Project: SymHomes Mk2
Location: Kolkata, India
Designed by Piercy Conner Architects
Website: www.piercyconner.co.uk
Hot on the heels of the award-winning Symhomes Mk1 comes Symhomes Mk2. Following Piercy Conner’s work for the Living Steel steel housing programme in Kolkata, India, Symhomes Mk2 is a logical advancement in design. This high rise speculative building for mixed commercial and residential use takes the double-skin concept to the next level. The stacked, arched structure – a reference to the playful and expressive nature of Hindu temple architecture – facilitates a 360 degree open balcony offering unimpeded views from all aspects of the building. SymHomes Mk1 won Living Steel’s International Architecture Competition for Sustainable Housing in 2005. Created to inspire sustainable design in steel, 48 unique designs for sustainable steel homes have been created.
Living Steel are championing the cause for steel construction. Basing their campaign on the projected figures from the United Nations that the population will explode by as many as two billion people over the next 25 years and a general migration pattern from rural to urban centres, they claim that steel is the material that allow architects to keep up with the pace of demands allowing for buildings which can be rapidly constructed, also heralding its recyclability.
*Photo Credit/Source: world architecture news
