WFM: Please comment on the need for choosing the right kind of hardware for windows, doors and façades. Hiten Sethi (HS): Architectural hardware is becoming increasingly design-oriented. Any architectural hardware shall ideally provide the highest level of performance, security & safety without compromising on aesthetics. Hardware used for doors, windows and façades influences the overall look of any architectural project, hence choosing the right ones is of utmost importance! Selection criteria should be based on - firstly, the level of performance which means satisfactory operations and durability. Secondly, no compromise shall be practised about the visual appeal of hardware. Designs of hardware - the colour, texture and finish chosen - can be altered and redesigned based on demand. Ideally hardware product manufacturers should aim for products to perform, be durable and have an aesthetic finish, all balanced together. The overall quality of hardware matters because whether concealed or visible,...

WFM: What are the criteria for the selection of Architectural hardware for facades and fenestrations? Rajan Aggarwal (RA): With more number of design & options available, right selection of hardware for the windows, doors and facades has become very important. While selecting the hardware, functional need and safety should be given priority and they shouldn’t get superseded by aesthetics requirements. One should check the certification for number of usage cycles, weight and load factors at the time of selection of hardware. After taking care the above, one should select the design as per the need of design of the façade perceived by the designer. Main concept with aesthetic requirements of façade design is generally given by the architect. This needs to be further developed by using various types of hardware. The type of hardware is selected as per the structural requirements of the façade, for example structural load, wind pressure...

Rajan Aggarwal is an alumnus of the School of Planning & Architecture(SPA), New Delhi. A Gold medallist in Masters in Product Design, with more than 20 years of experience in Metal Architecture. He believes in the right mix of aesthetics and functionality while designing a product. “We engineer aesthetic at Ozone by keeping all functional Aspects, Raw material & Pricing in mind while developing any product”. He visions establishing Ozone as the leader of Architectural Hardware & Security Solutions in the Global Market. Under his leadership, Ozone is the fastest growing brand in the Indian market, constantly innovating for the better.

For centuries, the humble façades have stood tall with their archtypes in the overall aesthetic as well as technical performance of a building. While the Façade Engineering has evolved by itself as a science placing an impetus on solving aesthetic, environmental and structural issues of a construction, the industry is exploring new directions in terms of lighting up these spaces as well. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="414"] Candi Prambanan is a 9th-century Hindu temple compound in Central Java, Indonesia[/caption] From the humble incandescent bulb to the state-of-the-art LED lighting to Laser lighting, the evolution of the light sources itself is a scintillating story to tell. With the world coming closer and spaces getting denser, the majestic façades have also received a face-lift with the changing times. The latest trend in façade lighting includes that of a Media Façade, which refers to a mode of lighting by which lighting and light sources...

Architect Tony Kettle The LakhtaCenter is designed to be a colossal project to construct a contemporary business center in the Primorsky district of Saint Petersburg, Russia.It will be implemented as a pilot project of an integrated development of the area and the construction of a mini city on the outskirts, therefore creating a sustainable district for life and work. At 86 floors and 462 m tall, it will be the tallest tower in Europe when completed in 2018. The architects Gorpoekt and RMJM deployed a whopping 44,000 sqm of high-performance glass from Saint-Gobain for glazing Europe’s tallest tower. The objective of the project is the construction of a cluster in Petersburg that would align with international standards of construction of a business and public environment so as to increase the level of business activity in the city and North-western region as a whole. The headquarters of Gazprom Neft and Gazprom...

NSG Group, the owner of the Pilkington brand, and one of the world’s largest glass producers, and Solaria, specialists in PV technology, are entering into a collaboration agreement to manufacture and produce (semi) transparent Building Integrated Photo voltaic (BIPV) solutions. NSG Group chose to collaborate with Solaria due to the company’s robust BIPV technology and manufacturing processes that combine attractive aesthetics, compelling economics, high energy efficiency and design flexibility. NSG Group has significant experience in high efficiency architectural glass solutions and is now extending its product line into BIPV, incorporating Solaria’s Power View™ technologies as part of an OEM relationship. Establishing a BIPV supply chain signifies that BIPV is commercially ready for mainstream adaptation. The next level will see BIPV being integrated into IGU and glass products for building facades. The first Pilkington branded glass products powered-by-Solaria include architectural glass with unified vision, effective day lighting, glare control, improved thermal...

About the Architects: Mimi Hoang, AIA, NCARB, LEED, is a co-founding Principal of nARCHITECTS, and an Adjunct Assistant Professor at the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation at Columbia University. Along with Eric Bunge, she oversees the design and technical development of all projects in the office. Mimi received a Master of Architecture from Harvard University and a Bachelor of Science in Architecture from M.I.T. Prior to founding nARCHITECTS, she trained in New York, Boston, and Amsterdam. Mimi has also taught at Yale University, Harvard University, and UC Berkeley. Eric Bunge, AIA, is a co-founding Principal of nARCHITECTS, and an Adjunct Assistant Professor at the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation at Columbia University. Along with Mimi Hoang, he oversees the design and technical development of all projects in the office. Eric received a Master of Architecture from Harvard University and a Bachelor of Architecture from McGill University....

Asahi India Glass Limited (AIS), one of India’s leading integrated glass companies, expanded its existing portfoilo in the architectural glass segment with the introduction of a new shade under its lacquered range of glasses – AIS Décor. Glass has the potential to create stunning ambiences that have the power to transform living spaces and elevate lifestyle. Lacquered glass, especially for use in interiors, makes the interiors look fresh and innovative. It can be used in humid environments such as bathrooms as well. Functionally, it is hassle-free to clean & maintain. It is also durable and remains unaffected by moisture & scratches. Vikram Khanna, COO – Consumer Glass, COO – Architectural Institutional Business, CMO, CIO, Asahi India Glass Limited said “AIS Décor is a range of colored lacquered glass specially designed to make interiors look vibrant. The product was available in 10 shades - Venetian Red, Black Pearl, Snow White, Sterling...

The elite conference from the house of Zak Group on façade design and engineering successfully completed its 15th Indian edition in Bangalore. The second conference in 4th season, Zak World of Façades, Bangalore revolved around the theme of responsible façade execution to harness sustainability. The one-day conference, held at Hotel ITC Gardenia, Bangalore on 15th July, saw a never-before gathering of some of the most prominent and appreciated names from the construction industry in India and abroad, sharing their expertise and experience in order to achieve the best façade execution practices. The cosmopolitan city of Bangalore has grown manifolds organically in the last couple of decades. The city is constantly striving to strike a sustainable balance between its ever-growing industry and residential population. Building façades play an irrefutable role in the functionality of a building and determine its prowess to provide comfortable accommodation while giving an exceptional experience. Needless to...

WFM: Please give us a brief introduction of yourself and your rm and few of your recently completed important projects? AC: I was brought up in a small town near Kolkata, in a large joint family surrounded by endless farmlands and a fierce passion for football! It was a building of Charles Correa’s that inspired me to change my trajectory from mathematics to design. With this I began my journey in Architecture. I graduated from Jadavpur University, Kolkata in 1998. In my first job while working with him, Ar. Prabir Mitra inspired me to drive into the ‘details’ of Architecture. Thereafter, I served as the head of National design at Lafarge for a few years and later as director of a firm called Adler. In 2003 I pursued specialisation in industrial Design from DOMUS Academy, Milan ‘Abin Design Studio’ began in October, 2005 and has grown to become a design-centric...

WFM: What are the important aspects to be considered while designing and installing fenestrations? Nilabh Nagar (NN): The most important design factor would be the orientation of the opening. But many a times, constraints of site and function do not allow proper orientation. So one needs to adopt other methods. The summer-winter contradiction can best be addressed on the south face only. In east and west façades, the sun comes at low angles and can only be done by cutting off. On the south façade, Simply by having awnings/sun shades to match solar angle for winter and summer as well adjustable louvres can easily get the benefits asked (We have used them in important projects: e.g., Infosys SDB). However the proportion of windows, overhang of balconies in residential buildings Chajjas, etc., greatly contribute to optimised lighting. We must ensure that window is not too small to create glare. There are...

The Bharat Diamond Bourse project had started in the 1980s and had changed many hands before it finally progressed to Architect Reza Kabul in the early 2000s. Located in the suburban commercial hub of Bandra – Kurla Complex, Bharat Diamond Bourse had a distinguished architectural character and is one of the largest commercial complexes in India. Every structure built and proposed in Bandra – Kurla Complex has a unique personality of its own: the buildings stand out and yet gel with the overall scheme which is modem and fresh unlike any other place in India. The challenge at ARK was to give a fresh look to the Bharat Diamond Bourse structure designed in a different outlook. The project needed to be revamped considering the revised utility requirements, which involved detailed site analysis of the existing structure and studying the previous drawings. As it was not possible to make major structural...

    [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="192"] International Management Institute[/caption]             Kolkata is an ancient city in eastern part of India. Post-Independence, this city has not grown like others in India, and has not yet adopted any architectural character. On the contrary this city is becoming more chaotic & mono chromatic. But the city definitely has vibrant life, and people here have love and passion for art & culture. As client vision was to give the most expressive, vibrant, technologically advanced & sustainable management institute. We thought about adding colours to city life. PEOPLE + CITY: Community The Productive Collision. The site, situated in a very dense residential urban fabric, was a huge constraint and dictated linear planning. Special efforts were made to ensure creation of non-monotonous spaces which did not follow expected linear pattern. The curved glass façade, allowing naturally lit areas in the day...

The International Conference Center truly seems to have been pulled straight from the future into the northwest Chinese economic and leisure metropolis of Dalian. Both the interior and exterior contain Aleris aluminum alloy 55HX®. This icon and symbol of urban development, located in 50 meters vicinity of the sea, is designed by COOP HIMMELB (L) AU and combines the rational elements of a modern congress center with the flowing lines of traditional Asian buildings and the smooth forms of the ocean. 700 tons of Aleris 55HX® were used both for the inside and outside paneling of the Dalian International Conference Center. There were a few reasons for choosing this Aleris alloy. First, the anodized aluminum has a high surface quality and is excellent for shaping. Additionally, Aleris 55HX® not only guarantees color uniformity across numerous casting batches but also longterm color stability under all weather conditions, which is an important...

With the improvement of people’s aesthetics in the architectural style of buildings, the colouration of uPVC window profiles is increasing continuously, thus leading to increasing demand for UPVC window fabricators. However, the current colouration process for doors and windows such as lacquering, colouring, co-extruding etc., all of them are not the best solution due to the limitation proved for years. Co-extrusion For example, co-extrusion is the most popular colouration process for uPVC window profiles suppliers in Asian area nowadays. It proves the outside single coloured uPVC window is the strongest demand in the market. The advantage of co-extrusion is the low cost, but there are lots of disadvantages like not only single colour and higher mould investment but also the bad feed-backs from various regions especially in extreme climate area after the application in recent years. It performs different weather resistance. The profile will release its internal co-extrusion stress and cause...

Prashant Sutaria, Principal Architect, PSA, is a creative and thinking architect, who believes in design solutions for long term and likes to explore various architectural vocabularies. After graduating in the year 1989 from Mumbai, over the years, he has worked on a variety of projects. He passionately works on projects of various types across India, and contributes significantly towards better built environment and sustainable development. He, along with his wife, Architect Hemanti Sutaria, has created CELPT - Centre of Living and Planning for Tomorrow. At present, he is working towards creating knowledge based solutions for affordable and low-cost housing.