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Architecture

09-02-2026

Photographer : Priyanka Rajan Photography

Text provided by Architect

The project is located in Pallikaranai, Chennai, within a mixed residential and commercial neighborhood characterized by mid-rise buildings and active urban streets. The hot, humid climate and dense surroundings informed a climate-responsive design emphasizing shading, daylight control, and natural ventilation.

The brief was to design a contemporary mixed-use building with two floors of office spaces and two floors of residential apartments. The project must ensure efficient zoning, optimal natural lighting and ventilation, climate-responsive façade design, and a strong architectural identity using vertical louvres, glazing, and durable, low-maintenance materials suitable for an urban context.

Prompt Castle is conceived as a contemporary mixed-use building where commercial efficiency and residential comfort coexist within a unified architectural language. The primary design driver was to articulate program clarity while responding to climate and urban context. The building is vertically stratified, with lower floors accommodating offices and upper floors housing residential apartment, yet visually unified through a consistent material palette and proportional system. A bold vertical louvre screen establishes identity while functioning as a climatic buffer, regulating sunlight and enhancing privacy. This vertical emphasis is counterbalanced by horizontal slab edges, creating a clear rhythm of solid and void. Strategically placed glazing maximizes daylight penetration and visual connection without compromising comfort.

Chennai,Tamil Nadu,India

Architects	:	Scult Design Lab
Area	:	14500 sq. ft.
Year of Completion	:	2025
Website	:	https://www.instagram.com/scultdesignlab/

Exterior view of Prompt Castle by Scult Design Lab

Deep overhangs and framed balconies provide shaded spill-out spaces for residence, improving thermal performance. The resulting façade is restrained yet assertive, operating as an environmental filter while presenting a contemporary, well-defined presence within the evolving urban streetscape, contextually responsive.

Balcony of Prompt Castle by Scult Design Lab

External facade of Prompt Castle by Scult Design Lab

The design process began with an analysis of site orientation, access, and surrounding built fabric to optimize daylight and ventilation. Program zoning was fundamental to the mixed-use strategy, placing office floors at lower levels for accessibility and visibility, while residential were elevated to ensure privacy and acoustic comfort. The façade was developed as a performance-driven system rather than a purely visual layer. Vertical louvres were introduced along the central mass to control solar gain, reduce glare, and add depth to the elevation. Glazing sizes and positions were calibrated according to orientation to balance daylight and heat control.

Horizontal bands articulate floor levels and visually break down the building scale. Roof-level pergolas enhance shading and create usable semi-open spaces. Through iterative massing studies and façade modulation, the design achieves environmental efficiency, spatial clarity, and a cohesive architectural expression, responding carefully to climate, context, users, structure, services, circulation systems, and longevity.

Entrance of Prompt Castle by Scult Design Lab

Aerial view of Prompt Castle by Scult Design Lab

The design fulfils client requirements by clearly zoning office and residential functions, maximising natural light and ventilation, and delivering a bold, climate-responsive façade that balances performance, identity, and urban context.