Sustainability happens as a whole - Architect Akshat Bhatt demonstrates this notion in a building where every brick plays a role in the live architecture. 53 Silver Oaks, a corporate guest house designed by New Delhi based multi-disciplinary firm Architecture Discipline, is another of the many modular steel structures in the Gurgaon foot print, but one where every part of the structure has an architectural function.
The building has all the unique qualities of mid-century modernism that put post-independent Indian architecture on the global map. The rectilinear site did not allow for windows to open on either of the longer sides, hence the client’s brief for a large public space with many different types of guest rooms, became a spatial challenge.
In response, the design team conceived the structure as a self-contained box that opened inwards into a triple height public space. But the highlight is the perforated pattern on its external façade, which is borrowed from traditional Indian jaalis and expressed in a modern context. This perforated skin, acts as a sun glare and temperature moderator, whilst splaying the interiors with uniform and subtle light.
