Project Description

TOWNLAND was appointed to design two Preliminary Conceptual Architectural Design Options for the facade a Commercial Building of circa 28,000 sqm in Jaipur. The Commercial building is the first phase of a larger 300,000 sqm mixed use development, for which TOWNLAND is responsible for the Master Planning.

Considering the hot climate in Jaipur a strategic goal of the facade is to ensure the building will be energy efficient whilst not compromising on the visual and thermal comfort of the occupants. With the floors of the building already constructed and load bearing columns in place away from the floor plate’s perimeter, the facade is to be designed as intended in the original design: a non-load-bearing wall.

The first option has a unitized system curtain wall: an aluminium-framed facade, containing infills of glass or thin aluminium panel cladding, and aluminium spandrel panels. The framing is attached to the building structure and does not carry the floor or roof loads of the building. The window frame design consists of a simple template that is repeated across all the facades a module of one large vertical window (or panel) next to three square windows (or panels), framed by spandrel panelling hiding the edges of the floor slabs, ceiling details. The Design Concept is to vary the amount of glass panels and aluminium panels and therefor the transparency for each facade, based on its orientation towards the sun: to mitigate heat gain, but allow for enough day light.

The second option is a natural stone cladded facade with a strong rhythm of narrow long windows carved out along almost the entire length of the building’s facades. With the exception of the North facing facade, the choice of narrow horizontal slits or voids with recessed windows are to minimize solar gain. The Design Concept, is to emphasize the strong gestures and shapes of the building’s four slightly angular shaped wings. The simplicity of the repetition of the different architectural elements create a distinctive rhythm in the facade, whilst the contrasting play with solids and voids bring a Modernist architectural flavour to the building. As a contrast to the rest of the building, the North Facade is treated largely as Voids, with largely glass facades with a much more transparent character, since solar gain is not so much an issue here.
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