Automated Warehouse

Designed by Amit Khanna on the outskirts of New Delhi, this warehouse facility is wrapped in a perforated brickwork screen, providing a high degree of passive insulation.

Surrounded by a rapidly urbanizing village settlement, the site is on the outskirts of New Delhi. The project brief was to create a large warehousing facility that would be equipped with a high degree of automation. A comprehensive environmental and energy strategy became essential required to maintain habitable temperatures throughout the year.

Planned in three incremental phases, the 13,000 sqm structure is programmatically divided into 3 parts – the warehouse, the loading bay and the north-facing office block which is interlocked with the other two. This layout enables easy stacking of future expansion with no loss of efficiency in material/man movement.

Rather than overlay a conventional window-based punctured facade over the structural frame, the warehouse and loading bay are wrapped in a perforated brickwork screen. This screen shades a glazed dust barrier, recessed by 1200mm from the south and north facades, creating a buffer zone that cuts glare, serves as a utility zone and provides a high degree of passive insulation. The glazed barrier can be opened during good weather for ventilation and during extreme weather to allow for mechanical ventilation.