St. Andrews Institute of Technology and Management – Girls Hostel Block

Name of Project: St. Andrews Institute of Technology and Management – Girls Hostel Block

Typology: Commercial design/ Housing – Hostel

Location:Gurugram, Haryana

Name of Client: St. Andrews Group

Name of Client’s Firm: St. Andrews Group

Principal Architect: Zero Energy Design Lab

Design Team: Lead: Sachin and Payal Rastogi | Team: Rohan Mishra, Naveen Pahal, Shivangi Banerjee

Site Area (sqft&sq m):

Built-Up Area (sqft&sq m): 25,000 Sq. Ft.

Start Date: Dec 2017

Completion Date: December 2020

Photographer: Noughts and Crosses | Andre J. Fanthome

Completed in 2020, the design for the 25,000-sq.ft. Girls Hostel building explores the intersection of education and sustainable living through the lens of the vernacular. Taking cues from the adjacent Boys’ Hostel Block, the building is articulated in brick and fair-faced concrete; it is home to approximately 130 students, with dorm rooms spread across four levels in addition to hosting ancillary spaces like a pantry, recreational areas as well as social spaces.

The layout incorporates indoor and outdoor spaces that can connect physically and visually at different levels to enhance interaction and social activities. A parametric double-skin façade creates a semi-permeable layer that helps in shading, regulating the temperature, and controlling the airflow between the exterior and interior environments. The double-skin facade acts as thermal mass, reducing the incident direct and diffused radiations by 70% on the principle façade, thus, minimizing heat gain within the habitable spaces behind the block wall. This further reduced the mechanical cooling loads by 35%, a marked increment from the ECBC (Energy Conservation Building Code) base case of public buildings.

The design of the building is kept simple while identifying essential elements like the staircases as hubs for social interaction. Taking this concept forward, the subsequent transitional zone at the heart of the building is a staircase – aesthetically incorporated into the south facade, that connects all the floors of the building. Transitory spaces such as bridges are also crafted into lounges and pause points to create spaces for socializing as well as group work or team endeavors.

The hostel block also empowers students with the freedom of movement within an environment that prioritizes thermal comfort and functionality to become an exemplar of zero energy design.