
1.
Architectural
hardware industry is becoming increasingly design-oriented. Comments on the
need for choosing right kind of hardware for windows, doors and facades? How to
select the right products?
Great design lies in the detail. Often, the least salient
components of a space speak of its true stature. Minute details like -in door
controls, locks, and lever handles, for example, can help distinguish between a
noteworthy or any runof-the-mill project. Architectural hardware is to a space
what nuts and bolts are to a machine, in other words, it is what holds a space
together, helping it function smoothly. The industry is becoming increasingly
design-orientated too with an increasing number of companies coming up with
solutions that are practical, sound and technicallyadvanced, yet aesthetically
appealing. The technology behind the product is also evolving, defining the
quality of the product in the eyes of the end buyer. Despite the economy of the
Indian Market being a key issue in our opinion it’s the product which manages
to strike a balance between aesthetic performance and pricing which usually
becomes the dominant force in the industry.
2.
What are the
criteria for selection of Architectural hardware for facades and fenestrations?
What advice would you give to your consumers/clients?
With the entry of international systems, equipment and
hardware firms, the Indian architectural hardware for façade and fenestration
has also evolved over the years. Advancement in technology has given precision
to products with quality and sustenance. Along with the use of technology,
design has also evolved over these years. The transparent building trend has
been taking over in metropolitan areas over the past few decades. Fueling the
designer’s interests to continue to push the boundaries of what is possible
with lighter support structures, taller unsupported facades, and less
hardware/connection points. One of these avenues for progressive design is the
resurgence of the highly transparent facades. Making the highly reflective
glass and punched openings for buildings a thing of the past. Clients are
advised to make purchases that necessitate items which have field tested stance
in the market and new players who believe in winning us over with expansive
prototyping.
3.
More and more
companies are coming up with solutions that are functional, durable and
technically-advanced, but aesthetically appealing as well. Please elaborate on
trends in architectural hardware products? What are the common materials
preferred for architectural hardware?
While some spaces are content being functional, others
evolve into aspirational art forms. The difference is not in technology but
rather it is in design. Designs should be sensitive to Context, Client,
Environment and Business Processes and the same principle goes in designing a
beautiful yet functional façade. In fact, the first gesture of an architect is
to draw a perimeter; this perimeter which separates the microclimate from the
macro space outside, yet is an ode to the communication between finite and
infinite.
Conveying this idea, there are various factors which are
considered important while designing, specifying and selecting a window or a
façade solution.
Architectural hardware is generally preferred by architects
to be engineered for long life cycles with low maintenance. Thus materials are
generally those which adhere to these criteria. Modern day alloys are breaking
barriers when it comes to material selection.
4.
The technologies
behind the products are also evolving rapidly. Please tell us about the latest
technologies in hardware products you look for?
The architectural hardware industry has evolved over the
years. Technology and its use have increased many folds giving precision to
products with quality and sustenance. Along with the use of technology, design
has also evolved over these years. A universal principal of great design is
that it must adhere to all the senses, thus, good products keep into account
not just the physical aesthetic but the very important kinesthetic.
A truly modern product is one which is considering all these
design factors plus safety and long term sustainability.
Technologies are constantly changing and evolving based on
performance and customer and client requirements. Different markets have
distinct trends that are rooted in both historical and cultural norms, which
evolve due to changes in building regulations or other factors.
For the high-end market, prestigious projects look to their
competitors in key cities that have established epochal buildings and seek to
borrow from their opulence and material palette. As such many new high-rise
buildings are stretching the sizes and process limits of the materials
available to provide a grander aesthetic.
There are a large number of new products coming onto the
market, some of which are very exciting. Progress in concrete with products
such as Ultra-High Performance Concrete – which is a very high strength
concrete that can be used in a variety of ways particularly for prefabricated
panels – and light transmitting concrete offer exciting opportunities.
5.
It is observed
that architects bring a very different approach to the design of architectural
hardware, striving for something that resonates with the character and palette
of the building rather than concentrating just on the function of the product.
Are there enough products available in the market which would satisfy the needs
of architects/ developers?
Architects considering product
design have long looked to hardware as a starting point.
Architects
tend to start from appearance rather than function, whereas product designers
tend to work from function back to appearance. Architects seem to have more of
an idea of what they want to do, and then they try to adapt that into something
that will work.
The tactic has proven successful in recent years, adding a
new vertical to the market for architectural hardware. Broadly speaking,
today’s competitive market has a wide palette of selections available to
architects/ developers all because we live in a global village and distance is
not a barrier anymore.
6.
Please give us a
brief note on your latest project in which
façade /fenestration hardware product are used innovatively (not more
than 130 words, we need 2 high resolution images of the project too in JPEG
format of high resolution).
Inaugurated in May,
2016. The recently completed Club Hollywood Blvd. In Mohali is intended to
encapsulate the modern kinesthetic facade. The nightclub features a DMX
lighting system which makes the ceiling of the club ever changing and ever
alive.
The system is called “alive” because it responds to the
amount of people in the club and to the mood of the music changing its
intensity concurrently with the help of sensors inside of the premises.
This is reflected to the kinesthetic light show on the exterior
facade titillating the senses of the audience to tastes of waters inside of the
club. The Design involved a scintillating amount of innovation and custom
engineering from the designers end.
Cocooning all the electronics are layers of ACP cladding
which were CNC routed to accommodate for the unique facade design incorporating
the signature kinesthetic lighting.
Photograph during construction
showing ACP cladding detail
Photograph showing completed facade
7. Please brief on
the criteria while choosing hardware for doors, windows and facades while doing
a renovation project?
Before one can even begin the door and door hardware
selection process, it is important to understand what factors particular to the
installation will affect their long-term performance. For most applications,
these include life-safety, emergency egress, loss prevention and security for
building occupants. Each of these factors should be examined for each
application to determine the door’s performance level. While all will apply to
some extent, some factors will be more important than others for that
installation.
Another thing to consider is the type of facility where the
door is being installed. For example, doors installed in educational
facilities, such as middle schools or high schools, will be subjected to an
entirely different type and level of use and abuse than doors installed in a
typical office or retail building.
Consider the weight and size of the door. One of the biggest
mistakes involving door installation is the use of lightweight hardware on
heavyweight or oversized doors. Larger and heavier doors require stronger,
heavier gauge hardware if they are to stand up to even normal use. Undersized
hardware will wear more quickly, resulting in misalignment of the door,
difficult operation and security compromises.
Environmental factors should also be considered. Doors
constantly exposed to high moisture levels, such as in facilities located in
coastal areas, should have finishes and hardware that are highly resistant to
corrosion. Without proper protective finishes, doors installed in this type of
environment can fail in as little as five years. Door hardware that is not
resistant to corrosion can stick and bind, making doors difficult to operate
and eventually, damaging the door, the hardware, or both. In dusty
environments, dirt can load up on hinges and other door hardware and interfere
with door operation. Doors may not fully close, or the build-up may prevent
latches from closing and operators from opening doors, compromising both safety
and security. Over time, this build-up can accelerate wear on hardware
components, resulting in early failures.
Standardization of replacement hardware components will
reduce the size and cost of the inventory that should be maintained.
8. Tell us about the
future of Architecture Hardware industry for Facades and Fenestrations? Where
do you see your business and the industry in the next 5 years?
The
Architecture hardware industry is in an emerging state with respect to
technology, capability and size. It is directly linked to the construction
industry's performance, which is expected to grow by 20 per cent annually.
The hardware
industry in India though laden with challenges is now slowly and gradually
finding more acceptance as the common man becomes more aware of the importance
of good products.
We are
likely to see a variety of options for using cutting edge technologies and
materials to optimize existing buildings and for pioneering plants for new
building projects.
We’re truly excited about the possibilities confronting
architects today. We feel fortunate to be practicing now at this crossroads of
technological innovation and globalization. The integration of technology in
architecture really excites us; we’ve only scratched the surface of what’s
possible – smart facades, wearable sensors that interact with building
components, 3D printing of structures, virtual environments, gaming, UX design
– the list of fields where architects can play a role is growing every day.
Understanding how people use space in commercial and
residential environments and how design can be impacted by these patterns is a
huge opportunity. Just as the way we document and design has changed, the way
buildings are constructed is poised for a monumental shift too. Problems of
density and resource conservation need designed solutions – who better to solve
these problems than architects?
We are excitedly looking forward to the next 5 years in our
practice.
9. Please point out
few hurdles faced by your organization while choosing hardware for your
projects?
Architecture
is a profession that takes an enormous amount of time. It generally takes at
least four or five or six years for larger projects, and that speed is really
too slow for the revolutions that are taking place.
To have a
certain virtuosity of interpretation of every phenomenon is crucial. We’re
working in a world where so many different cultures are operating at the same
time, each with their own value system. If you want to be relevant, you need to
be open to an enormous multiplicity of values, interpretations, and
readings.
In our
organization because of the tremendous change we have experienced in the recent
digital age, we have come to become extremely flexible in our working and
implementation, always keeping a possibility of the addition of future
technologies in our design keeping them open ended.
We actually use a metaphor for this approach - “If you can’t
change the hardware, change the software”.
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