In addition to this, AIS is an active member for developing glass and related standards along with BIS. Recently AIS has come together with TERI to initiate a window

Patel Neo Town-Mascot, Noida - AIS Sunshield

labeling program (A window rating program which considers key parameters for lighting, energy efficiency & quality of installation while rating a window), bringing energy efficiency in the residential and affordable housing and increasing the awareness level amongst the key stakeholders in the construction industry. This initiative will enable the overall construction industry to move to the next level, so that it bridges the gap between developed countries and Indian construction industry.

Please tell us briefly about a few of your iconic and innovative projects?

We have recently done few iconic projects in India namely, DLF Cyber Park (Gurgaon), Lodha Trump Tower (Mumbai), ITC Green Center (Bangalore), Delhi Police Head Quarters (New Delhi). We are also doing Lodha World View – which is one of the most premium residential projects in India.

For DLF Cyberpark we developed a completely unique product as per the client’s brief and requirement – low e glass with high external reflection (~40%). We named this product as ‘Exceed Platina series’ under the brand name AIS Ecosense. For Trump Tower too, we developed a new product under our Solar Control range ‘Enhance Gold’, as the requirement was of glass in gold shade.

As per your view, how important is the role of right glass selection helping in achieving façade/fenestration system performance, optimum acoustic and thermal insulation as well as the desired aesthetics?

For any façade/fenestration system performance to be achieved the integration of the correct glass in terms of technical parameters and configuration is a must.

Gone are the days when glass, used primarily in interiors, used

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Industry Speaks to be a choice made by intuition.

Today glass has started assuming a major role in the modern day buildings not only adding to its aesthetic value but also enhancing the performance of the building in terms of energy efficiency, safety, sound insulation and lot more. Various analytical & scientific approaches have been developed in glass selection, which makes its choice as a glazing material, not only enriching but also beneficial.

AIS has an in-house technical team who helps influencers and customers select the right glazing for their projects after examining various parameters like sun path, wind load analysis, etc for the project and area.

The major factors that one needs to consider before deciding on the type of glass are: • Aesthetics: It is a combination of the product, location, design and architectural intent • Energy Efficiency & Daylight: The glazing should help in achieving energy-efficiency and optimum day lighting.

The below given factors help in selecting the right glass: o Visual Light Transmission o Internal Reflection o External Reflection o Solar Factor o Shading Co-efficient o U-Value • Climate analysis: The climatic condition of the location is important to select the type of glazing as different weather conditions have a different impacts.

• Optimum orientation of building: Before selecting any glazing material, the study of building orientation is a must, if rightly oriented, we may get energy efficiency without using high-performance glass. (For Indian context, South West orientation is responsible for

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Raheja, Hyderabad - AIS Ecosense Enhance Cove

ITC Green Center, Bangalore - AIS Ecosense Enhance, Exceed

maximum heat gain) • Shadow analysis: Shadow of the building as well as surroundings also impact heat ingress (direct & defused), hence changes the glazing requirement.

• Daylight analysis: Study of available lux level, window size and other passive design should be considered before defining the required VLT of a glass.

• Strength, safety & sound insulation: o Strength – Use tempered, heat-strengthened or laminated glass o Safety – Use laminated glass; select the type of lamination according to safety requirement and safety norms o Sound insulation – Use a laminated glass with a special acoustic interlayer

How well aware do you think are architects and builders about the availability of the glass products, its functionality and categories?

Influencers and decision makers are reasonably well aware of the technicalities in glass, as also the value added glasses. However, more education and training is required for them to be able to select the right glass product for application in any unique context.

This is an ongoing process that

will continue to play out and build expertise in the market. All glass manufacturers have a stake and responsibility towards this. AIS for its part continues to do this through technical presentations and seminars at a company and industry level.

However, awareness about some specialised product lines like the use of fire resistant building materials, especially fire-resistant glass is very low in India. Users have limited knowledge about different types of fire-resistant glasses available and their suitability for different applications. There are different types of fire-resistant glasses available like E (Integrity), EW (Low radiation) & EI (Insulation), but users are not aware about the differences between them, benefits and applications.

What do you see as the main challenges faced by the glass industry?

India is at the forefront of the green building revolution through focused initiatives towards creation of effective green building material that address key parameters, such as the solar factor, heat gain, U-value, visual comfort, safety and sound insulation. With new types of glazing solutions – internal and external – spaces are becoming more efficient, even as new possibilities are getting unleashed in terms of design and aesthetics.

Industry Speaks Some of the challenges are: • The inherent climate of India is predominantly tropical and with its huge population it is a challenge to provide a solution for green architecture which covers site planning, water efficiency, energy conservation, along with bringing innovation and human comfort.

• The awareness level amongst the key stakeholders about the selection of right product to resolve the problems mentioned above is quite low, especially in Tier2 & Tier 3 cities.

• The codes such as ECBC, NBC which are being formulated by the government bodies are still guidelines, and not mandatory • On the implementation side, for green buildings to be truly successful in India, it is imperative to establish a strong post construction monitoring system so that the buyers are not reluctant to pay a premium for green buildings due to unavailability of evidences for savings in operational costs.

Where do you see the façade and fenestration industry evolving over the next 5 years?

RNA Corp, Mumbai - AIS Ecosense Enhance

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The architectural segment has witnessed a pickup in demand for commercial spaces. While the residential segment is still slow the first signs of some green shoots is visible. Amid evolving consumer aspirational needs, value added glass is fast picking up, gaining popularity in residential buildings too, apart from the retail and commercial spaces. The ongoing shift towards Green buildings shall only further push demand for highperformance glass, opening up a huge opportunity for expansion in the architectural segment.

Given the green nature of glass, the advantage it brings in speed of construction and energy savings and the increasing desire of people

to have work and residential spaces well lit and connected with the outside world, the glass and therefore the façade and fenestration industry will continue to grow and modernise. In line with the consolidation in the client- developer/builder segment, the façade and fenestration industry will also witness consolidation and emergency of some high quality pan India and regional level industry players. The market will continue to organise through regulations that enforce technical and quality standards, standardisation, consolidation that drives scale and cost economies leading to the growth in glass façades and system windows.

Google Headquarters, Gurugram - AIS Ecosense Exceed

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Post Event Report

CCPS

Organises Three Training Sessions to Teach Young India

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CPS organised three training sessions at Galgotias University and Vastukala Academy of Architecture under its Teaching Young India training programs.

The first training held on 11th February at Galgotias University, the 2nd and 3rd training sessions held on 12th and 19th February at Vastukala Academy of Architecture.

GALGOTIAS UNIVERSITY, FEBRUARY 2020

11

th

Glass as a Building Material and Modern trends in the building industry (usage of PU foam and sealants) Sanjay Mantri, Anindya Roy from Asahi India Glass and Jignasa Suthar and Sanjeet Kumar from McCoy Soudal, all having a vast experience in the field presented on glass selection criteria based on various applications, Specialty glasses. The attendees included faculty members and students from B. Arch. 4th and 6th semesters.

Architectural Hardware and Doors & Window Hardware Ankur Kalia and Lovekesh Sharma from Ozone Overseas presented

Training session at Galgotias University

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Training session at Vastukala Academy of Architecture

on architectural hardware in the building industry (glass fittings, auto doors, and door hardware), furniture and kitchen fittings and organisers and Raju Banerjee from McCoy 8M conducted the session on doors and windows hardware.

VASTUKALA ACADEMY OF ARCHITECTURE, 12th FEBRUARY 2020

Glass as a Building Material and Modern Trends in the Building Industry (Usage of PU Foam and Sealants) Pragati Tripathi from Saint Gobain Glass and Jignasa Suthar and Sanjeet Kumar from McCoy Soudal conducted the training on the glass selection parameter, types of energy-efficient glasses, glass and safety and modern trends in

usage of PU foam and sealants, wherein they talked about various applications or emerging trend for building faรงade and also presented the case studies of the same.

The session was attended by architecture students from B. Arch.

2nd and 3rd year and professors of the academy.

These sessions followed by the demo sessions.

VASTUKALA ACADEMY OF ARCHITECTURE, 19th FEBRUARY 2020

Architectural Hardware and Doors & Window hardware The first session of the day was conducted by Shobita Mishra from UWDMA who talked about PVC-U doors windows, Raju Banerjee from McCoy 8M spoke about doors & window hardware, the evolution of doors and windows, importance of hardware and its various functions, etc.

The second session was on architectural hardware in the building industry (glass fittings, auto doors & door hardware), furniture & kitchen fittings and organisers which was conducted

by Ankur Kalia, Manish Pathak from Ozone overseas.

Project Watch

The atrium was conceived as a playful space that bridges both these areas

Climate-friendly Design REC-Tech Park Thandalam, Chennai By Architecture Plus, Value, Chennai

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CLIENT BRIEF he client approached us with the idea of developing a Tech-Park inside the REC Campus for the purpose

of training computer science engineering students and to provide incubation centres which can host young start-ups. The aim was to encourage the recent graduates to enter the start-up eco-

system. The building needed to be completed in an express timeline of 180 days as the infrastructure was needed for the upcoming new batch. The existing facilities inside the campus were dismal and

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Project Watch poorly equipped for computer science training. The site selected was an open land near the existing administration building. Being at the entrance of the campus, the building needed to be innovative and futuristic, symbolising the willingness of the university to adapt to the next generation of computer technology.

CONCEPT NOTE The main aim of the design was to provide a great space for the student community to train, socialise and start-up during their formative years. The spaces were designed in such a manner that the learning could continue out of the classrooms and extend into the non-program spaces.

This is where chance encounters between students and faculty lead to innovative ideas and can lead to start-ups in the future.

The building was designed as three bays with the east and west bay being the class-rooms and incubation centres and the central bay being a day-light atrium. The atrium also houses the vertical circulation that enables the students to hang out post classes. The atrium also functions as a space that allows only indirect natural light to enter the classrooms and computer spaces. The atrium was naturally ventilated.

Some of the tangible aims which were achieved through the design are: 1) Designing a sustainable and cost-effective glass faรงade building.

2) Provision of maximum natural light and ventilation for all the areas through careful design of the faรงade and roof.

3) Use of colour and materials to bring vibrancy and a sense of identity to the tech-park, that helps create a start-up friendly

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atmosphere and enhances creativity.

4) Climate-friendly design: Each side of the building is designed to respond to climate and solar orientation. The faรงade detailing is done in such a way as to bring in constant reflected natural light without glare.

5) Provision of social spaces in all the common areas of the building to enhance the Interaction between students and provide breaks in the nonprogrammatic areas. These were done through providing seating areas, green spaces and natural-light pockets within the building atrium and outside the building in the setbacks.

6) Efficient planning and use of all built and unbuilt areas. The circulation and program spaces are designed with zero space wastage.

7) Responding to the context and creating an identity for the center through sound architectural design.

8) Creation of an iconic building in a cost-effective manner.

9) Complete steel/dry construction which enables the building to be completed within the stipulated 180 days.

DESIGN PROCESS The site and climate influence most of the design decisions. The north side had the admin entrance.

The roof of the atrium was made with translucent polycarbonate sheets that allow the natural light into the atrium

Project Watch

The natural ventilation is aided in the atrium through the operable façade on the north and south side of the atrium

This side also had many trees and a good green cover. The south side has the playground and this acted as the student entrance. The atrium was conceived as a playfull space that bridges both these areas. The atriums were designed to be naturally lit and ventilated.

The roof of the atrium was made with translucent polycarbonate sheets that allow the natural light into the atrium. This, in turn, leads

The north and south façades were detailed with solar rated mirror glass interspersed with wooden HPL sheets

to reflected, glare-free light inside the class-rooms and programmatic spaces. The natural ventilation is aided in the atrium through the operable façade on the north and south side of the atrium. The vegetation on the north and the playground on the south lead to a pressure differential allowing for constant air movement in the atrium which creates a pleasant atmosphere.

FAÇADE DESIGN The construction system was an innovative system of a structural steel skeleton with a decking sheet floor system. The sides were clad with insulated boards and the roof of the building was designed with PUFF sheet. The atrium façade was detailed with operable glass openings, allowing natural ventilation and views. The north and south façades were detailed with solar rated mirror glass interspersed with wooden HPL sheets. They reflect and mimics the natural surroundings and enhances the presence of the building, giving a futuristic feel to the project.

The classrooms and the programmatic spaces were organised on the east and west sides. These façades of the classroom had an external double skin which cuts the heat. The AAC wall with openable windows were covered with an M.S structure mounted with louvers to cut down the heat & glare. Also the services were allocated between the two skins which provided an additional thermal buffer and provides a way to conceal the otherwise ugly and visible service lines in the building.

Subtle varying colours were used extensively on the interior of the building. The exterior of the building was kept in such a manner as to reflect the natural surroundings and greenery. This appeals to the phycology of young

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Project Watch Project: REC Tech Park Location: REC Campus, Thandalam, Chennai Type: Institutional Computer Training & Incubation Center Client: Rajalakshmi Institutions Architect: Architecture Plus Value Principal architect: V.S. Vigneswar Other consultants: J. Sriramulu (Structural Engineer) Materials used for façade: north& south: Solar rated mirror glass interspersed with wooden HPL sheets | East & west: Custom designed double-skin wall | Atrium skylight: Polycarbonate sheet over M.S Structure Site area: 20,000 sq ft

V.S. VIGNESWAR

Principal Architect / Founder Architecture Plus Value, Chennai

Built area: 50,000 sq ft

ABOUT THE ARCHITECT:

Project cost: INR 12.5 Crores adults and creates interest in their minds. This creates a sense of being in nature and also brings the freshness of thought and action.

SUCCESS The centre has maximum attendance and the users thoroughly enjoy the spaces and the environment. The climatefriendly design and emphasis on natural light and ventilation creates a healthy and positive feel for the entire project. The identity provided for the centre

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through the architectural design has helped make it a land-mark in the context.

The AAC wall with openable windows were covered with an M.S structure mounted with louvers to cut down the heat & glare

Value-addition through sensible design defines Vigneswar’s work-ethic. A+V was founded with this Motto. Vigneswar graduated his Bachelors in Architecture from C.E.P.T University, Ahmedabad and his Masters (MSc-Exchange) at T.U. Delft, The Netherlands. His work has been recognised by the Indian Institute of Architects (IIA Awards for Excellence 2016) and also published in various leading forums like The Hindu, Kurula Varkey Design Forum and SAHC International Conference (Mexico).

He also extended his learning through travels and work-shops inside India and abroad in Europe and Mexico.

He has also served as a visiting faculty at some of the top architecture colleges in Chennai, namely, The School of Architecture and Planning (SAP), Anna University, Guindy and MEASI Academy of Architecture.

Buzz

Farrell & McNamara Wins the 2020 Pritzker Prize

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vonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara of Dublin, Ireland, have been selected as the 2020 Pritzker Prize Laureates - architecture’s highest honour award. The winners were announced by Tom Pritzker, Chairman of The Hyatt Foundation - the sponsors of the awards.

Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara are both graduates of UCD, are Fellows of the RIAI, are International Honorary Fellows of the RIBA and are elected members of Aosdána, the eminent Irish Art organisation. Both are teachers at the School of Architecture at University College Dublin from 1976 to 2002 and appointed adjunct Professors in 2015.

Since the 1970s, Farrell and McNamara have been creating the spaces that are at once respectful and new, honouring history while demonstrating a mastery of the urban environment and craft of construction. Balancing strength and delicacy, and upholding a reverence of site-specific contexts, their academic, civic and cultural institutions, as well as housing developments, resulting in modern and impactful works that never repeat or imitate, but are decided of their architectural voice. Grafton Architects was established by them in 1978.

After winning the prize, Farrell says, “Architecture could be described as one of the most complex and important cultural activities on the planet. To be an architect is an enormous privilege.

To win this prize is a wonderful endorsement of our belief in architecture”.

The Jury states, for their integrity in their approach to both their

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buildings, as well as the way they conduct their practice, their belief in collaboration, their generosity towards their colleagues, especially as evidenced in such events as the 2018 Venice Biennale, their unceasing commitment to excellence in architecture, their responsible attitude toward the environment, their ability to be cosmopolitan while embracing the uniqueness of each place in which they work, for all these reasons and more, Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara are awarded the 2020 Pritzker Architecture Prize.

Their native Ireland, an island replete with mountains and cliffs, informs their acute sensitivities

to geography, changing climates and nature in each of their sites.

Their buildings consistently remain purposefully rich, yet modest, enhancing cities and lending to sustainability while responding to local needs. Some of their projects are: a residential complex in Dublin called North King Street Housing (2000), Urban Institute of Ireland (2002), University Campus UTEC Lima (Lima, Peru 2015), Offices for the Department of Finance (Dublin, Ireland 2009), Toulouse University, Bocconi University at Italy, etc.

“The collaboration between Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara represents a veritable interconnectedness between equal counterparts,” states Pritzker.

Farrell and McNamara are the 47th and 48th Laureates of the Pritzker Prize and the first two recipients from Ireland.

Buzz

Kingspan Jindal provided architectural roofing solution for Kartarpur Corridor

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ingspan Jindal Pvt. Ltd. has recently supplied the architectural roofing solution to the most iconic and fast-track project of “Passenger Terminal Building at Kartarpur Corridor”.

The Kartarpur Corridor poject was inaugurated by the prime minister of India in Nov 2019 and recently addressed by the president of India on success towards completion of the project in record time.

The project involves the supply and installation of about 3 lakh square feet high performance architectural roofing system. The scope of work includes design, engineering, manufacturing, and supply of customised architectural roofing solutions. The prime minister inaugurated the passenger terminal building of the corridor on the Indian side, also known as the Integrated Check Post (ICP), where pilgrims will get clearance to travel through the newly-built 4.5 km-long corridors.

The state-of-the-art passenger terminal building complex has

been inspired by symbol “Khanda” which represent value of oneness and humanity, it involves lots of engineering detailing to achieve such a unique shape of the roofing.

Kingspan Jindal has provided KingZip (Architectural Roofing Solution) that can achieve the total design flexibility of all architectural requirements and allowed to create a beautiful and unique composition of 5 petals that symbolise the 5 vows of Sikhism.

This Roofing system delivers the innovative high-performance architectural solution with better insulation property.

SergeFerrari to acquire 55% stake in the capital of a Taiwanese glass company

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ergeFerrari has announced the acquisition of a 55% stake in the capital of the Taiwanese company F.I.T Industrial Co. Ltd, through the purchase of securities from the current family shareholders.

F.I.T designs, manufactures and distributes high-tech noncombustible materials.

The acquisition will become effective following its approval by the Taiwanese authorities, currently scheduled for Q2 2020. In 2019, F.I.T generated revenues of around €12 million from a base of around 100 customers in 15 countries. Founded in 2003, the company was initially

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involved in the production of glass yarn. It has now developed unique expertise in the manufacture and application of glass/PTFE membranes (non-combustible materials).

It employs around

100 people, mainly located at its Chiayi industrial facility in Taiwan.

This acquisition will allow the SergeFerrari to bolster its offering of non-combustible materials, high value-added innovative products, intended primarily for the tensile architecture market. It will also provide the Group with a new production facility in Asia, a region that plays host to a significant portion of global infrastructure investment. SergeFerrari Group will also make its global specifier and distribution network available to F.I.T for the delivery of these noncombustible materials.

Advertorial

Salamander

A Premium Supplier of High-Quality uPVC Profiles

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alamander IndustrieProdukte GmbH, a company with the tradition that dates back 100 years and it is still going strong.

With its headquarter in Bavaria, Germany, Salamander is a familyowned business and is managed independently by the owner. It is one of the leading premium system suppliers for high-quality uPVC profiles along with the other diversified business interests.

Salamander Window & Door Systems P. Ltd, a fully owned subsidiary of Salamander GmbH, has set up its state-of-the-art 24000 Sq ft. warehouse in Pune.

The company has brought a complete range of profile systems suitable for Indian architectural requirements. Profiles with unique

features & finish have already made news in the fenestration industry in India. With its production-friendly features, Salamander profiles are manufactured in European extrusion facilities and imported in India.

The company’s prime focus is on customer support and mutual growth. As a reliable system partner for the window manufacturing companies, Salamander provide unmatched sales and marketing support. Salamander’s constant endeavour to address the fastchanging market requirements, makes it a market leader in its segment. It offers the most innovative solutions that firmly focus on customer growth. With its market-oriented complete solutions, Salamander aims to be

Salamander at the Zak Expo 2019, New Delhi

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an irreplaceable partner to exceed customer’s expectations.

Salamander in India has introduced the most preferred profile systems. Following product range is available in India in white and 3 lamination colours (Walnut, Mahagony & Dark Oak): • evolutionDrive 60 - Sliding windows and door system • evolutionDrive 76 - Premium sliding door system • Streamline 60 - Inward/ Outward openable windows system, Tilt and turn windows, Sliding folding door, Tilt and slide door • evolutionDrive HST 194mm Lift and slide door Having established the Salamander brand in India’s major cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Chennai, Bengaluru, Lucknow, the company is focussing on 2/3 tier cities to penetrate further. With its 22 strong channel partners' network across India, Salamander is confident in making a strong presence in the Indian fenestration industry.

SALAMANDER WINDOW & DOOR SYSTEMS PRIVATE LIMITED Gat No. 147, Shed No. 03, Village: Chakan-Mahalunge, Tal: Khed, Dist: Pune - 410 501, India Mobile: +91 99200 44002 Email id: info.india@sip.de Website: www.sip-windows.in

Advertorial

Sel Sealants

Starts its Operations in India

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el Sealants was established in 1991 in Istanbul, Turkey. Selsil is the main brand of the company. Today, Sel Sealants is the largest manufacturer in the region and the “only” sealant company that produces and prints its own HDPE cartridges in the world. As of the year ending 2019 Sel Sealants exports to 107 different countries and seven continents around the world including the USA, Japan, India, Africa, South America, Europe, Thailand, Australia.

Sel Sealants invested and continues to invest in know-how and innovation. Our consistency in customer relations and customer satisfaction shows the seriousness of Sel Sealants to build a strong and harmonious bonding with our

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customers in the future.

The company prepares to open the doors of its second site in Istanbul and third site in Krakow, Poland in the second half of the 2020 calendar year with the total manufacturing area are expected to be over 80.000 sq m.

Our production groups are acrylic sealants, silicone sealants, polyurethane sealants, polyurethane foams, hybrid sealants, epoxy-based syringes and adhesives, anaerobics, technical sprays and aerosols, spray paints, marine-grade adhesives, liquid nails, clear glues, contact adhesives and cyanoacrylate based glues. Sel Sealants serves to many reputable brands under private label productions as well as big wholesalers and DIY chains

in the world.

With over 25,000 tons of acrylic sealant production, Sel Sealants is the biggest acrylic sealant manufacturer in Europe. As one of the leading polyurethane sealant producers in the world, Sel Sealants manufactures entire polyurethane-based chemicals in a closed-circuit system with fully automated and advanced hightech machines. Sel Sealants has started operations in India with its complete range of products. The sales team & distributors strive to exceed customer's expectations in quality, cost and delivery.

CONTACT DETAILS: Address: C-25, Sector -58, Noida, UP, India Website: www.Selsil.com Ph: 9319412220 Email id: india@selsil.com

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SILICONE SEALANTS PU FOAMS & CLEANER SCREWS & FASTENERS

Kingston Multi Products India (P) Ltd. Address: 805, 8th Floor, D-Mall, Netaji Subash Place, Pitam Pura, New Delhi - 110034 Telephone : +91-11-2735 7978 / 79 Website : www.kingstoninteriors.in E-Mail : Kingston.interiors@gmail.com

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/// evolutionDrive: 60

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Watertightness

Operations: SALAMANDER WINDOW & DOOR SYSTEMS PRIVATE LIMITED Gat No. 147, Shed No. 03, Village: Chakan-Mahalunge, Tal: Khed, Dist: Pune - 410 501, India info.india@sip.de

www.sip-windows.in

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Energy Saving

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IN A FIRE, SMOKE KILLS. FIRE SAFETY | GIVE OCCUPANTS A FIGHTING CHANCE

EXTRACT SMOKE TO SAVE LIVES. DON’T TAKE RISKS. TAKE RESPONSIBILITY

Smoke Ventilation is an integral part of a building’s design for fire safety, without it you compromise the life saftey of occupants.

The most common cause of death for fire-related fatalities is being overcome by gas or smoke.

For over 35 years, SE Controls has been developing innovative control systems that automatically open vents in a fire to facilitate the extraction of smoke, keeping escape routes clear for the fire service to enter the building and allowing occupants to escape safely.

SE Controls is the trusted global expert in fire safety, façade engineering and product manufacture, providing bespoke project specific smoke ventilation and control solutions by partnering with our clients from early stages of the project to system installation, commissioning and testing.

Contact us today for technical tailor made solutions for your façade ventilation needs, as every building is different.

Nikhil ParasuRaman +91-9940664360 nikhil.parasuraman@secontrols.com www.secontrols.com find us on:

Creating a healthier & safer environment