Issue XII | February 2016 frontale-india.com
INTELLIGENT FACADES TO IMPROVE SUSTAINABILITY & COMFORT ARTICLES
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External Movable Shading System (EMSS) as Intelligent Facade for Indian Commercial Buildings by Kanagaraj
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Intelligent facades to improve the sustainability & Comfort by Parish Kapse
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UTS’s unique Dr Chau Chak Wing Building, Australia by Frank Gehry
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Large cavities between glass panes are feasible! by ift Rosenheim
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PROJECT
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Tree Hotel - Mirrorcube, Sweden by Tham & Videgård Arkitekter
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The Umrao, Delhi by Studio K.I.A.
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INDUSTRY NEWS Veka India to expand in Gujarat
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STUDENT’S CORNER Intelligent facades to improve the sustainability & Comfort by Parag Gupta
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Facade and Fenestration News for India
EDITORIAL | INTELLIGENT FACADES
TO IMPROVE SUSTAINABILITY & COMFORT Green Building Movement in India has grown from strength to strength. The count of green buildings registered with Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) has grown to 3.2 B Soft and growing. Every green building depends upon optimization of building envelope, in order to minimize the energy consumption for air conditioning and for lighting. The last six months have witnessed a sweeping change in the country’s aspirations. Our “Make-inIndia” initiative promises adoption of the State-of-the-Art technologies, for manufacture on Indian soil; heralding great prosperity and skill development within the country, in the immediate future. FENSTERBAU FRONTALE INDIA 2016 is showcasing state-of-the-art fenestration components from all across the globe, especially from Europe; fully supported by India’s small & medium scale manufacturers and entrepreneurs. This reinforces our local capabilities in providing global solutions for sustainability. The upcoming edition of FFI promises to be an event par excellence, far beyond any such exhibition held so far in India. The world-renowned testing institute “ift Rosenheim” is building “Centre of Excellence – Seeing is Believing” pavilion, where visitors will be able to touch & feel the various parameters required for a perfect window, for our five climatic zones in India. Visitors will get rich exposure for their building envelope design and construction, to optimize the fenestration, in minimizing the heat gain during our hot climate, while maximizing the day-light harnessing, and providing the finest indoor environment. Wish you a successful participation and visit to the show. Dr. Prem C Jain Chairman, IGBC
With great pleasure, I introduce the 12th Issue of the Fensterbau Frontale Tabloid. Within the current context of sustainability issues confronted by our built environment today, the theme for this tabloid is ‘Intelligent facades to improve sustainability and comfort’. Facades form an integral component of the Built mass in our cities, and by adopting simple, ‘intelligent’ measures, as is demonstrated in the assortment of projects and articles in this issue, we all can take small steps towards the creation of a more physically and socially sustainable environment to live in. Intelligent Facades are not merely symbolic of innovation, but are a means to enable the building to respond to the dynamic externalities, and adapt continuously to generate healthier conditions and provide comfort to the occupants. With this tabloid, I would like to take the opportunity to thank all our past contributors, readers and every single person who has been a part of putting this tabloid together. It is only because of your inputs and interest in the pursuit of excellence within the realm of Façade and Fenestration design, that we have managed to successfully churn out 12 successful issues since the launch issue in October 2013. The tabloid has been an attempt to document the research and innovation in this industry while exploring novel technologies, and facilitating dissemination of knowledge. With a circulation of over 5000 copies per issue, across the country, we can now proudly claim that the tabloid has been very well received by the real estate industry, and is the point of reference for this special vertical in the built environment. Moreover, You can now read all the earlier issues online at https://issuu.com/ffi2014 This has been a marvellous learning opportunity and tremendous knowledge exposure for us at the Editorial team, and we will continue to strive to bring to you many more illustrious projects and neoteric ideas within the facade and fenestration domain. Looking forward to seeing you all at the upcoming Fensterbau Frontale India 2016 at the Bombay Convention & Exhibition Centre in Mumbai from 25th-27th February 2016. Tanya Khanna Founder & Director, Epistle Communications
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Facade and Fenestration News for India
External Movable Shading System (EMSS) as Intelligent Facade for Indian Commercial Buildings - Kanagaraj, Consultant, New Delhi While attending one of the conferences on building energy efficiency, one of my collegue friend whispered to my ears “we are in the right business at the right time”. Being a fresh enterprenur, I smiled at him by showing my agreement to his expression. I feel that this is not only true for the professionals like me concerned with conserving environment but also for our country in general; considering the recent success of COP 21 summit and with the launch of several prime ministers missions like AMRUT, smart cities, make in India and housing for all. Maintaining the optimism, we expect that all these intiatives meet the country’s development objectives with strong emphasis on frugal means and resource efficiency. Around Indian independence (in 1910s to mid 1960’s), works of both national and international designers exhibited attempt to balance the concepts of “Revivalism” and “Modernism”. Some of the prominent projects during this time which exhibited architecture with amalgamation of Indian traditions and modern design concepts are: - Rastrapathi Bhavan and Secreterait in New Delhi by Sir Edwin Lutyens and Hebert Baker - Landmark buildings in the Capital Complex of Chandigarh like Secrtarait building, High Court building and Legislative building designed by Le Corbusieur - Ravindra Bhawan in Delhi, Gandhi Memorial in Barrackpore designed by Habib Rahman, - IIT Kanpur and CSIR building in Bengaluru by Achyut Kanvinde, - Tata Institute of Social Sciences and Jehangir Art Gallery in Mumbai designed by Durga Bajpai - Gandhi Smarak Sangrahalaya at the Sabarmati Ashram by Charles Correa In all the work mentioned above the designers had used building façades both as an element for architectural expression and as a functional component to reduce building heat ingress. But by the eighties with the boom in real estate and spurt of developer built buildings, unfortunately we missed out on capitalising on our inherited wisdom and/or keep pace with the global developments of high perfromance of façade designs. The use of overhangs and balonies are considered waste of material and space, anything which is specialised (like thermal mass and insulation) and is not structural is dropped first from the bill of quantities. The typical façade specified in most of the buildings today is clean high performance glazing applied with no distintion to orientation, with minimum masonary, no insulation, no thermal break frames and no shading. It is no surprise that many veteran sustainability architects and consultants refer to these buildings as “near naked buildings”. The very purpose of using glass for providing daylighting and views gets defeated when one sees most of the internal shading devices down during the daytime. In many of these buidings the perimeter spaces near to the façade are often used for circulation or waiting areas due to reduced thermal and visual comfort. Some designers got so much on board with the building exterior aesthetic that they choose fancy color tinted glazing turning building occupants brown and blue. External Movable Shading System (EMSS) as Intelligent Façade for Indian Commercial Buildings In line with the current theme of this issue, I would like to present the concept of external movable shading system (EMSS) as sustainable intelligent façade for Indian commercial buildings. A window is a glazed aperture in the building façade whose function is to reduce heat gain/loss, allow daylight and provide views while minimising visual & thermal discomfort in the commercial buildings. Fenestration acts as an interface disconnecting dynamic ambient conditions (temperature, radiation, wind etc.) to maintain relatively stable indoor spaces comfort (thermal, visual etc.) requirements. But it can only fulfil this “valve-function” if it has some dynamic capacities. EMSS is one of the most efficient strategies to manage solar heat gain and harness daylighting.
array and can be operated manually with single manual control. To show the belief in the external movable shading system, the new one storey office of Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) in New Delhi had incorporated both motorised movable fabric shading and motorised movable lamellar blinds in the building facade.
Fig 1: Golconde dormitory, Puducherry
Fig 2: Safal Profitaire, Ahmedabad
Fig 3: Office of SDC, New Delhi* EMSS is possibly a good example of concept of “multiple benefits, single cost” proposed by Amory Lovins, renowned environmental scientist and ardent advocate of Integrated Design Process. Installing EMSS external to the windows make them effective in blocking the undesired solar radiation. External movable lamellar blind (EMLB) when used with double clear glass is able to modulate the properties of fenestration (best combination of U-value, SHGC, Visible light transmittance) to meet the desired indoor comfort requirements. EMLB can have dual orientation, where the bottom part conncted to visual pane controls the glare and the top part connected to daylight pane allow light to reflect into the space ceiling.
The history of using EMSS in India can be noticed way back in 1935 in the Golconde dormitory building in Puducherry designed by Czech American architect Antonin Raymond. A combination of moveable horizontal concrete louvres on the exterior skin permitted ventilation and shading without compromising on privacy. The detailing of operating the louver is so simple and effective that one can find most of the louvers still in working conditions. Another more recent deployment of vertical louver system can be seen in Safal Profitaire bulding in Ahemdabad designed by Dr. Bimal Patel. This is a developer built multi-storey multi-tenant commercial building. The vertical movable fins are mounted on 600 mm concrete ledge and extend from slab to slab. Series of vertical fins are connected together to form an
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Fig 4: EMLB with dual fins orientation*
Facade and Fenestration News for India The comfort temperature perceived by human being is called opertative temperature, which is an average of “air temperature” and “mean radiant temperature” (temperature of surfaces around). A simulation study conducted under IndoSwiss Building Energy Efficiency Project (BEEP) compared two perimeter office spaces, one with high performance glazing with no shading and another with external movable blinds with double clear glazing. The results showed that the case EMSS with double clear glass require 33% less air flow rate to maintain desired air temperature (comparing figure 5(a) and 5 (c)) in the perimeter office space and provide comfortable glass radiant tempeatures (comparing figure 5 (b) and 5 (d)).
increased level of dust & pollution, high temperature, precipitation, vandalism by rodents & birds and most importantly product cost. Majority of the issues can be addressed by adapting robust design and by provision of warranty/maintenance offer by the EMSS manufacturers. The cost of EMSS could be made affordable, if the products are manufactred in India. This would be aligned with prime minister’s missions on “Make in India” and “Skill India” To end the article, I would like to mention couple of more ideas on EMSS by Andreas Binkert, Senior Swiss Architect and founder of SwissProBlinds, a start-up attempting to introduce EMSS to India.. - Application of EMSS would be pronounced, if in addition to energy efficiency strategy it can also become an energy gerneration component by integrating BIPV on it. - Extending the concept of EMSS to intelligent city, imagine a city where all the building facades are with EMSS and they can communicate with city’s weather station and individual user comfort preferences, with supervisory control the operation of EMSS can be optimised based on occupant comfort, energy efficiency and energy production. This would call for real attempt of system integration. Image Credit: Figure 3-5: Indo-Swiss Building Energy Efficiency Project (BEEP) About the author:
Automation further augments the capabilities of EMSS e.g. the system can be controlled by local weather station measuring incident solar radiation, wind speed, precipitation etc. Once the radiation is above a threshold level (say 120W/m2) the blinds come down, in case of high wind speed or rain the EMSS get safely retracted to its garage, the perimeter artificial lighting diming control can be interlocked to the operation of blinds, manual overide option can be made available for maintaining security and privacy etc. Needless to add that all of above functions can easily be integrated into the BMS of advanced buildings. For wide spread adoption in India, EMSS has to address specific concerns like
Kanagaraj holds a Bachelor’s degree in Architecture and Master of Science by Research in the area of “Building Energy Efficiency” from Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai. He has around 7 years experience and until June 2015, he was working as a Senior Programme Officer at Greentech Knowledge Solutions Pvt. Ltd, New Delhi, which has been appointed as Indian Project Management and Technical Unit (PMTU) for the Indo-Swiss Building Energy Efficiency Project (BEEP). From July 2015 onwards, he is working as an Independent Building Energy Efficiency Consultant. He intends to focus on mainstreaming “integrated design” for realising high performance buildings.
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Facade and Fenestration News for India
Intelligent facades to improve sustainability & Comfort
- Parish Kapse, Team One, Mumbai
Introduction Today, we have gone past the point where going ‘green’ was an option. It has now become an absolute necessity. The concept of green building design relies on minimising the demand of non-renewable resources and optimising the use of natural resources as far as 70%. As nature, green buildings have a unique characteristic of having an exposed aesthetics featuring original building materials. An energy efficient building is the one which can reduce energy consumption by at least 35% as compared to a conventional building. Designers utilise the thermal mass by radiating the heating and cooling comfort to better the thermal environment of the building, thereby reducing energy consumption. A responsive building facade is one of the important components to achieve energy efficiency by reducing the need for cooling, lighting and ventilation. Facade design and construction specifications have great potential in controlling its interior environment, through the use of insulation, energy efficient windows and passive solar design techniques. One of the green building focuses is also to create a built environment which would reduce the impact to human health and the environment.
Buildings in a tropical climate would require a facade that enables in keeping the building cool as against the buildings in cooler climatic conditions would prefer a facade that keeps it warm. One has to also take into consideration the site condition and landscape which are essential design components. Green roof, green wall and water features may help in keeping the surrounding temperature low and render higher moisture in the air. Trees can also be used as they not only provide shade against the blazing sunlight, but also maintain the indoor air temperature. In our recent Green building project at MMRDA’s new office at BKC, Mumbai, the alignment of the main building has been strategically designed keeping in mind the path of the sun. To maximise the penetration of daylight, light shelves are installed thereby minimising the need for artificial lighting. Windows play an important role in heat loss or heat gain which either raises or lowers the room air temperature. The project incorporate the use of double glazed units (DGu) as external facade glasses with low ‘e’ values of heat thereby allowing minimal transfer of heat due to the west facing sunlight. The MMRDA’s green building office also boasts of low ‘e’ value glasses for the external facade to prevent heat intake from the sun. To further intensify the effect, solar screens too have been fixed to dissipate the sun’s heat and glare before it transfers to the interior environments.
The right glass usage has clearly proved that it cannot only earn energy points by virtue of reducing the structure’s carbon footprint, but also help to save cost by virtue of higher productivity with comfort for employees.
The use of insulation material is very essential as it reduces transfer of heat from outside to the inside. The efficiency of the building envelope depends on three factors: Fully solid or insulated walls; appropriate gaps in insulation (thermal bridges); and limited parasite air passages. Full insulation is a result of the project design phase; while limiting thermal bridges depends on the choice of construction systems and airtight seals are instantly associated with the quality of deployment work. For really efficient green building insulation, we must choose both the suitable material and use it so as to ensure its resistance over time alongside that of the other elements of the wall associated to it.
We designed the MMRDA headquarter building in an ‘L’-shaped plot with the help of such a strong profile, architectural glass played a major role to provide the comfort aesthetics and most importantly the delighting aspect of the building.
Without careful implementation of Green building design strategies, acoustic quality is easily compromised. Architects and designers should not overlook on these influence as it could jeopardise the acoustical environment.
The curtain wall system for the MMRDA building consists of 28mm thick double glass unit (6mm heat strengthened + 16mm Air Gap + 6 mm heat strengthened). Glass at vision and 6mm heat strengthened at spandrel location which has been used as per the elevation. The glass used here is intelligently placed to make sure the best of glare-free light is available to each and every floor of the building. Moreover, the facades have also been provided with solar screens in case of over intense glares from the west.
Acoustics and sound authentication were critically taken care to achieve the maximum NRC (Noise Reduction Coefficient). With our past experience in high end performance theatres, care was taken to ensure that all the factors of the auditorium and board room designs starting from the shape, profile, lining on the wall, etc, were determined from the very onset at the planning stage to prevent incremental costs at the time of finishing.
Buildings internationally as well as in India have come a long way to use technically advanced features which lead to better daylight, heating and shading, curved reinforced glasses, decorative glasses, ceramic fitted glasses, safety glass, fire rated doors and windows.
It may be worthwhile to mention that whilst the facades and sun screens provide a good control on the direct glare, slit windows with appropriate weather shades also provide a great protection to the critical rooms which also have been provided with fixed glasses with the right reflection index. A very good and economical, however, highly effective element of ‘Light Shelves’, have also evolved which is one of the most effective ways to use daylight by bouncing the light to the ceilings thereby providing a very mellow indirect lighting. Intelligent facades are also now seen with the superimposition of integrated photovoltaic films (IPV) which also when used on the sun path orientations help to generate power, which can definitely be put to use for non-critical area electrification. In the light of newer building contexts facades are being built with the help of glass, ACP, stone, ceramic, solid vinyl surfaces, terracotta, etc. This renders a new flair to the buildings, but at the same time has also been helpful for better climate control (internal) and maintenance of the buildings. A well contained building with the rightful skin (facade) has always led to better productivity and efficiency of the user thereby making it extremely inevitable for the buildings to appropriately build with intelligent facades. Passive building design strategies for facade The expression ‘passive building’ refers to a construction standard that can be achieved using various types of construction materials. In other words, it implies a green building construction that guarantees an interior climate as comfortable in summer as it is in winter without a conventional heating or cooling system.
The acoustics of the auditorium is designed with appropriate air gap and panelling with wood- wool panels to ensure there is no reverberation of sound. Furthermore, even the line of travel for the sound was programmed to obtain adequate sound reduction in the ceilings with the help of sound attenuators or soak panels. The most important factor to be mentioned here is that all the materials used for achieving acoustic efficiency are made of recycled substances; be it the carpets, wall soak panels as well as the ceilings. The conventional methodologies of double wall construction with insulated blocks are also great methods to achieve the highest levels of thermal insulators as well as acoustical buffers, which automatically increases the performance of a building. Architects need to ensure that facade designs are the ones with more openings, huge openings at the facade, large sized windows along with the ventilation louvers will trigger cross-ventilation in the building. About the author Team One Architects is one of the most successful architecture design firms in corporate interiors. The directors of the company Ar. Parish Kapse have studied and worked overseas for couple of years before establishing Team One nearly over a decade ago. Their international experience brings in the good practice of International standards for Indian customers. Having completed over 20 lakh sq.ft of architectural construction and more than 50 lakh sq.ft of interior work, their growth has been supported by winning awards and also bagging competition projects.
There is a certain designing criterion to reduce the energy consumption in a building.
Page 5 | February 2016 | Issue XII
Facade and Fenestration News for India
Intelligent facades to improve sustainability & comfort - Frank Gehry UTS’s unique Dr Chau Chak Wing Building, Australia - The building’s remarkable exterior is the result of its two distinct facades – one composed of undulating brickwork, referencing the dignified sandstone of Sydney’s urban heritage, and the other of a glass ‘curtain wall’ that mirrors fragments of the building’s contemporary city surrounds. The building’s interiors are equally striking. Gehry Partners designed the building from the inside-out in order to create internal spaces that inspire real and relevant research and learning outcomes. Its unique exterior combined with its thoughtful interior are a manifestation of the creative thinking that underpins the teaching and research undertaken by the Business School and, more broadly, the university. In the architect’s words Frank Gehry imagined a building that was a cluster of ‘tree houses’, or vertical stacks of office floors with spatial ‘cracks’ in between. This is how he described his vision for the building: “Each of the larger lower floors is divided into six floor segments. The building façade folds in between these elements bringing natural daylight deep
into the centre of the floors. “The façade of the building will have two aspects and two different personalities. The east-facing façade that contains an entry from the UPN (Ultimo Pedestrian Network, also known as The Goods Line) is made of a buff-coloured brick similar in colour to the Sydney sandstone. The form of this façade curves and folds like soft fabric. The brick will be set in horizontal courses and will step or corbel to create the shape. The texture of the surface will be rough and will emphasise the mass of the material. The shape flattens as it wraps around the north and south corners. Large windows punch this façade. “The west-facing façade that contains the ground level entry off Ultimo Road is composed of large shards of glass façade. This glass will be slightly reflective to fracture and mirror the image of the surrounding buildings of the neighbourhood. Sculptural brick towers will stand at the northwest and southwest corners of this façade. “The ground floor of the building will have a café with seated dining that opens to additional outdoor tables on the sidewalk and proposed plaza to the north. A coffee bar with outdoor seating will animate the upper level entry off the UPN, conveniently adjacent to
the student centre and the large student lounge. Connected via a staircase to the student lounge will be a more secluded graduate student lounge one level above. “The teaching and learning spaces, which are accessibly located on the lower four levels of the building, are comprised of various classroom types primarily serving postgraduate students.”
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Facade and Fenestration News for India Collaborative features An emphasis on creating a collaborative environment drove the design and fit-out of many teaching, learning and office spaces, particularly two oval classrooms and a collaborative theatre designed for technology-supported interaction. Collaborative study rooms are incorporated for group-work, while plentiful space for less formal collaboration is included in the form of student and staff lounges, coffee hubs, cafes and outdoor terrace areas.
Undulating brickwork Achieving the ‘fluid’ appearance of the brickwork was a technical feat that involved corbelling (stepping) individual bricks to articulate the building’s organic shape. The bricks – approximately 320,000 in total – were custom made for the building and laid by hand. The shape of the bricks and the groove in the middle also differ from standard bricks, with the majority of bricks joined by brick ties to the structural substrate panels beneath for reinforcement.
Green design The building has a 5 Star Green Star design rating from the Green Building Council of Australia, with sustainability considered throughout in the choice of construction materials, interior furnishings, sustainable timber and energyefficient air-conditioning. A 20,000-litre tank on the roof harvests rainwater for use in toilets and for irrigation, reducing potable water use, and the basement incorporates 160 bicycle parking spaces. UTS’s unique Dr Chau Chak Wing Building is the recipient of the following awards: 2015 Master Builders Association National Excellence in Construction Awards: National Public Buildings Award – Over 45.65€ Million (opens external site) 2015 Master Builders Association NSW Awards: Tertiary Buildings over 91.31€m, Best use of Bricks and Best use of Architectural Steel Think Brick Awards 2015: Joint winner of the Horbury Hunt Commercial Award (opens external site) for the best commercial brick building in Australia
Striking stairways To encourage interaction, the building makes prominent use of stairways to move people around the building. The most eye-catching of these is a polished stainless steel staircase, which lends a sculptural focal point to the main lobby and reflects the movement of both people and ideas. Another stairway, made of Victorian ash, wraps around an oval classroom, linking it to the student lounge on the floor above.
2015 Good Design Awards: Product Design – Hardware and Building Award (opens external site) for its custom-made bricks. 2015 Australian Timber Design Awards: People’s Choice Award (opens external site) for oval classrooms 2015 AIQS (Australian Institute of Quantity Surveyors) Infinite Value Awards: Innovation Project Award (opens external site).
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Facade and Fenestration News for India
Large cavities between glass panes are feasible! - ift Rosenheim
ift research project points the way to pressure-equalised insulating - thermal transmittance is reduced compared to conventional double and triple glazing; glass units (PE-IGU) Demands for improved energy conservation of windows and glazing and for solar shading systems installed in the cavity between glass panes mean that the cavity in insulating glass units have to be increased. However, there are tight physical constraints because larger cavities lead to greater climatic stresses of the glass panes and edge seal and hence to breakage and leaks. Can these constraints be eliminated by changing the construction of the glass units? Is it technically possible to equalise the pressure from insulating glass units? The ift Rosenheim provides answers obtained from a research project that has just been completed.
- improved air-borne sound insulation; - reduced risk of glass breakage and extended service life; - potential reduction in glass thickness.
The thickness of conventional insulating glass units with their hermetically sealed cavities is limited owing to climatic stresses resulting from the construction. The trend in window design makes larger cavities desirable, but these lead to greater stresses in the edge seal and glass panes and hence to glass breakage and leakiness. In order to avoid these and the climatic stress, a connection had to be established between the cavity and the ambient air pressure. Glass units with this type of construction are also referred to as pressure-equalised insulating glass units (PEIGUs). Fig 3: Capillaries in the Spacer A physical calculation model was developed for dimensioning possible “pressure equalisation systems” which, in the form of a simulation tool, is easy to use in practice. The durability of the selected pressure equalisation systems was tested in laboratory and open air tests.
Fig 1: Removing Desiccant Fig 4: Reaction Climatic Load The calculation model showed that both capillaries and valves can be used to achieve permanent pressure equalisation of insulating glazing. In addition, the moisture entering the insulating glass units is much reduced. Depending on the format, construction, climate exposure and intended degree of pressure equalisation, a service life expectancy of over twenty years for capillaries and of over forty years for valves appears realistic. The detailed research report “Untersuchungen zur Umsetzbarkeit von druckentspanntem Isolierglas” (Investigations on the feasibility of pressureequalised insulating glass units) can be obtained from the ift Literaturshop (www. ift-rosenheim.de/shop). Members of the ift can download the research report free of charge from the research archive of the closed ift membership area. Details of research project: Fig 2: Test Specimen with Displacement Transducers Advantages of equalising the pressure between cavities and the surrounding atmosphere: - it is easier to integrate various components in the cavity (e.g. solar shading systems); - it is possible to construct insulating glass units with more than three panes without significant restriction of the cavity width; - glass units can have greater depth, thus reducing the effect of the geometric thermal bridges at the connection with the building fabric;
Short title: Pressure equalised IGU Grant aid body: The research projects receives funds from Forschungsinitiative Zukunft Bau of the Federal Institute for Research on Building, Urban Affairs and Spatial Development Project partners: SANCO insulation glazing group, represented by: – Sanco Beratung Glas Trösch GmbH, Nördlingen – Glas Müller Vetri, Bolzano Finstral AG, Unterinn Term: 09.7.2012 to 30.6.2015 Project Manager: Norbert Sack
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Facade and Fenestration News for India
Technology Centre takes shape!
- ift Rosenheim
All test rigs have been designed to ensure that testing can be carried out to German and European standards as well as to American, Russian, British and other standards. For this purpose, the ift Rosenheim has secured numerous bilateral acknowledgements, for example for tests to UL, AAMA, ASTM, CWCT, Ghost. Furthermore, in future the ift will also be able to carry out tests of walls and floors exposed to loads, i.e. provide evidence of the fire resistance of loadbearing walls and floors. On that basis it is possible, in combination with flexible accreditation, to carry out testing and provide evidence for special buildings and non-standardised building components. In addition, it is planned to provide testing of control systems to ensure electrical and functional safety. Overall, the Technology Centre will offer an ideal facility for the industrial and pedestrian door industry, which is one of the main users of automatic systems. Based on a cleverly designed use and logistics concept with rigging boxes, lift and crane systems, and storage spaces, it is possible to ergonomically rig up, prepare and test components economically and quickly. Of special importance are also lockable rigging boxes and enclosed test areas, providing optimum conditions for the guarantee of confidentiality. Workshops for timber, metal and shell construction work with experienced tradesmen make it possible to quickly adapt test specimens and connections to the building fabric so that testing can be carried out without time delay. The close proximity to the A8 motorway means that it is easy to deliver large building components with special delivery vehicles. The flue gas cleaning system required for the facility will be one of the most modern systems worldwide, ensuring that the emissions are far below the legally required minimum values specified in the TA Luft regulations and that any odour emissions are avoided.
Construction is progressing as per plan and opening has been scheduled for June 2016 The construction of the new Technology Centre is progressing as planned and, from June 2016, the industry will have available state-of-the-art facilities for testing large facade elements, industrial and pedestrian doors, windows and sliding and wall elements. The use concept provides for the testing of durability, fire resistance and smoke control, resistance to wind load as well as air, rain and wind integrity on the same test specimen. This helps to significantly shorten the time needed for testing. In addition, it is possible to carry out fire testing on loadbearing building components. Construction started in July 2015, and every day the Technology Centre grows taller. With an investment of approx. EUR 7 million, a modern test and research centre with a gross floor area of over 3,000 m² is being created for large building components such as fire resistant/smoke control elements, facades, windows, sidehung/sliding industrial doors, pedestrian doors and roof and wall elements. Large building elements of up to 8 x 5 m2 can be tested for smoke control and fire resistance, durability, wind load and air, wind and watertigthness using the same test specimen for all tests. This will be made possible by special rigging and installation concepts in which the special requirements of the various test standards are taken into account. This means that it is no longer necessary to produce several costly test specimens, and additional rigging work and transport becomes unnecessary. This accelerates the overall test procedure and customers receive the required test results and certificates much quicker. From June 2016, the following test facilities will be available: - Fire test furnaces – w x h approx. 8 x 5 m2 and 5 x 5 m2 - Fire test furnace – w x h x l approx. 4 x 4 x 5 m3 for loadbearing floor, wall and roof components - 20 durability test rigs with sizes of up to 8 x 5 m2 - Test rig for air, wind, water – w x h approx. 10 x 7 m2 - Smoke leakage test rigs with approx. 8 x 5 m2, 5 x 5 m2 and 3.6 x 3.6 m2
The facility has been designed to ensure that testing, research and the investigation of modern construction technologies can be witnessed by customers, visitors and scientists from all over the world. With the help of a modern video and communication system, and a lounge with a direct view of the test hall, the ongoing tests can be recorded for the purpose of documentation and the production of sales material. The facilities are rounded off by a customer area with state-of-the-art office technology and individually available meeting rooms. In cooperation with the Rosenheim University of Applied Sciences and the Fraunhofer Competence Centre for Building Technology, it is also possible to carry out forward-looking research projects using innovative construction elements, building materials and construction technologies. These include “smart” construction elements, adaptive facades, regenerative use of energy in the building envelope, media facades, composites and timber wall elements in modular construction with integrated services installations. As is known from sound insulation, this also benefits small and medium-sized timber construction companies, which rely on publicly funded joint venture projects for technical development. This means that the Technology Centre will become a key component of the ift Rosenheim and for “timber construction competence” in Rosenheim. Meanwhile, the ift Rosenheim’s notified product certification body for fire testing (NPZ) has been established in the”old” fire testing centre in Nuremberg so that – in time with the product standard for fire and smoke control doorsets coming into force – all necessary services, testing and certificates can be carried out in accordance with EN 16034 and manufacturers can apply the CE mark to their fire resistant and smoke control products from December 2015. This is another service provided by the ift Rosenheim, offering its customers from the window, facade, door and glass industries a tailor-made, competent and economical service under the motto “all tests from one provider”. About the ift Rosenheim The ift Rosenheim is a Europe-wide notified test, monitoring and certification body and internationally accredit-ed to DIN EN ISO/IEC 17025. The key focus is on the practical, comprehensive and fast testing and evaluation of all properties of windows, facades, industrial and pedestrian doors, glass and building materials. The objec-tive is the sustainable improvement of product quality, construction and technology, as well as research and work relating to standards. Certification by the ift Rosenheim ensures Europe-wide acceptance. The ift is com-mitted to the dissemination of knowledge and, as a neutral institution, therefore enjoys a special status with the media – publications by the ift reflect the current state of the art of technology.
Page 9 | February 2016 | Issue XII
Facade and Fenestration News for India
Intelligent facades to improve sustainability & Comfort
- Ar. Kunal Barve, Interface, Mumbai
The word ‘façade’ is derived from the Latin ‘faces’ or Italian ‘facial’ for face. So the façade is the face of the building. Building facades perform two functions; first they are the barriers that separate a building’s interior from external environment, and second more than any other component, they create an image of the building. High performance sustainable facades can be defined as exterior enclosures that use the least possible amount of energy to maintain a comfortable interior environment, which promotes the health and productivity of the building’s occupants. While designing a sustainable façade, designers do consider external enviroment, building orientation, space dimensions and occupant’s comfort expectations. Some examples of sustainable façade which I relate to are as under:
the individual flakes of the Flare system act like pixels formed by natural light. The system is controlled by a computer to form any kind of surface animation. Sensor systems inside and outside the building communicate the building’s activity directly to the Flare system, which acts as the building’s lateral line. It breaks the convention of the building surface as static skin.
1) Ar. Steven Holl: A store front for art and architecture gallery in New York. These panels were made in hybrid material of concrete mixed with recycled fibres. So these panels are arranged in a series of hinged panels to act like a puzzle. When the panels are locked in their open position, the façade dissolves and the interior space of the gallery expands out to the side walk.
2) Ar Jean Nouvel: Institut du Monde Arab, Paris.This façade design was to create a destination devoted to the relationship of the Arab culture with France. This façade responds to its immediate context both in plan and elevation. In plan, it follows the curvature of the road, whose form is dictated by the river. The main feature of IMA is the advanced responsive brise-soleil on the south façade inspired by the traditional lattice work that has been used for centuries in the Middle East to protect occupants from the sun and provide privacy.
Links : 1. www.stevenholl.com 2. www.jeannouvel.com 3. https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=rMzoMyU0YQ4 About the author Ar. Kunal Barve, Interface. Architecture and Interior stages relationships between people, objects, spaces and places. Not only does it reveal existing affinities and connections in the best cases it creates new ones. As a firm we continuously strive to create architecture that is regionally sympathetic, well grounded in context and community of its place. We see no disciplinary boundaries, only the problem under consideration.
3) Flare: Kinetic Membrane System. This façade is like a living skin, it allows a building to express, communicate and interact with its environment. This system consists of a number of tiltable metal flake bodies. An infinite array of flakes can be mounted on any building or wall surface in a modular system of multiplied 4x4 Flare units. Each stainless steel flake reflects the bright sky or sunlight when in vertical standby position. When the flake is tilted downwards by a computer controlled pneumatic piston, its face is shaded from the skylight and this way it appears as a dark pixel. By reflecting ambient or direct sunlight,
Our visual culture is not limited only to build our form, in addition to build form we include nature, paintings, art, installations, film and advertising. We work hard with stubborn freshness, unshakable lightness and optimistic attitude to learn from past and imagine a different and better future. This firm has become known for designing projects of exceptional materials and quality with a strong conceptual basis derived from specific needs and aspirations of each client. Our portfolio ranges from high end customized residences, home remodeling, product design, commercial spaces, boutiques, hotels, bungalows, farmhouses and residential apartments. Our clientele ranges from industrialists, businessmen, builders, television stars, bankers and some from abroad.
Page 10 | February 2016 | Issue XII
Facade and Fenestration News for India
Project Tree Hotel - Mirrorcube, Sweden - Tham & Videg책rd Arkitekter
The place is a forested hill close to the small village of Harads, located about eighty kilometersup alon g the Lule River in the far north of Sweden. Its greatest asset is the vast and magnificent forests, where the new Tree hotel was started as a response to the growing interest in the wild nature and ecotourism. It establishes a last outpost, or a first base station, on the border between contemporary cultured society and an untouched natural environment.
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Facade and Fenestration News for India
The starting point of the Mirrorcube is the relationship between man and nature. Its character, both camouflaged contextual and abstract deviant, is inspired by an observation of how we approach nature both as something enticing but also challenging. A paradox of the search for an original and authentic experience, combined with the high-tech materials and advanced equipment we believe we need to get really close to nature. The Mirrorcube is a simple hut in the trees, a lightweight aluminum structure mounted directly on the tree trunk of a tall pine. The entire volume, a 4x4x4 meter cube, is clad in highly reflective glass, the outside of which reflects the surroundings and the sky, creating a camouflaged place among the treetops. The interior is made of plywood and freely positioned windows open up to a 360 degrees view of the surroundings. The cabin offers a living for two people; a king size bed, a small kitchenette and bathroom, as well as a living room and a roof terrace. Access is via a rope ladder or a rope bridge attached to the adjacent trees. The project is realized entirely with local resources and craftsmanship from around Harads. The Treehotel is run by Brittas Pensionat, which also manages the common service facilities that holds complementary functions; bath, sauna, and a planned chapel. The first five tree rooms were completed in 2010. Author Credits Architect: Tham & Videg책rd Arkitekter Responsible architects: Bolle Tham and Martin Videg책rd. Project architect: Andreas Helgesson. Assistant architects: Mia Nygren, Julia Gudiel Urbano.
Page 12 | February 2016 | Issue XII
Facade and Fenestration News for India
Intelligent facades to improve sustainability & Comfort
- Abhishek Sorampuri, M:OFA Studios, New Delhi
Humanity has gone through a long process of evolution and the information age is the newest of all in which humanity has just stepped in. It has changed the world around us and the way we interact with the things. Even the contemporary architecture has been deeply influenced by the urgent need of an intelligent built form. The building sector constitutes, in fact, one of the most energy consuming sectors of the world economy. Sustainable building is often directed at energyefficient use of fossil fuels and the generation of renewable energy through technical appliances. From this perception, the building needs to be fine-tuned to its environs and interact intelligently with local characteristics such as climate, type of soil and surroundings for reducing harmful emissions in the atmosphere. At the same time, the building also has to react on its interior to provide the most appropriate comfort level. This interaction is most logically performed by the building skin: the roof and the façade (mainly for a response to desired or undesired climatic conditions).
The Al-Bahr Towers Investment Council’s new headquarter, Aedas, UK
Diagram representing an intelligent façade system. The conventional built forms react to the local environment to give the maximum design efficiency for the local climate and regional environment based on the average data sets available to us. However, intelligent façade systems react on a real time basis by taking data of the local microclimate and the surrounding conditions thus providing an efficiency of almost 99.9% throughout the day when designed with appropriate technology and material. Availability of a wide range of sensing systems has given these possibilities to architects and the manufacturers that how the building facades will react. Sensors in these case acts as an input device whereas material and system design act as an output device which reacts as per the data received from the sensors by manipulating it to the local climate context. Sensors available today have given the possibility for facades to sense and react the way an intelligent species does. The contemporary architecture is not only about the building form and space planning, but also about how the building reacts to the unprecedented climate and environmental change. Intelligent façade plays an important role where the buildings start communicating with each other. Intelligent façade can take data from a remotely available server and adapt building for any sudden and unexpected climate change helping out building to adapt and generate a sustainable façade for the building. This term is often coined as Internet of Buildings (IoB); A similar concept to the Internet of Things where remotely connected things communicate with each other. Technologies like Building Information Modelling (BIM) have given a new dimension to the building in the contemporary world and have given the possibility for architects to incorporate these ideas which were mere a concept two decades ago. There are many functional and proposed buildings around different corners of the world, which started evolving and working on these concepts in the recent past. The Al-Bahr Towers Investment Council’s new headquarters, a pair of new skyscrapers in the United Arab Emirates’ capital of Abu Dhabi is a standing example of such buildings. Designed by Aedas, UK,they used 3D simulation and BIM technology to redefine sustainable design in architecture.
Google Headquarters in California by Thomas Heatherwick and Bjarke Ingels There are newer and innovative solutions coming up nowadays in architecture. Design proposed for Google Headquarters in California is one such remarkable project designed by Thomas Heatherwick and Bjarke Ingels where the building skin is designed in a modular way that contracts and expands with required climatic changes; whereas the space inside the building can be shuffled and the whole building can be reconfigured as per the need. Intelligent façade and building skins are certainly the talk of the contemporary architecture. Natural ventilation, shading techniques and energy conservation and its role in enhancing the internal environment are some of the major aspects that intelligent façade look on, but there are many other microscopic details that the buildings around us needs to think. However, the cost-effectiveness while generating innovative solution for the building is what the call of future is. The way humanity is moving ahead; the space-time compendium is shrinking and we are exploring wider domains. Such domains will definitely call for an adaptive, global and innovative solution for the built forms in future. About the author As a project leader on several prominent developments, with his zeal and enterprising skills, Abhishek anchors new direction in Architectural Design by the mean of Appropriate Technology at the M:OFA studio. He collaborated with Ar. Manish in 2011 and has worked in the field between conception and realization of many potential projects that includes Institute of Hotel Management, Jagdishpur for Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, also the National Institute of Water Sports, commissioned in 2010, through an International level competition organized by NIWS-GSIDC, Goa. Abhishek being a programmer himself holds a strong foot when it comes to the digitalization of design. In 2015, he started a new research wing under the name of ‘SPARRO’; to create a collaborative platform for designers, innovators and enthusiasts from varying domain to create “Architecture of Everything”.
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Facade and Fenestration News for India
PRESS RELEASE
VEKA INDIA TO EXPAND IN GUJARAT Mumbai: VEKA India, a subsidiary of VEKA AG – the world’s second largest manufacturers of windows and doors systems received an over-whelming response for their systems based uPVC windows and doors profiles at a recently held event in Saurashtra. “World over aluminium has been conclusively replaced by uPVC profiles. Now India has also started following the trend. We expect Gujarat to lead the trend in India and have strategically decided to augment our marketing and infrastructure in this region,” says Mr. Rajesh Chawla, Director, VEKA India. uPVC is an alternative to aluminium or wood profile systems and is radically changing the way windows and doors are looked at from a user perspective. With premium looks and classy designs, uPVC windows and doors are redefining the interiors of any given space. VEKA uPVC profiles are rigid, durable, and cost-effective and conform to international standards which make it the best solution for openings in structures. Today, uPVC is the default choice for windows and doors in all of Europe and America and is fast replacing the traditional wood or aluminium profiles across the world.
remains a wholly family-owned business, just as it has always been since its foundation in 1967. About VEKA AG: A US $ 1.4 Billion Group company with its origins in Germany, VEKA has been a leading player in the uPVC industry for almost as long as the material has been used for door and window frames. The Group employs more than 3600 people through 25 subsidiaries in three continents around the world. Its manufacturing facilities are spread across Germany, Great Britain, France, Spain, Poland, USA, Russia, Mexico, China & Malaysia. The VEKA Group generated US $ 896 million turnover in 2013. Internationally, more than 2200 fabricators use VEKA systems to create topquality uPVC products.
“We recently completed ten years in India and have successfully instilled both faith and trust amongst our consumers via our partners. On the back of a strong response we are planning on rapid expansion and Gujarat is a strategic market place where we are establishing our brand. Our partner fabricator ‘Chandan Steel Works’ in Gandhidham has made a lot of efforts in promoting VEKA profiles,” concludes Mr. Chawla. About VEKA India: In India, the company started operations in Gurgaon – Delhi NCR a decade ago. Today, VEKA India is vendor to some of the leading companies and has provided uPVC window and door systems to India’s premier and well-designed homes and offices. Its 20,000 sq. ft. facility in Navi Mumbai houses a state-of-the-art warehouse and distribution set up, a fabrication training workshop and a Window Testing rig along with an application centre. VEKA India, as a part of the worldwide VEKA Group,
For more information, please contact: Harshala Nayak Media Manager Spin Communiqué T: +91 - 9619700161 harshalan@spincommunique.com Mumbai
Kiran Rao Account Manager Spin Communiqué T: +91 - 9619700164 kiran@spincommunique.com Mumbai
Page 14 | February 2016 | Issue XII
Facade and Fenestration News for India
Intelligent facades to improve sustainability & Comfort
- Parag Gupta, Sushant School of Art and Architecture
History has witnessed the growth of architecture. Where once man lived in caves, seeking protection from wild animals and harsh nature to structures that demanded for monumental spaces with environmental controls without compromising or negotiating with needs and comfort, making us profligate consumers of various forms of energy and harming nature at high rates. This grandiose disposition landed us in narratives leading to exploitation of resources and atypical temperature variations, where our built fabric became responsible for 40 percent of global gas emissions. Clearly, this approach needed to be viewed through the spectacles of energy-efficient strategies, in turn, fostering growth and development of nature. This demanded of an era where buildings could be viewed as a unit of different systems and processes that could be managed, modified and changed effectively according to the evolving dynamisms which kindled the need for sustainable development of built environment and creation of intelligent facades as innovative solutions, embracing spectrum of factors and means to enhance the concept of sustainability. Intelligent facades are leading the vision of constructing buildings environmentally benign and are one of the major attributes continuing to contribute towards sustainability. With the emerge of technology and the driving force to save the planet, there has been significant development in the types of intelligent facades: some have responsive facades which respond to the environmental demands through passive technologies to make use of natural resources like sunlight, wind; some integrate different technology like sensors, actuators and building automation system to intelligently interact with external environment, and some have interactive facades that changes the perception of building facade as a reaction to external stimuli.
triangular chambers provide both the thermal insulation and shading. The building has won various international competitions and provides 36m x 40m column-free space to various IT firms.
Storage space formed by the triangular awnings
Left: South-East Facade & Right: South-West Facade
These triangular wooden awnings provide shade to the underneath window, in turn, diffusing the direct sunlight
Interactive facades like that of Al-Bahr Tower in Abu Dhabi outperforms other geometries erected from superfluous petro-dollars by 50% reducing in energy consumption within the twin towers and an 80% reduction in solar gain. The simple triangular module, reminiscent of the ‘mashrabiya’, a traditional lattice screen found in older Islamic architecture, is a contemporary solution in a vernacular pattern. This triangular module in a synergetic combination on the eastern and the western side opens and closes according to the sun’s position. At night, the entire lattice opens up completely, offering mesmerising panoramic views to its users. This approach lets its users to have sufficient daylight during working hours which would inevitably restrict the incoming light. The 25-storey twin towers stand 150m tall, representing the amalgamation of technology and design which are sympathetic to the environment.
To exemplify such noble thoughts in pragmatic solutions, archetypal of responsive facades of using sun as a form of resource is the Endesa Solar Pavillion designed by the Institute of Advanced Architecture of Catalonia in 2012 as a part of the smart city expo. Essentially made out of wood, the facade optimises the use of sun as a form of energy by precisely calculating the angles of the awnings according to the position of the sun, the need for the shade and the spatial requirement for the interior spaces. The pockets thus created efficiently manage the interior space by providing ample amount of storage space. Another building which epitomises the use of intelligent facade in improving the sustainability and thermal comfort for its inhabitants is the Media TIC Building located in the new science and IT district of Barcelona. This building has a network of interconnected sensors distributed throughout the facade which control the solar shading on the south-east and south-west facade using ethylene tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE) skins. Having two different formats to control the shading, the south-west facade filters solar radiation through a screen of vertical cushioned panels containing nitrogen and oil, which coalesces as a sunscreen whereas the south-east facade of 40m x 40m has small triangular units combining together to form a structure which resembles to the skin of an aquatic animal. It has sensors which read the angle and the heat signatures of the sun. These inflating
The hexagonal module is made up of small triangles which opens and closes according to the position of the sun. Intelligent facades are pushing the envelope of sustainability and human comfort to extents where buildings are in a commensal relationship with nature, have become a carbon-based lifeform, reconciling with the damage and shaking people’s apathy towards environment, making everyone realise that we are the temporary custodians of this planet, which is being recklessly harmed from the built fabric crafted by generations of architects. Intelligent facades are one of the many radical steps in changing the paradigms of architecture where once buildings were under
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Facade and Fenestration News for India the impression of being adaptive, but now finally embracing the dynamisms of nature holistically.
About the author Parag Gupta, Project Architect at Arcade, having completed his Bachelors in Architecture from Sushant School of Art & Architecture in 2014, has worked on multifarious projects from Architecture & Urban Design to Urban Planning. Working under Prof. Utpal Sharma (CRDC, CEPT University), his tenure in Ahmedabad was an eye-opening experience in the realm of Architecture and Urban Planning , where he got to study and experience the complexity of Design, Planning and Sustainability at a macro scale of cities. After that he travelled to Kerala and studied at Laurie Baker Centre on Green Habitat based on cost-effective building design and construction technology with emphasis on the need for innovation and alternative construction techniques. Having completed his course, he was selected for IAAC Summer School Programme on Urban Protocols where the urban planning methodologies of the 20th century were questioned and a series of new strategies were crafted to counter-effect the decaying of cities of GLobal South by proposing effective pragmatic sustainable technologies at building level with sensors and actuators. Currently he is focussing on the Urban Realm of India in manifesting the ideas and lifestyle of sustainability in the minds of the citizens, highlighting the importance of public transportation, role of disadvantaged communities and the inter-connection of the unframed development with disparity.
INVITING ARCHITECTS AND CONSULTANTS TO CONTRIBUTE ARTICLES AND PROJECTS THAT DEMONSTRATE FACADE INNOVATION The facade of the Al-Bahr Tower
write to us at: ffi@nm-india.com
Page 16 | February 2016 | Issue XII
Facade and Fenestration News for India
Project The Umrao, Delhi - Studio K.I.A., Gurgaon FACADE: “Façade” has a French origin taking cue from the Italian word “faccia”. It is the face or the frontage of a project which sets the tone for the rest of the building. It is an interface between the inner and the outer space and may either reveal or conceal the architecture. A “façade” is both, looked at and seen from, and may reflect the purpose of the structure it adorns. The façade of The Umrao hotel has a timeless appeal. It renders prominence owing to a strong visual culmination at the end of an imposing landscaped vista. Standing testimony to its name, Umrao meaning king - of noble origin, the facade has a stately yet graceful charm. The architectural character chosen is a blend of vernacular design elements of the Mughal era and contemporary detailing of minimalist bands at varying levels. The color hues in soft beige represents the natural tones of sandstone giving it an earth connect, as if rising upwards from the ground. A series of rectangular and arched fenestrations were designed, some with GRC jallis and others as recessed niches. The vertical recesses are under lit to create a subtle, royal effect representative of the lighting of ‘diyas’ in the palaces of olden times. The grand arch in the centre is a befitting foreground to a stone clad geometric wall with its lit up niche highlighting the main entrance glass portal. The façade is in plaster, but the effect created due to the ethereal lighting and the color palette adopted, makes it look like a sandstone façade with an ageless grandeur . The façade appears wider owing to the spread of the transitional court around a patterned, granite cobble stone approach road. Front lit, semi arched GRC jallis in varying heights impart sophistication and aristocracy to the façade. The foreground has a tall, majestic obelisk in stone rising from within a radial landscaped creation. The water fountains around it add an element of the elixir of life. The arched façade with GRC jallis extends to all the wall fronts with fire escape staircases at the ends also beautifully blending in with the same character. The gentle elegance of this façade sets the mood of the visitor and transports him into a world of utopia. FACT FILE: Project Name: The Umrao- Boutique Hotel, Delhi Architect: Studio KIA, Gurgaon Built-up Area: 66,000sq ft Cost of the Project: Rs 45 crore Project Status: Completed Client: Umrao Hotels Design Team: Ar. Rajiv Khanna & Ar. Sabeena Khanna INTRODUCTION: ‘The Umrao’ is a boutique hotel located in Delhi on NH-8 in close proximity to the IGI Airport, designed to cater to the discerning business traveller. Sitting regally yet lightly on 10-acre manicured greens, the boutique hotel is a brand to reckon with. Standing testimony to time, the architectural character adopted by Studio KIA is in sync with its name yet contemporary in its offerings. The word ‘Umrao’ denotes the life and luxury of kings and ‘The Umrao’ successfully captures the monumental scale and luxury of the past in a modernistic set up. At ‘The Umrao’, the architect syncs heritage with the present. DESIGN AND STRUCTURE: Transforming modern geometry into an exotic creation, ‘The Umrao’ makes for one of the most uniquely designed boutique hotels Delhi has ever seen. Minimalist, straight line character, purity of form and subtle colours gives this boutique hotel a unique charm. “The idea was to establish a hotel that combines the exclusivity expected by the guests in regards to luxury which is visually pleasing and functionally upscale,” says Ar. Sabeena Khanna, Principal Architect, Studio KIA.
Ar. Khanna pays tribute to the resplendence of India’s culture with a project like ‘The Umrao’ in the contrasting urban fabric of New Delhi. The design elements were conceived in such great detail and converted to actuality so that the reality bespeaks the vision envisaged. Blending contemporary design and timeless architecture, the hotel creates an intimate welcoming feeling like none other. Having a strong indoor-outdoor connect; this boutique hotel has an imposing entrance. Resting stately amidst the lush green lawns, an imposing palm lined vista takes the visitor to the transitional court having a focal obelisk from where the guest experience begins to unfold. It combines classical architectural exterior design with contemporary warm interiors. The stunning exteriors with intricate décor envelop guests in a royal mystique. An independent banquet hall approach separates the hotel guest from the banquet visitor. Manicured banquet lawns and state-of-the-art landscaping, swimming pool with deck and water features add the nature element to the built mass. INTERIORS: An impressive entrance foyer depicting awe and grandeur is topped with a central imposing dome and creates an interesting play of light and shade in the interiors. A grand welcoming reception and a piano lounge pamper the guest on arrival. Multispeciality restaurant, Thyme, offers a sumptuous palette to the visitor. It accommodates venues namely, Elroy, Courtis, Milap and Alameda. Elroy is the crown jewel of The Umrao, with an area of 1,20,000sq ft accommodating a gathering of 1000-5000 guests. Hosting an event in Elroy challenges the creativity of the event decorator, each and everything starting from the entrance gate till the flooring of the venue is customisable. Courtis is the sprawling lawn adjoining the swimming pool with an area of 60,000sq ft accommodating a gathering of 500-2000 guests. Its huge expanse provides a hint of luxury in the palm of nature. Milap is known in the wedding world to have hosted some of the best weddings in New Delhi with an area of 80,000sq ft accommodating a gathering of a minimum of 1000 guests. Alameda is the sprawling east facing lawn with an area of 70,000sq ft accommodating a gathering of 500-1000 guests. A total of 60 well-appointed guest rooms have suites, double rooms, twin rooms and rooms with private outdoor Jacuzzis and are a treat for the business traveller. Offering uninterrupted views of the lush green outdoors, the guest rooms are of varying types depending upon the requirement. Warm and plush offerings bring in the desired comfort and luxury. Fine dining restaurant, coffee shop, tea lounge, banquet hall with spill over lawns and a beautifully landscaped pool with deck and change rooms enhance the guest experience. The fine-dining restaurant overlooks the pool and outdoor deck. The large central atrium serves as a breakfast lounge and opens up onto the poolside. FUNCTIONS: GROUND FLOOR: Grand lobby, restaurant, banquets, piano lounge, breakfast lounge, gym and 28 well-appointed guest rooms with outdoor Jacuzzis. FIRST FLOOR: Grand double height atrium, lift lobby, terrace garden restaurant with lit up dome, four suites and 23 guest rooms, terrace top banquet facility. MATERIALS: RCC post tensioned (PT) slab construction has been used to achieve large column free spans for public usage spaces in the hotel. Shear walls and conventional RCC with brick infill has been used for the stair wells and rooms. The patterns of flooring create a sensation of virtual space characterised by the
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Facade and Fenestration News for India superposition of light, transparency, texture and the luxurious colour blend of tan and gold. Italian flooring in public areas, wooden flooring in guest rooms, carpeting in guest room corridors and banquet hall, Italian marble cladding and flooring in toilets and vestibules have been resorted to.
About the author At K.I.A., we kreate, inspire and achieve. We seek inspiration from the nature around us which offers a varied palette of colors, shapes, forms and textures to innovatively create specific design solutions for each project.
The play of GRC jaali creates an informal intricacy of shadows that are both dramatic and engaging. UPVC windows in the exteriors and teak wood joinery in the interiors have been used. LIGHTING, VENTILATION AND SUSTAINABILITY: Weaving in with all the modern facilities and world-class amenities in the hotel; its ventilation, air-conditioning, acoustics and illumination are taken care of. Rainwater harvesting has been resorted to owing to the large green expanse to utilise and recharge ground water ensuring judicious and energy efficient functioning of the hotel. Grass pavers have been used in the parking/landscaped areas.
Over the last 30 years of its existence , K.I.A. has designed projects of all types and magnitudes. It is spearheaded by Rajiv and Sabeena Khanna , graduates from the prestigious school of architecture , Chandigarh , the world famous city created by the renowned master architect , Le Corbusier.
A large number of windows are used. The windows are aptly placed to maximise day lighting, reducing the need for artificial lighting. The use of high efficiency, low emissivity glazing allows high levels of daylight in whilst reducing heat losses through windows. Smart, energy saving lighting techniques are used in the corridor which is controlled by movement.
Team K.I.A. consists of independent project teams spearheaded by experienced, responsible and sensitive professionals from the fields of architecture, design, engineering, management & planning ,who collectively create projects that influence the environment. The studios buzz with unbridled creativity where enthusiastic talent works to produce meaningful spaces.
Keeping the ground coverage low and stressing upon the large expansive greens, the carbon footprint of the built mass has been reduced.
Our greatest strength lies in our creative design potential, varied experiences of each team member , their unified talent strength and their commitment to deliver quality . Whether it be designing a township of 1000 acres or a retail environment , an amusement park facility or a family entertainment centre , multi storied condominiums or a highway hotel , each project is dealt with utmost care and attention is given to the minutest detail. Time & quality is the essence at K.I.A.
All in all at ‘The Umrao’, relax in leisure where the past engages the future in making a stylish present.
Page 18 | February 2016 | Issue XII
THE TRADE SHOW. WINDOW. DOOR. FACADE.
SAVE THE DATE! NUREMBERG, 16 – 19.3.2016
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