studio tessera has designed ‘the glass house,’ a contemporary garden pavilion within an old establishment in meerut, india. the project serves as an all-day multi-purpose hall located within a hidden courtyard of a well-known hotel. experiments with origami tessellations led the ceiling to take form as a folded canopy with a chandelier-like extension in the middle.‘the glass house’ is a conservatory-like sunlit multipurpose hall

all images courtesy of suryan and dang

‘the glass house’ by studio tessera took shape as a tessellated polycarbonate and wood canopy suspended within a vaulted hall. the client wished to create an elegant and comfortable all-weather indoor venue erecting lightweight prefabricated steel shed within the hotel’s courtyard, having in mind to avoid the noise of the events may disturb the dense residential neighborhood. the resulting light filtering through the translucent layers develops a conservatory-like sunlit space providing a welcome change from artificially lit.the form of the inner canopy is derived as a tessellated chandelier hanging in the hall

the outer roof of the shed functions as an additional multicellular polycarbonate sheet. thus, the properties of the two layers and the gap between them provide thermal and acoustic insulation while allowing sunlight to filter into the space below. furthermore, the inside hall has been used for satsangs -prayer meetings, social congregations, a conference hall by day, and a marriage hall at night.the multipurpose hall is imagined as a pavilion in an ornamental garden

given the composite climate in the city, the project is designed to operate in all weathers. for the hot summer months, there is provision to ventilate the gap between the roofs with fresh air to improve thermal performance and reduce the air conditioning load. in the winter months, the collapsible glass partitions along the entire periphery of the multipurpose hall allow it to be intimately connected to the outside.the landscape is compacted along the peripheries of the courtyard in tall, linear, stone-clad planters

the landscape is compacted along the courtyard boundaries in tall, linear, stone-clad planters to cut away visually from the immediate context. with its sunlit ambiance, the conservatory-like idea of the hall reduces the artificial lighting for day events. when the sun goes down, the space between the outer roof and the canopy is fitted with programmable lights that ensure complete lighting control. meanwhile, the two layers of multi-cell polycarbonate with the air gap are efficient at further reducing sound transmission. ‘the glass house’ has a steel structure clad in wood with a double skinned polycarbonate roof the ambiance can transition from daylight to sundowner and from somber to psychedelic in a matter of seconds or seamlessly over hours complete control on lighting ensures greater multi-functionalitythe space between the outer roof and the canopy is fitted with programmable lights which allow multiple backlight settings aerial view of the hallexploded axonometric view ground floor layout section through the length of the hall

location: meerut, uttar pradesh, india

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edited by: christina petridou | designboom

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