Bangalore Electricity Supply Company Ltd. (BESCOM) is a part of Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Limited and is responsible for power distribution in eight districts of Karnataka. BESCOM covers an area of 41,092 Sq kms with a population of over 207 lakhs.
Lending A Protective Yet Aesthetic Touch To The Building Exterior
The BESCOM Head Quarters in K.R Circle Bengaluru has an employee strength of over 14000 people. The company required a façade that was environment-friendly and sustainable, and that also offered extensive longevity. In addition to the wide range of aesthetic possibilities, sustainability along the value-added elements played a major role in the choice of façade material.
Aspect Clay Tiles fit the bill perfectly, considering its sustainable and long-lasting nature. The head-office used 1,400 Sq m of Aspect clay façade, which was designed by RC Architecture. The installation was done with Aspect 600 x 300mm tiles size of and 50 x 50mm square Aspect louvers which was used as a creative element with shading functionality before the glass.
The clay façade is natural, sustainable and offers major technical and architectural advantages as façade cladding. Clay as a building material lasts for generations. Cladding, with clay tiles, is an excellent heat insulator. Thanks to its mass, ceramic has a high heat buffering capacity. Many proponents of high performance, green design certainly believe that it is high time to move away from the conventional façade formats mostly visible in high-rise, high design buildings for the past half century.
Some of the world’s most prominent “green” skyscrapers are looking at greener options to envelope their buildings. The effect is as good as a building sheathed in continuous as a second skin – rain screen and sun-screen for the building, which minimises heat loss in winter and prevents over-heating during summer. The robust dry installation method avoids usage of adhesives and sealants. Specially designed vertical joints prevent rattling of the tiles in windy conditions and act as rain drain during heavy rains.
Firing clay at exceptionally high temperatures ensures the tiles’ resistance to fire as well as aggressive substances like acid rain and prevents fungus or algae formation. It has a distinctive property of ‘no maintenance façade’.
Highlights Of The Project:
Wienerberger ’s Aspect Louvers were used in this project and this is a key highlight in terms of design and functionality. Louvers are long ceramic rods which act as passive shading devices. They are used to achieve additional design freedom and to stylishly adopt the passive shading functions in building architecture.
Louvers as shading or sun protection elements, provide the building’s architecture with a unique character. Creatively used louvers can loosen up large surfaces and can breed volume in conjunction with their shadows. Louvers can be manufactured in various shades, dimensions and thickness. Individual special forms such as square, rectangle and elliptical shapes are possible. Louvers can also be made available in engobes and glazes.
Monnanda Appaiah, Managing Director, Wienerberger India Pvt Ltd, adds, “In this project, Aspect was chosen specially for its louvers that highlighted the aesthetics of the building. Using clay façades provided the architects with greater creative expression. We aim to provide our clients with products for the whole building envelope that meet the requirements of the contemporary architects’ style quotient. We understand and appreciate the architect’s unique design aspirations and attempt to fulfill them through our natural, aesthetically appealing clay building products that can tastefully match the design requirements of the building.”
For more details on Aspect by Wienerberger Clay Façade Tiles and project range and references, contact: marketing@wienerberger.in
QUICK FACTS:
Project: BESCOM, Bangalore
Location: KR Circle, Bengaluru
Client: BESCOM
Architect: RC Architecture
Other consultants: Glaze Tech
Material used for façade and fenestration: Aspect rear ventilated clay tiles and Aspect louvers
Commencement date: February 2017
Completion date: July 2017