Cielo tower by Sanjay Puri Architects references 17th-century screens

Curved screens envelope Cielo, a 12-storey residential building in Maharashtra, India, designed by Mumbai-based architecture studio Sanjay Puri Architects.

Cielo sits on a compact 900-square-metre site in Nagpur, a central Indian city in the state of Maharashtra that experiences extreme heat for most of the year.

Local regulations allowed for a maximum buildable area of 3,600 square metres, with open spaces required along all four edges of the site.

In response to the spatial regulations and the hot climate, Sanjay Puri Architects placed a single 270-square-metre, four-bedroom apartment unit on each level to ensure ample cross-ventilation within each residence.

"Most new developments in the city do not take cognisance of the extremely hot climate," studio founder Sanjay Puri told Dezeen.

"Cielo is planned with shielded spaces and balconies to all rooms, resulting in passively cooled internal spaces."

Bespoke curved foam concrete modules made in collaboration with cladding company FlexStone were installed on Cielo's facade, giving it a pixellated appearance.

Sanjay Puri Architects designed the modules to shield the residences from extreme heat and allow passive cooling within.

Each of the curved modules extends across two storeys and was designed to form a screen for the apartment on the lower level. At the top, they project outwards to form a balcony for the apartment.

"These sectionally curved screens alternate horizontally and vertically across the building, providing protection from heat, forming green open spaces for each room and lending a sculptural quality to the building," Puri explained.

"These screens allude to the architectural heritage of the region, where screens have existed since the 17th century," he continued.

According to the studio, the screens are made from 80 per cent recycled materials and produced with a minimal carbon footprint.

Inside, Sanjay Puri Architects planned the living spaces at the centre of each apartment unit, with the kitchen occupying one corner and the bedrooms spread across the remaining three.

Each room has a semi-open space, with the layouts alternating between a screened balcony and a double-height open deck to reduce heat gain and improve natural ventilation.

"The design by the layout and screens and sheltered balconies reduces heat gain substantially," Puri concluded.

Founded in Mumbai in 1992 by Sanjay and Nina Puri, the firm has also recently completed a swirling community centre in Rajasthan and a boutique store filled with Cobalt blue floors, reflective chrome furniture and a column of yarn balls.

The photography is by Vinay Panjwani.

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