Designing a building’s façade and deciding on its interiors goes beyond aesthetic appeal. It is crucial to ensure that the structure’s exterior is safe and durable. Facade safety has become an increasingly important consideration in architectural design, particularly as buildings grow taller and more complex. It’s not only functional in terms of protection but also enhances the longevity of the structure.
Here Are Key Points We Consider When Aiming For Better Designs For Facade Safety:
- Optimum Material Selection: This is the fundamental facet of façade safety. We opt for materials that sync with the aesthetics of the client’s preferences along with ensuring that they are resistant to environmental factors such as the wind, UV radiation, rain, and temperature fluctuations. We also aim to opt for materials that are fire-resistant, corrosion-resistant, and can withstand extreme weather conditions and high winds.
- Structural Integrity: We ensure that the façade is designed to integrate with the building’s framework. This further guarantees proper support for the materials and protection from the dynamic loads caused by winds, rains, seismic activities, and other environmental stressors.
- Thermal, Moisture Control & Fire Hazards Considerations: We ensure that a well-designed façade confirms moisture infiltration, mould growth, material degradation, and a lack of structural integrity. With appropriate moisture barriers, drainage systems and proper flashing, we look forward to efficient waterproofing systems along with minimising thermal bridging. Along with this, one ought to know that fire safety is a very critical aspect of facade design. Hence, the materials that are used ought to have low combustibility and should be optimally tested for their performance during fire hazards. The design should also include access for firefighting and evacuation in terms of an emergency.
- Regular Maintenance and Inspection: Needless to say, regular maintenance and inspection are essential for ensuring the long-term safety of the façade. The design should facilitate optimum access for cleaning, repairs, and inspections. One can incorporate maintenance features such as catwalks, anchor points for cleaning crews, and accessible inspection hatches that can help maintain the façade’s efficiency over time. It is integral to note that a well-maintained façade is less likely to suffer from issues such as loose panels, water infiltration and material degradation.
Designing a façade that prioritizes safety requires a harmonious melange of the consideration of materials, structural integrity, environmental factors, and ongoing maintenance. By adhering to these key points, architects and engineers can create façades that are not only visually aesthetic but also safe, durable and sustainable for the occupants. Façade design and safety, if anything, is perhaps the most essential and integral aspect of modern architectural design.
Situated on the top of a hill, surrounded by boulders and vegetation with unrestricted views till the far horizon, sat this idyllic ancestral plot of our client. An inaccessible plot in a remote area, no approach road, a slope so steep that even a possibility of some kind of road seemed distinct, a plot laden with immovable rocks and to add to it, the pandemic struck right when the project had just begun.
The façade of the “House On the Rocks” was nothing short of extraordinary. There was a thoughtful selection of materials that combined the durability as well as the aesthetics of the space. With exposed concrete, metal fins, IPE wood, and Windows by Fenesta, the materials used for the façade of the project were remarkable, to say the least.
They were all exterior grade and weather-tested. Thus, they proved to be safe and durable for the tropical weather conditions of Trivandrum. These windows were engineered for optimum performance in terms of the shifts in weather patterns. Every material used in the façade was exterior grade and was chosen for its ability to withstand the weather conditions of the city. It provides optimum safety and durability against the region’s intense heat, humidity, and seasonal shifts.
The site is located on the top of rocky terrain on the outskirts of Trivandrum. Owing to the hot and humid weather of the region, compounded with the harsh glare being reflected from the rocky terrain, it was imperative to address these factors for better thermal comfort within the home.
The house has been oriented such that the larger spans face the east while the shortest volume sits in the south. East thus has maximum openings for better views and ventilation. The eastern side had an exaggerated overhang of 10ft which provided ample sun shading to the rooms. The uPVC windows are double-glazed and tinted which further helps cut the heat intake. To minimize glare, sliding aluminium fins have been provided on the elevation on the east and north sides.
The windows are floor-to-ceiling sized windows that enable maximum east light which helps compensate for the blank volume of the south. The south side has pocket windows purely for sunlight. The house has a strong east-west circulation which aids the wind flow. The openings are planned so as to provide wind tunnels within the home thus aiding thermal comfort.
Owing to the orientation of the built form and the large overhangs, the building stays protected from the monsoons.
The client wanted a house that reflects contemporary style in a region where traditional architecture is seen abundantly. It was imperative to create a stitch wherein we adopted vernacular methodology and techniques within a framework of contemporary design. The design has been heavily hinged on climatic factors. The intent was to reduce heat gain, aid cross-ventilation and maximize the views. The massing has thus been kept clean with a play of horizontal boxes. While one of the boxes is a large 40 ft cantilever that pushes the realm of imagination, the other rests on the existing rocks.
Reflecting back on the journey of this project that spanned 3 gruelling years, we wonder if Gabriel García Márquez would have written ‘Love in the Time of Corona’ with this project as his muse for an architectural adaptation.
Quick Facts:
- Project: House On the Rocks
- Location: Trivandrum, Kerala
- Client: Ms. Neha Vijay
- Architect: Rahul Das Menon & Ojas Chaudhari
- Other Consultants: Jerin Joseph
- Materials Used For Façade & Fenestration: Exposed concrete, metal fins, IPE wood, and windows by Fenesta.
- Commencement Date: October 2021
- Completion Date: October 2024
