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Architects: A Threshold
- Area: 12350 ft²
- Year: 2021
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Photographs:Vivek Muthuramalingam
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Landscape Consultants: VSLA, Varna Shashidhar - VSLA
Text description provided by the architects. The site for this multifamily housing is located in JP Nagar, Bangalore, Karnataka, and it measures 60'x40', constituting a tight urban plot. The housing is designed to accommodate five families. The initial brief was to create the outer skin or facade for the building. However, we went beyond the given brief and proposed a building screen that transcended the concept of a mere facade. We deemed it essential to envision the facade as a living element - "a breathing enclosure," and convinced the clients to share this perspective.
This project also aims to solve issues related to vanishing green spaces due to the urban growth development pattern, where access to immediate green areas is becoming a challenge due to land prices, commercial value, and space constraints.
We devised a multifunctional screen consisting of Ferro-cement planter boxes. This envelope was conceived as a tribute to the garden city, Bengaluru, where the building is situated. About 32 types of local plant species have been carefully selected and planted in a way that allows the building to transform throughout the year, mirroring the city’s changing seasons. Moreover, it enhances the building's ecological value and promotes urban biodiversity.
The envelope is a multifunctional enclosure that welcomes and facilitates various spaces such as living, dining, kitchen, and sit-outs to open towards it. It enables activities to naturally extend or overflow into the outward space, creating a harmonious and integrated relationship between the indoor living spaces and the green enclosure. Thus, enabling residents to enjoy and engage with nature while going about their daily activities.
It acts as a 'green community veranda,' drawing inspiration from traditional verandas in western India that served as transition spaces between homes and outdoor streets. In this context, the verandas are envisioned to serve multiple functions throughout the day, similar to their traditional counterparts. The scope of opening up to landscape and streetscape has reduced due to the current urban growth pattern. Therefore, this multifunctional enclosure is an attempt to retain the sense of community activity and the essence of a traditional veranda in a high-rise setting.
In the dense neighborhood where it is situated, the plant envelope functions as a visual and climatic screen, effectively filtering the air, noise, and pollution. The strategically placed plants also assist in reducing solar heat gain, thereby contributing to the control of the building's microclimate.
This ingenious and cost-effective modular system of Ferro cement planters offers an array of advantages, including:
- Lowering surface temperatures through the process of evaporative cooling.
- Cooling the local air temperature.
- Purifying the air, promoting cleaner and fresher surroundings.
- Assisting in absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
- Reducing stormwater runoff.
- Absorbing and diminishing noise levels.
- Providing visual screening, creating a sense of privacy and tranquility for both residents and passersby.
- Enabling occupants and passersby to observe and experience seasonal changes, fosters a deeper connection with nature.
This approach not only fosters a healthier living environment but also sets a precedent for sustainable urban planning in the face of ongoing urban growth and expansion. It can be looked at as a scalable model of housing where each segment can get access to green spaces at their doorstep.
