The Crystal Hall, designed by Thomas Abraham, is an architectural marvel seamlessly blended with nature on the outskirts of Bangalore. Sustainable design principles make this structure a statement of intent in addition to a visual spectacle. This contemporary glass house design seamlessly converges design excellence with climate resilience – two factors that often stand at odds.

Through this blog, we invite you to explore how The Crystal Hall, the Glass House in Bangalore, marks the beginning of a new era in sustainable architecture. With its deep-rooted environmental sensibilities, it is conscious building done right in the 21st century. 

Also read: Bengaluru’s glass house amazes the internet with its cutting-edge design: ‘Absolutely breathtaking’

A Vision Rooted in Nature

The Crystal Hall, the glass house in Bangalore for sustainability, incorporates several design principles. These include:

• The residential windmill generates renewable energy and backup power.
• The modern glass house architecture mainly employs recycled glass and brick for construction
• Thermal Insulation using double-layered glass reduces the need for artificial cooling and heating. 
• Rainwater harvesting helps in water management
• The use of recycled materials promotes a zero-waste policy
• The design supports natural ventilation and lighting
• Local and indigenous labor preserve traditional skills and provide employment opportunities.

The Glass House at Angalapura in Bangalore utilizes light, transparency, and local materials to create a unique and sustainable architectural experience.

Natural light entering through the double-layered glass creates a bright and airy ambiance. Skylights also offer a sense of openness. However, a tropical garden between the glass walls ensures enough privacy with transparency.

The structure utilizes locally available cast-in-situ concrete and steel columns with locally manufactured double-layered glass. Further, glass colonnades for the veranda resonate with the local tradition of “Angalapura.

The structure successfully incorporates sustainable elements. Also, spaces like the veranda successfully blend traditional elements with modern architectural principles. Further, as glass, natural light, and greenery combined, make the building engaging and visually stunning. 

Also read: How to Keep House Cool in the Summer?

Contemporary Glass House Design Meets Function

The Crystal Hall, the Glass House in Bangalore, features contemporary glass house design aspects such as:

• An open floor plan
• Spatial flow
• Open glass façades

These contemporary glass house design aspects also improve ventilation, maximize natural light, and promote sustainable use of energy. With beautiful views, these design choices also contribute to an energy-efficient and comfortable living space.

• Natural light penetrates more with open floor plans. This saves energy by reducing the demand for artificial lighting.
• Well-planned spatial flow improves indoor air quality. This helps you avoid air conditioning.
• The adaptability of open spaces also allows for versatile and sustainable use.
• Open façades create airflow channels, promoting natural ventilation even during the summer.
• Strategical placement of transparent and glass materials also help capture solar energy
• Smart glass technology allows for automatic adjustments to transparency and tint, which also helps to efficiently control light levels and heat gain.
• Double-skin façades with an air cavity can be used for precooling or heating air.
• Glass facades with photovoltaic properties also help generate electricity and reduce the need for traditional energy sources. 

The Crystal Hall envisioned as a modern Gurukul also incorporates inspiring and innovative elements that could be adapted to educational campuses. To learn more about campus design innovations, read Creative Campus Architecture Design Ideas.

Modernist Glass House in Bangalore: Form & Philosophy

The Crystal Hall, the Glass House in Bangalore, embodies modernist values through:

• Simplicity
• Transparency
• Seamless integration

• Simplicity

The glass house has a simple rectangular footprint. With a double-layered glass façade, it keeps its ornamentation minimal. Its uncluttered aesthetic also ensures functionality. The clean lines also show a modernist approach to architecture.

• Transparency:

This modernist glass house in Bangalore extensively uses glass to connect the structure with the exterior environment. Natural light penetrates abundantly to create a sense of openness.

The double-layered glass sandwiches a thick layer of rainforest vegetation. This visually links the house with its natural surroundings.

The modern glass house architecture also emphasizes bringing the outdoors in. Hence, it uses transparency to blur the boundaries of the internal and external spaces of the house.

• Integration with Site:

The strategic position of the house within a larger site is one of the highlights of this modern glass house architecture. It also has a swimming pool (reminiscent of a well) with steps running down to it. This addition further integrates the structure into its surroundings.

Architecture students must understand spatial experience, form, and the interplay between site and structure well early on. Hence, TKMSA’s first-year studio is designed to introduce them to these foundations that support excellent structures. 

Sustainability in Practice

The Crystal Hall, the glass house in Bangalore for sustainability has chosen design choices such as:

• Double Glazing:

Double-layered wall of high-performance glass sandwiching rainforest vegetation envelops the building. This insulates the building. It also reduces heat gain in Bangalore’s tropical climate. This thermal barrier also reduces the need to heat or cool the interiors artificially.

• Passive Solar Strategies:

The indoors of the Crystal Hall have been made comfortable with natural airflow and sunlight. Natural light penetrating through double-glazed walls also replaces artificial lighting to a great extent.

The shade from the thick rainforest vegetation also regulates indoor temperatures. The Crystal Hall also generates backup power using residential windmill towers.

• Recycled Materials & Natural Materials:

The use of natural vegetation and recycled materials for construction has minimized the wastage of resources during the construction of the Crystal Hall.

The glass house in Bangalore is a prime example of performance-driven architecture. It demonstrates the sustainability values practiced by many renowned green architecture firms in India.

Learn how the top 10 sustainable architecture firms in India apply these principles across contexts and scales.

Lessons for Aspiring Architects

The Crystal Hall, the Glass House in Bangalore exemplifies a contextual and sustainable modern design using glass. Students can analyze its different features to study the principles of: 

• sustainability
• glass design, and
• contextual architecture 

Elements of sustainability include:

• Natural ventilation and passive cooling
• Integration with surrounding woods
• Residential windmill towers
• High recyclability of glass

Glass design principles that stand out in the modern glass house architecture are:

• Double Glazing to improve insulation and cut heat loss/gain
• Maximizing natural light and minimizing heat transmission with high-performance glass
• Use of “glass garden” to balance privacy with transparency
• Connection to the outdoors with a sense of spaciousness and openness

This modernist glass house in Bangalore also carries the following elements of Contextual Modernism:

• Traditional architectural principles blend with modern design aesthetics in Paleo-modern style
• Connection between the building and its surrounding landscape
• The use of local construction techniques and materials
• Historical influences and connections to local traditions in architecture

The Crystal Hall, the Glass House in Bangalore is a real-world example of strong conceptual thinking for architecture students. Learn how developing design concepts in architecture forms the heart of our academic approach.

Conclusion

The Crystal Hall, the Glass House in Bangalore, maintains greener living at its core, even while redefining contemporary design. Several innovative design features of the structure promote sustainability. These are:

• Residential windmill towers for generating power
• Thermal insulation using double-layered high-performance glass.
• Incorporation of a rainforest garden in the interior

The house’s construction has also followed a socially responsible approach with:

• Zero-waste policy
• Use of recycled materials, etc.

Did the sustainable and elegant design of The Crystal Hall inspire you? Let TKM School of Architecture guide you to the future of architecture. Choose our B.Arch program where innovation meets real-world impact. Join the next generation of designers who build the world.

Learn more about the course: https://tkmsa.ac.in/

Apply now at: https://tkmsa.ac.in/barch-admission/

Contact us:

• Phone: 0474-2731021
• Email ID: tkmtrust@yahoo.com

Also read: How TKMSA Became the Best Architecture College in Kerala?