Gujarat Housing Board Head Office

Ahmedabad, India

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Gujarat Housing Board Head Office

Ahmedabad, India

Firm

Vivart Design Studio

Type

Commercial › Office

STATUS

Built

YEAR

2016

SIZE

25,000 sqft - 100,000 sqft

BUDGET

$100M +

"Fending the Sun – Contextual Facades in Hyper Modern Times" Green Building project for the Head Office of Gujarat Housing Board, Ahmedabad. The head office for the Gujarat Housing Board (GHB) is built in Naranpura, a dense urban area of Ahmedabad developed post 1960s. The site is on the 132 feet ring-road - one of the busiest street of Ahmedabad, which also is a lifeline for ahmedabad due to the parellel running Bust Rapid Transit System of Ahmedabad. The GHB's head office site thus offered a unique proposition, visibility to more than 1,50,000 people commuting daily on the public transport and private transport.
Ahmedabad has 'Hot and Dry' climate and the shorter side of the site was facing the main road in the North-West direction. So both longer sides were the site were exposed to the South- Western and North-Eastern direction. The total built up area of the project was around of around 70,000 square feet spread across 8 floors. The architectural design was done positioning non living spaces such as staircases, lifts and toilets in the Western and Southern direction to block a major percentage of solar radiation. Windows had been provided with both horizontal and vertical setbacks to gain maximum shading. The then commissioner of GHB Mrs. Mona Khandhar had a clear vision and a strong conviction to make the head office building a very prominent and iconic green building. GHB has long been sensitive and committed towards environment and its head office had to be a role model for the smart city movement.
Green building consultant Vivart Design Studio's task was to convert GHB's green vision into architectural reality. Vivart Design Studio carried out energy optimization exercises through energy simulation and daylight simulation for various design alternatives and came up a unique architectural element for each facade. Each facade had its own passive solar architectural response to the challenge of that particular direction, The North-Western facade, which was also the front facade and the South-Western which had major exposure to sun at low angles, were dealt with 'a double skin facade' with the outer element of sun breaker "Jali." GHB officials could relate to the "jali" instantly as the stone jali of historic 'sidi saiyed mosque' and ' sarkhej roza' are well known in the entire world. The historic architecture of Gujarat and the modern architecture after the industrial revolution in the 1950's has always used the sun breaker in form of a 'jali', a deep overhand 'Chajja,' a shaded balcony "verandah" or the "brise -soleil" of one of the greatest modern architect Le Corbusier. Due to green rating process, the entire team had realized, that to achieve a higher green rating they would have to think differently than the conventional building design and construction materials.
The outer double skin facade and Double Glazing Unit windows with low E glass blocks more than 60% of solar radiation from entering the building. The main benefit of this was that the size of air conditioning system reduced from 320 tons to 220 tons. Moreover, water cooled flooded chiller system was around 40% more efficient than conventional air cooled air conditioning. The life cycle cost analysis submitted to the GHB showed that the pay back period of the extra expense on the high-end air conditioning was within 2.5 years. This also meant that GHB would save around 3.5 million INR (58 thousand US $) annually.
The GHB head office has been registered with GRIHA for its green rating. More than 50% of its living area has access to daylight with the required daylight factor as prescribed in GRIHA and the Energy Conservation Building Code 2007. The building has been provided with around 80 daylight sensors and occupancy sensors which optimize artificial lighting and air conditioning use. All water taps and urinals flush are sensor based. More than 70 % water is recycled and reused through provision of a grey water sewage treatment plant. A vertical garden has been positioned near the entry on western facade to block off heat and promote micro climate. The garden with hardy fruit and medicinal plants has been developed to promote urban agriculture using recycled waste water. For better indoor air quality low VOC paint and polish has been used for interiors. Oxygen giving plantation have been provided indoors to increase in the productivity of staff.
The process entire project conception, design, detailing and construction has drastically changed with a positive focus on making everything efficient and environmentally friendly. Logic is applied to every requirement to reach relevant design rather than a generalized logic which leads to a standard design devoid of the responded to the nature.

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Gujarat Housing Board Head Office

Ahmedabad, India

Other Projects by Vivart Design Studio

Z house

Gujarat Housing Board Head Office

Ahmedabad, India

Product Spec Sheet

Collaborating Firms

Team