Auditorium, Navi Mumbai, India

CONCEPT: The auditorium has been designed as a shell within a shell to provide an insulative layer between the interior and exterior. The function of the peripheral space is twofold: it provides a sound buffer from outside noise, increasing the quality of acoustics within the auditorium and it provides a thermal insulation barrier between the interior and exterior, reducing the air-conditioning loads and increasing the building energy efficiency. The building design responds to the solar orientation and capitalizes on it to conserve energy. The foyer and lobbies are situated on the south side with a floor to ceiling glazed facade so that they receive maximum natural light and there is reduced reliance on electrical lighting. The facade design has a prominent slant to afford shade to the foyer to reduce the heat ingress caused by solar gain which is complemented by an overhanging roof to amplify the effect. The large glazed facade is un-characteristic of a building with such a function but the architects decided that since it was a multi-functional building for the community it was necessary to have an open and inviting entrance, thus re-defining the typology. This 860-seater project includes integral sustainable design solutions that have been considered holistically to ensure that the building performs at maximum efficiency. PROGRAMME ELEMENTS: The programme of the building includes two primary groups of spaces - backstage and front of house. The two different programme spaces have been designed with different characteristics to refer to their function and user groups. The front of house has been designed with the auditorium guests in mind and therefore has attractive and ambient spaces that offer occasion to socialize. The asymmetry of the foyer draws attention to the spaces created and highlights playfulness in the architecture that reflects the informal activities that occur within. The internal balconies offer spill over spaces from the auditorium that overlook the entrance foyer. These inter-spatial links create a hive of excitement pre and post show because of the open and collective atmosphere. The backstage rooms have been designed with functionality and performers in mind, these rooms are efficiently arranged to reduce circulation interference and provide necessary private access routes for stage support and performers. The auditorium itself is designed with acoustics as a top priority. The design of the walls and ceiling are angular to deflect the sound waves in different directions so that there is no interference and the sound quality is high in all areas of the audience. The architects have specified acoustic wood panels for their resonant properties that allow voices to be amplified to the rear seats. The shape of the auditorium also encourages the sound to amplify to the rear seats thus ensuring that all members of the audience receive superior sound quality. The auditorium has been designed as a multi-functional space that can be acoustically modified depending on the performance. For performances with electrically amplified acoustics, that do not require resonance from the walls, dampening curtains can be drawn to adjust the space suitably. SUSTAINABLE DESIGN: The roof of the building has been designed with multi-layered aluminum finish metal roofing that is lightweight and highly insulative which gives it excellent sustainability credentials. A photo-voltaic array is planned for the roof installation which will deliver green power to the building and majority of lights will be high efficiency LEDs to reduce power demand. Specialized VFDs are specified for water-cooled chillers for air-conditioning, all secondary pumps, AHUs and motors respectively. CONCLUSION: The building comes with a low impact on the environment as a result of the architects commitment to superior environmental design. The architects hope that they will have an influence in improving the locality and community of Airoli whilst simultaneously positively effecting the wider environment.