Press Release
Firm Hall Banquet and Community Centre by Vigneswar Vasulingam Sivanesan Receives the Silver A' Design Award in Architecture, Building and Structure Design
Vigneswar Vasulingam Sivanesan recognized for architecture, building and structure design by the international grand jury of the 2019 - 2020 A' Design Award & Competition
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COMO, Italy, April 23, 2020 /DesignNewswire/ A' Design Award & Competition has confirmed the Silver A' Design Award in the Architecture, Building and Structure Design category for Firm Hall Banquet and Community Centre by Vigneswar Vasulingam Sivanesan, designed for Architecture plus Value. The result belongs to the 2019 - 2020 A' Design Award & Competition and was reached through blind peer review by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members, who scored anonymized entries against predetermined criteria.
What the Silver A' Design Award Means
The Silver A' Design Award celebrates top-tier designs that embody excellence and innovation. This award acknowledges creations that are not only aesthetically pleasing but also highly functional, reflecting the designer's deep understanding and skill. Silver A' Design Award recipients are recognized for their contribution to raising industry standards and advancing the practice of design. Their work often incorporates original innovations and elicits a strong emotional response, making a notable impact on the improvement of everyday life.
More About Firm Hall Banquet and Community Centre
Firm Hall is a banquet and community centre in Chennai, India. The project is an adaptive reuse of an existing residential bungalow at a busy intersection. The outer walls were kept intact, while internal walls were altered to form one large event space on each floor. The ground floor holds a family hall, the first floor a hall with tele-conferencing, and the terrace a semi-open pavilion with a landscaped garden. The facade combines a textured brown mass below and a white mass with screen patterns cut from aluminium sheets and lit from behind.
Award Record
This recognition makes Vigneswar Vasulingam Sivanesan a winner of 2 A' Design Awards. The awards were granted between the 2017 - 2018 and the 2019 - 2020 editions of the A' Design Award & Competition.
About the A' Architecture, Building and Structure Design Award
The A' Architecture Design Award is an international architectural design competition recognizing good architectural designs by best architects worldwide. It is organized within the A' Design Award & Competition and is open to architectural design studios, building contractors, structural engineering firms and architecture and design consultants from all countries. Typical entries include skyscrapers, museums, residential buildings, commercial complexes, educational institutions and religious structures. The awarded architectural projects are published at https://dezigners.org/design-category/architecture
About A' Design Award & Competition
Organized annually since 2008, A' Design Award & Competition is an international, juried design accolade. The competition is open to entries from all countries. The philanthropic mission of the A' Design Award is to advance society through good design, by recognizing and promoting superior products, projects and services that benefit society, and by creating a global awareness and appreciation for good design practices and principles. Nominations are peer reviewed and evaluated anonymously by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members against predetermined criteria such as functionality, ergonomics, engineering, presentation, innovation, usability, sustainability and technology, with score normalization applied to remove biases. Awards are conferred at Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze and Iron levels. Eligible laureates receive the A' Design Prize, which includes the award trophy, the certificate of design excellence, the hardcover yearbook, a lifetime license to use the A' Design Award winner logo, exhibition of awarded works, an invitation to the gala night and award ceremony in Italy, inclusion in the World Design Rankings and Designer Rankings, and public relations and publicity services. Registration, uploading a work and receiving a preliminary score are free of charge, and Professional and Digital Edition laureates are not contractually obliged to pay further fees to claim the A' Design Prize. More information is available at https://competition.adesignaward.com
Press Resources
- Winner Page: https://dezigners.org/100253
- A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/100253
- Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!100253
- Laureate Profile: https://dezigners.org/d/222891
- Further Information from the Laureate: http://www.aplusv.in/
Media Contact
Giulia Ferrari, Press Office
Designers.Org
Via Leone Leoni 32, 22100 Como, Italy
press@designers.org
+39 031 4491953
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Fact Sheet
The Work
- Project
- Firm Hall Banquet and Community Centre
- Function
- Banquet and Community Centre
- Category
- Architecture, Building and Structure Design
- Discipline
- Spatial Design
- Industry
- Architecture
- Colors
- Black, Dark Slate Gray, Dim Gray and Dark Olive Green
- Images
- 5
- Client
- Architecture plus Value
The Recognition
- Laureate
- Vigneswar Vasulingam Sivanesan
- Country
- India
- Recognition
- Silver A' Design Award
- Edition
- 2019 - 2020
- Design ID
- #100253
Credits
- Team
- Vigneswar V S and Swathi Kunimbedu
- Image Credits
- Photographer Prithvi M Samy
Design Details
- Unique Properties
- Firm Hall is an Iconic Community Project created on a Shoe-String Budget. Through sensitive Adaptive Re-use an existing residential bungalow, at a busy intersection, was converted into a state-of-the-art Event Venue. The Project not only acts as a revenue source for the developer but also serves the local neighbourhood as a Community Centre. It is environmentally sustainable and cost-effective. An innovative Facade system and Landscape features were developed to add value to the Project.
- Inspiration
- Firm Hall is a successful prototype to unlock the hidden commercial & community potential in the Indian Urban Context. Third-world cities like Chennai lack good Community Centres. Private developers are concerned more on Commercial aspects. As Architects we knew that the key is to bring both these contradictory forces into one successful project. Through sensitive design and clever planning, Firm Hall has become a commercially successful community centre.
- Research
- The main aim of the Design was to provide a premium and plush environment for the event spaces. A detailed research was done on the existing event spaces in the city and on how to make this a profitable commercial venture. Being an Adaptive Re-Use project the building needed to be retained to its best possible manner and converted into an event venue. This provided additional challenges to the design.
- Challenge
- The Property has become a land-mark in Chennai. It has a 90% occupancy rate since opening and has turned into a commercially profitable venture. Space utilisation and service strategy has ensured a smooth functioning for multiple events. The Space caters to multitude of aspirations hosting a range of events ranging from birth-day parties to weddings and convocation ceremonies. Firm Hall is a case-study on how sensitive design and programming can add a lot of value to the Indian urban fabric.
- Realization and Technology
- Adaptive Re-Use_The external periphery of the Structure was kept intact. The Existing internal load bearing walls were analysed and the smaller spaces were amalgamated into a single large event space in each floor. Separate Service areas and a service entry were provided to the project to ensure smooth servicing. A metal staircase was introduced in the rear service area to provide vertical service access and also act as a secondary fire-exit.
- Operation and Interaction
- The event spaces opened out into the front garden and lobby spaces were designed as break-out spaces and informal gathering areas The Ground floor was converted into a Family hall, First floor hall with Tele-Conferencing facilities and the Terrace was converted into a semi-open pavilion with a landscaped terrace garden. The Building was designed such that each floor could be used as a separate event space for three different events or could be used in a combined manner to host a larger event.
- Project Duration and Location
- Firm Hall was started in December 2018 and completed in April 2019. It is located on a busy commercial through-fare in Anna-Nagar, which is one of the premium residential areas in the city of Chennai.
- Specifications
- A strong language was created by designing two different masses, a high glossy white mass with intricate Jali or Screen patterns was kept in the first floor above a solid textured brown mass on the ground floor. CNC cut patterns were made on a 3 mm aluminium sheets with back lighting to emphasise the patterns during night. A series of up-throw lights make the white mass look floating. The terrace was converted into a semi-open party area with a light metal roof and a landscaped terrace.
- Keywords
- Event space, White, Facade, Community centre, Banquet Hall, Chennai, Anna Nagar
