The 15th edition, that took place in the Taj Vivanta, Guwahati a Luxury Collection Hotel Guwahati, rendered yet another success story where delegates from the architect, developer, window contractor fraternity attended and witnessed the enlightening presentations and interacted with the panelists during the discussion session.
Windows are in integral part of timeless architecture, crucial in enhancing the functionality of the buildings. A typical fenestration component suffices the basic requirements of light and ventilation, but along the way faces the challenges of heat/sound and air/water ingress.
The 15th edition of ZAK World of Windows was the season’s finale that had started from Bengaluru and traversed through Pune, Chennai and Bhubaneswar before culminating in a grand confluence of minds and methods in Ahmedabad. The key focus was on key elements that define a window and establish its existence as an engineering element crucial to the viability of a building. It debated on whether the performance and good design go hand in hand or one has to suffer in order to give way to the other. Various parameters that define the performance of windows were explained for different types of buildings vis-à-vis mass housing, villas, condominiums, hospitality segment, etc.
The intriguing session of presentations and discussion started at 7 in the evening. About 279 representatives from architect, developer, specifier and contractorcommunity and other fenestration enthusiasts were present throughout the evening of information and networking which ended well after midnight.
The session commenced with abrief introduction of the Profine Group by Farid Khan, Director & CEO of Profine India Window Technology followed by a technical case study of high performance uPVC windows by Nitin Jadhav, theirProduct Market Manager. Next to present was Samarth Maradia, Principal, SamArch Design Studio who spell bound the audience by his account on “Provocative Transparencies and refined concealment” followed by a quite functional presentation on functionality defining window engineering by K R Suresh, Regional Director, Axis Façades. The importance of PU foams for perfectly insulated windows was explained by Amit Malhotra, Leader, McCoy Soudal and the fascinating round of presentations were brought to an end by Lucky Lu, Regional Manager for Kinlong who evaluated the New Hardware for New Era.
The end of evening witnessed an engaging group discussion on the Performance and Design challenges faced by the fenestration industry. The panelists, MohitGajjar, Principal, ADS Architects; Ameesh Agarwal, Director, Safal Constructions; K R Suresh; AshitVora, Managing Director, Hifab Aluminium; Dhaval Patel, Director, Aangi Architectural and Farid Khan discussed and debated on various issues plaguing the fenestration industry and solutions thereof. The all-time bone of contention – aluminium v/s uPVC windows – onceagain surfaced in the discussion and was efficiently moderated by Amit Malhotra who steered the panel and helped in arriving at a much sought after conclusion.
The panel discussion highlighted various modalities through which the humble window goes from the design stage till the handover. One common observation was that the role of windows in a building goes much beyond just being an aesthetic element and is now widely accepted to be an important component determining the performance and comfort level of the building.. The points about quality over price and striving for what is required and not for what comes cheap were emphasized by the most powerful voices in the panel and audience.
The exhibition display showcased some exclusive engineering components for fenestration, which included uPVC Profile systems from Koemmerling, high precision range of fittings and hardware from Kin Long, EPDM gaskets from Osaka Rubber and a range of sealants and PU Foams from McCoy Soudal were also displayed.
This edition of ZAK World of Windows marked the end of the 1st season of the flagship conference series started with a view to bring to forefront the never before discussions and debates forging the quality and technology in window innovations.
The second season of Zak World of Windows will start from Kochi in March 2015, with brand new agenda and never before discussions amongst representatives from the architecture & developercommunity as well as fenestration industry.
