The Green Touch for Delhi’s New Recreation Center and Solarium Garden

It is now beyond doubt that sustainability and energy-efficiency are being given their due importance in India, and this importance is manifesting itself in green architecture all over the country. Joining this bandwagon is a new Recreation Centre and Solarium in Delhi, to be inaugurated later this year. With all the eco-friendly aspects that are to be incorporated into its design, this Recreation centre is likely to stand out among other similar buildings.

The structure is sprawled over five acres of land, incorporating a green design that also provides a habitat of luxury in the indoors as well as the outdoors. The building is also unique for the fact that the environment created is conducive to outdoor activity throughout the year. This design has been provided by Mumbai-based architecture firm Prem Nath & Associates.

The Solarium, spread over 1 million square feet will be a multi-use destination complete with a farm, pool, gymnasium, aquatic centre and a library, all under a canopy made of enormous solar panels, a grey-water system, and passive cooling/heating design.

Glass with Aluminum

The entire structure is formed from glass and aluminum sections. Double-glazed low-e glass is held in place with high-strength horizontal fiber glass tendons and aluminum structural members. The clean construction gives way to an equally streamlined interior that is rendered clutter-free. The temperature inside the structure is regulated to meet the requirements of occupant comfort as well as to optimize conditions for the growth of plants.

The aluminum frame was designed to make the structure homogenous, lightweight and structurally stable. Photovoltaic solar panels on the roof work with the low-e glass to control temperature and reduce energy consumption, and rotating louvers on the roof help flood the indoors with ample fresh air. Meanwhile, motion sensors and LUX intensity meter sensors control lighting for efficient energy consumption.

The high gloss aluminum finish, the envelope of green landscape, the manicured lawns and the local tree plantations keep privacy intact. Trees have been illuminated with floor and trunk mounted lighters, concealed cleverly for glare-free lighting, and there are various theme indoor gardens with fruit tree plantations, sculptures, and pathways curbed with flowering plants. Some rare and exotic species of plants have been planted inside the structure as well as in the garden. Irrigation requirements within the complex will be partially fulfilled with recycled water.







Elegant Glazing of Capital Gate Tower

Abu Dhabi is the home to one of the world's great buildings - Capital Gate, an iconic and avant-garde building that blends the beauty of the wave with the power of technical advancement.




Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company (ADNEC) has revealed that glazing work on the iconic Capital Gate Tower, currently under construction next to Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre, is complete. This “Capital Gate” has been designed by the New York firm RMJM architects.



Capital Gate forms the focal point of Capital Centre, the business and residential micro city being developed by ADNEC around the thriving Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre. The Capital Gate is a 160m-tall leaning tower in Abu Dhabi, UAE.



The architecture of the Capital Gate tower is dotted with monster glass panels. Monster glass panels for Abu Dhabi’s 'leaning tower' development have arrived on what the project team claims is the world’s biggest flatbed truck. The panels are for the Capital Gate building, which architect RMJM recently submitted for the Guinness Book of Records as the ‘world’s most inclined building’. It has a tilt of 18 degrees – over four times more than the Italy’s Leaning Tower of Pisa.



More than 12,500 individually shaped glass panels have been installed on Capital Gate's façade in a complex engineering feat which has taken ADNEC and its construction partners ten months to complete. In an intricate operation, 728custom-made glass panels have been used. Each pane of glass had to be a slightly different shape and fitted at a different angle due to the building's unique lean and its curved profile. The first two glazing panels are weighing approximately 5 tonnes each.

The tower's unique shape and character made the installation of the glazing particularly challenging for the engineers. It is a compliment to all involved that the installation took place during ADNEC's busiest year ever for exhibitions and events; yet, there was no disruption to the visitors or exhibitors.

The glass panes on Capital Gate make up more than 700 larger glass "diamonds," and were manufactured in the United Sates with the steel frames holding the glass precision-cut in Austria before being shipped to the UAE. ADNEC stored the glass panels away from the construction site and delivered them as needed, on enormous flatbed trucks. Once they reached the Capital Gate construction site they were meticulously placed into the correct position by on-site engineers.

The RMJM project team is using the glass to create a new kind of glazing system called ‘Cardinal C240’, which is anti-glare but also highly transparency. The glass used is a highly energy-efficient glass and low e glass. This glass has two silver coatings which minimise glare and maximise light transmission. The double glazed façade will allow natural daylight into the building while boosting energy efficiency and shielding users from harmful glare. The use of this advanced variety of glass is a 'first' for the UAE. The 'pressure-plate' system that has been developed for the steel frame which holds each pane in place guarantees the water tightness of the façade and allows thinner panes of glass to be used, thereby reducing the weight of the glazing system.

The lean and curve of the building added considerable complexity to the glazing process. A few glass panes have deliberately been left out to ensure that adequate ventilation exists prior to the installation of the air conditioning.

Due to its unique shape, Capital Gate is being constructed on top of a concrete raft with a dense mesh of reinforced steel. The steel Diagrid sits above an extensive distribution of 490 piles that have been drilled 30m underground to accommodate the gravitational and wind loads. The angles and dimensions of the building facade have been meticulously designed to ensure that each individually shaped panel accurately defines the shape of this magnificent structure.