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Feature - Roofing
and Cladding
Crowning Glories
What does it take to build an iconic structure? JANAKI KRISHNAMOORTHI
looks at trends in roofing and cladding design.
Did you know? Taipei 101, the world’s tallest building
in Taiwan has a tiered silhouette resem-bling a giant glass
pagoda. A huge damper helps stabilise the tower in high winds
and earthquakes. The Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur
are a striking glass-and-steel combination designed using
Islamic geometric principles. A double-decker sky bridge links
the twin towers at the 42nd floor. The Hong Kong & Shanghai
Bank building in Hong Kong has a modular design with mega-truss
armatures and suspended infill modules allowing for column-free
banking halls. All spaces are organised around a central atrium.
Century Tower, Tokyo, is a two-layered block of asymmetrical
height joined by an open internal atrium. Its façade,
a series of eccentrically braced frames that span across the
site to allow for a column-free office space, also conforms
to seismic engineering requirements. China Central Television
(CCTV) headquarters in Beijing, which is to be completed in
time for the 2008 Olympics, is a continuous loop of five horizontal
and vertical sections creating an irregular grid on the building’s
facade with an open centre. The building being built in two
sections and then to be joined together - is considered a
structural challenge.
These are just a few of several iconic buildings that have
been created or are being created around the world. With distinct
roof and façade designs, they are not only crowd-stoppers
but have also punctuated the skylines of the cities they are
located in. They also chronicle the evolution of design styles,
functionalism, new techniques in construction, and new generation
of materials.
Design dilemma
Where does India stand in this scenario? We do have our distinctive
buildings: Taj Mahal, Qutab Minar, Hawa Mahal, Mysore Palace,
Red Fort, Victoria Terminus and Bombay High Court. But these
are all legacies of bygone eras.
Right now, what we have is a proliferation of look-alike skyscrapers
and contemporary facades as an upshot of globalisation on
the Indian built environment. True, there are some exceptional
buildings. But where are our signature edifices? Perhaps the
answer lies in the fact that our structures are driven more
by functional needs, and limited by economic compulsions and
even gover-nment regulations.
“In our country, the shape of a building, whether it
is a roof or façade, is definitely driven by functional
needs,” says architect Hafeez Contractor. “But
aesthetics also have to be put in place. Form follows function
and function follows form; they are inter-related. So is economics.
Yet, we have managed to develop many remarkable buildings.”
Contractor adds that government regulations also limit the
scope of how high or how unique a building can be.
Also, until recently even customers-developers, residential
owners, corporate houses were not open to experimentation.
“Till a few years ago, the majority of our buildings
were designed for a customer with limited comprehension,”
says Kalhan Mattoo, Director, Planet 3 Studios Architecture
Pvt Ltd, Mumbai. “Now, with evolving customer sensibilities,
there is a demand for more than cheap replicas of Greek orders
or a poor man’s version of a maharaja’s palace.”
Today, a slew of architectural splendours are reportedly in
the making, including Mall of India and Wipro Technologies
Development Centre, both in Gurgaon; Sirsuri Technopark in
Chennai; Noida Towers; a green township in Pune; and Antila,
Mukesh Ambani’s residence in Mumbai. Further, architectural
innovations, particularly in roofs and facades, are increasingly
seen in institutional and public utility spaces - probably
as they also have a functional role to play in these areas.
Functional force
All said and done, in India an iconic building still needs
to be more than just a remarkable roof or skin. This is why
most of our roofs have remained flat so they can be used for
parties and meetings, or facilities like water tanks, lift
machine rooms or even solar energy panels. But that doesn’t
mean architects have given up on designing interesting roof
shapes.
“Creating an iconic roof in a highrise residential or
office building is more to do with making a statement,”
believes Kiran Kapadia, Director, Kapadia Associates, who
designed the Ghansoli railway station in Navi Mumbai with
a roof of stainless truss and Zincalume sheeting with Northlite
glazing. “It has no functional role. But in buildings
like airports and stadiums, the roof becomes integral to the
entire structure mainly because you are dealing with large
volumes. So here you can easily combine functional and aesthetic
aspects. For instance, in such large spaces you can get light
and ventilation to the length and breadth of the building
only through the roof. That alone gives you wide scope to
create interesting roofs.”
Contractor concurs, saying, “The roof is the crowning
feature that no doubt determines the character of the building.
I have created interesting roof designs even in residential
buildings, like in the Hiranandani Complex. But yes, creating
iconic roofs in buildings spread over large spans is easier
as they also have a functional advantage.” Contractor
is the architect behind the remake of Mumbai’s domestic
airport terminal building, which is crafted with aluminium
composite panels, glass roof and large skylights.
However, facades of buildings are not driven by functional
needs alone though it does play a major role. There are facades
that make an architectural statement and there are those that
are eco-sensitive, climate-sensitive, and even both. “A
façade is essentially the public face of a building,”
explains Mattoo. “Functionally and aesthetically it
has to serve the intended purpose. For a recent project, we
designed a skin that breathes effectively, ensuring that the
building core remains aerated. That was a design necessity.
However, the importance of façade design goes beyond
style and scale. It has to respond to the immediate neighbourhood.
Many get it wrong in differing too much.”
Kapadia, who has played around with some roofs purely for
aesthetic reasons, is still strongly driven by functional
aspects. “We look at eco-sensitive aspects like lighting,
heat, ventilation and energy efficiency,” he elaborates.
“As natural light is important, we try to get it more
from the north rather than the south as we also gain a lot
of heat from the south. So, in office buildings we locate
all office spaces on the north side and spaces that require
limited light like toilets on the south. Of course, aesthetics
is important but environmental factors drive us as a starting
point.”
Materials matter
Yet another driving force behind all new architectural forms
is the array of new roofing and cladding materials available
in the market, such as colour-coated steel sheets, fibre cement
sheets, Teflon-coated fabrics, polycarbonate, glass, and aluminium
composite panels. Innovation is the order of the day. For
instance, the Building Materials & Technology Promotion
Council (BMTPC) and Indian Plywood Industries Research &
Training Institute (IPIRTI) have jointly developed a technology
for manufacturing bamboo mat corrugated sheets, considered
eco-friendly, energy-efficient and cost-effective for roofing.
Produced at a pilot-scale facility, they are being used in
several demonstration buildings. “There is no dearth
of materials available,” says Kapadia. “Today
you even get fabric that allows light to come in but keeps
the rain out! It is the architect’s exposure and knowledge
that makes
the difference.”
But everybody is not ready to experiment with new materials,
in Mattoo’s view. “We are so entrenched in heavy,
opaque and solid RCC slabs that the lightness of contemporary
materials and technology is finding only gradual acceptance,”
he rues. Mattoo is currently experimenting with multi-wall
polycar-bonate panels, glass-reinforced concrete screens,
laser-cut sheet metal, bent glass, live grass and Teflon-coated
fabrics for
his projects.
Cost control
Having said that, iconic designs - for aesthetic or functional
reasons - certainly don’t come cheap. And that is no
doubt a controlling factor in the whole process.
However, Mattoo maintains that
the cost of the product is not always a function of design
complexity. “We use sophisticated tools of assessment
to minimise wastage of material and labour resources,”
Mattoo says. “Thus, seemingly complex designs are modular,
repetitive and simple to create. I’m not saying that
iconic designs always come cheap. But to close our minds to
design possibilities only on the basis of some unsubstantiated
numbers should be questioned. A capable designer should be
able to work with any reasonable budget.”
True enough. What’s more, even cost is assuming less
importance in today’s global competitive market where
every architect
is trying to outdo the other in the quest
for the next standout design. May their
tribe increase!
Box
The single roof of the International Institute of Information
Technology (IIIT), Pune, is the
most captivating element and spans the entire academic facility.
The columns that are solid pylons
in the lower levels manifest as metallic columns in the higher
levels supporting the exposed roof.
The roof thus has a two-way support system - it is held up
by the column flares from
underneath and the same columns rise and hold up the roof
in suspension by means of
steel cables. Additional vertical roofing elements were included
in certain directions
to protect the indoors from heavy rains.
This ground + one
structure of Amenity Block, Pune, is designed to blend in
with the landscape and draws inspiration from geology and
how the ground folds under
pressure from tectonic forces. A grassy lawn for the roof
helps reduce direct heat load from the sun. Porous screens
on the sides facing the water body bring in conditioned air,
maximising the advantage of cool evenings.
1 The roof and façade of Lodha Bellissimo, Mumbai,
designed
by Kiran Kapadia,
is shaped to reflect
a sea wave. Aluminium
composite panels with louvres have been used for the roof.
2 The curved sloping roof of Vasant Vilas in Mumbai provides
ample ventilation and light.
The roof has been
created with stainless steel clad with wood.
Vidyalankar Polytechnic, Mumbai, is an adapted ground + one
industrial shed. The façade was developed after studying
students and faculty needs - they wanted a visually arresting,
iconic makeover of the old shed. Graphic forms clad the structure
in the form of rapid brushstrokes. Even within the limited
palette of ACP finishes, solid colours have been
interspersed with some mirror-finish reflective surfaces.
Architect: Hafeez Contractor
Structure details
The terminal has a column free check-in area, which is 105
m in length and 23 m wide with an all-new look comprising
of aluminium composite panels, a glass roof, and large skylights.
It includes 38 check-in counters and a 1,651 sq m security
hold. An extended 180 sq m mezzanine cafeteria oversees the
departure lounge. The new terminal has an extended car park
with an additional parking capacity of 200 cars.
Project highlights
• One of the most demanding tasks in architecture is
to give new form to what already exists. Here the objective
was not only to renovate and expand existing buildings, but
also to create a new image.
• The motivation for the project was derived from the
poetic seduction of aeroplanes with their aura of speed and
dynamism. We endeavoured to give a forceful character to the
form by using strong sinuous lines.
• The skylight was created after cutting existing reinforced
concrete slabs, beams and columns. It warrants natural light
into the spaces and is thereby an energy efficient design.
• The area between the entrance canopy and the main
building has an attractively landscaped garden.
Architect: Hafeez Contractor
Structure details
Turbhe station occupies a total length of 65.4 m x 27 m, across
five platforms and tracks. The station spread over
15,000 sq m has a parking capacity for 175 cars and 250 bikes.
The main multi-level car parking area is at the northern corner.
Three subways - two for the commuters and one for the general
public discharges onto a pedestrian promenade. Further, a
pedestrian underpass is introduced at the northern end to
cater to traffic from the MIDC area to the nodal side. The
ticketing counters are positioned at the centre of the station.
Project highlights
• One of our principal design objectives was to ensure
a railway station that would become a ‘new civic symbol’.
• Another intent that inspired the design was the fact
that railway stations are gateways to a city. The gigantic
arch shaped roof was conceptualised to symbolise an entryway
to the city.
• The station has a semi circular massive 84-m roof.
An innovative ribbed arch roof design spans across all platforms
and its sheer size and magnitude making an imposing assertion.
• Large skylights designed within the roof structure
to light up the platform areas below achieve vast, light-filled
spaces.
• The station imposes itself as modern and progressive,
demonstrated also by the contemporary materials used. Resilient
galvalume sheets made of aluminum and zinc (Australian Zincalume)
were used for the roof. Usage of clips for fixing joints instead
of drilling makes the roof more distinctive.
Architect: Kalhan Mattoo
Structure details
Pre-existing industrial warehouses ada-pted to suit retail
conditions.
Project highlights
• A couple of adjoining halls, one of them 50 feet high
- bereft of any redeeming features in the interior and the
cavernous halls’ barren exterior -presented a unique
challenge
• We drew inspiration from the brand logo, specifically
the tail of the sea horse and projected it on to the facade.
• In its dramatic avtaar, the tail curled to become
out of scale embroidery patterns cut-out in cement asbestos
sheets, painted in brand colours. With this design the space
acquired a degree of freshness and appeal.
• Cement-based sheets, easy to cut and install and take
weathering quite well, were a natural choice.
Architect: Kalhan Mattoo
Project status : Ongoing Design
Structural details
Ground + two spread over a 15,000 sq ft standalone building
at the International Biotech Park, Hingewadi, Pune.
Project highlights
• We researched local historical references, studied
the immediate climatic conditions and hit upon a uniquely
Indian solution for the project - a iali.
• A jali is a geometrically patterned, carved screen.
It is porous and in hot climate allows filtered light and
ventilation to
pass through. In Pune, many abodes of local rajas had
these screens. In an age of industrially produced building
materials and technology, jalis still evoke craftsmanship
and the luxury of a bygone era. We interpreted it in a thoroughly
contemporary context.
• The glass building was clad with an external skin
of patterned jali, an exact reproduction of a local palace
window. Punctured with large cut-outs the shape of which was
obtained again from local craft and design sources the external
screen is a unique take on local design references.
• The jali skin wraps around the building, maintaining
a requisite distance from the glass inside, carries on to
the terrace area where it provides partial shade over outdoor
seating. The shape and the form, cast fascinating shadow patterns
on the terrace.
• We anticipate this construct to reduce energy consumption
in the building by reducing direct glare.
• We plan to cast components of this jali in glass reinforced
concrete and anchor it to the building with steel supports.
Currently we are in the process of refining details and building
technology to achieve this.
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