Habitat > Case Studies

Campus for Agilent Technologies

 
Architecture by: Sanjay Prakash & Associates (now SHiFt: Studio for Habitat Futures)
 
 
Type of building use: Office building
Year of completion: 2009
Built-up area: 46,453 Sq. m (25550 Sq. m +20903 Sq. m )
Plot size: 10 acres		 Location: Manesar, India
Climatic Zone: Hot and Dry Climate
Actual Occupancy:1800 workstations
 
 
 
  • Type of vehicles
    Electric sockets are provided for charging electric and hybrid vehicles
  • Recreational facilities
    A large amount of recreation centers, cafés, day-care, medical and wellness facilities, play courts and amphitheatre are planned
  • Daylight
    The type of building designed allows good daylight with minimum overheating, good views (to the hill to the south), and efficient and flexible circulation patterns; workstations receive glare-free daylight, made possible by designing the building to never be deep (< 25m), and with a relatively higher ceiling height, 3.2 m
  • Heat ingress
    The main glazed facades are oriented north or south, avoiding west and east directions, thus eliminating uncontrollable solar radiation.
  • Shading
    Heat ingress is further controlled with the use of shading devices (horizontal on south, vertical on north)
  • Façade and use of glass
    Façade with glass but only about 60% on the north and south faces, so the mindless use of curtain wall glazing is completely eliminated except in the protected lobbies
  • Task lighting
    Workstations run with very low-energy LED task lights
  • Air-conditioning approach
    The design proposes the use of an extremely low-energy, hybrid air-conditioning system; it provides thermostats to individually controlled cooling to the group, not the space, distributed under-floor; making a virtue out of the necessity of the higher ceiling height
  • Air-conditioning efficiency with diversity
    Variable air volume (VAV) systems reduce the demanded energy, even with the high diversity that the use demands, especially at off-peak hours; task air-conditioning also addresses diversity; the entire system is water cooled for energy efficiency
  • Thermal storage
    Peak loads are mitigated by the use of thermal (chilled water) storage, which is produced at off-peak hours at higher CoP (in the night).
  • Waste heat recovery
    Due to the availability of waste heat, absorption chillers run on waste heat are proposed for most of the loads, with additional efficient screw chillers making up the balance.
  • Air-conditioning demand and running cost
    By investing in this high quality design and plant, the specific a/c demand has been brought down by a factor of two, to 32 sqm/TR. Most of the energy shall be supplied by waste heat. Hence the overall system is also very low on running cost, by a factor of four, to Rs. 40/sqm.mth.
  • Electricity supply
    Captive power supply is proposed through cleaner, more efficient, and cheaper (in running costs) gas engines with LNG supply(Future Ready); the entire system have DG backup.
  • CO2 emissions
    This method also is significantly lower in CO2 emissions than the national grid
  • Co-generation
    The gas plant shall produce heat and power both; the heat shall be used for air-conditioning.
  • Reduction in electrical consumption
    The power demanded has been conserved to only about 3 MW, by a factor of two-and-a-half to about 90 W/sqm, mainly by inoovations in lighting and air-conditioning
  • Hot water
    Hot water is provided to the kitchen by solar energy with gas backup
  • Water Conservation
    Despite selecting water cooled chillers, water consumption has been reduced by a factor of four to about 60 klpd by rainwater harvesting (mainly for air-conditioning needs of soft water) and double recycling of waste (greywater for flushing, black water for irrigation).
  • Rain water collection tank
    100% rainfall runoff collection and storage is planned in a massive tank nearly 5 million litres in size
  • Water recycling
    Three step water recycling system in place, using normal water dosed with rainwater for hand wash, then treated hand wash water for flushing, the treated flushed water for irrigation of the landscaped gardens through a drip irrigation system reducing the losses to air
  • Façade treatment
    Facades with planters (though not in front)
  • Landscape design
    The landscape design allows bio-diversity by panning a large area of woods in the front, cutting dust and noise, with water bodies and misting devices in courtyards for microclimatic control; using indigenous species
  • Percolation of water into ground. The landscape shall have passive drainage wherever possible, with swales and percolation, not constructed drains; all on ground parking areas and roads to be made green using grass pavers to reduce the surface runoff of water
 
 
 
This design envisages the efficient and ecological running of a facility as integral to its design, and does not concentrate only on the sculptural qualities of space. Many people assume that the future of architecture shall be the same as the highest-tech present, consisting of more glass and metal. Upon reflection this turns out to be the past of architecture, representing the best of the oil age. This is yielding to the age of electronics, biotechnology, nanotechnology, and the hydrogen economy. This deign embodies this new and futuristic spirit.

This implies much use of glass, but correctly sized and shaded. It implies personalized lighting and air conditioning serving the user, not the whole space. Roofs that produce heating, cooling, electricity, water and food at the same time as they provided leisure. Prioritizing human values like spending time with co-workers and nature. It implies seeing hybrid and fuel cell automobiles as captive power generators for the building in the future. And it implies the utmost respect for water as a basic resource.

This movement is not a retrograde move towards a romanticized or traditional ‘low-consuming’ past but a consciously willed path to serve a highly ecological, networked and intelligent future society where hardware starts becoming ever more personalized, pliable, and living. This is the design of a living building. It is not the shape of the buildings and machines that are the centre of attention, but their metabolism.

Agilent represents the kind of 21st century organization that can engage with these issues. The design puts together techniques that have all been tried out in separate places, but harmonized and implemented together (as proposed) this project may well become an international example focusing on the future of ecologically appropriate officearchitecture in continental tropical climates.
 
 
 
Actual Energy Performance Index in Awaited
Percentage of A/C and non A/C regularly occupied spaces: Office building is fully air-conditioned & each floor has accessibility to green terraces & break out spaces.
Owner / User Testimony: Awaited
Awards / Green Rating / Energy:Winning Entry South East Asia for Innovation in Human Comforts
Architecture by: Sanjay Prakash & Associates (now SHiFt: Studio for Habitat Futures)
Structural Design by: Maqsud (NNC Consultants)

Services Design by: 
Electrical, lighting: Linus Lopez (Lirio Lopez)
HVAC, plumbing, fire fighting, BMS: Gian Modgil (Sterling India)
Environment optimization: Tanmay Tathagat (Environmental Design Solutions)
Landscape: Mohan Rao (Integrated Design)
Interior: Anand Krishnamurthy (Firm Terra)
Construction Management: Sanjay Prakash & Associates (now SHiFt: Studio for Habitat Futures)
Project management: Johnson Controls International
Contractor: Ahluwalia Contractors Limited (Civil), MAS (Electrical), JCI (BMS), Bluestar (HVAC), Sidco (Interior), DSA (Plumbing), QCC (Landscape)
 
 
 
Name of the Architectural Practice: Sanjay Prakash & Associates (now SHiFt: Studio for Habitat Futures)
Photo of the Architect/Partners
Managing Director: Sanjay Prakash
Director: D K Sharma
Director: Rakesh Sood





Director: Nitin Sharma
Address: SHiFt: Studio for Habitat Futures, C-81 B, 8th Floor,DLFSuper Mart-1, DLF City Phase IV, Gurgaon, Haryana 122 002, National Capital Region, India


Types of services offered. Complete design including engineering services and energy devices and systems, interiors, project management functions such as constant supervision and procurement

 

 

Tags: Sustainable Building,

Training Programs

Shriram Junior High School at Mawana

Pearl Academy of Fashion

Story

Shriram Junior High School at Mawana

Pearl Academy of Fashion

Case Studies

Samode Safari Lodge

India Glycols Corporate Office

Realization Community

Vikas Community

Auroville Visitors Centre

Solar Kitchen, Auroville

Deepak Godhi and Associates

Campus for Agilent Technologies

Ashram institutional building and Tapasya block for sadhaks, Delhi

Ashok B Lall Architects and Development Alternatives Group