New Delhi-based design studio Zero Energy Design Lab has completed a girls' hostel building with a perforated concrete facade and an exterior staircase in Gurugram, India.
The design for the Girls' Hostel Block, part of the St. Andrews Institute of Technology and Management, took its cues from the adjacent boys' hostel block and features the same material palette of concrete and brick, while a diagonal staircase adds interest to the facade.
Hollow concrete blocks form the facade of the hostel
Zero Energy Design Lab (ZED Lab) used hollow concrete blocks in a red-brick colour for the exterior of the 25,000-square-foot building, which can house 130 students in its dorms across four levels.
Its grey concrete structure has been left exposed to create a decorative contrast with the red blocks. Concrete columns are placed in a "tripod-like configuration" to provide structural stability. Concrete columns provide structural stability
The studio, which specialises in net-zero energy buildings, used parametrical design tools to create a facade in two layers that would suit the climate in Gurugram, where the temperature can reach nearly 40 degrees Celsius.
"With limited space available along the northern façade of the hostel, we thought that a double-skin facade would be ideal in addressing concerns of thermal comfort in response to the hot and dry climate of the region," ZED Lab founder Sachin Rastogi told Dezeen.
The design of the girls' hostel was informed by t...