VR Bengaluru, popularly known as “Black Box on Whitefield Road” is located in Whitefield, one of the fastest growing business districts in Bengaluru. The centre is a mixed-use development covering an area of 9,00,000 Sq ft spread across a 4.5 acre plot. A unique community centric, integrated lifestyle destination, VR Bengaluru plays host to a multi-level premium retail arcade with an extensive portfolio of 114 leading global and Indian brands, a nine-screen multiplex that includes an IMAX and India’s largest Gold Class cinemas, a 54 key boutique hotel & residences – The Waverly, collaborative communal work spaces for start-ups and entrepreneurs – The Hive, phenomenal dining options including several pubs, cafes and restaurants and an upscale food court. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="774"] Front view of the facade - VR Bengaluru[/caption] The overall façade comprises of the following four key elements: Curtain Wall glazing Atrium Skylight Textured walls Punch Windows, Eastern...

WFM: Please introduce your firm and yourself James Law (JL): My architectural firm is called James Law Cybertecture and the name Cybertecture represents the kind of work I have been pursuing and hope to continue in the future as well. We do very forward looking futuristic architecture, which tries to marry the latest innovation and technology with people, spaces and the modern world. We try to work around advanced architecture where we attempt to establish a connection between the latest innovations in technology with the people and spaces of the modern world. I got into architecture by chance. At the age of seven, I happened to watch a black and white film titled ‘The Fountainhead’ in which the main protagonist is an architect. Since then, I have worked hard towards my dream and am now practising on my own. WFM: It is almost more than a decade since you started...

WFM: Tell us briefly the purpose of The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) and the GRIHA Council. Sanjay Seth (SS): TERI was established in 1974 with an initial focus on documentation and information dissemination. Over the years, it has emerged as a research institute and a think tank, to provide efficient utilization of energy and sustainable use of natural resources in the process of development. TERI is one of the largest institutions in developing countries that work towards sustainability, formulating local and national level strategies in shaping global solutions to critical issues. It has over 30 years of excellence in research and innovation. GRIHA Council is an independent not-for-profit society established jointly by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) and the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), Government of India (GoI). It promotes and facilitates GRIHA - India’s own green building rating system. GRIHA is a rating tool that...

Global market for Building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) is projected to grow from a current low of US$5B to a high of US$26B by 2022. This represents an exponential growth of 27 per cent CAGR. There appears to be a sudden surge of interest in BIPV. It is not driven by the finite space available for rack mounted rooftop PV. BIPV, as applied to the façade, will offer the best option to increase solar integration into the built environment. This appears to be consistent with the big rush for decentralised building and nett zero energy buildings. While we can certainly afford to be optimistic about the surging interest in BIPV, there remain certain fundamental real world challenges which need to be overcome before BIPV can be expected to take traction within the building sector. The complexity of these challenges, aesthetical, efficiency and commercial in nature, are the primary reasons why BIPV has...

One of the major new challenges in modern construction is the energy performance of the building. As major components of the so important building envelope, windows play a major roll here, but let’s not forget the joints and connections between those windows and the construction… Energy concerns and legislation have pushed the construction world in high tempo towards new construction materials and has dramatically impacted all components of the building envelope. Uf, Ug and Uw have suddenly become major USP’s, but what’s the point in ‘throwing’ these highly efficient new generation windows in to the wall just like that? In order to meet all these new challenges, care for detail is needed more than ever, so let’s have a look at some points of interest. Remark: We will not consider the mechanical fixing of the window here, as this would extend the scope of this article too much, although admittedly...

The design of façades in buildings today has become a complex exercise. Façade has always been a design statement of a building. With the evolution of glass facades, the installation of continuous glass itself was considered as a marvel. Thereafter, it further evolved with the introduction of other cladding materials like ACP, HPL, other metal sheet claddings, etc. Today, the design and execution of the façade have moved beyond the client's requirements, and designers are looking at it as a piece of art that can be appreciated by someone in fast moving car as well as an onlooker who is standing and experiencing it. [caption id="" align="alignright" width="392"] The Sangam Theatre in R.K. Puram, New Delhi – The façade showcases a double skin system with glass and CNC-cut aluminium sheets[/caption] They are willing to experiment so that the building stands unique amongst the others. At the same time, the basic...

Noise is a variety of unwanted sounds, especially loud ones that disturb people’s peace. Pollution of various kinds has affected the environment and humans for a long time. Noise pollution has its own effect on our health and wellbeing. With life getting more stressful and strenuous, one looks forward to spending some quiet time, be it at an office or at home. The presence of excessive sound or noise breaks down the tranquil environment and brings harm to human as well as the health of animals. Noise pollution can especially be experienced by people living in metros. Noise caused by vehicles, industry, construction and blaring music is not only annoying but also creates serious health issues like deafness, cardiac disturbances, sleeplessness, headache, irregular blood pressure, and tension. Noise, to a certain extent, can be controlled in the house and office through proper installation of windows and doors. The question arises,...

Recent studies have estimated that by 2025 India’s construction market is expected to be the third largest in the world and this could lead to the primary energy demand growing by 2.3 times in the next two decades. Residential and commercial buildings currently account for over 35 percent of the total energy demand, however, the demand of the residential sector is predicted to rise by at least 8 percent annually. With this rapid growth in mind, it has become vital for low energy buildings to become a mainstream part of India’s development to reduce its impact on our planet. [caption id="" align="alignleft" width="298"] Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Glasgow, UK[/caption] Air Conditioning, and other forms of heating and cooling, account for approximately 45 percent of an Indian building’s total electricity consumption. So, surely, an effective route to reducing the carbon emissions and energy usage of the nation is by decreasing the heating...

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="192"] Jean-Marc Luvisutto Managing Director, Sapa Building Systems - Middle East & India[/caption]   Jean-Marc Luvisutto is the Managing Director, SBS (Sapa Building Systems) - Middle East and India. He is associated with the company for the past 38 years, spearheading various divisions including technical, marketing and communication, from various locations (France, Portugal, UK). He is a civil engineer (MSc) from ENSTIMA (Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Techniques Industrielles et des Minesd’Ales) in France. He Joined Technal in Toulouse (France) in 1979 as a product development engineer in the R&D department. From 2000 to2008, Luvisutto managed the entire R&D activity for the Technal Brand. In 2008, he moved to Bahrain to manage Technal Middle East. After the merger between Orkla/Sapa and Hydro in 2013, he took over the management of Sapa Building Systems (SBS) Middle East, and its two additional brands: Sapa Building System and Wicona. Since July...

In the heart of Dubai, halfway between the world’s tallest building (Burj Khalifa) and the newly opened Dubai Water Canal, construction is coming to an end on yet another landmark for the city: The Opus by Zaha Hadid. [caption id="" align="alignleft" width="300"] Street view of The Opus[/caption] The Opus is a mixed-use 20-story building – hotel, serviced apartments and offices –which resembles a glowing cube that floats above the ground and has a freeform void in its centre. The building consists of two concrete towers connected by a steel bridge on top and a large steel-supported atrium roof at the base, seamlessly cladded with glazed curtain walling. The external façades are built with transparent glazing with a mirror pattern, in contrast with the freeform inner “void” area which has dark blue glazing. Our job since the start of the project was to provide consultancy services on building envelope engineering. From...

Tall buildings will always need to make a bold statement on the surrounding environment. The use of fully glazed façades is common for iconic tall buildings in cities across the world for both its appealing aesthetic and demonstration of engineering possibilities. As the world becomes ever more energy and environmentally conscious, so too is façade design for tall buildings. However, there are significant design challenges associated with the use of a fully glazed façade that can have an impact on the building's energy consumption as well as the building’s construction and operational costs. Alumayer India is a leading construction company in the field of design, supply and installation of facade glazing systems. They provide a first-rate product in addition to a superior customer experience by maintaining complete control of the end product, from pre-construction to installation. Window & Façade Magazine (WFM) got an opportunity to have an interesting chat with...

In a world where nine to five, monotony, drudgery and boredom reside in the same cubicle, comes a revolution to the workplace. One that is innovative in design, imagination and size. It goes by the name of Marvel Edge located at Viman Nagar, the heart of Pune. This state-of-the-art infrastructure is a testament to modern and distinctive commercial structures.Spread over one million square feet, Marvel Edge boasts of environmentally sustainable designs, with a profusion of greenery, luxury, quality and technology. Amenities like maximized natural lighting, breakout spaces, inclusiveness of complex and advanced security systems are part and parcel of the experience sunscreening. The building has a three-layered façade consisting of a double-glazed curtain wall, private terraces and sun screening. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="392"] Fig.3: Internal view of the gallery[/caption] [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="392"] Fig.4: View of the internal courtyard[/caption] Intelligent Design Divided into 4 wings, Marvel Edge is a combination...

With the Slidefix, Renson provides a fabric sun protection solution for both sliding windows, large areas of permanent glass and corner sliding windows. This new type of fabric sun protection follows the sideways motion of a sliding glass door. It’s a motion that’s actually quite logical and, especially, very practical: in this manner, a sliding window also stays perfectly usable as a passageway even with sun protection installed. When developing this Slidefix, close attention was paid to the invisible integration of the various elements. Both the cassette and the edge guides of the Slidefix are integrated discreetly into the façade. The cassette is recessed behind the hardware, while the certified ‘Connect&Go’ technology still makes it possible to install and uninstall the fabric tube and motor easily. The lower guide is installed in such a way that it fits in at floor level both inside and outside. This lower rail also...

The site for the project Bajaj Bhavan is located in the heart of the vibrant city of Lucknow, The city of Nawabs. The infrastructure of the city is developing at a great pace and it is now home to many eye catching architecture. Curtain Wall System The building consists of two type of double glazed soft-coat high performance glass: 6-15-6 IGU: 6mm tempered glass + 15mm air gap with Argon gas + 6mm tempered glass (Coating on face 3). 6-15-6 IGU: 6mm tempered glass (with design ceramic frit on face 2) + 15mm air gap with Argon gas + 6mm tempered glass (Coating on face 3). The glass is fixed using aluminium extruded profiles with pressure plate and cover plate. The façade of Bajaj Bhavan is designed according to wind pressure analysis reports. Characteristics of Glass The chosen glass is the most advanced way to achieve that delicate balance between...

Kathputli Colony is New Delhi’s largest performers’ slums, home to magicians, dancers, puppeteers, acrobats and drummers whose families migrated here during the 1960’s and 1970’s from villages across India. An illegal settlement in a dilapidated northern pocket of the city, this place is a thriving paradox. Its denizens allure their audiences into a resilient world where everything is possible. This thesis is an exercise – not merely in affordable housing and slum rehabilitation schemes, but in the exploration of possibilities. The idea is to create a scheme that resonates with the people of Kathputli, allowing them to thrive as artists. And on the other hand, exploring the larger perspective of amenities we must take up cost efficient architecture with special emphasis on treatment of fenestrations as our priority. Delhi climate is a monsoon-influenced humid subtropical climate with a very high variation in comparison of summers and winter. Summers begin in...

The client brief was to design a K-12 school in one of the Mumbai suburb’s. The key challenge was to provide for constructing the building in three phases and to ensure a non-rigid environment. The fact that the The Green Acres Academy was going to be built in a phased manner over 5 to 8 years, presented an opportunity to design a building that grows. The very high land rates in Mumbai coupled with regressive building regulations made it very challenging to introduce un-programmed spaces beyond the design program. It also implied a vertical school building. The challenge was to create a horizontal feel within the vertical environment. Green Acres Design Concept A child enters a school as a toddler and leaves as a teenager. It was important that the design remains valid for generations of children. It was also important that a school went beyond the 3 dimensions of...