1. Total no. of pages 88
Ideas, inspiration and insight for architects and interior designers Volume 03 | Issue 3 | June 2011 | `50
An ITP Publishing India Publication
Shades ENVIRONMENT
SPECIAL
Green
Innovative case studies
of
by Surendra Shah and
Tanmay Tathagat
KARAN GROVER
_OPOLIS ARCHITECTS USES BAMBOO FOR THE CONSTRUCTION On energy efficiency
OF A HEALING CENTRE TO REDUCE ITS CARBON FOOTPRINT
CHRISTOPHER
BENNINGER
The environment
crusader
SUSTAINABLE DESIGN
Collaborative Architecture
CERAMIC TILES
Architects’ natural choice
coverFinal.indd 1 06-06-2011 13:11:19

2. Case study
Bajaj ElEctricals officE
Pushing thE
eNvelope
PhotograPhs: courtesy collaborative architecture
1
Collaborative arChiteCture’s interior design
for the bajaj eleCtriCals offiCe in Chennai goes
beyond the funCtional, observes Maria louis
Sustainability as an active strategy a corporate office, with cabins for senior
2
1. An elliptical was the fundamental premise on which managers, cubicles for mid-level manag-
reception area de- the concept design for Bajaj Electricals’ re- ers, work stations for executives, apart
marcates public and gional corporate office in Chennai is based, from meeting rooms, conference rooms,
work spaces. reveal Lalita Tharani and Mujib Ahmed staff service areas. A mandatory require-
of Collaborative Architecture. “Bajaj is an ment was orthogonal spaces within the
2. Entries to service energy company. If they do not make it office, in keeping with the traditional
areas. a fundamental theme, who would?” asks principles of Vastu.
Tharani. “Incidentally, they have made a The brief emphasised that the budget
3. Architectural commitment to make all their future work and compliance with conservative Vastu
graphics decorate spaces sustainable. Kiran and Shekhar dictats be kept in mind in terms of the
the walls of confer- Bajaj are proponents of Green living, and orientation and placement of staff. “It was
ence rooms. Kiran heads a Bajaj initiative called a functional brief, like any other,” recalls
Pariyavaran Mitra.” Tharani. “You have to fix in X number of
4. Straightforward The architects received a typical heads in a limited space, adhering to the
yet pleasing design. straight-jacketed, hierarchical brief for needed footprint space allocation as per
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3. Case study
Bajaj ElEctricals officE
3
the stated hierarchy. This is always a major daylight to penetrate optimally into the
constraint in any corporate project, and entire space. Collaborative Architecture
this one was no different.” designed the architectural graphics on
Tharani recalls that the first impression the wall to ensure adequate privacy in the
they had of the site was “a standard office cabin areas.
floor plate with some acute corners.” Their Every cabin, the passages and entry
design challenge was to accommodate foyers are provided with active tools to
constraining guidelines such as the rigid cut down the lighting load. And finally,
orthogonal layout, yet evolve a ‘design the office is equipped with state-of-the-art
narrative’ that would cleverly masks the HVAC and BMS to make it a truly energy-
ubiquitous gridded plan. efficient workspace.
Deciding to invest the space with an The architects convinced the clients to
architectural character that would gener- incorporate Green tools into the project
ate work efficiency, the architects fulfilled to make it an experience centre for Bajaj
the need for energy efficiency through the Electricals in South India. “It really works
selection of Green-rated products, active as an experience centre for them now,
tools to cut down energy consumption, where the consultants take their clients
daylight harvesting and the general orien- to give them a first-hand feel of the active
tation of the work floor, to tap maximum tools employed,” discloses Tharani.
daylight and reduce south exposure to cut
down cooling load.
The meeting room is placed strategi- Materials and suppliers
cally to segregate the public interface with vitrified tiles & Dado: raK Ceramics
the work interface. The contrasting dark Modular ceiling: armstrong
colour and the free-flowing envelope of hardware: dorma, hettich
its space generates a spatial boundary laminates: Merino
between the public and work realms. En- Desking system for modular
closed spaces such as the senior managers’ work stations: bP ergo
cabins, conference room and staff utility chairs: featherlite
areas are positioned along one of the sides, soft seating/loose furniture: tangent
allowing the work stations to tap the air-conditioning (hvac) systems:
maximum daylight. bluestar
The cabins have glazed partitions sepa- light fixtures: trilux
4
rating them from the workspace, allowing
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4. Case study
Bajaj ElEctricals officE
5 6
consultant had other ideas,” laments Most of the specified products for this
7 Tharani. “This is the challenging part of project have no VOC (Volatile Organic
working with a client who wants the space Compound) and less formaldehyde (zero
to be Vastu compliant. You have to work formaldehyde is still to be attained in
with Vastu consultants who interpret the the Indian building industry). Daylight
principles rigidly – and yet, you have to harvesting was implemented and energy
come up with a convincing overall design. consumption was reduced by almost
Thankfully, during the design process, 40%. Specified CFC-free refrigerant and
the clients happen to see how some other advanced VRV (Variable Refrigerant Vol-
ongoing projects in the studio are shaping ume) systems were also employed.
up… and their confidence ascends. That Tharani adds that the Bajajs are satis-
gives us the necessary tool to nudge the fied with the end result. “This project has
project towards a suitable direction.” created a benchmark for their future proj-
Revealing that clients usually prefer a ects in terms of design and environmental
tried-and-tested design rather than tread- commitment. Shekhar Bajaj (CMD, Bajaj
ing new paths and setting new standards, Electricals) ratifies that this is their best
Tharani admits that most of Collabora- office so far,” she discloses. “At Collab-
tive Architecture’s projects begin with orative Architecture, though, we always
innovation on the back burner. And while believe in pushing the envelope.” A&I
constraints such as Vastu requirements
do hamper creativity, she feels that is no
excuse for bad design. “Vastu is a chal- project details
lenge, just like budgets, logistics, etc. it’s Name of the project: bajaj electricals’
just another parameter to be dealt with by regional corporate office
Though there were severe constraints7in an architect.” location: Chennai
terms of expression of the design vocabu- Another challenge for the team was the area: 4,200sqft
5&6. The meeting lary, budget and programme versus the incorporation of the Green tools. “This is architects: Collaborative architecture
room is an anchor- available space, she admits that no corpo- one of the challenges of emerging technol- Principal architects: lalita tharani &
ing element in the rate project could be an ideal one as most ogy, because contractors and consul- Mujib ahmed
space, sophisticated of them would have similar constraints tants are not really tuned in to different electrical consultant: entask, bengaluru
in colour scheme and limitations. “The project could have standards adopted by different service pro- hvac consultant: entask, Chennai
and detailing. been different if the guidelines were a bit viders,” she explains. Like most problems Plumbing consultant: entask, Chennai
more flexible, though,” she adds. they have encountered during the design security and fire-fighting consultant:
7. A well-equipped, Initially, the architects had proposed a process, the final outcome of the interior entask, Chennai
state-of-the-art different and much more dynamic layout design proves that innovation is the key year of completion: 2010
conference room. with a novel ambience. “But the Vastu to an effective solution.
030 ARCHITECT and INTERIORS INDIA | JuNe 2011 | www.architectandinteriorsindia.com