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Latest News of the Facade and Fenestration Industry

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Japanese Architect Arata Isozaki Wins the 2019 Pritzker

Arata Isozaki – a Japanese architect and planner has been awarded the 2019 Pritzker Architecture Prize. Born in 1931, Isozaki was deeply influenced by the aftermath of World War II and the destruction of his hometown of Ōita, after which he became fascinated by the temporal nature of the built environment.

Isozaki graduated from the Department of Architecture at the University of Tokyo in 1954 and began his career with an apprenticeship under the guidance of 1987 Pritzker Prize Laureate Kenzo Tange. He established Arata Isozaki & Associates in 1963.

“Isozaki is a pioneer in understanding that the need for architecture is both global and local – that those two forces are part of a single challenge,” wrote Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, Jury Chair in a statement. “For many years, he has been trying to make certain that areas of the world that have long traditions in architecture are not limited to that tradition, but help spread those traditions while simultaneously learning from the rest of the world.”

Isozaki is the eighth Japanese architect to be awarded the prize. The 2019 awards ceremony will be held in May at the Château de Versailles, which will be followed by a lecture in Paris.

Architect Dr Bimal Patel Honoured with the Padma Shri Award

Dr. Bimal Patel, President of CEPT University in Ahmedabad, was honored with the prestigious Padma Shri Award. Dr. Patel is an architect, urban designer, urban planner and an academician. He has been working in the industry for the past 30 years.

He has designed many award winning projects, including the Aga Khan Academy in Hyderabad, Ahmedabad Management Association, Bhuj Development Plan and Town Planning Schemes (post-earthquake), CG Road Redevelopment, Entrepreneurship Development Institute, Gujarat High Court, Himmatnagar Canal front Development, IIM Ahmedabad New Campus, Kankaria Lake Development, Sabarmati Riverfront Development and the Swarnim Sankul.

He has also won various prestigious awards, including the Aga Khan Award for Architecture (1992), World Architecture Award (1997), UN Center for Human Settlements Award of Excellence (1998), Architecture Review High Commendation Award (2001), Prime Minister’s National Award for Excellence in Urban Planning and Design (2003) and the HUDCO Design Award (2013). He is a Diploma in Architecture from the School of Architecture (now CEPT University), and has done Masters in Architecture & Planning and also a PhD in City and Regional Planning from the University of California, Berkeley

Aparna Joins Hands with Craft Holding for Aluminium Exterior Solutions

Construction and building materials leader, Aparna Enterprises announced its joint venture with Hong Kong based construction solutions provider Craft Holding Ltd. The joint entity will manufacture and retail aluminium exterior solutions under the brand name Aparna-Craft Exteriors Pvt. Ltd. The synergy will witness the brand setting up a manufacturing facility in Bachupally Hyderabad, spread across 50,000 Sq ft, with a production capacity of 0.6 million Sq ft of curtain walls and aluminium windows per annum initially.

Announcing the joint venture, Ashwin Reddy, Managing Director, Aparna Enterprises Ltd., said, that aluminum exteriors as a market segment has a huge potential owing to rapid urbanization and infrastructure development across the country. Craft is a leader in this field in many of the geographies across the world and Aparna-Craft Exteriors will thrive to be the one in India. “Indian building facades and fenestration is fast growing and is pegged at around 10,000 crores, we are confident that our combined energies will help us to serve this growing opportunity,” added Reddy.

Grant Craft, Chairman, Craft Holdings said that the new partnership will bring their expertise into India and would strengthening their journey to deliver innovative facade solutions across the world. They are also hopeful that the tie-up will give them a strong networking capability and a business foundation and thereby help them realize the facade opportunity in India over the long term.

Aparna-Craft Exterior Pvt. Ltd. will provide customers with complete end-to-end facade solutions right from designing, engineering, production and execution. AparnaCraft will utilize the technology expertise of both companies to produce world-class aluminum facades. Aparna Enterprises has 29 years long expertise in providing excellent construction and building materials solutions in India and Craft Holdings’ has unmatched facade engineering and fabrication capabilities.

Smart Labs 2.0 Exhibition: A display of Design, Technology & Innovation

Smart Labs, a collaborative collective between rat[LAB] Education & RVS School of Architecture, Chennai, is an integrated programme to introduce computational design techniques, methods, workflows on a 6-month basis. The second batch of Smart Labs culminates in May 2019 as the batch graduates with an open exhibition of their works showcasing design, technology and innovation carried out in the 6-month part-time programme that takes place in Chennai & New Delhi. Students have developed their studio projects with a focus on advanced architectural design and computational techniques. They have been exploring a number of spatial interventions to create an experiential and experimental space in Chennai. The final exhibition is a reflection of the wide range of tools and techniques the studio explored across the time of 6 months.

These include – optimization strategies, environmental strategies using computational design, augmented reality, physical computation, introduction to structural optimization & simulation, evolutionary design tools and building skins and facade. They were also introduced to digital fabrication techniques and had a hands-on experience with laser cutting, CNC milling and 3D printing as they developed prototypes of their projects. The explorations, outputs, ideas and process will be demonstrated through highly stimulating experiential articulations. More details at: HYPERLINK “http:// www.rat-lab.org/smartlabs” www. rat-lab.org/smartlabs

Wienerberger’s Aspect Clay Facade for DMRC Projects

Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) will use Aspect Clay Tile, an environmentally friendly facade tile from Wienerberger, for its constructions. DMRC began its first service in 2002, and right from the inception, DMRC, has recognized the need for social and economic credibility and has taken a number of measures to protect the environment and conserve the resources.

DMRC’s commitment to the protection of natural resources and efficient use of energy across its construction is what drives its innovation. The organisation always follows green policies like protection of the environment, energy management, water management, waste management, etc. With the onus of implementing the policies and maintaining the structure, DMRC was looking for a facade that was environment-friendly and sustainable and that offers extensive longevity. Aspect Clay Tiles fitted perfectly into the bill considering its sustainable and long-lasting nature. The tiles were further customized to include a special red glossy finish for the metro line which was a key success in terms of planned look. Wienerberger’s Aspect Clay Facade is environment-friendly, sustainable and offers major technical and architectural advantages as facade cladding. Clay as a building material lasts for generations. A correctly executed facade cladding, with clay facade tiles, is an excellent heat insulator. Thanks to its mass, ceramic has a high heat buffering capacity. The effect is as good as a building sheathed in a continuous second skin, which minimizes heat loss in winter and prevents over-heating during summer.

Monnanda Appaiah, MD, Weinerberger AG, says, “The focus with Delhi Metro was on building a facade that lasts for generation considering it to be a public utility space. We as a company have always focused on providing building solutions that are visually captivating, aligns with contemporary design and offers maintenance free durability. The specialty of Aspect Clay Tiles is that it also offers architectural or design advantage apart from being environment-friendly and sustainable. The customized red glossy finish for this metro line makes it look aesthetically appealing.”

Facade and curtain wall systems are of paramount importance when considering issues of green building and sustainable design. It becomes imperative for a building construction specialist to understand the importance of improving the performance and sustainability of the building envelope. The regular high environmental cost facade often leads to increased energy consumption.