Sustainability Within Glassy Walls - The Crystal Hall by Thomas Abraham

BANGALORE, India, April 4, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The annual International Muse awards recently announced its 2021 winners and Crystal Hall by Architect Thomas Abraham won the Platinum Prize for both its architecture and interior design, in the sustainable category. 

The building being sustainable came as a shock to many including the jury, given that the building is completely made of glass and has no windows. The first concern for an all glass building is that of heat egress. It is natural to infer that the residence is air conditioned given the absence of any windows in the structure.

The architect, on the other hand, emphasises the absence of any form of air conditioning. Insulation is provided by two layers of high-performance glass walls that reflect over 66% of the heat. Exhausts in the ceiling remove heated air, and Thomas smiles as he points to the strategically positioned vents that bring in cool fresh air, lowering the room temperature.

Moreover, "the lush rainforest flora situated between the double glass walls reduces heat ingress." According to Thomas Abraham, the dense foliage also "provides privacy for the interiors." Aside from cutting down on heat gain and increasing comfort, the dense greenery and double-glazing help block out outside noise and let in plenty of natural light, which also precludes any need for daytime artificial lighting.

The building also has the first ever windmill towers in global residential architecture, that provide almost 30 per cent of the power on a good day. On such days, the excess power is fed back into the city grid, thereby making the building close to net-zero, in terms of energy usage.

Finally, this is shimmering crystalline building is one with nature or as the cliche goes - of nature, by nature and for nature. It is the quintessential example that proves that we can have it all – technology and sustainability. In fact, technology can be our ally not to conquer nature, but to be one with it.

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SOURCE Thomas Abraham