Admerus Bio Sciences Research Lab

Surrounded by lush, verdant landscapes, including eucalyptus groves and mango orchards, the site plan warranted a quiet, subtle, and reflective architectural solution that would respect and retain the existing natural ecosystem. Within this larger ethos, the design strategy was to create a modern building that aligns with the client’s professional aspirations. It is energy-efficient, ensuring comfortable workspaces in the hot-dry composite climate, and sustainable, improving the livability of its users, replete with natural views. 

Mining ancient design tropes, this modern building contextualizes the chajja (sunshade) as its single-most defining element, unifying its formal and energy efficiency goals. These sunshades are employed on the north and east facades and building interiors in a minimalist sense and change orientation on the south and west elevations to decrease insolation, associated heat gain, and glare. The building envelope, as a result of the repetition of the sunshade element, remains independent of columns while being integrated with the same in the inner courtyard. The prototypal use of the sunshade element ensures a rhythmic quality to the building, additionally catalyzing the speed and efficiency of construction. The introduction of the courtyard serves a critical purpose in linking the building back to its natural context, bringing in day-lit vibrancy and vitality to its space. 

Since the building program demanded large spans, post-tensioned structural flat slabs with circular columns were employed that improved material efficiency, decreased thermal mass, and ensured a desired aesthetic quality with exposed services on the soffit and elevating the structure from the basement. The design effort was directed to reduce the building to its rudimentary architectural and structural form, as is. The columns and ceiling were left unplastered, exposing fault lines – concrete’s defining quality and character. 

The project incorporates various sustainable strategies. Passive architectural planning positions labs with the highest cooling loads in the northern part of the building, while building services and toilets on the western part act as a buffer, reducing direct heat gain. Fenestration design reduces direct heat gain on all sides of the building, with special measures for the south and west. Low E Glass with SHGC 0.29 is used to reduce direct heat gain and improve energy efficiency while providing ample natural daylight. Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (AAC) Blocks are used to reduce direct heat gain and improve thermal efficiency. Skylights provide natural lighting for all staircases, and a courtyard strategy penetrates daylight into the building's interior and induces airflow, decreasing thermal mass temperature. 

The green roof reduces direct heat gain in the cafeteria area. LED fixtures improve the energy efficiency of artificial lighting. Water-efficient plumbing fixtures in toilets reduce the building’s water demand, while a reed bed filtration system reuses greywater for landscaping. Rainwater harvesting pits around the site reduce stormwater run-off. AQUATRON separators remove solids from flowing liquids, facilitating efficient waste management. Local materials, such as local varieties of granite for flooring, are sourced to reduce the building's embodied energy. Post-tensioned slabs support larger spans and reduce material usage. No VOC-emitting materials are used in the interiors.

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