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Focusing on the Outside Façade Designs Unravelled

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Façade is an important part of any building and overall design scheme that grants a unique personality and character to each built form. Façades allow the building to project the creative intent and set the design tone. They can have a detrimental impact on the buildings that one uses when they settle for standard designs on meeting structural regulations. With new introductions in materials, technology, and designing, new ideas are being explored for more effective and beguiling structures.

Architecture, now a technology concentrated area where its use can be seen in the design process, façade designs keep getting better with new updates introduced by computer softwares, immersive reality, and smart buildings. There are some ways now that façades are being looked at and designed innovatively that are aiding the buildings to stand out and also save on energy consumption.

Glass railings on the façade are a way for designers to bridge the relationship between outside and inside. Apart from providing daylight and heat inside the built form, it also adds to the aesthetics of the building and reduces the maintenance cost. Incorporating latticed screens on the façade aid in better flow of the wind and attract less dust.

The metal cladding has its own strengths and weaknesses. This material is chosen, taking into account the climate, structural system, aesthetic requirements and nature of the paired-up materials. Pairing up metal with wood cladding and glass railing create a break from the heavyweight façade and increases the sun & heat insulation of the building. The above seen design motive for building façade is focused in protecting the interiors from exterior elements and providing maximum daylight and solar heat gain. Providing an optimum window to wall ratio also ensures that the building gets maximum views while reducing glare. Apt materials selection further amplifies the aesthetic appeal of the structure and makes one look at the building with a modern eye view.

Custom perforated matrix are too being used for providing buildings with an artistic finish having different designs and colors schemes. Buildings maintain a timeless look as can be seen above. It follows a contemporary version of traditional jali work on the façade where it aids in cooling the interiors and hallways of the building. Apart from cooling, it also helps in providing a sense of privacy to the patrons and block one’s direct views from the neighbouring surroundings. A perforated façade helps in reduction of noise from the outside streets in urban homes that can disturb the tranquil indoors. It also is used to control the amount of daylight that enters a home maintaining the right balance of heat and light and a play of shadow for the interiors. Proving a neutral colour scheme to the building with the use of materials is a smart way to look pleasing to the eye while keeping the focus intact with a wide sectioning of a clear part of the façade. Another example of innovative jaali design is shown here in which an extra boring pipe is turned into a cost effective golden metallic finish for the exterior façade while aiding to control the amount of light reaching inside.

Mild steel louvers give a solid look to the façade and act as a visual barrier that can help in hiding equipment to maintain privacy. Louvers are often used on windows to control the incoming light and air inside while keeping the heat and moisture out. Giving an anti-rust treatment over an obsidian glass paint gives the façade an eternal polished look.

Natural stone for cladding with a wooden finish is used to add a contrast to the environment and look pleasing in its surroundings. As stone is a natural insulator, it helps in maintaining the temperature inside the building. The building façade has the capacity to percolate daylight, allow natural ventilation inside, control heat conveyance and create visual and physical connections between the indoors and the outdoor environment. It plays a significant role in building functionality along with creating a visual impact with the surroundings. A well-designed façade can make the building work more effectively for the occupants and the environment and also transform the building performance.

                       Redefining luxury
                  The Stallion, Gurugram

Redefining luxury as reminiscent of the past by using handcrafted techniques, this splendid house creates varying experiences by showcasing an array of spaces. Located in an uber-urban setting of Gurugram (Delhi NCR), this luxurious residence is like a slice of heaven for its inhabitants. Covering an area of 4500 Sq ft, the house looks like a series of floating wooden boxes held together by a soaring roof plane. Along with giving comfort to the different generational lifestyles, this residence also provides distinctive functional elements.

The client had a desire to form an opulent and modern home with the inclusion of nature to it. A modern design was assimilated while incorporating the right texture and colour palette. Since the site is contoured, the house showcases varying spaces exploiting the site terrain to form two different levels, each dedicated to private and public functions. A story is intricately unveiled between the two surfaces as a banding pattern, using the concept of linear striations. The design is conceptualised in a way that it offers warmth and interaction to all the members of the house while still respecting their need for privacy. The house opens to a doubleheight entrance, leading to the basement with a floating staircase that enhances the grand height of the room upon entering it. The design team explores the traditional craft of India, that is seamlessly integrated with the outside landscaping. To show an array of spaces, the residence has been designed to craft an experience with the play of materials and textures. Stonecraft is used in one zone, metal craft in one, and textiles have been incorporated into the third zone; providing a space that is similar to the unraveling of rooms in a museum.

The design follows a free-flowing concept using clean lines and symmetry. To ensure privacy With open interaction, the house is divided into three floors, with each section highlighting a different material. The connection between the living room and dining on the first floor invites family interaction. Highlighting the dining area through its connection with the open terrace ensures that there is ample sunlight and ventilation entering the room through floor to ceiling windows.

The living room also accentuates a barrierfree view with a front elevation of floor to ceiling windows. The first floor is maintained strictly for bedrooms with elegant interiors creating a warm resting space and a private living room. The topmost floor combines two bedrooms and a family lounge with a vast terrace offering natural light and ventilation. The floating staircase and the dramatic sculptures put into the forefront the charismatic height of the room and the avant-garde set up of the leather finish furniture gives the right allure to the room. Warm lighting complemented with a neutral color scheme throughout the house ensures a comfortable living space that is inviting and speaks of understated luxury. The indoor-outdoor concept of the project is further highlighted with the spacious balconies and the planters used in them.

Warm lighting complemented with a neutral color scheme throughout the house simple yet sophisticated wooden lattice partition is used to bring in daylight to the room and also cover the waterbody created in the balcony. This helps in beautifully integrating the landscape with the room inside.

A wooden deck used to bridge the external courtyard gives it a rustic appearance and the use of large windows interconnects the outdoors with the interior spaces. The project has focused on emphasizing the segregation of spaces while still feeling connected to traditional craftsmanship and the exterior landscape. Along with the client’s brief and the creative sensibility of the design team,  ASRO Arcade is able to form multiple worlds and bestow sequential experiences either through material use or incorporating sustainability in this modern home.