Hauz Khas, Delhi

Brief

A Multi unit residential development, this beautiful project is located in the heart of South Delhi surrounded by lush greenery. The client demands were simple yet tough. They needed to clad the facade ceilings with a natural wood but it should not have the usual brown tones seen everywhere.

The building was being designed as a minimalist yet not Spartan feel. It had to attract attention by it’s simplicity rather than in-your face opulence. To achieve the project objectives, the wood had to remain stable – no warping or deformation, had to be very low maintenance being a part of a multi unit, multi owner building where agreeing on the timings and frequency of common areas maintenance can be a challenge, it had to be able to resist the common insects such as termites and fungus easily and last but not least, the origins of the wood had to have impeccable environmental credentials.

Proposed solution

Span floors Vulcan wood cladding collection by Abodo was offered as it ticked all the boxes and more. Vulcan cladding, made in New Zealand, despite being 100% natural wood, has been improved considerably by a patented, state of the art process known commonly and broadly as wood modification. Made from FSC certified locally sourced Radiata Pine and then further improved through state of the art proprietary processes, Vulcan can easily handle the conditions we typically have in India, such as high heat, high humidity, rainfall, insects and outdoor pollutants as has been proven in the ground in India.

Additionally, due to the very low maintenance requirements and a fresh appeal, Span floors ultra low maintenance coating Sioo:x was proposed. Made in Sweden, Sioo:x turns the wood surface in a beautiful silver grey patina very similar to naturally weathered wood, only more beautiful, accelerating the process that may have taken some years to develop. Moreover, this coating ensures that the weathering is evenly distributed no matter the exposure to sun and rain. Sioo:x is 100% natural with no harmful chemicals or additives that are released into the environment. Not only it has wonderful aesthetics, it’s two step formula deeply penetrates the wood deeply and forms a natural silicone matrix inside the wood and further strengthens and protects it, as well as provides surface level protection from the environmental factors such as sun and rain.

Result

A modern building with a very fresh wood aesthetic came out. Due to its unique colour, the building stands out from the neighbourhood and turns a lot of heads around by passerby’s. The Client is delighted by the overall look and feel of the project and do not have to worry about the usual issues that a homeowner using wood on a building facade faces. Another wonder of modern technology!