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Sandeep Khosla depends on traditional architectural features like a courtyard in the Manwaring House on the outskirts of Bangalore

Is the Indian summer getting to you? Just chill! The hottest cooling products used with passive cooling systems drawn from traditional architecture are creating cool interiors, thanks to designers who keep pace with technology, declares Deepali Nandwani.

When Delhi-based architect Vidur Bhardwaj was designing the Wipro Technologies Centre in Gurgaon, he was “putting in what others were throwing out.” Unlike other buildings in the region, this one uses recycled material like wood stripped from an old ship in Jamnagar as door frames and staircase railings from a flea market. But what’s more interesting is the materials and design concepts employed to keep the office naturally cool.

The courtyard around which the building revolves is inspired by the traditional Rajasthani haveli design that welcomes natural light and keeps the walls cool. A water body and vegetation in the centre of the complex helps in evaporative cooling. “It’s a simple concept. When the water evaporates, it naturally cools the building,” explains Bhardwaj.

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In the foyer, exposed air nozzles throw out bursts of cool air, while the insulated rooftops and terrace gardens reduce solar heat. The Wipro centre is rated among Asia’s most energy-efficient office buildings by the US-based Green Building Council (USGBC) and has scored a platinum rating under the Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) rating systems.

In a country like India which is hot or humid or both almost eight months a year, it’s strange that not many architects and designers place enough emphasis on designing buildings that stay naturally cool, unlike vernacular Indian architecture – which, says architect Quaid Doongerwala, “has several design features that are geared to deal with the climate. In hot and humid Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, thick walls insulate most homes, keeping them cool.

In tropical zones like Goa, Alibaug or Kerala, traditional homes have large verandahs, courtyards and outer seating – features that allow air to circulate freely and cool the space. These traditional architectural features respond to regional climate.”

Among the buildings Doongerwala mentions is the UK-born Indian architect Laurie Baker’s Centre for Development Studies in Thiruvananthapuram. Baker created a cooling system by placing a high, latticed brick wall near a pond so that the air pressure differences draw in cool air. “His buildings often had brick jaali walls, which invite natural air flow.”

While crammed, chaotic cities like Mumbai may not have the space required to construct sprawling homes with brick screens and verandahs, in other metros like Delhi and Bangalore as well as in smaller towns, architects are experimenting with both modern and traditional architectural concepts and features that allow buildings to cool naturally.

An example of this approach is The Manwaring Residence, located on the outskirts of Bangalore and designed by architect Sandeep Khosla. Though a very contemporary space, it borrows materials and concepts from the past. “The idea of a verandah is colonial, while inward-looking spaces that revolve around the courtyard are an Indian concept,” maintains Khosla. “Both deal with how air will flow within the building to cool it.”

Built on a one-acre site facing a scenic lake and green paddy fields, the architect oriented this large seven-bedroom house along the North-South axis. It straddles an open-to-sky courtyard – which is the soul of the house, with its reflecting pool lined with blue handmade tiles. The corridors or walkways that span the pool allow for free movement of air.

Global interest in green architecture has inspired experimentation with both, traditional design concepts and new-age technologies to deal with climate problems. “Air-conditioners are not the only solution to the problem of cooling a space,” says Kolkatta-based architect Krishna Bhattacharjee.

“As a global example, consider a house in the South of France and one in the UK. The former would have high mass walls, shutters, smaller windows and a verandah, to help it deal with its warmer climate. While in the UK, windows are bigger and more likely to be double-glazed for insulation, rather than shuttered for shade.”