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Metallic Bellows by KSM Architecture

Architecture

2022

Photographer : Sreenag BRS

The administrative office for the Metallic Bellows factory is located on a site around 16000 sqm at Vallam, Sriperumbudur. The proposed office is built to the north of the existing manufacturing factory facing the road. The single-story brick-covered structure has glazed office rooms adjacent to gardens with wide brick paved walkways connecting the various spaces.

This project's journey started as four panel stories which shaped the thinking of the design. In a documentary on BV Doshi where he is at Sarkhej Roza in Ahmedabad, as Doshi walks through the spaces, he describes the beauty of the space through its quality of light, shadow, sense of transparency, and gradation of spaces. He also describes an inherent beauty in imperfection, a result of a hand-crafted building and its simplicity being a celebration of frugality. An edifice completely built and finished in a singular material. Is there an opportunity to approach a design from a mono-material perspective?

The second story that influenced the design is about one of the visits to the client’s existing facility, a small production unit situated in a congested part of the city. Lots of plants, succulents, cacti, and exotic varieties filled all the site margins and gaps between the production sheds. How can they efficiently preserve them and also make them an integral part of the design?

When they visited the new development, they passed by quite a few brick kilns. The local soil is clayey in nature which is ideal for brick making. Clay brick, which was available locally, as a material lent a sense of warmth to the space, a connection to the soil which resonated with their thinking. Could brick be their mono material of choice?

Kanchipuram,Tamil Nadu,India

Architects : KSM Architecture
Area : 81,805 sq. ft.
Year : 2022
Website : https://www.instagram.com/ksmarchitecture/

Courtyard of Metallic Bellows by KSM Architecture


Courtyard of Metallic Bellows by KSM Architecture


Courtyard of Metallic Bellows by KSM Architecture

Lastly, the rising CO2 emissions have become synonymous with the construction industry for a while now. Cement manufacturing is one of the key contributors to this environmental issue. How can they approach the design keeping in mind reducing the amount of concrete usage, can they try and reduce the amount of C02 generated by this project?

The path within the garden was then defined by a series of coerced verandas, which straddle the notion of being considered partly indoors or partly outdoors.

The program was then formalized in the form of rooms alongside these verandahs, to guide and steer the various views and experiences. With the aim to reduce the amount of concrete being used, the first thought came towards using brick for walls, floors, and roofs as well. 

Brick has an impression of being very heavy and solid. The traditional system of Jack arch (a tried and tested, mortar-less shallow arch system) with downstand beams and peripheral beams is used to make brick feel lighter, seeming to float over a space as brick has the impression of being heavy and solid.


Courtyard of Metallic Bellows by KSM Architecture


Courtyard of Metallic Bellows by KSM Architecture


Courtyard of Metallic Bellows by KSM Architecture


Passage to courtyard of Metallic Bellows by KSM Architecture


Corridor of Metallic Bellows by KSM Architecture

In a conventional jack arch system, the secondary beams are designed as downstand elements and feel heavy. Pushing the beam up into the rise of the arch creates a flat surface where the arch begins to spring. This now allows the brick arches to float over the structure, leading a sense of lightness to the space under it.

23 bricks were used for the jack arch after many trials in order to optimize the number of bricks. These bricks are locally sourced which costs around 10 cents a brick.

Insulating the building is very important to keep the heat out of the buildings in the tropics. To reduce the heat gain, the space above the jack arches between the upstand beams has been filled with lightweight filling material to provide a flat top surface. This overall assembly of materials and their thickness has greatly reduced the thermal heat gain from the roof which in turn has reduced the load on the air conditioning system.


Corridor of Metallic Bellows by KSM Architecture


Corridor of Metallic Bellows by KSM Architecture


Conference room of Metallic Bellows by KSM Architecture

The shaded glass surfaces and the cavity walls further reduce the heat load on the interiors and the glare-free light and views can be enjoyed without the need for any window covering., For 6 months in a year when the weather is a little better, there is no need to run any form of air-conditioning allowing the building envelope and the gentle breeze to keep the spaces cool.

The usage of bricks primarily in the roof structure, has not only insulated the building and reduced the load on mechanical cooling, but also reduced the usage of concrete as a roof element. Brick when compared to cement in concrete can reduce CO2 emissions by up to 70%, resulting in an overall CO2 reduction of around 50 tons.


Passage to lawn of Metallic Bellows by KSM Architecture


Lawn of Metallic Bellows by KSM Architecture


Dusk light lawn view of Metallic Bellows by KSM Architecture


Roof view of Metallic Bellows by KSM Architecture


Roof view of Metallic Bellows by KSM Architecture


Dusk light exterior view of Metallic Bellows by KSM Architecture


Aerial view of Metallic Bellows by KSM Architecture


Plan of Metallic Bellows by KSM Architecture


Section of Metallic Bellows by KSM Architecture



Tags
office
factories and industries
architecture
interior design
commercial architecture
commercial interiors
2022
50000 to 100000 sq.ft
india
Tamil Nadu
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