if one considers the conception of an exterior space,every opening be it a door or a window is considered a violation of the wall.

these violations however gave the room its approprate meaning.doors play a decorative role in the context because they prepare the visitor for the spatial event to come. it is not always the scale of the human body which determines the size of the door.especially in monumental buildings. the dimewntions of the opening derive from the proportions of the respective space.

doorway in proportion to the respective space.

just as in the case of windiws, we hav different types of doors for different functions.

for ex commerial/office aresa (revolving doors) industries ( aluminum or rollingshutters) lifts (colapsble doors)

entrance voids or lobbes are handles in a number of ways to create an interesting facade elements the position of the entrance and its architectural magnificace demonstrations the role and function of the building. thus the main entrance of a large public buildings will not be a tiny hole located somewhere. where nobody would find it. equally it would be inappoprate for a modest house to be represented by a grand entrance or a large scale filight of steps

the entrance of the buildings defines its use. in temples we have the entrance lower so that a person bows his head while entering. thus paying his respect to god. in churches and cathedrals there is a grand entrance which defines the space within.

similarly in buildings the function will govern the entrance required

canopies are functional as well as asethetical . not only do they provide protection agaist rain and sun but they also add an element of interest to the facade. the canopy of the bombay stock exchange building, mumbai

they are thus provided for the following reasons. 1.to act as weather sheds to protect people from the rain/sun while entering the building 2.to demarcate or highlight the entrance it's importance in the facade composition. they can either be cantilevered or supported on columns,either way if treated well they can enhance the apperance of the facade

chajjas these provide protection from the harsh sun rays as well as the rain. continuous bands of horizontal chajjas can break the verticality of the structure. making it visually interesting le corbusier has used a lot of chajjas or sunbrakers in his structure at chandigarh. the angle of these has been carefully calculated so as to protect the interior spaces from severe glare of the sun during harsh summers. chajjas seen on the facade of the secetanat building at chandigarh

in chandigarh it so happened that the sun brakers were heated up due to the sun and its raditions heated up the interiors.

offsets create interest in an otherwise bland facade. the monotony of an otherwise linear facade is broken down by giving it some twists and turns. specific parts of the building are exposed wherby the foreground and background of the building are established. the play of light and shade created in the facade due to the above is very interestin to watch.this effect changes as the sun changes direction,thus giving different looks to the same facade at different times of the day. e.g. mahindra towers the facade of mahindra towers- mumbai

the facade of the tata housing colony-delhi balcoies can be defined as the cantilevered sub projections,projecting out of the building line and accessable from wirthin. as per the building bye-law 10% balconies area is free of F.S.I these balconies are mostly found in residential buildings and are an important facade element.

balcony of the lake castle building at pown

due to scarcity of space in urban aresa, balconies are enclosed to form a part of the room inside.they are further covered by various grills of different colours and designs , which result in absolute confusion of the external facade.

in many low cost housing projects ,a number of adjoining residential units have a long common balcony. this brings people closer. terraces are basically roof tops, which are flat in nature and accessible from within. they should be provided with hand rails or parapet walls.

terraces are good for ventilation and view. they also create voids in a facade making it less heavy to the eye.

at the end of a day , sitting out in the terrace and relaxing seems to be the perfect solution. e.g in kanchanjunga apts the terraces hav been integrated very cleverly as well as aesthetically

terrace of in kanchanjunga apts- mumbai

a view of the terrace of the in kanchanjunga apts

railing

one would say that a railing is necessary where ever there is a danger to using a space, such as balconies, staircases etc. where people could otherwise fall down. railing thus act as protective members in such cases.

it also acts as a physical barriers that can be set up where the use of the space must be restricted when social conventions are upheald.on top of these problems of danger comes the rather harmless requirement of defining space.

a personal touch can be added to the balcony with the use of interesting railing. they can also be used to add a touch of colour to a monochromatic facade.

railings add a colourful touch to the facade.

Ducts

the services of any building are of prime importance and are known as the arteries of the building.these services though uninteresting cannot be done without. the sevices if left exposed, can spoil the beauty of the building. thus the best option is to hide these services in the best possible way. thus the next best option is to hide these services in the best possible manner. ducts are used for this function of hiding the building servicesand some times ducts asr so integrated that they form a part lo the facade itself. the pompudos center of paris

in some buildings the sevices are boldly exposed. they are painted in bright vibrant colours and form an integral part of the facade.

Colour

"is the art of design, color is to form what verse is to prose, a more harmoniors and humerous vehical of thought" - anna jameson

it is by means of light which is composed of colours that we perceive or see our surroundings. properly used colour can increase visual appreciation. colour is used to assist light and shade, helping the undulations of form by the proper distribution of several colours. colour is generally considered as the most potential device available to an artist in any aspect of aesthetic composition. colour is expressive because it came with it the idea of symbol. the symbilic connections of colour havr developed over time from repeated application in rituals.seasons and forms, as well as the way colour exists in the natural world. the use of colour as seen in the kanchanjunga apt. colour names are commonly used to make our verbal description more vivid.

we speak of golden sunset, blue heavens and fiery reds. but without the qualifying factor these colours can mean very different things. yellow stands for sunset as well as cowerdice.

colour has definite impression on human nature. while red , yellow and orange are cosidered as warm colours , blue , violet and green are cool colours. warm colours raise blood pressure, respiration and heart rate while cool colours have the opposite efffect. some theories regarding colour are as folloes: * primary colours should be used sparingly in small quantities , where as secondary predominate. *primary colours should be used in the upper part of the object and secondaries in the lower *colours on light groungs apper darker and on lighter than they really are. colours is used in facades to give identity to the building and to break free from the monotonos trends. some architects are identified by the colour they use. e.g richerd mier and his exclusive use of white. architect khareghat and his use of greys, reds and white. the teacher and painter wessily kandinsky taught that yellow was akin to the shape of a triangle, red related to a square and blue to a circle.

curtain wall curtain walls are basically screens of various materials , literally placed in front of the building elevation in order to hide something or to make building elevation more interesting.

of late curtain walls hav e caught the imagination of the corporate sector making it a trademark of its architecture.

looking around us it is apparent that the recently construction commertial buildings are making extensive use of this striking altenative to tie or brick walling finishes.

there are many reasons for curtain walling but the most obvious is that it is flexible , light weight , east to install , less expensive than traditional walling meathords and aesthetic appeal of a building. in essence curtain walls is a very light external wall made of light weight metal and glass panels. typical curtain wall structures consist of multiple wall panels joined together to form an envoluping facade.

these panels are supported by building floors via flooring brackets along their edges hence the name curtain wall. curtain walls is far more flexible alternative to concrete construction walling as it allows consederable reduction in load of the structure . this means that the cost of the foundation can be considerably reduced making material an attractive prospect for budget propsals.

concrete construction processes the consederable length of time. the work is also environmentally friendly. curtain walls avoids these downsides

the light weight nature of curtain walls may lead many to believe that it is less suited for adverse climates than traditional material facades. however this is not the case.

curtain walling has become a major tool in the reinnovation of old buildings with dull facades

one of the glaring examples is the hotel groove in mumbAI which was given a new vibrant look by the wrapping it with curtain walls.

walling hotel palm groove mumbai before curtain walling

walling hotel palm groove mumbai after curtain walling

presently there are two types of curtain walls in vouge, categorised by their fabrication techniques. 1. brick meathod curtain wall 2.westesd meathod curtain wall

the stock type curtain wall is one supported by metal grid work. attached to the building structure . the vertical members called muilions are attached to the building at every floor and are spaced 1.5-3m apart. the horizontal members are called muntins are attached between the mullons.

the rectangle between the grids are filled with transparent or opaque panels. the spots between the panels are supporting grids are weatherproofed with the help of an elustomeric sealant. the untsed type has no grid work but is made of large pre lencaed glass panels connected to the floor with transparent openings making a hole out of the panel.

murals sculptures murals are are used in case there is a blank facade. to create interest on the huge mass we often find murals

sculptures has also been closely associated with architecture. buildings like theb guggenhem museum can be called a sculptur

the practice of decorating temples espicially temples churches with wonderful sculptures carved to its minutest detain dates back to ancient times.

the association of sculpture with architecture affects the design in several ways. they help establish the scale of the building making it more lively and attractive. the placement of the sculpture on the facade is of vital importance . the sculpture if placed out of the normal range of vision may not get noticed at all. the einsten tower at germany roofs the roofs can be termed as the fifth evevation or facade of the building. it is the essential sheltering element that protects the interior of the building from the climatic elements. the form and geometry of its structure is established by the manned in witch it spans across spaces to bear on its supports and slopes to shed rain and melting snow. different proportions of roofs according to function

as a design element the roof plane is significant because of the impact it can hav on the form of the building. it can be hidden from view by the exterior walls.of the building or merge with the walls to emphasize the volume of the building mass.

a roof plane can extend outwards to form ourhangs that sheild the doors and windows from sun and rain, or cintinur downwards further still to relatemore closely to the ground plane. in warm climate it can be to allow breeze to flow through the interiors. roof of the robert house

the different types of roofs are flat roof (normally found)

pitched roof ( found in rainy areas) ac sheet roofs ( found in industrial areas as well as human dwellings)

as a design element the roof plan is significant because of the impact it can hav on the form of the building.

pitched roof in bombal roof of houses at auroville