Charu Bahri learns more about a few commercial developments to determine what drives real estate developers and architects to choose products for fit-outs.
What drives building material choices?
To answer this question, one must first place the stats in context. The Indian building and construction industry contributes close to 15 per cent of the nations' GDP. In the past five years, it has recorded growth rates of over 10 per cent, creating huge opportunities for real-estate developers, contractors, architects and vendors of various building materials alike. In some classes of real estate, building materials are emerging as a major draw as developers understand that associating with highly regarded brands increases interest in their offerings. But is brand value the only driver? What role do quality, durability and cost play in making these crucial decisions? Is it really true that building materials can help bring to life design ideologies representing corporate philosophy? We focus on a few commercial developments to understand what materials (apart from brick and mortar) were chosen-and why.
Case 1
Project: Ambience Mall
Location: Gurgaon
Size: 867,000 sq ft
Architect: Achal Kataria Architects
Developer: Ambience Group
Structural consultants: Technical Project Consultants (TPC)
Civil contractor: Ambience Group
Design:
First, there were malls. Now, there are second-generation malls, positioned as 'destinations' in themselves for consumers leading up-market lifestyles. Ambience Mall, Gurgaon, was conceptualised as a second generation mall worthy of being an integral part of Ambience Island, a development that includes premium residential condominiums, corporate offices, quality institutional, leisure and entertainment developments, and golf greens. Ambience Mall, Gurgaon, fits in close to 1 km of shopping area, family entertainment options, a five-star deluxe hotel and service apartments, in corridors branching out from a grand entrance lobby. The four-storey high atriums are landscaped to international standards. "Over the past few years, malls have evolved at a rapid pace," says Achal Kataria, Principal Architect, Achal Kataria Architects. "Keeping that in mind, design features have also evolved. Grand entrances, large atriums, better visual space for branding and options for family entertainment are design features that meet international standards."
Key materials used:
Lighting: CFL and energy-saving lights from Osram, etc
Flooring: Light emperador, dark emperador and bottachino stone
Façade cladding: Granite and sadarhalli stone and glass
Glass: 12 mm toughened glass from Gurind
BMS: Schneider
Air-conditioning: Voltas
What drove the choice of materials?
The architect and client chose the materials to create the right, well, ambience!
Case 2
Project: HQ Corporate Office (LEED-certified)
Location: Al Raha Beach Development, Abu Dhabi, UAE
Size: 50,086 sq m (net internal area)
Architect: MZ Architects
Developer: Aldar Properties
Consultants: ARUP
Civil contractor: Laing O'Rourke
Design:
HQ is architecturally outstanding while celebrating the simplicity of form. A LEED-certified office building in Abu Dhabi, HQ brings geometry alive in its rich structural expressions. From a distance, the shiny building rises from the beach, no larger than a dot. Closer to the structure, it becomes apparent that the curved glass facades mirror its sheer volume. On a more subtle level, the same simile can be made about the microscopic image of the self in relation to the larger universe-all-encompassing from near, negligible from afar; that is what the glass façade is designed to reflect to its occupants. Structurally speaking, HQ challenges the traditional four-sided approach to designing the built form. An innovative continuous glass and structural band doubling up as both window and roof stitches together the two facades. The shifting sun plays upon the facade, creating a myriad glowing faces during the course of the day. Truly, HQ exemplifies the three-faceted vision of its architects, MZ Architects, symbolising functionality, flexibility and outstanding architecture. Accolades received include the Best Futuristic Design Award by the Building Exchange Conference held in Spain in 2008 and The Architecture Award, Abu Dhabi, in 2009. "It was crucial to finish the project as scheduled, to prove our competence and reflect the vision of the developer, ALDAR," says Tony Abi Gebrayel, Area Manager, MZ Architects. "Fortunately, good material suppliers are well represented in the UAE and these vendors were very helpful. The UAE has been facing such challenges since 2001. Therefore, we didn't face any major problems in procurement or delivering on time."
Key materials:
Glass (outer pane): AGC Float Glass treated with Glass Troesch Sunstop; blue coating to surface 2
Glass (inner pane): Glas Troecsh (Austria) low e-pane coated to surface 3 (high-performance glass chosen to remove ultraviolet and heat gain)
Flooring: ASP raised flooring, marble flooring; Calacata marble supplied by Carrara Middle East
Air-conditioning: Clivet air-handling units (installed and commissioned by Conspel, Middle East)
BMS: Energy International
Elevator: Kone
Security system: Lenel (installed by Elenco)
Fire alarm system: Coopers (installed by Elenco)
What drove the choice of brands/materials?
The client and main contractor reviewed the products for their suitability rather than cost. Many products offer an initial cost advantage but in the long term prove to be expensive. On the contrary, for example, LED light fittings, which have much higher purchasing costs, are significantly cheaper. Entry and exit costs were considered for all material purchases to give long term, quality and cost-effective advantages to the client.
Case 3
Project: India Glycols Ltd Corporate Office
Location: Noida
Size: 391,700 sq ft
Architect: Morphogenesis
Structural consultants: Sahni & Associates Ltd
Structural contractor: Bhayana Builder
Design:
India Glycols's corporate office echoes the fact that a workplace should manifest itself as a flexible and integral part of an employee's life rather than stand separately as an entity representing hours of confinement. Recognising that offices are synonymous with social activity, the built form branches out from a central spine serving as the common activity zone. Overall, the office was conceptualised as a solid perimeter with a fluid interior. But the interface between in and out is purposely blurred to enhance the vibrancy and creativity of the space and address the environmental and socioeconomic concerns associated with modern offices without taking away from its intrinsic functionality. The built form's narrow 8-m floor plate coupled with a stacking system generates a variety of open spaces - courtyards, verandas, terraces, green roofs - that optimise the use of natural light, thereby completely mitigating the need for artificial lighting during the day. Internal reflectures also help distribute daylight. Courtyards replete with water bodies (drip-irrigated using recycled water from the sewage treatment plant) allow evaporative cooling, thereby reducing dependence on artificial cooling means while keeping solar ingress out and controlling the inner temperature. The shaded outer façade with air cavity construction and very small external slit windows further contribute to inner climate control by allowing only diffused daylight into the office environs. Energy consciousness thus dictates the internal spatial layout. Rather than overlay an environmental layer, passive design techniques employed throughout the scheme practically demonstrate how green design features can reduce the heat load and promote water conservation.
Key materials used:
Glass: Saint Gobain (clear glass)
Lighting: All local lighting
Carpets: Flotex from Consolidated Carpet Industries Ltd
External cladding: Faveton Ceramic Tiles
Furniture: Wipro
Air conditioning: Carrier
BMS: Schneider
Flooring: Locally available Italian marble (limited areas)
Elevator: Mitsubishi
What drove the choice of inner and utility building and materials?
"Climate and environmentally sensitive design informs all design processes," says Manit Rastogi, Principal Architect, Morphogenesis. "The intent is to minimise the demand on non-renewable resources and maximise the utilisation efficiency of these resources when in
use. Ecological or environmentally sensitive design is not an external 'layer' that can be applied to design; it is inherent and integral to the process, from concept to completion and to the full lifecycle of the building. The most effective approach would be to build with local materials in a manner that responds to the local climate while remaining economically viable."
Case 4
Project: R City Mall
Location: Mumbai
Size: 1.6 million sq ft
Architect: Hafeez Contractor
Developer: Runwal Group
Structural consultants: Sterling
Civil contractor: L&T
Design:
R City Mall's three-storey high, central sky-lit atrium serves as the lobby, leading on both sides to secondary main atriums from where the shopping corridors start. Behind the grand lobby is a two-acre recreation ground open to the sky and a children's play area - a first for a mall in India. Positioned around this ground would be food courts and plenty of entertainment opportunities for consumers. "As far as features go, the openness that ensures something for everyone and the symmetry of design on the left and right sides aim to symbolise a cityscape in miniature to bring to life the mall's positioning tag, The city has it all," says Vvikas Aroraa, Director, Marketing, Leasing & Sales, Runwal Group. Connecting finger bridges provide easy access to the two parallel shopping corridors. The total development incorporates 1.6 million sq ft along with an excess of 2,750 parking spaces with three decks.
Key materials used:
Light fittings: Philips, Wipro, Thorn
Flooring: Nitco, Kajaria, Johnson tiles (vitrified)
Building cladding material: Alucobond
Paint: Asian, Nitco
Glass: Pilkinton
BMS: Trane
Air-conditioning: Chiller from Trane, AHU from Voltas, chilled water pipes from Tata, ducting GI sheet from Jindal
Furniture: Godrej, Haffle, etc.
What drove the choice of materials?
"Materials were chosen to meet international quality standards and for their durability," adds Aroraa.
To share your views on Commercial Complexes & Malls, write in at feedback@ASAPPmedia.com
