’72 Screens’ Make Up the Facade of this Office Building in India by SanJay Puri Architects

Completed in 2013, 72 Screens is a 6-storey office building in Jaipur India designed SanJay Puri Architects. The building is designed with a faceted facade as a response to both climate and context.

It exemplifies environmentally conscious design as a contemporary structure that is both practical in function and contextual with regard to its climate and location. Enveloped in abstractly folded planes of perforated screens, this 6 level office building creates a sculptural presence. Located in the city of Jaipur in India which has a desert climate with average temperatures ranging from 30°C to 50°C through most of the year . The building is designed in response to the excessive heat imbibing traditional elements.

IMAGES, DRAWINGS © SANJAY PURI ARCHITECTS

On a small plot of 1075 sq m , the building envelope is restricted on all sides in plan as well as governed by height restrictions, The resultant floor area on each level after leaving mandatory open spaces is only 326 sq m. The entire service core and toilets are located on its southern side thus effectively reducing the heat gain substantially in a location where the sun is in the Southern hemisphere throughout the year. Designed as a corporate office headquarters, the ground level houses a reception and conference rooms above a car parking basement with office areas at the above 5 levels.


In addition a glass reinforced concrete screen that takes its inspiration from the old traditional ‘jali’ screens of the architectural heritage of the region sheaths the building on all sides further reducing the heat gain and rendering the building very energy efficient.


The concrete screens around the building are supported by a steel framework with projections that vary from 0.9 to 1.5m . This creates an external periphery space for plants at each level that will act as further insulation from the external heat creating cooler office spaces within.


The office building thus overcomes the restrictions of its small plot creating office spaces that are very energy efficient to combat the excessive summers of its location while imbibing tradition in an abstract manifestation to create a sculptural quality for its inhabitants.

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