Sanjay Puri’s Stella Tackles 48°C Heat

Designed by Sanjay Puri Architects, Stella is a compact yet ambitious office building in Nagpur, Maharashtra, responding directly to one of India’s harshest urban climates. Built on a tight 836.07 sq.m. plot, the project stacks 5,575 sq.m. of office space across 14 levels, proving that verticality can be both strategic and humane. Rather than defaulting to the generic glass tower model, the firm crafted a climate-responsive workplace rooted in its setting.

Vertical Strategy on a Constrained Urban Plot

With statutory open space requirements and a limited footprint, a vertical configuration became inevitable. Instead of treating this as a limitation, the design turns density into advantage. Four offices per floor are arranged to maximize usable area while preserving daylight access and cross ventilation. Larger offices are positioned at the front and rear, ensuring open views and enhanced spatial comfort.

The service and circulation core is strategically located along the eastern edge. This frees up the north, west, and south facades, allowing office spaces to benefit from indirect light and prevailing breezes. The result is a highly efficient plan that feels open despite the compact site.

A Layered Façade for Extreme Heat

Nagpur records summer temperatures approaching 48°C, making façade design critical. Stella’s defining feature is its layered, thermal buffer skin. Semicircular open decks and planters wrapped in aluminum louvers alternate rhythmically across the building’s perimeter.

This dynamic envelope reduces direct solar heat gain while creating shaded intermediate spaces. The aluminum louvers filter sunlight and diffuse glare, while integrated greenery introduces evaporative cooling. Instead of a sealed façade, Stella becomes a breathable architectural organism.

Green Buffers as Microclimate Devices

The incorporation of continuous green buffers enhances both thermal performance and visual comfort. Planters embedded within the decks generate cooler microclimates, reducing heat transfer into the interior. These shaded outdoor zones also provide informal breakout areas that support workplace well-being.

By rejecting the fully glazed office typology common in tropical cities, the design reduces operational energy consumption. Offices receive indirect daylight rather than harsh solar exposure, minimizing reliance on artificial lighting and mechanical cooling.

A Contemporary Workplace Rooted in Context

Stella demonstrates how contemporary expression and environmental logic can coexist. The alternating semicircular volumes give the building a distinctive identity without excess. Its form is driven by performance, yet reads as fluid within the skyline.

Through passive cooling, shaded decks, and spatial efficiency, Sanjay Puri Architects reinforce their philosophy of contextual and sustainable design. More about the practice can be found at Sanjay Puri Architects.

Technical Sheet