Green Office: Collaborative Design Studio for Green Curry Design, 4 Cities Collaborative and 42mm Architecture

Architects: 42mm Architecture

Design Team: Adreesh Chakraborty, Aditi Dhingra - 42mm, Anuj Bhandari – 4 Cities, Eena Basur – Green Curry Design.

Location: South Delhi

Plot Area: 4500sqft, Built Area: 3000sqft

Year: 2013

Photographs: Anuj Bhandari, Adreesh Chakraborty, Arshia Chaudhury

Site Selection

The site is located at the edge of Delhi within the vicinity of Qutab Minar, Mehrauli and Lado Sarai, making it an integral part of Historical Delhi. New city level interventions, like the elevated, metro corridor runs just a hundred metres away along the Gurgaon Mehrauli road. An existing single storey building within an organic fabric, a large front yard and a large floor plate, ample parking and located strategically from all possible public transit nodes, it made for an appropriate site for a design studio.

Sustainable Office Design

Meeting Room

Sustainability and Fun

Since it was to be a collaborative space for a communication design firm, a master planning firm and an architecture studio, the intent was to maximize cross disciplinary interaction. The studio, meeting rooms and amenities are shared which also opens up the space for possibilities. It was a mandate to construct and run the office with the least minimum use of energy, in a fun, innovative mix of design application and material selection which would characterize the office.

Natural Light 

To incorporate an estimated 50 people office within an existing residential building, the internal layout was completely remodeled apart from an existing arch which now forms part of the reception area. The external lines of the boundary were kept untouched so as not to disturb the surrounding fabric. Ample openings were made on the North and the Eastern edges to get in as much natural light as possible into each interior space. The openings in the south were protected from the sun by the existing boundary wall and a metal trellis that acts as a shading device. Bamboo and wooden venetian blinds were used to control internal lighting levels.

Natural Day-Lighting

Partitions  

All the internal partitioning was done in exposed 3”x 3”x 8” Fly ash Brick masonry which has a very low embodied energy. The module was chosen to restrict the partition width to 3” to maximize on internal spaces. A bright yellow continuous mild steel section runs at the lintel height to tie up the structure and form the lintel band for all the internal openings.

Fly Ash Exposed Brick Partitions with exposed Conduits for Electrical Works

Sevices

Instead of using a complete false ceiling, the services were designed to be exposed. All the electrical conduits and raceways and ducting for air-conditioning with surface mounted wall fittings are an integral part of the design aesthetic. All the zones are divided with their own individual master switches for air-conditioning and electrical outlets which lets zones get shut off when not in use. Apart from air-conditioning the entire office has fans which circulate the air and provides comfort for Delhi weather conditions for a considerable period of time in the year. Since power back-up is mandatory in Delhi an UPS forms the backbone of the backup system. A small diesel generator set is rented only for the 3 peak months of the summer when outside temperatures touch around 47 Degrees Celsius, to only run the airconditioning. All lighting fixtures are LED and have a very low combined electrical load. Lighting in the toilets is controlled by motion sensors which optimizes the electrical consumption. The entire rainwater and air-conditioning drainage is fed to a harvesting tank which stores water for cleaning and landscaping. All toilet fixtures are rated and consume only a fraction of the water than that of the other systems.

Exposed Services

Finishes

The majority of the flooring and wall paneling is made from reclaimed wooden packaging material put together in an intricate pattern which forms the character of the internal space. Most of this wood was packing material picked up from stone importers. Other materials used are Jaisalmer stone – a local stone from Rajasthan, used for flooring and jambs and marble chips for outdoor areas. Reclaimed tiles from major manufacturers and traders have been used for broken tile mosaic finishes, and cut tile patterns in toilets and pantry areas. The office is painted white with water based paints with bright coloured highlights which make the spaces playful and fun. Some of the furniture was reclaimed and remodeled from the previous premises.

Reclaimed Wooden Flooring made on site

Insulation

The roof has been covered with two layers of 50 mm thick over deck insulation, protected by a reclaimed tile-mosaic floor which in itself reflects a considerable amount of heat. All the openings in the building are fitted with airtight UPVC windows and doors which restrict losses during the summer and winter months and are operable for the humid months when cross ventilation is a must to achieve comfort.

The Studio with both Fans and Air-Conditioning for the diverse weather conditions of Delhi.

Consultants

Lighting :- Lucent Consultants

Plumbing: - Tech Consultancy Services Pvt Ltd.

Contractors

Civil: - K. P. Contractor & Co.
Windows: - Ewin
Electrical: - North Select Engineers Pvt. Ltd.

Automation & Security:-Vision n Solution.

Lighting:-Oscar Lucea

Plumbing: - Deepak Kumar Sahoo

AC: - Sankhya Consultants Pvt. Ltd.

Heated Floor – Tefkot Cable Company

Water Proofing: - Roofers Combine

Stone: - H S Builders.

Finishing: - Raju Contractors

Blinds: - Floor – n – Walls

Furniture – Hazara Furniture House