Sanjay Puri Architects, led by its namesake founder, and assisted by architects Pooja Sampat and Kapil Merchant, has designed an office building called Akshaya 27 in the southern Indian city of Chennai. The sculptural building features cantilevered cuboid volumes. Located in the old business district of the city, the plot had multiple challenges to address.
The 4,098m² site is sandwiched between existing buildings on all sides, and has very narrow access from an arterial city road with no road frontage. A total area of 8,000m² was to be built based upon the client’s requirements and the permissible construction area, along with a height restriction of 27 metres.
The ground floor has been deliberately kept small to allow easy vehicular circulation within the site and houses community spaces including a cafeteria, gymnasium, and an entrance lobby.
The offices divisible into four at a level with varying sizes from 165m² to 270m² cantilever out at the first floor and step back and forth, creating linear north-facing terraces on every floor.
The service cores form the southern side of the building, becoming a buffer to reduce heat gain in response to Chennai’s hot climate. Temperatures are in excess of 35°Celsius for most of the year with the sun always in the southern hemisphere. Orienting all the office spaces towards the north with the service cores on the south helps to mitigate heat gain completely, rendering the building highly energy-efficient.
The open terraces on every floor along with a rooftop landscaped garden provide outdoor spaces for the office occupants. Solar panels at the rooftop harness the ample solar energy available in this location providing energy for the lighting of all the public areas.
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Photos: BRS Sreenag, Sreenag Pictures
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