»Architectural interpretations accepted without reflection could obscure the search for signs of a true nature and a higher order.«

Louis Isadore Kahn

Blog Building of the Week

Nobody Home

Automated Warehouse in New Delhi

  • Amit Khanna designed this almost fully automated warehouse on the outskirts of New Delhi. (Photo: AKDA) 1 / 15  Amit Khanna designed this almost fully automated warehouse on the outskirts of New Delhi. (Photo: AKDA)
  • Its design follows the inner logic of its use as a warehouse and distribution centre. (Photo: AKDA) 2 / 15  Its design follows the inner logic of its use as a warehouse and distribution centre. (Photo: AKDA)
  • On the rooftop of the loading bay, the back of the tower-like office slab. (Photo: AKDA) 3 / 15  On the rooftop of the loading bay, the back of the tower-like office slab. (Photo: AKDA)
  • The warehouse and the loading bay feature an outer façade of bricks which is partially perforated... (Photo: AKDA) 4 / 15  The warehouse and the loading bay feature an outer façade of bricks which is partially perforated... (Photo: AKDA)
  • ... to create a buffer zone for passive insulation between the outer and inner shells. (Photo: AKDA) 5 / 15  ... to create a buffer zone for passive insulation between the outer and inner shells. (Photo: AKDA)
  • Inside, the lofty white spaces offer good light and climate conditions with the need for almost no mechanical environmental devices. (Photo: AKDA) 6 / 15  Inside, the lofty white spaces offer good light and climate conditions with the need for almost no mechanical environmental devices. (Photo: AKDA)
  • Depending on the weather, the inner glass façade can be opened for natural ventilation. (Photo: AKDA) 7 / 15  Depending on the weather, the inner glass façade can be opened for natural ventilation. (Photo: AKDA)
  • The spatial proportions follow the dimensions of the robotic devices operating in the warehouse. (Photo: AKDA) 8 / 15  The spatial proportions follow the dimensions of the robotic devices operating in the warehouse. (Photo: AKDA)
  • The facility is divided into three parts: warehouse, loading bay and offices. (Image: AKDA) 9 / 15  The facility is divided into three parts: warehouse, loading bay and offices. (Image: AKDA)
  • The perforations of the brick walls serve to allow natural ventilation. (Image: AKDA) 10 / 15  The perforations of the brick walls serve to allow natural ventilation. (Image: AKDA)
  • The entire facility tries to keep the interior spaces light and cool without the need for mechanical devices. (Image: AKDA) 11 / 15  The entire facility tries to keep the interior spaces light and cool without the need for mechanical devices. (Image: AKDA)
  • Digging the building four metres into the ground helped improve cool air flow through the building. (Image: AKDA) 12 / 15  Digging the building four metres into the ground helped improve cool air flow through the building. (Image: AKDA)
  • Aesthetically, it’s not only the raw materials that give this building a rough appearance... (Image: AKDA) 13 / 15  Aesthetically, it’s not only the raw materials that give this building a rough appearance... (Image: AKDA)
  • ...but also its pure, minimalistic and clear design composed of almost archaic modules. (Image: AKDA) 14 / 15  ...but also its pure, minimalistic and clear design composed of almost archaic modules. (Image: AKDA)
  • In many ways, this automated warehouse could be a role model for buildings with humans inside as well. (Image: AKDA) 15 / 15  In many ways, this automated warehouse could be a role model for buildings with humans inside as well. (Image: AKDA)

With its rough and raw material appearance, this warehouse in New Delhi might look unfinished at first glance, yet it has been completed and fully operational since May 2014 – and is a beautifully thought through piece of architecture to boot.

New buildings in Delhi’s extreme climatic conditions, which include a severely dust-laden micro-environment, are known for being notoriously energy-intensive, attempting to disconnect their inner life from their surroundings as much as possible, and artificially cooling their inner temperature radically down to so-called “human comfort levels”. Walls too tend to be built considerably thicker than required, not only to be on the safe side of structural integrity, but also to increase this isolation of the interior. 

Amit Khanna's new automated warehouse design takes a different path. It is located on a three-hectare site in Faridabad, a rapidly urbanising village on the outskirts of New Delhi. The architects' brief was to create a large warehousing facility, including the warehouse itself, a loading bay and offices. With the exception of the offices, the facility was intended to be as automated as possible – meaning minimal human occupancy of the building. Yet even without having to think about human comfort, Amit Khanna developed a comprehensive environmental strategy for energy-efficiency.

First, the building was divided into three different parts, with each designed according to its own inner logic: the office is a thin and narrow slab, facing north with a glass façade that brings in daylight. The warehouse is a rather flat rectangle, square and efficient, with dimensions that exactly fit the dimensions of robotic arms and stocking pallets (hence the space’s height of six metres), while the loading bay is dimensioned to accommodate the manoeuvres of the trucks and the pallet transporters. The general layout also allows for easy future expansion.

On the rooftop of the loading bay, the back of the tower-like office slab. (Photo: AKDA)

Both warehouse and loading bay are wrapped in a partially perforated brickwork screen. The perforations serve not only as archaic, impressive ornament to the solid walls, but also to cover an inner glass façade which is set back to create a buffer-zone for passive insulation. Depending on the weather, the inner façade can be opened to various degrees for a natural ventilation of the interior.

The perforations of the brick walls serve to allow natural ventilation. (Image: AKDA)

Additionally, the building site is dug almost four metres into the ground, which enhances its thermal insulation and allows a cool stream of air to flow through the building. Because the site has been sloped away from the building, natural light is still able to penetrate into the subterranean floor levels. Rainwater runoff is collected from the slopes and diverted to a local well. The roofs are covered with reflective tiling to minimise heat gain and a slim courtyard between the office block and loading bay helps draw out hot air from within the building. All in all, this warehouse with its minimal human occupancy should be seen as a role model for climate conscious building in India – for buildings with humans in them too.

– Florian Heilmeyer

www.akda.in


RECENT POSTS

more

Recent Magazines

25 Apr 2016

Magazine No. 43
Athens

  • essay

    From the Bottom and the Top

    Powering Athens through collectivity and informal initiatives by Cristina Ampatzidou

  • photo essay

    Nowhere Now Here

    A photo essay by Yiorgis Yerolymbos

  • Essay

    Back to the Garden

    Athens and opportunities for new urban strategies by Aristide Antonas

  • Interview

    Point Supreme

    An interview by Ellie Stathaki

>

03 Mar 2016

Magazine No. 42
Walk the Line

  • Essay

    The Line Connects

    An essay on drawing and architectural education by Wes Jones

  • Essay

    Drawing Attention

    Phineas Harper sketches out new narrative paths with pencil power

  • Essay

    Gotham

    Elvia Wilk on a city of shadows as architectural fiction

  • Interview

    The (Not So) Fine Line

    A conversation thread between Sophie Lovell and architecture cartoonist Klaus

>

28 Jan 2016

Magazine No. 41
Zvi Hecker

  • essay

    Space Packers

    Zvi Hecker’s career-defining partnership with Eldar Sharon and Alfred Neumann by Rafi Segal

  • Interview

    Essentially I am a Medieval Architect

    An interview with Zvi Hecker by Vladimir Belogolovsky

  • viewpoint

    The Technion Affair

    Breaking and entering in the name of architectural integrity by Zvi Hecker

  • Photo Essay

    Revisiting Yesterday’s Future

    A photo essay by Gili Merin

>

17 Dec 2015

Magazine No. 40
Iceland

  • Viewpoint

    Wish You Were Here

    Arna Mathiesen asks: Refinancing Iceland with tourism – but at what cost?

  • Photo Essay

    Spaces Create Bodies, Bodies Create Space

    An essay by Ólafur Elíasson

  • Focus

    Icelandic Domestic

    Focus on post-independence houses by George Kafka

  • Essay

    The Harp That Sang

    The saga of Reykjavík's Concert Hall by Sophie Lovell & Fiona Shipwright

>

more

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR MAILING LIST Close

Uncube is brandnew and wants to look good.
For best performance please update your browser.
Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer 10 (or higher), Safari, Chrome, Opera

×