-
Architects: Kothari Associates
- Area: 50000 ft²
- Year: 2013
How the idea germinated:
- Client is a renowned high profile jeweller in Jaipur.
- Client has a unique identity in their own field and were looking forward to their new corporate tower to also become an iconic element in the cityscape of Jaipur.
- Design should not be 'regional' but international, eye catching, talk of the town, a potential tourist destination.
- Architect was given a free hand, full freedom to come up with something unique in India, not tried before.
- Should be as appealing during daytime as in night time.
Based on the above parameters, Kothari Associates came up with a design that has turned out to be a masterpiece in itself, unique in all respects, never tried in India, appeals during day time and becomes as explosive night show on the street with crackling effects of the veins and color changing effects on the special glass .
The shape of the building has been derived from “lotus”. The building is square in plan symmetrical from all four sides. Leaves of the lotus flower spring out of the building. Each leaf is created with colored glass in extremely complicated geometry.
The drawing work could not have been achieved without revit software. Each leaf is crowned with peripheral gold color molded fibre glass.
- Ground floor - gold showroom
- First floor - diamond showroom
- Second floor - silver showroom
- Upper floors - corporate offices
- Last floor - private area of owners
The beauty of the design is in the selection of glass and its fixing system. All Glass facade is like a second skin to the main structure supported by SS spiders thus creating an insulated building. The space in between is mechanically ventilated. The laminated glasses ( outside – clear reflective, inside clear glass with acid washed internal surface for refraction during color wash with LED lights , sandwiches layers of PVB including one layer of a specific color, 1 specific color per leaf). Total 9 special colors were selected from the range of colors available in natural gem stones. LED wall washers wash the internal surface of the glass and create millions of colors at night.
Each leaf can be independently controlled and at night each leaf can change into any desired color. LED veins are stuck to the glass surface and are controlled by a central computer to achieve various “crackling effects”. The color changing is programmable as per desired effects and varies every day. Owners can also control the same with their mobile (For example, the colors of Indian flag can be created in the leaves on independence day).
This is probably the largest example of spider application in India
- This building has transformed the face of architecture in India.
- Success of this project can attributed to 3d technology that allowed the building to be simulated before a single brick was laid.
- Coordination of all architectural structural services and elevation detail elements of this unconventional building. Accuracy, glass cutting, each piece of glass cut with a plywood template.
- Next generation of architects are going to draw right on the machine, and that’s inevitable.
