The winners of the second Holcim Awards for Sustainable Construction from across region Asia Pacific were announced at a ceremony in New Delhi. Total prize money of USD 270,000 was presented to ten projects that show future-oriented and tangible approaches to urban renewal and development, energy efficiency and affordable housing.

The dominant design target of this new office building at the outskirts of Hyderabad was the optimization of maximum shading and maximum use of daylight in order to reduce energy consumption. The proposed solution follows a twin strategy to achieve these conflicting goals. Firstly, the general layout of the courtyard building optimizes orientation and provides maximum fenestration for work spaces in the north and south wings, whereas the east and west wings in which radiation levels are high are occupied by cores. Furthermore the building shape steps out upwardly on its south façades to create self-shading effects. Secondly, the façade design is carefully analyzed to minimize solar heat gain while maintaining views and high daylight levels. 

India’s energy and infrastructure development cannot keep up with the needs of its booming IT sector. An Energy-efficient office complex has a sustainable answer to reduce reliance on the public electricity grid. It harnesses a resource the country is rich in, but which many architectural solutions have sought to escape in the past – the sun.