Could You Introduce Techne Pro To Our Readers And Share The Firm’s Journey In The Architectural And Façade Design Industry?
Techne is a building enclosure design practice based in New York City. We collaborate with owners, architects, and contractors to develop solutions and strategies for executing high-performance building enclosures. We are a team of architects and engineers, drawing from our knowledge in various architectural and adjacent disciplines to materialise architectural ideas.
Techne was founded in 2022 by Sameer Kumar FAIA. It is the culmination of Sameer’s 25 years of experience working as an architect and façade specialist on projects around the globe while being based in New York.
What Is Techne Pro’s Core Philosophy When It Comes To Façade Design Across Different Building Types?
Techne is committed to the excellence of the built environment and a richer human experience achieved through well-crafted architecture. We believe that as architects and designers, we have an important voice in transforming our society towards greater social and environmental justice and that we can positively impact our reality through deliberate, thoughtful, and empathetic engagement with the material practice of architecture.
How Do You Balance Aesthetics, Functionality, And Structural Integrity When Designing Façades?
Façade consulting is a design discipline for us, more so than an engineering discipline. On every project, we are faced with numerous constraints and aspirations, such as climate, geography, design intent (aesthetics), cost, and schedule. When developing concepts and systems, we may explore several options and assess them against various competing criteria. Some ideas are discarded, while others evolve. This process allows us to find the most appropriate solution for the specific problem we are trying to solve—one that synthesises all the given factors.
Could You Share Some Of Techne Pro’s Notable Façade Design Projects? Are There Any Projects That You Consider Particularly Iconic Or Challenging?
Techne is currently involved in a variety of projects that vary in scale and complexity. On one hand, we are working on new United States Embassy complexes in Bangkok and Kinshasa, and on the other, we are involved in an art project for the Princeton University Museum of Art, where we are assisting the artist in constructing a large-format mural within the museum. Similarly, we are working on the first double-skin façade to be built using structural bamboo in Israel while also contributing to the restoration of a historically protected private house in New York City.
Every project presents its challenges and develops its own story. I have often enjoyed the complexity of US government buildings, as they embody many extremes in their aspirations, creating unique challenges for us as designers.
How Does Techne Pro Ensure That Its Façade Designs Reflect Cultural, Climatic, And Regional Nuances?
Architecture cannot exist in a vacuum, divorced from its context. All architecture that gets built is, necessarily, a result of its time: the social and cultural values of its owners and users define how it comes to exist. All our work must find validity within its context. Our clients are very smart people who will not tolerate professionals pushing agendas or interests that go against the needs of the specific local reality. Having said this, one must understand that all projects result from a variety of aspirations, most of them driven by the owner.
What Are Some Of The Most Common Challenges Faced During The Façade Design And Build Process, And How Do You Overcome Them?
The most important challenge we must overcome is identifying, as early as possible, the most appropriate solution for the project. We must develop knowledge around the design intent in a way that ensures that as the project develops, it will comply with all the major expectations, such as building codes, cost, schedule, and aesthetics. We achieve this by developing strategies for success for our facades. In our minds, we are not simply developing technical solutions for the architecture; we are creating strategies for success which, beyond the details and specifications, extend to shaping the procurement process and the sequence of execution in a way that mitigates risks in a timely manner, ensuring all-around success.
What Role Does Energy Efficiency Play In Techne Pro’s Façade Projects, And How Do You Incorporate Sustainable Solutions?
At a base level, all façades that get built must enable the building to comply with local energy codes, which are part of the building regulations. So, the regulatory framework is the first line of control we must meet. Beyond that, the owner has the most influence in setting the agenda for sustainability and high performance for a particular project. Having said that, we constantly employ advanced analytical processes to develop an understanding of a façade’s impact on occupant comfort as well as the natural environment. We ensure that as we design façades, we closely monitor factors such as the quality of daylight, the resulting temperatures near the façade, the outward reflectivity of a façade and its impact on the neighbours, and, more recently, the overall embodied carbon of one solution versus another. These are key metrics that shape our façades.
With Sustainability Being A Key Focus, How Do You Integrate Passive Design Strategies Into Your Façades?
I believe it would be fair to say that the integration of passive design strategies is a project-wide aspiration and is not limited to just the design of façades. For passive design strategies to become part of the project, the architect, mechanical engineer, and façade engineer must all work in an integrated manner. This usually happens under the leadership of a visionary owner and a visionary architect. Our most successful projects are those where the desire to achieve extraordinary performance is expressed very early on by the owner and is then reflected in the quality of design professionals they assemble. We have participated in successful, highly integrated design solutions and have enjoyed every minute of working on them. One example of such a project that comes to mind is the Uber Headquarters in San Francisco.
What Emerging Trends In Façade Design Do You Foresee In The Coming Years?
For a long time to come, new trends in façade design are likely to be driven by our collective response to the climate emergency. The relatively nascent conversations around measuring human impact on the environment through the lens of embodied carbon are likely to mature into new tools and methods for designers, which may result in new directions for design and construction. Improving façade performance while reducing its weight could, for example, be one of the directions that gain validity.
What Advice Would You Give To Young Architects And Façade Designers Looking To Make An Impact In The Industry?
Façade design is still a nascent and evolving discipline. This is evident from the fact that there are very few educational programmes in universities focused on teaching this discipline. That means young aspirants who want to learn about this field must do so through practice. At the same time, it is a critically important design discipline that shapes the quality of our built environment at an essential level and will continue to grow in its influence and importance as we refine our responses to the climate crisis. I would encourage young professionals to immerse themselves, without hesitation, in learning about façades and specialising in them. We need the brightest minds to solve some of the most complex problems facing architecture.
